Introduction
If you are approaching a new subject as a support teacher in secondary vocational education (ISCED 3), some topics might be new for you as much as they are for your learners. Certain topics even require extra efforts because of the influence that is projected by television programmes and through social media, like for example – in a catering institute – the comparisons done between working in the ‘dining room’ and the ‘kitchen’ of a restaurant. These dilemmas are important to address in vocational training.

Discuss expectations /share a learning strategy
Discuss with your learners the expectations of the training, your expectations and the learners expectations. Share a strategy to learn together and to learn from each other. Treat your learners as equals in the teaching/learning process. Concerning the activity, a teacher reported: “The girl I worked with was not only a student but in some aspects she could teach me something of that subject”.

Practice with digital skills
Use and practice with digital skills.
Digital tools can be very useful to support the learning process, since they can be used to show experiences (videos, pictures, audio files, etc..) on specific practices and also, as in this activity, to record learners’ experiences, allowing to focus on specific features and to review the practice with a self-reflection perspective.
Learners in vocational training, in fact, learn the most through practice, by doing. Repeating the practice is very important and in cases of success positive reinforcement is very motivating to the learners. In the case of learners with disabilities, showing movies, pictures, and videos can be helpful especially if they are taken/compiled by the learners. Encourage them to document their work, their “colleagues” and their “workplace” with a camera and/or a smartphone or other device. Share these with their parents to motivate and encourage them further, both in and out of school time.

Assessment process
Continuous assessment is important in order to personalize the learning according to the needs of the learners. Use different assessment methods.