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This section explores how and why teaching is structured the way it is, learning styles, and evidence-based techniques, approaches, and frameworks. Understanding these concepts can help you make the most of your studies and engage more confidently with academic content.
Here’s what you’ll find:
Who am I as a learner?
Discover your learning preferences through interactive quizzes and explore models like VARK and Kolb to better understand how you absorb and process information.Why teaching is delivered a certain way
Learn about evidence-based teaching approaches like spiral learning and how they align with curriculum design and inspection frameworks such as Ofsted.Learning Theory
Dive into key educational theories such as Situated Learning Theory, Andragogy - The Adult Learning Theory, and Metacognition Theory, which underpin adult learning and health and social care education.
This section is designed to help you reflect, adapt, and thrive as an apprentice and future practitioner.
Useful links:
What type of learner am I?
What type of learner am I?
So, as you're starting your apprentice journey, do you know what type of learner you are?
By identifying your learning style, you begin to understand how you engage with information - giving you the tools to critically reflect, adapt your study techniques, and take ownership of your learning journey from the very start.
Self-reflection and self-awareness are key to becoming an effective learner.
To support this, we've created 2 interactive quizzes that help you explore your learner type, based on evidence-based learning models - the VARK cycle (Fleming & Mills, 1992) and Kolb's experiential learning cycle (2015). Descriptions of each model can be found at the start of the quiz, including instructions and scoring systems for each quiz.
These quizzes are designed to make reflection accessible and engaging, giving you a personalised starting point for developing study strategies that work for you.
Why is teaching delivered in a certain way?
Why is teaching delivered in a certain way?
Teaching methods in higher education aren’t random - they’re shaped by research, learning theory, and national standards like those set by Ofsted. Whether you're attending a lecture, workshop, or placement briefing, the way content is delivered is designed to help you build knowledge over time, apply it in practice, and reflect on your learning journey.
Spiral learning is an educational approach where key subjects are revisited multiple times throughout a module, with increasing complexity. Rather than teaching a topic once in isolation, spiral learning builds knowledge progressively, reinforcing understanding and promoting long-term retention.
Why It’s Used in Teaching?
Lectures are often structured this way to help students consolidate learning over time.
It supports differentiated learning, allowing learners to engage with content at varying levels of understanding.
It aligns with cognitive development theories, acknowledging that learners may not grasp complex ideas fully the first time.
Connection to Ofsted
Ofsted looks for evidence of a well-sequenced curriculum that enables learners to build knowledge and skills over time.
Spiral learning demonstrates intentional module design, which is a key part of Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework (EIF).
It supports Ofsted’s focus on “quality of education”, showing how teaching enables apprentices to learn and retain the information long-term.
Learning Theory
Learning Theory
Learning frameworks, approaches, and techniques provide the foundation for how education is structured and delivered. They help educators design teaching that is purposeful, inclusive, and effective - ensuring learners build knowledge in a way that is meaningful and sustainable.
For apprentices, these frameworks explain not only why teaching looks the way it does in lectures and practice settings, but also why the apprenticeship programme is structured around real-world experience, reflection, and collaboration. Understanding these principles gives you insight into your own learning process and equips you with strategies to engage confidently with both academic and practical aspects of your journey.
Watch this video to learn about Knowles' (2020) Andragogy - Adult Learning Theory.
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Andragogy - video (2).mp4Watch this video to learn about Lave & Wengers' (1991) Situated Learning Theory.
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Situated Learning Theory - video FINAL.mp4Watch this video to learn about Flavell's Metacognition Theory (2001).
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Metacognitive Strategies.mp4References
Flavell, J. H. (2001). Metacognitive aspects of problem solving. In H. J. Hartman (Ed.), The Nature of Intelligence (pp. 231–236). Routledge.
Fleming, N. D., & Mills, C. (1992). Not Another Inventory, Rather a Catalyst for Reflection. To Improve the Academy, 11(20200828). https://doi.org/10.3998/tia.17063888.0011.014
Knowles, M. S., Holton III, E. F., Swanson, R. A., & Robinson, P. A. (2020). The adult learner : The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (9th ed.). Routledge.
Kolb, D. (2015). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (2nd ed.). Pearson Education, Inc. (Original work published 1984)
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511815355
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