Meet Kwashie, Engineering Technical Knowledge Tutor
What do you find most rewarding about teaching and mentoring apprentices, and can you share a specific success story?
What I find rewarding about teaching and mentoring apprentices is when I see them working in the industry and putting what they have learnt in College into practice. A specific success story was when one of my apprentices came to thank me because he/she just passed an interview and it was due to the way I taught him/her how to present his/her work and to be professional in whatever he/she does.
What specific subjects do you teach for IPS?
I teach Electrical Technology, Electrical and Electronic Principles, Electrical Fault Finding and Engineering Design
Describe your teaching style in a few words?
My teaching style is learner centred as I encourage learners to do most of the work on their own. In my teaching I ensure learners carry out research to enable to be able to search for relevant information. I do not only teach, but encourage learners to acquire soft skills, such as working in group, presentation of work and be punctual to lessons.
What challenges have you encountered in your role as a trainer, and how do you address them to support apprentice success?
The challenges I have encountered in my role as a trainer are when learners lack confidence to complete tasks or feel they cannot be successful. I address these challenges by encouraging them to have a positive mindset and put in extra work to complete their tasks and give them examples of people who used to be apprentices like them who had it tough but by deeds of hard work and consistency they have risen to the top. Another challenge is when learners do not recognise that being an apprentice is just like someone working in the industry, hence they need for them to behave professionally in whatever they do at IPS. I overcome this lack of professionalism by ensuring that learners adhere to IPS rules and regulations.
What inspired you to pursue this path, and what have been some notable experiences or achievements in this role?
My journey as an Engineering lecturer/Trainer at IPS International was inspired by my lecturing at Ashford College where I taught both Apprentices and mainstream. During that period I noticed that most of the apprentice learners had been out of education for a long and needed someone to give them extra help, which I was able to provide for them. Seeing that I was getting on well with them I thought it wise to move to an organisation that trained solely apprentices, where I could impact my knowledge. Naturally, I am an individual who likes doing things with my hands, so I enjoy seeing people doing things with their hands, such as filing and turning in the workshop, this also reminds me of my days in secondary school when I had to do metal work, which was difficult me as by then I was very cute and did not have the strength to cut or file metals.
You were a School Governor for a number of years. How did this experience influence your views on education and community engagement? What lessons have you taken from your time as a School Governor that you apply in your current roles?
Yes, I was a school Governor for a few years, and as a school Governor, I experienced that most parents especially those from ethnic minority and low-income backgrounds did not bother to find out about their children's performance at school. They, therefore, do not engage with the school, thus not attending parent evening and school activities that support the well-being of their children. This sometimes affects children's performance as such parents do not know anything about the level of attainment of their children and, hence, do not give them any support. This sometimes allows their children to be vulnerable to bullying and joining county-line groups, because of a lack of monitoring from parents. The lessons I took from my time as a school Governor that apply in my current roles are that different learners have different learning needs and styles. One yardstick should not be used to measure all children when it comes to teaching and learning. Because various factors play roles in the teaching and learning of children. Learners come to College from different backgrounds and academic levels. All learners have unique potential, which needs to be nurtured. Parents should be more involved in the education of their children.
How would your peers and learners describe you?
I think my peers and learners would both describe me as resourceful and knowledgeable. I am someone who helps them solve problems. For example, I suggested creating an extension for learners who fell behind in submitting their work if they had a reasonable reason. This also enables tutors to track learners who are consistently falling behind.