About PLAR Practitioners
Across Canada, there are people applying PLAR knowledge and skills in human resources, in community agencies, in professional associations and regulatory bodies and in academic settings. In Canada's 20-year history of developing and implementing a wide range of Prior Learning Assessment and Qualifications Recognition services, the field of practice and the role of the practitioners have been evolving.

Mohawk College, in partnership with RFL has developed an online resource for individuals currently applying PLAR knowledge and skills and for those interested in learning more. Information and links are provided about PLAR practitioner competencies, self-assessment of practitioner competencies, stories about practice and lessons learned as well as opportunities for self-improvement and interaction among PLAR practitioners and proponents.

We hope this will be the start of national discussions on PLAR Practitioner Competencies, and invite you to participate in feedback and discussion on the RFL Discussion Forum. Veterans and newcomers in the practice of PLAR can learn from each other. RFL welcomes all to share their learning from experience and engage in a dialogue to improve the practice of PLAR in their organizations and institutions.

Learning
As a PLAR practitioner, it is essential that you understand the nature of learning. This includes:

• recognizing the differences between learning and experience
• appreciating the relationship of prior and future learning

PLAR looks at learning, not just experience. What's the difference?
Learning takes place through different kinds of experiences such as working, training, reading, traveling, community involvement and family responsibilities but learning does not come automatically with experience and may differ from person to person.

Learning can involve the acquisition of

• skills
• knowledge
• attitudes such as self-reliance, collaboration, concern for quality

In PLAR, it's the learning that counts. Not only that, what's important is whether the knowledge or skills people have learned up to the present time are relevant to a particular educational credential, specific workplace training requirements, or a trade or occupational standard.

PLAR Premises
Through PLAR you can help adult learners identify, organize and describe the things they know and can do. These are some important assumptions that support PLAR practice:

• learning that takes place through experience in many settings outside classrooms.
• prior learning can be assessed in a reliable and valid manner
• prior learning should be assessed in the workplace, in educational institutions and by credentialing bodies so that adult learners can avoid the repetition of what they already know, save money and concentrate on what they need to learn

PLAR Principles
PLAR is perfectly compatible with the maintenance of standards for education and training and can increase workers' productivity by helping them achieve standards and concentrate their efforts on new learning. Here are some principles to guide your practice:

• content specialists determine competency levels and award recognition and credit
• credit should be awarded in the context of the currency and relevance of the documented learning
• assessment methods should be reasonable and fit both the learner and the learning to be measured. The methods used must be valid in the context in which they are applied and be implemented in a fair and consistent way
• evaluation policies should be documented, clearly articulated and available to the public

To understand the nature and process of prior learning assessment in your setting, you will need to know:

• how PLAR is administered, who is involved, what are their roles
• the policies and criteria for learning recognition
• acceptable forms of documentation and evidence of learning
• how to help learners apply the criteria in documenting their learning

PLAR Processes
There are two main processes to help learners assess and gain recognition for their learning.

1. Portfolio development
A Portfolio is an organized collection of materials which records and verifies an adult's learning achievements and relates them to the requirements of an education or training program, a work standard, or a professional qualification.

Portfolio development produces a valuable product but the process is also important in helping learners analyze, understand and be able to explain to others what they know and can do as well as what they still need to learn.

Portfolios are developed and owned by the learners who create them and therefore each individual ultimately decides what to include. Normally there are three essential portfolio components:

• a paper outlining the learner's education and career goals
• learning outcomes and competency statements
• documentation verifying the learning claimed

Portfolios may also include:

• a chronological record of significant learning experiences
• a life history paper
• a resume
• formal and informal records of past learning achievements

The process of portfolio development can provide a structured opportunity for learners to review and evaluate their past experiences and the learning which has resulted from them. Once it is complete, the portfolio provides up-to-date information and evidence of learning for the learner to use in a variety of work and educational settings.

2. The Challenge Process
The second process available to learners is the challenge process. Challenge processes differ amongst educational institutions and regulatory bodies, but usually include one or more of the following:

• assessment of educational documents
• standardized tests and program reviews of employer-based training
• product assessment
• interviews and oral exams
• performance testing and demonstrations
• essays
• challenge exams
• self assessment

It is important that learners consult the credentialing body from which they want recognition to determine what is expected in the way of a challenge.

Now you might like to: Check RFL PLAR Contacts for institutions and organizations that offer the PLAR process and see what they have to say about it. Read our FAQs for practitioners and for learners. Then add your own! Read our RFL News and Events for workshops and other opportunities to learn more about PLAR and PLAR practice.

Coming up on RFL: Profiles of PLAR practitioners and their experiences with PLAR assessment will be coming to you soon in the Profiles section on the practitioners' side of the RFL website. We are also developing profiles of learners who have participated in the PLAR process and you will find these soon under Profiles on the learner side of the RFL site. Do you know of a practitioner or a learner we should profile? Please contact us if you do! If you are an RfL member, use the Content section of MyRFL. If you are not a member, select "Contact" above.