Gouhar Pirzada, CEO and TVET Trainer at STEP, Pakistan.
21 years of experience in the TVET sector and backed up with experience, training and exposure of the VET sector from UK, Australia, Pakistan, and the Philippines, I feel privileged and humbled to contribute by working with prestigious organizations including Pearson (Edexcel), GIZ, GFA, TVET Asia. Nominated as High Achiever Alumni by the British Council under Social Impact category in 2019, won the QUT Australia Impact Stories Award in 2018, and won the 2020 country-level success storytelling competition at the Australia Awards Regional Alumni Conference in Colombo, Srilanka. In the capacity of TVET trainer, I am proud to have trained more than 4000 professionals, teachers and administrators only during the last 3 years. As part of the qualification development panel, DACUM facilitator and Consultant at the national level of Pakistan, I contributed in the development of more than 8 qualifications and developing TLGs (Trainer Learners’ Guides). As CEO of the first international TVET provider of country, STEP, we became pioneers to bring global qualifications and the first Institute in Pakistan to initiate Competency-Based Training (CBT). Research (Qualitative and Quantitative) has always been my major forte. I have written papers for TVET Asia on Work Process-Based TVET qualifications, and Technical Didactics for CBT approach, and recently got published in the International Journal of Latest Research in Humanities & Social Sciences (IJLRHSC) on Outcome Based Education. I am currently pursuing my MPhil in Education Leadership & Management, to prospect my Doctorate in TVET systems and applications.
Online TVET Assessments: A case of construct validity at STEP Institute of Art, Design & Management
The TVET sector in Pakistan is currently going through a massive reformation and despite the shift to contemporary instructional and assessment practices, it still requires capacity building of teachers and assessors. This research study aims to evaluate assessment processes for effectively meeting Art & Design qualifications’ outcomes by comparing the results of online TVET assessments conducted recently during the global pandemic of Covid-19 with the traditional face to face assessments, conducted previously. The term Validity refers to the degree to which results or test scores obtained by learners, can be interpreted and used for its intended purpose. Of great importance to assessors, is the test items or rubrics to match the learning outcomes that the assessment is measuring and that the instruction given also matches the outcomes and what is assessed. Online learning technologies are being adopted widely in different TVET institutes in Pakistan but the critical issue remains if these effectively help in meeting desired students’ learning outcomes. This study is conducted at STEP Institute of Art, Design and Management (IADM) Pakistan, which is the first TVET institute to offer CBT (Competency-Based Training) and international vocational qualifications in Pakistan up to level 7 of the UK NVQF. Perceptions and opinions of students, faculty members, and assessors regarding online assessments will be gathered to evaluate the existing online assessment process and recommend areas for a sustainable and futuristic assessment strategy. A mixed-method approach will be used to collect data. The quantitative data will be collected from students, using the questionnaire and an online focus group will be conducted to gather experiences, ideas, and thoughts from assessors and faculty members, as part of qualitative data collection. The research findings will help in further establishing the existing TVET system in the context of online TVET learning, training, and assessing.