Tag Archives: project

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CAVSS Local Leaders Network Project

This is an ALaN Network project funded by the WA Department of Training and Workforce Development and being carried out by C Y O’Connor Institute.

The aim of the project is to create an online “course” providing information and scenarios for decision making about using CAVSS, promoting greater understanding of the CAVSS Business Rules for all managers.

Two on-line surveys, one for CAVSS managers and one for CAVSS lecturers, have been conducted and responses analysed. Responses to these survey have helped us identify the skills and knowledge that are key to undertaking the CAVSS Manager’s job

The surveys show areas of concern that can be grouped under three main issues:

  • Expecting that CAVSS will solve every problem
  • Lack of systematic process to ensure that team-teaching model is set up and then monitored
  • Failure to understand and value the skills and knowledge profile of the literacy/numeracy teacher.

CAVSS Business Rules that are most difficult to comply with are graphed below. Rule 13, Selecting teachers to deliver CAVSS, being the most difficult.

Bus Rules Graph

The surveys show we need to highlight the importance of having the right teacher… not just another vocational lecturer.

The development of the on-line course is well underway and will be trialled before launching. We are creating the course with Articulate Storyline – a rapid e-learning development tool.

Coursepics

With this tool we can create interactive content using quizzes and scenarios as well as a variety of images, video, text and audio.

Lina Zampichelli

 

 

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Community focused activities for Initial CGEA learners

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:

  • dealing with trauma and loss due to fleeing from war
  • limited literacy in their own language
  • anxiety and depression
  • separation from family members
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. Centacare Init 1

 

Centacare Init 2Centacare Init 3
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. Centacare Init 4

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:

  • Reading about what to pack in the boxes: VU21286 Engage with short simple texts to participate in the community
  • Shopping for items using a donated budget: VU21291 Recognise numbers and money in simple, highly familiar situations
  • Reading a class book about the shopping excursion: VU21286 Engage with short simple texts to participate in the community
  • Graphing amounts of money spent in each store: VU21312 Work with and interpret statistical information in simple, familiar texts
  • Volunteering at the Operation Christmas Child processing centre
  • Writing a recount about the volunteering experience: VU21290 Create short simple texts to participate in the community
  • Writing a thank you email to the Processing Centre Supervisor: VU21290 Create short simple texts to participate in the community

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

 

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PD coming up and continuing April 2014

PD within the WA ALaN network

The face-to-face Collaborative Numeracy workshops with Beth Marr are continuing on 14-15 May. Beth is also delivering an in house program for Centacare during April and plans are under way for another two day workshop soon.

The “What’s in a number!” project continues and is due to finish in May. Checkout the recent posts on “Estimation”  then on  “Percentages”   and the most recent on “Exponents” and catch up with any others you have missed. Don’t forget to check out the comments and feedback and add your own!

Other PD

Coming up from IBSA/Velg are “Foundation Skills Workshops for VET Practitioners”  the Perth one is on June 4th – NOTE that the target audience for these is NOT LLN/Foundation Skills specialists but VET practitioners. However they may be relevant for others in your organisation. As we already use CAVSS here in WA to support vocational learners through team teaching, these workshops which have a focus on identifying foundation skills in units and then using the Foundation Skills (FSK) Training Package are perhaps less relevant to our VET practitioners than they would be elsewhere.

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Supporting effective delivery of foundation skills to Indigenous, remote and disadvantaged learners

We are looking for input from foundation skills (LLN and Employability Skills) practitioners into the “Technology Innovations Applied Research Project” that CY O’Connor Institute is currently undertaking (funded through the National Vocational E-Learning Strategy (NVELS)).

The project focus is on building the e-capability of the VET workforce to identify and address the foundation skills needs of disadvantaged learners.

Natures window distance

One of the main outputs from the project will be a “toolkit” for foundation skills teachers working with the identified learner groups that will provide them with:

  • A framework of e-pedagogy outlining the key principles for teaching foundation skills to disadvantaged learners in VET
  • Advice on the use of selected media and technological applications for foundation skills training for disadvantaged learners
  • Good practice examples of the use of e-learning technologies for the development of foundation skills for the identified equity groups
  • Case studies of ‘e-mbedding’ foundation skills in vocational training for the identified equity groups
  • E-teaching strategies that will enable foundation skills teachers to ‘deliberately’ introduce and teach the literacies, numeracies and foundation skills that are taken for granted within the vocational course.

We are seeking examples and ideas from foundation skills (LLN/Employability Skills) practitioners to help us create a useful resource for others. So please, please share if you use/have used any e-tools and strategies with your students.

We are looking particularly for:

  • case studies of how you/your students have used technology to support LLN/Employability Skills development, in a vocational or general education context;
  • information about any media/technology/apps you have trialled/used and how successful these were (especially if you had any bandwidth – speed – issues)
  • any strategies you have used to introduce vocationally specific foundation skills to students

Please add a comment here on the post or visit the Google group and comment on the post there so that we can contact you for more information. It is so important that we have input from as many people as possible so that we can create a terrific toolkit!

Sharon Ross, Lina Zampichelli, Jo Hart (CY O’Connor Institute)

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“What’s In A Number?” – about the project

Are you thinking of collecting evidence for the Voc. Grad. Cert. in Adult Language Literacy and Numeracy practice (TAE70111)?  This Numeracy 2013 mini project funded by the Department of Training and Workforce Development may help you gather evidence towards “Analyse and apply adult numeracy teaching practices” (TAELLN702A) – a core unit in the Certificate. The project will also give you opportunities to strengthen and affirm your own skills in numeracy and maths. This might be particularly helpful for you if your focus has been mainly on teaching literacy because the Certificate requires an ability to address numeracy as well as literacy.

numbers_1_200

If you have you ever looked at a number and wanted to run away screaming or been filled with dread at words like BODMAS or rational numbers? If you know students who have those fears? There is some good news: this professional development project is aimed at eliminating, or at least reducing, your number stress and helping you reduce your students’ terror as well as collecting evidence towards  TAELLN702A. We have had our first webinar but there is still plenty of time for you to get involved because the project runs for almost a year.

The activities will be built around your needs. There will be plenty of chances to ask about any areas of numeracy and mathematics that puzzle you, as well as opportunities to practice delivering your new-found learning to your peers in a positive and supportive atmosphere.

All your questions will be welcomed. It does not matter if the question is as basic as “What is a number?” or as advanced as “How do you derive the differential of this function from first principles?”, though it is perhaps unlikely that people will want to go that far advanced.

Watch out for “What’s In A Number?” posts on the ALaN Google Group for discussions and information about webinars and participation activities.

Phil Hart

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LLNP Innovative and Research Project Funding round

The Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (DIISRTE) through the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program (LLNP) is seeking submissions for grant funding to undertake innovative pilots or demonstration models and/or research based projects that lead to an enhanced delivery of language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) training for adults.

If you are interested in increasing the English language, literacy and numeracy skills of adult Australians, have experience in the field of adult literacy, or would like to pilot projects that can be replicated and sustainable then your submission is welcome.

Submissions for the LLNP Innovative and Research Project funding close COB 31 August 2012.