Compare traditional teacher-led lecturing with a student-led, research-based approach to improve knowledge retention and assessment performance among T-Level learners.

I am a Further education teacher who teaches within the building services department for Electrical Installation. In previous years we have taught diplomas and technical qualifications to full-time learners this has been very teacher-led and has been in the form of the tutor lecturing to the learners with a small area of resources and worksheets. We have found in previous years that learners have switched off and struggled to retain information from theory lessons as they expect to be involved in a more practical subject throughout the year.

During assessments and progress checks, we have discovered that learners struggle to retain knowledge and be successful in showing us what they are capable of without intervention of heavy recapping, and theory lessons and in turn struggle during endpoint assessments.

The learners each year do not seem to be able to provide sound knowledge or show the ability to complete tasks as simple as writing 300-word reflections to support their assessments. With the introduction of T-Levels into building services this year the learners need to be held to a much higher standard. The learners will have to prove their knowledge on many occasions in different formats and be capable of being able to apply their knowledge to projects, presentations, and written examinations.

I have chosen to adapt the learning for T-level learners to incorporate a more student-led approach so the learners can develop the necessary skills to aid them in the successful completion of the course.

The action research undertaken will give evidence and hopefully show that by reducing the amount of time the learners are lectured during theory sessions they will retain better knowledge and gain important skills outside of the curriculum area whilst applying researched knowledge guided by tutors to produce projects that hit the required criteria of the course.