Recognition of informal learning

ELD (experience, learning, description) is a method for dialogue and reflection that is used for the recognition of competence. The Swedish Centre for International Youth Exchange (CIU) created ELD in order to help participants in international youth exchanges making the bridge between their experiences and their competence.

Who are the ELD-users?

In 2007 CIU carried out a pilot test of ELD with financial support from The Swedish Inheritance Fund. The pilot test included ten organisations and schools. The following year the pilot test expanded and ELD was successfully used within: labour market guidance, popular education, international work for development and the Swedish Gymnastics Federation.

How ELD is done

The basis of ELD is the participant’s description of situations that occurred during a project. Therefore, the participant documents by keeping a journal, a blog, a scrapbook or in any other way. The documentation always contains suggestions on skills, knowledge and/or attitudes that were demonstrated during the situation. Regularly, the participant meets up with an ELD-trained facilitator to discuss the documented situations. For these discussions CIU has created a Template of Conversation with a number of questions. Other practices of self-assessment and feedback might also be added to the ELD-process.

The Letter of Competence

A Letter of Competence completes ELD. In order to describe his/her participation and learning during the project the participant chooses up to five, of those previously discussed, situations. On the Letter of Competence the facilitator describes the activities in which the competence was demonstrated.

The value of ELD

Through ELD the participant expresses his/her experiences as competence and explores
his/her “know-how”. A project that introduces ELD creates a dialogue about learning and gets a common structure for guidance. The Letter of Competence is a standardised template for a certificate with specific examples of when a person used a certain competence.

Become an ELD faciltator!

CIU offers one-day trainings in which you and your colleagues become ELD facilitators. Read more about our trainings on the web site: eldkompetens.se

For more information please contact:

Ylva Persson
+46 8 410 513 63
E-mail: ylva.persson@ciu.se

 

Senast ändrad 2010-06-15 av Henry Ohlsson

 

Bookmark and Share