Some of you may be interested in this recently completed Master’s Thesis, Just_Whose_Story_is_it. You will recognise the human subjects of the research in the profiles of some of your students. The research argues for socially just schools and illustrates how some students are positioned so that they do not receive just treatment.
Margaret McHugh
The NCVER is conducting a survey on behalf of the National Foundation Skills Strategy (NFSS) Project.
If you teach or help people develop their English language, literacy, numeracy or employability skills they need your help!
There have already been 586 valid survey responses submitted – an unprecedented response rate according to Michelle Circelli at NCVER. Responses from WA comprise around 8% of the total received so far.
The project team are excited about the strong response and eager to gather more evidence and information. Please complete a short survey at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/foundationskillssurvey
Margaret McHugh
WA Adult Literacy Council 2015 State Conference at Central Institute of Technology on 16th and 17th April, 2015. The conference is titled Great Expectations: literacy, the individual and the economy.
ACER Research Conference 2015 – Learning assessments: Designing the future. 16-18 August, Crown, Southbank, Melbourne
A conference to connect teachers, education leaders and policy makers with the latest assessment research to inform teaching and learning.
ACAL National conference 2015 – Resilience, Risk, Preservation – held held at the Adelaide Zoo in Adelaide on 24th and 25th September 2015.
Teach Me Grammar is available again for next year if you are interested in Teach Me Grammar checkout the GoogleGroup or visit Teach Me Grammar Program 2015 to get more information and the application form.
Collaborative numeracy: working together to build numeracy skills in adults is a program of professional development for teaching numeracy to adults and young people in vocational training and other adult learning contexts. For more information on this and application forms see the article that follows this one.
Applications need to be in by 5pm Monday 19th January 2015
In 2014 Beth Marr delivered a series of extended workshops for adult numeracy teachers in Western Australia. This very successful program will be offered again in 2015. You are encouraged to apply, but numbers are strictly limited. Applications will be assessed once the application period closes on 19th January 2015.
See Collaborative Numeracy 2015 information for applicants for more information and download the Application Collaborative Numeracy 2015
The program consists of three workshops, each of a day and a half, scheduled for February, March and April. You are required to attend all three of the workshops.
Previous participants have said:
“ It was pure luxury to be able to explore and experience cooperative logic.”
“Every single thing we did was useful. It extended my thinking, knowledge and strategies. Loved it.”
“Making sense of algebra.”
“Hands on is a much more interesting and engaging way to include students with different abilities.”
“Making learning social.”
Margaret McHugh
ACAL Keynote Professor Stephen Reder
Professor Stephen Reder’s research takes a longitudinal perspective and examines how formal education programs fit into the lives of adult learners. This approach reverses the usual approach to educational research and program evaluation which generally focuses on the way that students fit into programs.
Professor Reder’s Keynote address at the recent ACAL conference in the Gold Coast can be found in PowerPoint form
Here is the website for the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL)
The LSAL research followed almost 1000 early school leavers aged from 18 – 44 at the beginning of the study. The research analyses the relationship between adults’ participation in formal programs and their self-study efforts and what happens to their literacy scores (a proficiency measure) and the wider impacts on their life-long and life-wide literacy development and use.
The research is highly technical, but some of the key findings include:
Margaret McHugh
Surveys give us the opportunity to input into future developments, so if you can find the time it is always worth completing any that are relevant. Yours could be the response that tips the balance towards a change that you favour rather than one you will hate! There are two surveys seeking input at the moment – one is a local WA survey for a CAVSS Local Leaders project and the other is a national NCVER survey relating to delivery of Foundation Skills.
1. Please help by completing the CAVSS Teacher’s Survey
The Department of Training and Workforce Development has funded this project to produce resources that will provide additional support to CAVSS Managers. When you respond to this survey, you will be helping us:
There are two Surveys: one for CAVSS Managers and one for CAVSS staff. We would really like it you can find time to fill in a survey.
Please complete the survey by 14 November 2014
Link to CAVSS Teachers’ survey – please pass this on to any other CAVSS staff who may not have access to the GoogleGroup or this newsletter
https://www.surveymonkey.com/
Link to CAVSS Managers’ survey – please pass this on to any CAVSS managers/potential CAVSS managers who may not have access to the GoogleGroup or this newsletter
https://www.surveymonkey.com/
NCVER has released a survey for Foundation Skills. The information you provide will be invaluable in shaping the future of Foundation Skills, so please take a moment to read the information and fill out the questionnaire. This is part of the National Foundation Skills Strategy Project. Further information and the survey are available at “Who is delivering Foundation Skills”
The LLN Practitioner Scholarships Programme is a competitive initiative. The Programme provides scholarships of up to $5000 to individuals seeking to undertake approved study towards an adult LLN qualification. Up to 50 scholarships are awarded annually.
Applicants must successfully complete and submit their application on the Department’s online application system by midnight Wednesday, 12 November 2014, AEDT
More information and the online application can be found at the “Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practitioner Scholarships Programme“
The word is itself a contraction of “Information graphics” and describes a visual representation of data, information or knowledge. Wikipedia has a comprehensive article on Infographics.
Infographics are a great way of sharing information in a visual way that makes it easier for most people to understand than a written text. For example NCVER have produced a range of infographics about the VET Sector including this one:
This infographic from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research www.ncver.edu.au
We can use infographics with students in a variety of ways some that I have used in the past include asking students to: explain in writing or orally parts of an infographic; compare two infographics with similar topics; find and critique infographics relating to their own interests; research information/find data and produce an illustrative infographic. For me infographics are a good way of integrating numeracy and literacy.
There are lots of online tools that you and your students can use to create infographics these include: “easelly”, “infogram”, “Piktochart” and “visually”. Most of these need you to sign up to use them and they have both free and paid versions. However you don’t have to use one of the online tools, it is possible to make excellent infographics using Powerpoint. Using Powerpoint makes it easy to incorporate graphs/charts created with Excel.
The two infographics below were made in easel.ly and Powerpoint for some PD I delivered a while ago.
Participants all preferred the one on the right created using Powerpoint. They found it more engaging because of the graphics used and the greater use of colour. I also found the Powerpoint one much easier to create, this was partly because I am very familiar with Powerpoint. However I also found that consistently selecting and moving shapes to the right places more difficult with the other application.
The Centacare Employment and Training course “Skills for Education and Employment” (SEE) caters for adult learners from a wide range of ages and diverse backgrounds. Currently many of our clients include people with limited schooling who may be learning to read or write for the first time.
Clients attend classes seeking to improve their English and obtain the skills and language necessary to find a job. Their learning is often affected by factors such as:
| Many students, despite having perhaps lived in Australia for some time, do not interact with those from outside their own language groups other than during their time in class. Our trainers often develop learning programmes that aim to enhance learners’ community involvement and help them to interact with a wider range of cultures. |  |
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| One of these programmes enabled students to work alongside Samaritan’s Purse, a community organisation that is responsible for “Operation Christmas Child”. Operation Christmas Child delivers shoeboxes full of essential items and gifts to children living in impoverished conditions. |  |
The programme consisted of a number of activities and stages. The teacher created tasks to cover aspects of the Initial and Introductory CGEA curriculum. The activities included:
Students’ recounts were then compiled and displayed in the lunch-room. This gave the students the opportunity to have their work ‘published’ for other classes to view and provided a conversation point around the coffee table at lunch time.
The project was a great success as it enabled students to contribute something towards the community, interact with new people and work together as a team. The supervisor at the processing plant was kind enough to respond to each student’s email, giving them a sense of pride in their efforts.
Other classes have participated in a variety of community projects which I am happy to write about in the future.
If you wish to know further details about this or other projects we have done, feel free to ask questions through the Google Groups CGEA Network.
Claire Willis