RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Written Paper - Grrrrr

[oldbilbo]

The Cambridge dictionary on line certainly does not have a clue what you mean either !!!!!

I shan't take issue with that..... However, noting a previous comment re consulting Google's resources - and that being simplicity itself, given the Bookmarks setup I use - then it was not at all difficult to discover the following:

Pedagogy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy‎
Pedagogy 1] is the science and art of education, specifically the teaching of children. Whereas the teaching of adults is considered androgogy. Contents.

Andragogy are teaching strategies developed for adult learners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy

Not to be confused with 'pedantry'.....


Now, FWIW, and in the context of the quality of teaching of the RYA Shorebased Syllabus at FE Colleges, shortly after I was recruited into such a role at a neighbouring college, I was required to enrol in and complete a Certificated study programme of modern teaching practices which was tutored inter alia by an acknowledged national expert. While I had been professionally 'teacher-trained' some decades before, and had instructed various subjects during my time in HM's uniform, this course was of considerable value in enhancing the quality of what I was doing, with especial focus on 'individual needs' and evaluation of progress.

Certainly, performance review/assessment was a regular and continuous part of the job, with peers/department head/Principal all doing their bit to 'observe' and do detailed critique. In the decade and more I 'trod the boards' at this college, with several hundred studes and 3 courses running - sometimes 4 - each season, I never once saw hide nor hair of any of the RYA's Training Staff - although I know they passed by frequently, and I would have welcomed a visit and some tips on 'best practice' in delivering certain thorny topics ( e.g. secondary ports )

 

[Daydream believer]

I shan't take issue with that..... However, noting a previous comment re consulting Google's resources - and that being simplicity itself, given the Bookmarks setup I use - then it was not at all difficult to discover the following:-


Pedagogy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy‎
Pedagogy 1] is the science and art of education, specifically the teaching of children. Whereas the teaching of adults is considered androgogy. Contents.

Andragogy are teaching strategies developed for adult learners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy

In my working life in construction, one of my "talents" included contractual claims
I found that if one dug deep enough one could always find a "mistake" that one could use to benefit one -

especially when the other side were trying to be a bit clever

So when I see "Androgogy" & "Andragogy" I cannot help but see a contractual claim coming on:encouragement:


Could not be much more off thread - could it?

 

[oldbilbo]

In my working life in construction, one of my "talents" included contractual claims
I found that if one dug deep enough one could always find a "mistake" that one could use to benefit one -

especially when the other side were trying to be a bit clever....So when I see "Androgogy" & "Andragogy" I cannot help but see a contractual claim coming on:encouragement: Could not be much more off thread - could it?

You might attract some 'help' with that last claim.....

Much as I had indicated above, I had a 'scrute' at several of the references, including Wikipedia, that a swift online search for those words threw in my way. I noted that a certain 'Merkin education theorist, one Malcolm Knowles, involved himself deeply in this.

Here is probably rather more than most would ever wish to know about this stuff:

Originally used by Alexander Kapp (a German educator) in 1833, andragogy was developed into a theory of adult education by Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy and was popularized in the US by American educator Malcolm Knowles.

Knowles asserted that andragogy (Greek: "man-leading") should be distinguished from the more commonly used pedagogy (Greek: "child-leading").

Knowles' theory can be stated with six assumptions related to motivation of adult learning:[1][2]

Adults need to know the reason for learning something (Need to Know)
Experience (including error) provides the basis for learning activities (Foundation).
Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education; involvement in the planning and evaluation of their instruction (Self-concept).
Adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives (Readiness).
Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented (Orientation).
Adults respond better to internal versus external motivators (Motivation).

The term has been used by some to allow discussion of contrast between self-directed and 'taught' education.[3]

Knowles collected ideas about a theory of adult education from the end of WWII until he was introduced to the term "andragogy." In 1966, Knowles met Dusan Savicevic in Boston. Savicevic shared the term andragogy with Knowles, and explained how it was used in the European context. In 1967, Knowles made use of the term "androgogy" to explain his theory of adult education. Then, after consulting Merriam-Webster, he corrected the spelling of the term to "andragogy" and continued to make use of the term to explain his collection of ideas about adult learning. (Sopher 2003)

At the time I was first involved in the 'imparting' of boaty wisdom and good practice to adult studes, I was truly interested in better understanding how 'stuff got larned' and so the course of directed studies I undertook led both to a tertiary-level certification and, more important, to enhanced quality of 'delivery' to the clients.

As one small example, I became aware of how to spot adults with certain 'learning needs' such as dyslexia and/or inability to write coherently, which they commonly disguised, and how to re-structure lecture/teaching sessions and exercise tasks to accommodate their different needs. Done well, no-one in the class/learning group would be aware of such changes in delivery, but the outcomes should be enhanced. I have reason to believe they were.

I mention all this guff to illustrate that professional teaching/lecturing - even of the RYA's Shorebased Syllabus - should and probably would be of a high standard at Training Providers of the standing of FE Colleges.

And that is, I believe, quite enough of that for one day.....

 

[Daydream believer]

And that is, I believe, quite enough of that for one day.....

And there are some "Claims" I walk away from

Thanks for the lesson-which I have read- & has increased my understanding
I will, no doubt, use it some time somewhere

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I shan't take issue with that..... However, noting a previous comment re consulting Google's resources - and that being simplicity itself, given the Bookmarks setup I use - then it was not at all difficult to discover the following:




Not to be confused with 'pedantry'.....


Now, FWIW, and in the context of the quality of teaching of the RYA Shorebased Syllabus at FE Colleges, shortly after I was recruited into such a role at a neighbouring college, I was required to enrol in and complete a Certificated study programme of modern teaching practices which was tutored inter alia by an acknowledged national expert. While I had been professionally 'teacher-trained' some decades before, and had instructed various subjects during my time in HM's uniform, this course was of considerable value in enhancing the quality of what I was doing, with especial focus on 'individual needs' and evaluation of progress.

Certainly, performance review/assessment was a regular and continuous part of the job, with peers/department head/Principal all doing their bit to 'observe' and do detailed critique. In the decade and more I 'trod the boards' at this college, with several hundred studes and 3 courses running - sometimes 4 - each season, I never once saw hide nor hair of any of the RYA's Training Staff - although I know they passed by frequently, and I would have welcomed a visit and some tips on 'best practice' in delivering certain thorny topics ( e.g. secondary ports )

Better be careful with this one - the root (ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός) is the Greek word for a man (as opposed to a woman), so in fact the word "androgogy" means "Teaching of men", not "Teaching of adults". I can't think of a Greek word meaning "Adult" without indicating male or female, but in fact I'd assume that the word for teaching without the prefix would default to meaning "teaching an adult".

 

[oldbilbo]

Hmm. I believe I have not yet sinned by any form of 'gender offense', 'cos I tries 'ard not to waken the snoozing PC dragons, and utilise wherever poss. a 'non-gender-specific'

However, lest one has erred and offended, might one 'umbly refer the honourable gentlepersonage to the source of one's quotation, the ubiquitous Wikipedia...?

 

[snowleopard]

Tim Bartlett book is very good too, I reckon.

Does it explain what documents you need for going to France?

 

[Daydream believer]

Hmm. I believe I have not yet sinned by any form of 'gender offense', 'cos I tries 'ard not to waken the snoozing PC dragons, and utilise wherever poss. a 'non-gender-specific'

However, lest one has erred and offended, might one 'umbly refer the honourable gentlepersonage to the source of one's quotation, the ubiquitous Wikipedia...?

Who actually determines whether the information on Wikipedia is actually correct --- The contributor ??
If so, then it may be that Wikipedia is not exactly the fount of all ( correct) knowledge

 

[oldbilbo]

.....it may be that Wikipedia is not exactly the fount of all ( correct) knowledge

I've heard it said that some of the info in Wikipedia is not worth the paper it's printed on.

 

[Birdseye]

Don't u just love the RYA?

I have the sights and the passage to qualify for my Ocean exam, and so asked the RYA for back papers so I could see the level at which the written test would be set.

"Its in the syllabus", said the RYA.

No, its not. What the syllabus tells me are the subject areas, not the level at which they will be covered. Atomic theory is covered in O Level Science, but you wouldn't expect a 15 year old to answer Graduate level questions.

So I'm stuck. I don't want to spend five days learning how to use a Sextant and reduce sights (things I know already) just so I can avoid the written test, but have no idea what level the paper is set at so can't easily revise for the written test.

Every competent examination body publishes back or sample question sets for their examinations. The RYA do it for their Restricted Radio Certification (though the book has some startling errors, like not including the position of the distressed vessel in its Mayday Relay example). If the RYA expects to be taken seriously, they should do this for ALL their written tests. (Rant over).

Anyone done it? Anyone got any back papers? Can you give me some pointers? Perhaps there is an RYA Ocean examiner reading this. If so, can you help?

Richard

I did the written exam but it was an awful long time ago. I do remember that most of it was about boat management, issues from provisioning and crewing and crew management to tropical storms and how to avoid them. Presumably they have now dropped arcane things like sextants to be replaced by GPS