Tools supporting Work-Based Learning

Tools supporting Work-Based Learning

To support the WBL within courses designed to train health and social care professionals for efficient work in CBIT, we recommend the integration of different tools to enrich both the learning experience and its assessment.

Students should compile either digital or manual reports during or at the conclusion of their WBL experience. These reports provide an opportunity for students to reflect critically on their own activities or the procedures they witnessed during the WBL experience. For example, the reports can document how they implemented newly acquired competencies in their practice within a CBIT setting, or if they are not yet employed in such a context, describe their observations of how these competencies were applied in the hosting structure. Additionally, these reports serve as valuable assessment tools for tutors, offering insights into teamwork dynamics and professional interactions of the students within the team.

Another tool that can be used to support the learning experience and its assessment are checklists. Checklists can play a dual role in evaluating the WBL experience from both physical and procedural standpoint. In the first case, the checklist can evaluate aspects such as the availability of appropriate spaces to support interprofessional team meetings, service users’ assessments, group education sessions, and telehealth services, as well as the presence of necessary digital infrastructure (e.g. server rooms). In the second case, the checklist can assess if the hosting structure’s operational processes align with the CBIT curriculum goals, including regular interprofessional meetings, telemedicine practices, task-shifting strategies, and service user onboarding procedures.

Students could also complete qualitative questionnaires to provide feedback on their WBL experience in the hosting structures, reporting data related to the relevance of the training to the CBIT curriculum. These questionnaires can gather data on students’ satisfaction with core competencies such as interprofessional decision-making observed in the hosting structure.

Finally, the following tools and resources can also be implemented to support the WBL experience:

• shared database: it can be used to have a common folder with learning content uploaded by the tutors;
• virtual direct contact with the tutor through communicating application;
• online portfolio: this platform may be useful to collect the students’ weekly reports and the evaluation of tutors.

Download the full guide

The complete Work-Based Learning Guide is also available as a single printable document, for offline reading or reference.