I found a particularly useful web site dealing with learning contracts
in an academic setting. I believe the templates and guidelines for
completing them will be of considerable assistance to you.
"2003-2004 FIPP Guidelines: Learning Contract Ideas" Maricopa Center
for Learning & Instruction
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/fipp-old/contract.php
"A Learning Contract is a plan in which you describe what you need to
learn, specify how the learning experiences will take place, and
indicate what will be produced as evidence that the learning has
occurred. Your FIPP Learning Contract should be based on your personal
and professional needs for development as well as on the requirements
for the FIPP program or your college. It should include a range of
learning activities that will help you grow beyond your existing
skills and knowledge, and it should be flexible to allow for changes
in ideas or opportunities."
Your learning contract consists of four items: learning goals and
objectives, methods of evaluation, a mentoring plan, and a learning
action plan. Learning goals and objectives focus on long-term and
short-term accomplishments. As a nurse, a long-term accomplishment
would be to be certified as a particular type of nurse and/or working
as a nurse in a particular setting, such as a clinic or hospital.
Shorter-term goals are more tactical in nature and provide you with
the elements you need to achieve long-term goals. These could include
taking particular classes, passing specific tests, or writing a paper
on a particular topic.
Methods of evaluation allow you to track your progress towards your
short-term and long-term goals. These could include grades and test
scores, feedback from peers and mentors, papers written, and methods
of self-assessment like a journal. Your mentoring plan, which can be
extremely useful, lists who will be available to assist you in
tackling your goals and objectives and providing a source of
evaluation. Finally, the learning action plan breaks down each of the
objectives into activities that are required to accomplish them, dates
by which they will be achieved, and resources required to complete
them. For example, to achieve a particular certification, you might
have to take a series of classes with specific start and end dates,
study for a period of time prior to taking an examination, and then
schedule and take the examination.
Some templates for creating a learning contract, a learning action
plan, and a final report on the learning contract, along with an
example learning action plan, can be found at "2003-2004 FIPP
Application Materials" Maricopa Center for Learning & Instruction
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/fipp-old/apply.php.
Another source of information about learning contracts is located at
"AUSTRALIAN ADVANCED TRAINING PROGRAM" Australasian Faculty of Public
Health Medicine (March 2002)
http://www.racp.edu.au/afphm/advtrain/contract.htm. The web site
discusses learning contracts in the context of a training program in
public health medicine.
Additional useful information to guide you in the creation of a
learning contract is located at "Learning Contracts"
http://www-distance.syr.edu/contract.html
Sincerely,
Wonko
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