2011 conf pogram booklet

ACAL 34th Annual Conference 2011 LiterACy on the mAp 1

p r o g r a m co n t e n t sA b o u t A C A L ?

acknowledgements 2

welcome 3

useful information 4

entertainment 4

program overview 5

keynote speaker biographies 6

concurrent sessions overview 8

moving around the conference 11

abstracts & presenter biographies 12

ACAL 34th Annual Conference

Literacy on the map:

Common Visions, Different paths

27-28 September 2011

Victoria University, City Flinders St Campus,

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Australian Council for Adult Literacy (ACAL) is a not-for-profit association run by a volunteer committee and is registered as an incorporated association. ACAL is widely recognised as the peak body for adult literacy and numeracy in Australia and advocates for the provision of quality and equitable adult literacy and numeracy provision for all Australians. We work with other organisations on issues of mutual concern to build understanding of, and good policy for, adult literacy and numeracy education. ACAL’s annual national conference is an opportunity for all stakeholders, both individuals and organisations, to come together to access new information, confirm good practice, renew their professional networks and converse with one another on a range of themes and issues.

LiterACy on the mAp ACAL 34th Annual Conference 20112

a c k n ow l e d g e m e n t s

t h a n k s

We would like to express our

thanks to the keynote speakers

and other presenters for so

generously sharing their expertise

and experience.

This year the ACAL and VALBEC

committee have decided that

in lieu of gifts to presenters, a

$2,000 donation will be made to

CARE Australia for their women’s

literacy programs.

CARE’s education, vocational,

literacy and numeracy training

programs are helping to break

intergenerational cycles of

illiteracy and poverty. CARE is

removing barriers to education

and training for women and girls,

which is vital to the success of all

development efforts.

ACAL will also make a donation to

The Big Issue.

C o nfe r e n ce p l a n n i n g

The planning and development of the ACAL 2011 conference was overseen by

the VALBEC and ACAL Executive Committees.

The responses to the call for papers were reviewed by a panel drawn from ACAL

and affiliated state councils.

Geri Pancini Australian Council of Adult Literacy

Jenni Anderson Australian Council of Adult Literacy & Tasmania Council

of Adult Literacy

Lindee Conway Australian Council of Adult Literacy

Pauline O’Maley Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council

Lynne Matheson Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council

We thank members of ACAL and affiliated state councils for all their work in

bringing this conference to fruition.

S p o n s o r s

n Adult, Community and Further Education Board and

Learn Local education and training

n Victoria University

n Swinburne University

n Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council

n Construction and Property Services Industry

Skills Council

n Bookery Education

Visual concept for conference; design

and production of print material by

Grey Matter www.greymatter.net.au

Conference organised by Don

MacDowall and Associates

www.macdowall.com.au


w e l co m e

Welcome to ACAL’s 34th national conference Literacy on the Map: Common Paths, Different Visions which VALBEC

(Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council Inc.) is proud and delighted to host in 2011.

Each year the ACAL Conference provides an opportunity to articulate, demonstrate and celebrate the vitality and reach of

the adult literacy, language and numeracy field in Australia. The conference embodies and demonstrates the importance

placed on further developing a literate and numerate society that values lifelong learning and community connection. This

conference provides an opportunity for practitioners, program coordinators, managers, researchers, and policy makers from

all over Australia to come together to learn from, and with each other. It provides a space to engage in activities and hear

about creative practices from the varying and changing contexts in which adult language, literacy and numeracy education

is taking place.

The conference title, Literacy on the Map: Common Visions, Different Paths points to the diversity of adult literacy and

numeracy learners and programs, and their place in the landscape of social and economic development. Putting Literacy on

the Map is about raising awareness at all levels, including government and community, of the learning needs of Australian

adults to better manage the demands of life and work in the 21st century.

The conference theme signals the potential for exploring what draws us together and the many ways in which learning

is achieved. Common paths reminds us that adult learning is a journey that is most successful when the learner is at

its centre and is provided with the scope to negotiate learning in a supportive, collaborative and inclusive teaching and

learning environment. The many different needs and aspirations of adult learners determine the nature and extent of

learning. Finding a pathway to future learning and development remains a universal goal.

Different visions reminds us that adult literacy and numeracy education is as much about building the individual as it

is about building communities, expanding social inclusion and developing a more skilled workforce. The educational

environments for adult learning and transmitting knowledge and skills are diverse and changing. Adult literacy and

numeracy practitioners continue to deal with changing student profiles, uncertain workplace conditions, the demands of

accredited and non-accredited curricula, accountability requirements and shifts in government policies. The terrain changes,

however practitioners continue to find multiple ways to grapple with the many challenges along the road.

The conference program provides something for everyone to stimulate discussion and support ways of achieving outcomes

for students, communities, families and government. The broad range of workshops and keynote speakers provides a

practical demonstration of the diverse spaces and places in which literacy and numeracy occur.

The conference considers specific programs, such as those that focus on cross sectoral partnerships, families, new and

long term migrant groups and Indigenous Australians, as well as workplace settings and a range of other contexts across

Australia and New Zealand. We hope that participants will leave the conference energised and motivated with practical

ideas and a clearer vision of what it means to keep adult literacy and numeracy on ‘everyone’s map’.

We would like to acknowledge the many people who have so generously contributed to this conference. Our thanks go to

the VALBEC and ACAL committee members, who contributed in many ways to the planning and conduct of the conference.

A big thank you to Don MacDowall for his many skills and his attention to detail in all the behind the scenes activity that

make for a successful conference.

Finally, we would like to thank everyone for their support and for coming to the conference – particularly those of you who

have travelled long distances. We trust you will enjoy the ACAL conference in Melbourne, City of Literature, the world’s

Most Liveable City, and home of great coffee!!!

Lynne Matheson Geri Pancini

Conference Convenor (VALBEC) ACAL President


e n t e r t a i n m e n t u s e f u l i n f o

J a n e C o ke r

Jane Coker has devised and led training

for community singing leaders for

Community Music Victoria since 2002.

She has worked with people across the

state who want to see music making

happening in their communities.

Most of these people do not consider

themselves singers or musicians. They

just have a passion for the power of

group music making and a desire to see

it happen locally. Jane is also a singer and

musician who plays guitar, mandolin and

saxophone.

At the opening of the conference she will

bring us songs which have a relevance to

our theme of maps and pathways.

B a i r b r e W i l l i a m s

Bairbre has twenty plus years’

experience in education that extends

across state borders. She is currently

a Senior Educator for Adult Pathways

at Bendigo Regional Tafe. Alongside

her work in education, Bairbre has

worked tirelessly as an entertainer.

Her extensive list of performances

include performing and co-ordinating

at the “Wind festival” in Kakadu

national park, leading many major

events and civic ceremonies, plus

many solo performances in Darwin,

more recently in Castlemaine, and

treading the boards in amateur

theatre across Victoria.

pa r k v i l l e Q u a r t et

The Parkville Ensemble was formed

in 1999 to perform chamber music

for the pleasure of musicians and

audience alike. The ensemble has

performed a series in Parkville since

then, and a series in Cape Patterson

since 2005. Its members perform

with the Melbourne Symphony

Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria.

Roger Young, violin; Philippa West,

violin; Jason Bunn, viola; Rohan de Korte, cello

n et wo r k i n g

At the end of the day the VU bar will be open for drinks and light

refreshments. Take in the wonderful city views on the balcony and catch

up with friends and colleagues.

Tuesday: 5.00 – 6.30pm

C a rava n s e ra i D i n n e r

Tuesday night: 6.30 – 9.30pmThis year for something different, the conference dinner will showcase 4

restaurants in and around the CBD to give you an experience of the diverse

cuisines for which Melbourne is renowned. We hope that you will enjoy a

more intimate dining experience with your ACAL/VALBEC hosts, colleagues

and friends.

Select from:1 Italian – Café Romantica, 52 Lygon St East Brunswick.2 Vietnamese – Quan 88 Restaurant, 88 Victoria Street, Richmond.3 Chinese – Da Hu Peking Duck Restaurant, 171 Little Bourke St City.4 Greek – Stalactites, 177 – 183 Lonsdale St City.

Booking is essential so once you have made your choice put your name on

the sign up sheets at the Registration desk by 1.30pm on Tuesday.

More information with maps and directions are in your pack.

5 VICTORIA UNIVERSITY6 Flinders Street Station7 Southern Cross Station

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p r o g r a m ov e r v i e w

8.15am Registration Level 12

9.05am Welcome

Keynote: Adult literacy and numeracy as social practices: What does this mean for pedagogy? Stephen Black & Keiko Yasukawa, University of Technology Sydney

10.25am Morning Tea Level 12

11.00am11.50am

Concurrent Sessions E 50 minutes

11.00am12.50pm

Concurrent Sessions F 90 minutes

11.55am12.50pm

Concurrent Sessions G 50 minutes

1.50pm Lunch Level 12

1.55pm Music – Bairbre Williams

2.20pm Afternoon Keynote: Arch Nelson address – Pauline O’Maley, Level 12 Room 3 And 4

Close and thanks – Geri Pancini

3.15pm Refreshments and Networking time Level 12

8.00am Registration Level 12

8.45am9.05am

Music - Jane Coker, Community Music Victoria

Official Opening – Rowena Allen, ACFE Chair

Introductions – Geri Pancini, President of ACAL

Keynote: Foundation Skills for the Future – Kathryn Shugg, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Keynote: Skills for Prosperity and improving Foundation Skills – Robin Shreeve, Chief Executive of Skills Australia

Questions – convened by Geri Pancini, President of ACAL

10.55am Morning tea Level 12

11.15am12.15pm

LLN Community Educator Network Café – Michael Chalk, PRACE; Pat Grosse, Springboard raining Solutions Pty Ltd

11.30am12.20pm

Concurrent Sessions A 50 minutes

11.30pm1.15pm

Concurrent Sessions B 90 minutes

12.30pm1.20pm

Concurrent Sessions C 50 minutes

1.20pm Lunch Level 12

2.30pm Afternoon Keynote - Alan Attwood

3.10pm4.10pm

Concurrent Sessions D 60 minutes

4.14pm ACAL Annual General Meeting

5.00pm Refreshments and networking time

7.00pm Caravanserai Dinner

tUeSDAy 27th September WeDneSDAy 28th September


ke y n o t e s p e a ke r n o t e s

Kathryn Shugg, Branch Manager of the Foundation Skills Branch, in the Skills Group of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Kathryn is responsible for implementing a range of policy and program responses aimed at improving the foundation skills of adult Australians, including a suite of complementary programs targeted at key cohorts and tailored to their specific needs: the Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) Program; the Language Literacy and Numeracy Program (LLNP); the Australian Apprenticeships Access Program; Language Literacy and Numeracy Practitioner Scholarships Program; and Foundation Skills Taster Course Program. Prior to her current role, Kathryn was the Branch Manager of the DEEWR Indigenous Early Childhood Branch. Kathryn is passionate about LLN and brings to her role extensive experiences in the policy and program arenas. She has been in the public service since 1983 and has worked on a number of key policy and program initiatives in portfolios including FAHCSIA, PM&C and Attorney General’s.

Kathryn will speak on ‘Foundation Skills for the Future’

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus in Australia on improving adult foundation skills, particularly English language, literacy, numeracy and employability skills. Improving the foundation skills of adult Australians is fundamental to achieving the Government’s productivity, participation and social inclusion agendas. Additional funding has therefore been allocated to new foundation skills measures through the last two Federal Budgets. State and territory governments are also committed to improving foundation skills and some have committed significant additional investment over the last couple of years. A range of strategic policy initiatives are also being implemented nationally to help overcome systemic barriers. In her presentation, Kathryn Shugg will discuss the work that is underway at a national level, the context in which it is being progressed and the challenges we face now and into the future. n

robin Shreeve, Chief Executive of Skills Australia

Robin Shreeve has worked in the skills sector for more than 30 years, in Australia and England. He is currently the Chief Executive of Skills Australia, an independent advisory body advising the Australian Government on workforce development and workforce skill needs. Prior to this appointment, Robin was Principal of the City of Westminster College, a multi campus Further Education institution located in central London. From 1989 to 2005 Robin worked for the Department of Education and Training in New South Wales, where he was Deputy Director-General for Technical, Further

and Community Education (TAFE). From 1995 to 2000 he was Director (Principal) of the North Coast Institute of Technical and Further Education in northern New South Wales.

Robin Shreeve will speak on ‘Skills for Prosperity and improving Foundation Skills’

Australia is in a very fortunate position of strong overall economic growth and low unemployment. As a result, Australia is facing a challenge to meet the skills needs of the resources boom.

On 3 May 2011, Skills Australia launched the ‘Skills for Prosperity: a Roadmap for Vocational Education and Training’ report recommending a range of actions to ensure the nation is able to provide the vocational education and training needs of the future workforce, particularly raising workforce participation levels through up-skilling existing workers and boosting foundation skills.

The Skills for Prosperity report also puts forward recommendations that will create a simpler system, aspiring to excellence through providing diverse and relevant learning products and services, as well as enabling effective skill use and productivity.

In his presentation Robin will provide an overview of how Skills Australia will work with industry and the vocational education sector to improve education and employment options into the future. n

Alan Attwood, Editor of The Big Issue magazine

Alan Attwood was born in Scotland and immigrated to Australia with his family when he was four years old. He has worked as an abalone packer, dishwasher, schoolbook salesman and mail sorter, but mainly as a journalist, “specialising in not specialising”. In a career spanning over three decades, he has written for publications ranging from The Sunday Times, London, to Time magazine and covered events as diverse as the first free elections in South Africa, soccer in northern Greece, political intrigue in Morocco, a US Presidential campaign and four Olympic Games.

Between 1995 and 1998, he was the New York-based correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald Newspapers. He won a Walkley Award for coverage of Sport in 1998 and subsequently was a columnist for The Age. He is also the author of two published novels, Breathing Underwater and Burke’s Soldier. Since November 2006, he has been editor of The Big Issue magazine, the national, independent publication sold by street vendors throughout Australia.

Alan will speak on ‘Literacy and The Big Issue’. n


ke y n o t e s p e a ke r n o t e s

Dr Stephen Black, researcher in the Centre for Research in Learning and Change at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Stephen’s research has focused on the role of literacy and numeracy in the lives of many groups of people, including prisoners, TAFE students, local council workers, and community groups learning about health. His PhD thesis was titled Literacy as critical social practice, and much of his research has challenged the dominant constructions of literacy and numeracy represented in mainstream policy discourse. One of his current research interests focuses on integrated literacy and numeracy support in VET courses.

Stephen first began work in adult literacy and numeracy as a ‘remedial’ teacher in NSW prisons in 1980, and he has worked and researched in the field ever since that time. He was a head teacher of adult basic education in TAFE NSW for more than 20 years. Stephen is a member of the Executive of the NSW Adult Literacy & Numeracy Council, and ACAL and a member of the editorial team of the international journal, Literacy and Numeracy Studies. n

Dr Keiko yasukawa, lecturer in adult education and core member, Centre for Research in Learning and Change, University of Technology, Sydney.

Keiko coordinates and teaches in the undergraduate and postgraduate courses in adult literacy and numeracy at University of Technology Sydney. Keiko has been researching in the areas of critical numeracy and mathematics, adult literacy and numeracy teaching practices, and the social studies of mathematics. Keiko started her career in pure mathematics where she completed her doctorate. Since then her career has deviated into more ‘impure’ domains, including work in the Engineering faculty where she taught critical numeracy and literacy to engineering students and in the Adult Education program where she works currently.

She is currently completing a research project on integrated literacy and numeracy support in VET with Stephen Black. Keiko is a member of the editorial team of Literacy and Numeracy Studies, Vice-President of ACAL and President of the NSW Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council.

Stephen and Keiko will speak on ‘Adult literacy and numeracy as social practices: What does this mean for pedagogy?’

The conceptualisation of literacy and numeracy as social practices has been developing strongly in academic domains for the past twenty or more years, and yet it has generally failed to gain traction in adult literacy and numeracy policy and pedagogy. The dominant discourse on adult literacy and numeracy remains one of ‘deficit’ and ‘crisis’. The ALLS surveys

tell us how many Australians lack literacy and numeracy skills; employer groups claim poor productivity and poor safety in the workplace are the result of workers lacking literacy and numeracy skills; teachers in vocational education ‘screen’ their students for literacy and numeracy problems, and then send off those ‘in need’ to special classes in order for them to ‘catch up’. A social practices approach shifts the debate away from individuals having deficits and draws on people’s everyday literacy and numeracy practices. A social practices approach leads to a pedagogy for change rather than a pedagogy for the status quo.

In their presentation, Stephen and Keiko will draw on evidence from the literature and from their own current research on literacy and numeracy support in VET, to make the case for a social practices approach to pedagogy. n

Arch Nelson Address pauline o’maley

The Arch Nelson address is an important feature of the annual ACAL conference. Each year we pay tribute to an individual who made an enormous contribution to the community, both locally and internationally and who reached out to enrich the lives of people from many walks of life. In recognition of the outstanding contribution by Arch Nelson, a leading figure in the field of adult education is invited to give an address in his name.

We are delighted that this year’s Arch Nelson address will be presented by Pauline O’Maley who has extensive experience and expertise in literacy, language and numeracy teaching and support, in a broad range of settings with very diverse groups. Her PhD focused on the initial placement assessment of adult literacy and numeracy students and she has written extensively and presented at both VALBEC and ACAL conferences.

Pauline will use the conference theme, Literacy on the Map: common visions, different paths as a springboard to reflect on the work of adult literacy teachers over time. She will talk about the roads we have taken in adult literacy over the years, where different paths have led and continue to lead us, as well as speculating about opportunities the road ahead offers.

Pauline has recently joined Victoria University as an Educational Developer, Language, Literacy and Numeracy Strategy within the Arts, Education and Human Development faculty. Previously, Pauline worked with the Salvation Army in a range of teaching and management roles. She was involved in the development, implementation and coordination of two innovative and successful programs: More Intensive Flexible Service (MIFS) and Community Reintegration Program (CRP). Pauline is a long standing VALBEC and ACAL executive committee member, holding terms in the position of secretary for both organisations and a term as ACAL co-president (2004-2005). n

co n c u r r e n t s e s s i o n s ov e r v i e w

8 LiterACy on the mAp ACAL 34th Annual Conference 2011

TUESDAY 27th September8.00am Registration Level 12

8.45am9.05am

Music - Jane Coker, Community Music Victoria, Level 12 Room 3 and 4 Official Opening – Rowena Allen, ACFE Chair Introductions – Geri Pancini, President of ACAL Keynote: Foundation Skills for the Future – Kathryn Shugg, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Keynote: Skills for Prosperity and improving Foundation Skills – Robin Shreeve, Chief Executive of Skills Australia Questions – convened by Geri Pancini, President of ACAL


11.15 – 12.15pm LLN Community Educator Network Café Michael Chalk, PRACE; Pat Grosse, Springboard raining Solutions Pty Ltd

roomS level 12 room 2 level 9 room 926 level 12 room 4 level 9 room 904

A 11.30 – 12.20pm A1 Paddocks to pathwaysJulie Johnston, Diamond Valley Learning CentreSue Paull, Diamond Valley arning Centre

A2 Are we there yet?Jana Scomazzon, Facilitator of the ISC Foundation Skills Network on behalf of Service Skills Australia

A3 Indigenous voices: teaching us betterAlison Reedy, Charles Darwin UniversityHeleana Gulwa, Maningrida School, (NT DET)

A4 Adult numeracy teaching and learning in developing countries: lessons from Timor-LesteBeth Marr, Numeracy consultant

roomS level 12 room 3

B 11.30 – 1.15pm B1 An overview of the revised ACSF including the Pre-Level 1 supplementPhilippa McLean, Philippa McLean Consultancy


C 12.30 – 1.20pm C1 Is this a career? Women and work in the language and literacy educational sectorRuth Trenerry, Flinders University, South Australia

C2 Financial literacy as a context for strengthening literacy and numeracy for adultsJacqui Remnant, Ahikiwi Research & Consulting, New Zealand

C3 Transitioning f2f LN professional development to online blended environmentNicola McCartney, National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults, University of Waikato, NZLynette Winter, National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults, University of Waikato, NZ

C4 Numeracy - online resourcesLibby Rowswell, Swinburne University of Technology

1.20pm LUNCH Level 12

2.30pm Afternoon Keynote - Alan Attwood, Level 12 Room 3 And 4


D 3.10 – 4.10pm D1 The word nerdBronwen Hickman, Centre for Adult Education (CAE)

D2 On track: indigenous mentors providing language, literacy and numeracy learningSue Muller, The Learning Workshop

D3 The out-of-class reading of adult English language learnersKim Hastwell and Elizabeth Brugh, AUT University

D4 The object is the storyLiz Suda, Melbourne Museum

4.15pm ACAL Annual General Meeting – Level 12 Room 3

5.00pm Refreshments and networking time – Level 12

7.00pm Caravanserai Dinner. Optional, at own expense. Choose a local restaurant, may be take a tram ride, explore the city at night. Details in the Conference pack.

co n c u r r e n t s e s s i o n s ov e r v i e w 1


level 9 room 906 level 9 room 905 level 9 room 901

A5 Singing for language learningJane Coker, singer and musician, Community Music Victoria

A6 Together we do better: Building social capital through partnershipPeter Newnham, Victoria UniversityCatherine Cooney, Foundation House

A7 Health literacy as a complex practiceJudy Hunter and Margaret Franken, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato

level 9 room 904 level 9 room 926 level 9 room 901

C5 Meeting the CALD learner halfwayKonstantina (Tina) Vlahos, Preston and Reservoir Adult Community Education (PRACE)

C6 Looking beyond the results - what’s sitting behind international surveys? Lessons for teachingDave Tout, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) & MultifangledJan Hagston, Victorian Applied Learning Association (VALA) & Multifangled

C7 Remotely interesting: opportunities for VET students to strengthen the LLN skillsCatherine Ralston, Kimberley TAFE

Computer Lab level 10 room 1033 level 9 room 906 level 12 room 3 level 9 room 905

D5 Regional voices crying out to be heard!Jo Hart, CY O’Connor Institute TAFE, WA

D6 Am I job ready?Christine Tully and Vicki Doukas, Kangan Institute

D7 What happened to the professionals - professional teaching standards and the role of adult literacy and numeracy teachers working in the vocational sectorMargaret McHugh, ACALPauline O’Maley, VALBEC

D8 A bite size experience volunteering in South AfricaLeonie Francis, Riverina Institute TAFE NSW

TUESDAY 27th September

A

B

C

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co n c u r r e n t s e s s i o n s ov e r v i e w

10 LiterACy on the mAp ACAL 34th Annual Conference 2011

WEDNESDAY 28th September8.15am Registration

9.05am Welcome – Level 12 Room 3 and 4 Keynote: Adult literacy and numeracy as social practices: What does this mean for pedagogy? Stephen Black & Keiko Yasukawa, University of Technology Sydney



E 11.00 – 11.50am e1 Hard to engage learners Julie Neeson, Southern Grampians Adult EducationDr Kaye Scholfield, RMIT Melissa Collits, Project Worker

e2 Teaching outside the comfort zone: self-reflective practice in the ESL classroomMary Brooke, Pilbara TAFE

e3 Embedding numeracy into a trades courseWarren Shepheard, National Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, NZ

e4 Shape shiftingKaren Dymke, Luther College

roomS level 12 room 3 level 12 room 4

F 11.00 – 12.50pm F1 Exploring new options for professional development and skill building - support materials for TAE70110 and TAE80110 Julie Neeson, Southern Grampians Adult EducationDr Kaye Scholfield, RMIT Melissa Collits, Project Worker

F2 Wading into the reading whitespace: a literacy perspective on e-collaboration to exploit visual textsJenni Percy, Unitec Institute of Technology, NZ


G 11.55 – 12.50pm G1 Diverse environments - educational voices in the workplace Rhonda Pelletier, Fiveways Training SupportJohn Molenaar, Manufacturing Learning Victoria

G2 Helping learners understand calculations in a course: moving learners from step 4 to step 5/6 of the make sense of number progressionsJenny Amaranathan, National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults, The University of Waikato, NZ

G3 Digital literacy and future LLN provisionSue-Ellen Evans, Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council Kerry Rock, Response Training

G4 Breaking down barriersVicki Singleton and Marina Makushev, Swinburne University (TAFE)

12.50pm Lunch

1.55pm Music – Bairbre Williams

2.20pm Afternoon Keynote: Arch Nelson address – Pauline O’Maley, Level 12 Room 3 And 4Close and thanks – Geri Pancini

3.15pm Refreshments and Networking time Level 12


m ov i n g a r o u n d t h e co n f e r e n c e 1

level 9 room 905 level 9 room 906

e5 “What if your lesson was stunningly relevant?” Teaching speaking in contextLindee Conway, Community West

e6 Mapping tertiary student capabilities - shared concepts of literacy and learning Anne Taib, Victoria University

level 12 room 2 level 9 room 901

G5 Do we need a paradigm shift?Lini Kane

G6 Adult LLN on the Level - Blurring the Lines Between Community and SchoolMalcolm Lobban and Catherine Forrest, Christies Beach High School (CBHS) ACE Centre, SA

WEDNESDAY 28th September l eve l 1 2

l eve l 9

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abstracts tuesday 27th SeptemBer concurrent sessions A

A1 Level 12 Room 2 • 11.30am-12.20pm • 50 min

Paddocks to pathwaysJulie Johnston, Diamond Valley Learning Centre; Sue Paull, Diamond Valley Learning Centre

Recent housing booms have stretched the map of Melbourne into the clear skies and paddocks to the north, beyond the easy reach of community and educational services. This lack of services presents both a responsibility and an opportunity for adult community centres. But how do Adult Community Education (ACE) providers make connections in these areas? Who exactly are these new ‘settlers’? What courses will attract them to learning? What new opportunities are there for employment and what training would smooth the pathway? Current data reveals that a significant number of these new ‘settlers’ have Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds, and have both language and literacy barriers to social inclusion and employment. Diamond Valley Learning Centre (DVLC) is in easy driving distance of one of these vast housing developments and in 2011 received funding to investigate ways of connecting with CALD learners in these new suburbs. In this workshop we will share the practical results of our research and journey.

Sue Paull has taught in adult literacy programs for over 30 years in both TAFE and ACE. She currently coordinates and teaches in the language and literacy program at DVLC.

Julie Johnston has worked in adult education for ten years as an ESL teacher and manager.


Are we there yet?Jana Scomazzon, Facilitator of the ISC Foundation Skills Network on behalf of Service Skills Australia

No More Excuses, the Industry Skills Councils (ISC) response to addressing the language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) challenge, calls for an overarching blueprint for action on LLN by industry and across all education sectors - employers and educators working together to improve the foundation skills of the workforce. This response is one of many initiatives by ISCs in the area of workplace adult literacy. This workshop will explore LLN challenges facing ISCs at the moment, which include responding to renewed focus on foundation skills in the streamlined Training Packages to come; getting the message out through ISC workforce development teams about the need to support foundation skills building; and supporting successful outcomes for Indigenous learners. It will present a range of activities that the network has been involved in over the past year, as well as initiatives that individual ISCs have shared with the network.

Jana Scomazzon is the facilitator of the Industry Skills Council Foundation Skills Network and has been a member of the network (and its various previous iterations) since 1995, believing passionately that a person’s participation in community and work hinges on their language, literacy and numeracy skills. Previously an adult literacy practitioner and executive member of ACAL, Jana has worked in vocational education and training for the past 16 years on a range of projects, including WELL strategies for industries, unit of competency development, resource development, research and policy projects, and quality assurance of support and endorsed Training Package material.


Indigenous voices: teaching us betterAlison Reedy, Charles Darwin University; Heleana Gulwa, Maningrida School, (NT DET)

This workshop describes a project ‘Indigenous Voices: Teaching us better’ which emerged from a vision to improve the experiences of Indigenous students in VET. The project aimed to provide teachers and trainers with insight into the experiences of Indigenous students in education. A website was developed during the project and contains short video and audio clips of interviews with current and past Indigenous VET students from a range of disciplines, and from urban and remote locations in the NT. The website is structured around 9 key themes that emerged from the interviews and includes strategies that can be implemented by teachers and trainers in response to the issues raised by Indigenous learners. The project was developed collaboratively with the support of a number of Indigenous organisations and students and provides an opportunity for adult Indigenous learners to tell the teachers and trainers how to ‘teach us better’. The Indigenous voices: teaching us better website can be accessed at http://indigenousvoices.cdu.edu.au.

Alison Reedy is an Educational Designer at Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory (NT). Her academic background and teaching experience are in the areas of English language and literacy. She has extensive experience working with migrants, refugees and Indigenous Australians, and has a particular interest in the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. Her research interests are in Indigenous education, ESL and literacy, and educational uses of technology.

Heleana Gulwa is an Nakara and Dungbon woman from Maningrida, Arnhemland in the NT. She works as a trainee teacher in the very remote community of Maningrida and has recently commenced a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning at Charles Darwin University. Heleana previously worked for Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation in the areas of land management and tourism. She is a graduate of Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, having completed the Certificates II and III in Spoken and Written English. She is currently completing her final units in Preparation for Tertiary Success concurrently with her teaching studies. Heleana believes that the Indigenous voices: teaching us better project and website assists in the important area of building communication and understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.A


concurrent sessions A tuesday 27th SeptemBer abstracts

A

Level 9 Room 904 • 11.30am-12.20pm • 50 min A4Adult numeracy teaching and learning in developing countries: lessons from Timor-Leste

Beth Marr, Numeracy consultant

This will be an interactive workshop based on sharing some of the issues encountered, and strategies used, whilst teaching adult numeracy to two groups of East Timorese learners. The first group was in a workplace training situation within Timor’s Ministry of Finance, where all teaching was done through interpreters. The second was a group of Timor-Leste Defence Force officers undertaking CGEA at Charles Darwin University and simultaneously improving their English language skills in preparation for future training in Australia. The workshop will intersperse discussion of the dilemmas faced, and reflections arising, with activities and strategies developed to teach more effectively with these groups of learners. It will consider aspects of culture, adult education principles and numeracy teaching methodologies which should be applicable in a range of teaching situations, particularly with LOTE learners.

Beth Marr is widely experienced in many aspects of adult numeracy education, including teaching, curriculum development, professional development and creation of resources such as Mathematics: A New Beginning; Strength in Numbers and Numeracy on the Line, all of which promote active learning ideas for adult numeracy. She has worked extensively in TAFE and later at RMIT University in teacher training for VET teachers and trainers including many projects with trainers from developing countries. During 2008/9 Beth led a team of workplace numeracy trainers who developed and conducted numeracy programs for the Ministry of Finance staff in East Timor. Last year she taught Numeracy and Mathematics within an intensive CGEA program for visiting Timorese army officers at Charles Darwin University.

Level 9 Room 906 • 11.30am-12.20pm • 50 min A5Singing for language learning

Jane Coker, singer and musician, Community Music Victoria

This entirely participatory workshop will give participants practical tools for using group singing as a means to enhance the learning of spoken English. You will take away useful songs and activities that you can use the very next time you teach. No musical training or singing skills are required to make use of these simple tools, just a little vocal confidence and a passion for the connecting power of group singing.

Jane Coker has devised and led inspiring community singing leadership skills workshops since 2002. As well as leading several community singing groups and a community street band, Jane is currently a board member, facilitator and volunteer co-ordinator for Community Music Victoria, designing and organising networking and skills development for community music facilitators. Jane’s workshops are inspiring, encouraging and most of all offer participants practical tools and strategies that they can apply in their daily lives.

Level 9 Room 905 • 11.30am-12.20pm • 50 min A6Together we do better: Building social capital through partnership

Peter Newnham, Victoria University; Catherine Cooney, Foundation House

In 2009 Victoria University Youth ESL joined the Ucan2 program which was developed in partnership between AMES, Centre for Multicultural Youth and Foundation House.

The Ucan2 program seeks to build the social capital of young people from refugee backgrounds who have arrived in Australia typically having experienced significant trauma and disruptions to their lives as a result of war and social unrest in their countries of origin. The program integrates mental health support and the processes for increasing social networks into an existing ESL class, utilizing the learning context of developing part time work skills. This workshop will give participants the opportunity to learn about the components and discuss the Ucan2 program with teachers and facilitators.

Peter Newnham has been teaching for 20 years in VCE, ESL, and Youth ESL. He is currently Program Manager ESL Youth at Victoria University and has a keen interest in developing pedagogy and partnerships that increase the social capital and wellbeing of students with refugee experience.

Kath Cooney is a social worker at Foundation House (Victoria Foundation for the Survivors of Torture), and previously was a secondary school teacher. Working with young people who have arrived in Australia from refugee backgrounds enables her to extend her interest in social justice and a rights-based approach to education.


abstracts tuesday 27th SeptemBer concurrent sessions A & B


Health literacy as a complex practiceJudy Hunter, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato; Margaret Franken, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato

As attention to health literacy grows across the OECD, policy discourse continues to draw on skills deficit and patient compliance, buttressed by the dominant political discourse of individual responsibility. Yet for patients, the health domain is interwoven with linguistic challenges, significant affective issues, underlying cultural dimensions, political and economic exigencies, and cognitive and situated complexity.

From these perspectives, the presentation will report on findings of an ongoing study of health literacy demands in the Midlands region of the North Island of New Zealand, an area of high ethnic and socio-economic diversity. The study analyses health professionals’ conceptions and expectations of health literacy needs for patients, health information documents for patients, and patients’ understandings and assessments of health care information. Implications of the study support the need for improvement in language and literacy skills among patients, but also recognition of complexity and a collective responsibility for effective health communication.

Judy Hunter coordinates the undergraduate and postgraduate diplomas in adult literacy and numeracy education at the Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, NZ. She has done ethnographic research on workplace and school literacies and was a co-author of Reading Work. She is currently working on a health literacy project with Margaret Franken.

B Check at registration • 11.15am-12.15pm

LLN Community Educator Network CaféMichael Chalk, PRACE; Pat Grosse, Springboard Training Solutions Pty Ltd

This session is being offered to both the ACAL and ALA conference delegates.

The LLN community educator network will be facilitated by Michael Chalk and Pat Gross in a Café problem-sharing session. This will be an opportunity for some face to face networking and focussed time to engage in explorative and constructive conversation. Bring a story from your classroom, a problem you haven’t managed to solve yet, and be ready to network. We’ll bring some challenging scenarios and our facilitators’ hats, ready to start up the collaborative conversations. You will benefit from hearing some different perspectives from other educators you can connect with and share learning experiences. This is also an opportunity to find out more about the Australia-wide LLN community educator network, and how you can get involved in the live webinar sessions, as well as more open problem-solving discussions. There will be online follow up from this session, so you’ll find ways to stay in touch and nurture new professional connections.

Michael Chalk is an adult LLN educator who supports teachers to use technology for classroom learning. He’s been involved in state and national e-learning projects such as Access ACE e-Learning Research Circles and Community Engagement.

Pat Grosse is an experienced project manager, focussing on adult learning and training. She has a background in developing professional development programs for adult educators and has facilitated a number of networks and communities of practice.

B Level 12 Room 3 • 11.30am-1.15pm • 90 min

An overview of the revised ACSF including the Pre-Level 1 supplementPhilippa McLean, Philippa McLean Consultancy

This workshop will outline the main changes to the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). It will include some interactive tasks based on the new document. The session will also look in detail at the new ACSF pre-level 1 supplement.

Philippa McLean has extensive and successful experience in the Vocational Education and Training sector, with particular expertise in adult language, literacy and numeracy. In recent years her prime focus has been on the delivery of professional development and project work for adult language literacy and numeracy teachers and trainers at a statewide and national level. She has worked on national projects developing exemplar LLN assessment tools and delivery resources.

Philippa is a member of the consortium that developed the ACSF and was the project manager for the two DEEWR projects: revision of the ACSF; development of an ACSF pre level 1 supplement.B


concurrent sessions C tuesday 27th SeptemBer abstracts

C

Level 9 Room 905 • 12.30pm-1.20pm • 50 min C1Is this a career? Women and work in the language and literacy educational sector

Ruth Trenerry, Flinders University, South Australia

In this presentation Ruth will provide an outline of the methodology organizing the three projects forming her doctoral portfolio, and then focus on the research findings that inform the question of career activity in the adult literacy sector. Her doctoral work, explored the career actualities of one group of women to discover career constructions deriving from their employment. A qualitative study, it is an interpretive explication of a woman’s career actualities, utilizing Institutional Ethnography as a research practice, and Dorothy Smith’s social ontology as a resource (1987, 1990a, 1990b, 1999, 2005). Embodied, textual and professional career constructions draw from the women’s paid work trajectories, employment that is predominantly achieved in the post compulsory language and literacy educational sector.

An educator since the early 1970’s, Ruth has worked in a number of institutional settings. Her recent employment in an TESOL university preparation program, was preceded by adult language and literacy labour market teaching, coupled with ALNARC research activity. Ruth has recently completed a professional doctorate in education.

Level 12 Room 4 • 12.30pm-1.20pm • 50 min C2Financial literacy as a context for strengthening literacy and numeracy for adults

Jacqui Remnant, Ahikiwi Research & Consulting, New Zealand

This presentation will include the key findings from a literature review completed as part of the applied project for the Masters in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). The literature review was based on the following research questions:1. What is the relationship between financial literacy knowledge and behaviour, and literacy and numeracy skills?2. Where and how has financial literacy been used as a context for strengthening literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge

for adults?3. How can financial literacy be used as a context for strengthening adult literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge in New

Zealand?

The presentation will include information on the following issues:n What is financial literacy?n Why financial literacy?n Literature review key findingsn Benefits of financial literacy educationn Key considerations for organisations and educators establishing financial literacy programmes.

Jacqui Remnant is an independent researcher and consultant, currently contracted to the Ministry of Education, NZ. Jacqui was a Senior Advisor in Literacy and Numeracy at the Tertiary Education Commission in NZ for 3.5 years, in the team responsible for the implementation of the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults work programme. Jacqui has been involved in the national work programme for Financial Literacy, which is led by the Retirement Commission and includes a number of government and private organisations. Jacqui recently completed her Masters in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education with Distinction at AUT.

Level 9 Room 906 • 12.30pm-1.20pm • 50 min C3Transitioning f2f LN professional development to online blended environment

Nicola McCartney, National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults, University of Waikato, NZ: Lynette Winter, National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults, University of Waikato, NZ

Currently under development is the process of transitioning f2f embedded literacy and numeracy professional development delivery to an online blended environment for the New Zealand tertiary sector. This is a process requiring considerable effort, innovation, enthusiasm and resources. We have only just begun but our intention in sharing our work is to contribute to the wider body of online professional development delivery work. The presentation is aimed at educators, managers and tutors who are already involved in online LN professional development or who are yet to start. In terms of sustainable practices, blended online delivery is desirable and has the potential to reach a wider audience. What this process looks like, including personnel, content development and challenges, will be discussed and demonstrated. We will conclude with key learnings from our experience.

Nicola McCartney is the Associate Director of the National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults at the University of Waikato and is responsible for the professional development programme. In terms of effective professional development, Nicola is interested in how tutors can model the quality of learning they would like from their learners. Transitioning f2f professional development delivery to an online blended environment is a new direction, one which excites and also challenges. What does this new environment look like and how can it further support the work of the tutors? Nicola has post graduate studies in international and comparative education and an MPhil in workplace literacy. Her research interests are in professional development approaches and experiences.


abstracts tuesday 27th SeptemBer concurrent sessions C

C4 Level 12 Room 2 • 12.30pm-1.20pm • 50 min

Numeracy - online resourcesLibby Rowswell, Swinburne University of Technology

This workshop will discuss some of the many resources available on the internet that can be useful in developing Numeracy skills. Theory, printable worksheets, interactive exercises, and games can be found from a broad variety of sources and these can support classroom delivery. Interactive resources can be used to provide both remedial support and extension activities, making them useful in multi-level classes. In addition to these, the workshop will also explore websites that provide real life contexts and activities that are useful in developing numeracy skills.

Libby Rowswell has been involved in teaching Numeracy and computing skills in CGEA for over 15 years and in the past, has been e-Learning Leader, mentoring staff in the use of technology. Libby has been involved in Toolbox development and enjoys using technology to promote independent learning and sharing ideas and resources to enrich the learning experience.


Meeting the CALD learner halfwayKonstantina (Tina) Vlahos, Preston and Reservoir Adult Community Education (PRACE)

The Action Research project, ‘Training cleaners: language and cultural matters’ was undertaken as part of the ACE capacity initiatives ‘Responding to CALD Learners’, funded by the ACFE Board. The aim of the project was to find ways to support CALD learners who wish to undertake the Certificate II in Asset Maintenance (Cleaning Operations). Members of the local CALD community have not been able to enter the course at PRACE due to not yet being able to meet the pre-requisites. This presentation will consider the project findings that include ways to support CALD learners to prepare them for participation, and throughout the course, in order that they complete it successfully.

Tina is a former ESL teacher and as part of the Action Research Project she did the course alongside the CALD learners. She will reflect on the ‘inside picture’ of what is involved and the support needed - the challenges, the language, literacy and numeracy needs and their practical applications.


Looking beyond the results - what’s sitting behind international surveys? Lessons for teachingDave Tout, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) & Multifangled; Jan Hagston, Victorian Applied Learning Association (VALA) & Multifangled

The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is to be administered in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and partner countries (including Australia) this year. PIAAC includes the assessment of literacy and numeracy and the results will allow comparison with the results of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALLS). Sitting behind the survey is a theoretical framework of literacy and numeracy - a framework that offers insights for teachers about what literacy and numeracy in the 21st century incorporates and the factors that make tasks difficult. This presentation will give an overview of the constructs behind the literacy and numeracy components of PIAAC, briefly describe the nature of the survey instrument and allow participants to gain an understanding of how the factors of task difficulty can inform teaching and assessment practices.

Jan Hagston is passionate about education, particularly about providing equity and empowerment through education. She has wide experience in teaching, resource development, professional development, assessment and research. She is currently the Executive Officer of the Victorian Applied Learning Association (VALA) and a member of the PIAAC Literacy Expert Group.

Dave Tout is a Senior Research Fellow at ACER, and has had almost 40 years experience in the education sector including in schools, TAFEs, ACE providers, universities and workplaces. He has wide experience not only in teaching and training, but also in working at a state, national and international level in research, curriculum and assessment. He is a member of the numeracy expert group for PIAAC.


Remotely interesting: opportunities for VET students to strengthen the LLN skillsCatherine Ralston, Kimberley TAFE

This interactive presentation will show some of the ways that Kimberley TAFE provides opportunities for people in the north west of Australia to strengthen their language, literacy and numeracy while they are working toward a vocational qualification. We are particularly focussed on meeting the need for Aboriginal people to have access to appropriate support within their communities which are sometimes a really long way from anywhere else. The presentation will follow the sometimes rocky learning journey taken with our community and industry partners, to find out what works, what doesn’t and what we can keep doing. The methods that are currently used include resource development, tutorial assistance, co-delivery and opportunity for professional development for both VET and LLN staff.

Catherine Ralston has been employed by Kimberley TAFE since 1999 and has worked on a range of access programs undertaking both campus-based and community- based delivery. As Principal Lecturer, Cath seeks to find solutions to working in the complex environment in remote WA. Cath is particularly interested in finding sustainable ways to provide opportunities for Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region to access language, literacy and numeracy support.

C


concurrent sessions D tuesday 27th SeptemBer abstracts

Level 12 Room 2 • 3.10pm-4.10pm • 60 min D1The word nerd

Bronwen Hickman, Centre for Adult Education (CAE)

Bronwyn will inspire you to use interesting ways to look at words - ways to write them, ways to find their meaning, spell them and remember them. We hear so much about the confusion of English words, and so little about the logic and symmetry of so many of them. Why aren’t we teaching our students about what it all means, and how it all fits together, instead of letting them flounder with what a primary school teacher told them once, that ‘it doesn’t make any sense - you just have to learn it!’ This session is designed to equip participants to go on discovering the richness and variety of the language for themselves; to provide the tools to make teaching of writing and spelling easier for both teachers and students, and to make language learning a rewarding experience all round.

Bronwen Hickman is a word nerd from way back. Author of ‘Spelling Well’ (CAE Press 2005) and member of the (Samuel) Johnson Society, she has been immersed in language learning since a far-sighted teacher inspired her in primary school. She has an MA in Communication Studies, and has taught spelling, grammar and language skills at CAE for 28 years.

Level 9 Room 901 • 3.10pm-4.10pm • 60 min D2On track: indigenous mentors providing language, literacy and numeracy learning

Sue Muller, The Learning Workshop

Indigenous Mentors working within community, training and businesses environments are proving a successful learning model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous Mentors currently provide a range of support services to learners in many regional and remote communities across Australia. In 2011, The Learning Workshop received National WELL Program Resource funds to develop an interactive CD ROM to assist Indigenous Mentors provide language, literacy and numeracy support to their Indigenous clients. The resource supports the Federal government’s ‘Closing the Gap’ strategy in relation to education and employment. It also supports the Australian Employment Covenant’s (AEC) aim regarding placement and long-term retention of 50,000 Indigenous people into sustainable jobs. The resource targets current and trainee mentors. It aims to develop the skills base of Indigenous Mentors to include best practice in delivery of LLN learning and support

Sue Muller is a Director of The Learning Workshop, a private registered training organisation based in Cairns. She has an established career in public and private training sectors across Australia, drawing on a broad spectrum of experience in delivering training, research and resource projects to communities and workplaces. The Learning Workshop has developed particular expertise in delivery of training and resource development projects to Indigenous workplaces and communities in regional and remote Queensland.

Level 9 Room 926 • 3.10pm-4.10pm • 60 min D3The out-of-class reading of adult English language learners

Kim Hastwell and Elizabeth Brugh, AUT University

Reading is an essential component of ESOL for Work and Education, a course run by AUT University, Auckland for adults who are mainly from refugee backgrounds. The course endeavours to provide learners with a meaningful and relevant reading programme to enhance their ability toaccess, engage with, and negotiate the texts that are part of their daily lives in New Zealand. In order to provide a reading programme that is actually informed by the learners themselves, individual semi-structured interviews were carried out with a group of learners. The interviews sought to learn more about learners’ out-of-class reading practices, both in English and their other language(s); their reading needs; strategies for overcoming any difficulties in reading the texts they encounter; and whether factors such as previous education, place in the family and length of time in New Zealand influence out-of-class reading. This paper reports on the study’s preliminary findings.

Kim Hastwell and Elizabeth Brugh are both teachers on AUT University Auckland’s programme ESOL for Work and Education, a full-time course for adult learners with low levels of English, literacy and numeracy. They also have roles with an on-line Masters in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education degree taught by the university. Their interests are literacy and numeracy teaching and learning with low proficiency learners and the teaching and learning of refugees.

Level 9 Room 904 • 3.10pm-4.10pm • 60 min D4The object is the story

Liz Suda, Melbourne Museum

Objects provide an excellent stimulus for writing about the past and for exploring personal stories. The Museum Victoria Small Object Big Story online resource provides a fantastic resource for using objects as a means to stimulating a range of writing genres. Students can create their own exhibition or a multi media event by exploring objects and artefacts. Liz will facilitate a ‘hands on with objects’ session to show you how to use museum artefacts and personal objects to enliven your classroom. A visit to one of Museum Victoria’s three sites can provide a springboard into a range of activities.

Liz Suda is Program Co-ordinator, Humanities at Melbourne Museum. She has worked in secondary schools, adult literacy and further education settings, in the tertiary sector. She is a passionate educator with a broad range of interests that translate into a comprehensive bag of tricks for the adult literacy classroom. D


abstracts tuesday 27th SeptemBer concurrent sessions D

D5 Computer Lab 1033 • 3.10pm-4.10pm • 60 min

Regional voices crying out to be heard!Jo Hart, CY O’Connor Institute TAFE, WA

One step from literacy online to National Strategy consultation online. Where to next? This interactive online workshop will use tools and strategies in the Elluminate virtual environment to:n demonstrate how WA used this environment to facilitate regional involvement in the National Foundation Skills Strategy (NFSS) consultationn explain the rationale for the use of specific tools and techniques in Elluminate and how these choices were underpinned by my own experience in delivering CGEA entirely online to regional studentsn evaluate the effectiveness of the virtual environment in meeting the needs of the consultationn explore ideas for the future potential of virtual environments in strengthening adult literacy and numeracy provision nationwide

Jo is a CGEA lecturer in TAFE to students that include mature age adults and ‘Youth at Risk’. She teaches three CGEA certificates solely online with regional/remote students. This innovative programme is breaking new ground and uses the Virtual Classroom (Elluminate), CE8 Learning Management System and anything else “e-” that might provide a blend that gives this cohort enough support and flexibility to keep them on track. Recently Jo was Elluminate adviser and primary moderator for WA’s regional consultation on the NFSS.

D6 Level 9 Room 906 • 3.10pm-4.10pm • 60 min

Am I job ready?Christine Tully and Vicki Doukas, Kangan Institute

This will be a ‘hands on’ work shop with activities presented that have been used successfully in adult Numeracy classes with students from NES background. We will also look at which employability skill each activity encourages. Participants will trial the activities and be given copies of worksheets.

Chris Tully has worked in the TAFE sector for 20 years teaching across a variety of areas including adult numeracy, Indigenous education, VCE and Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety.

Vicki Doukas is a skilled numeracy and science teacher who has taught adults, youth in VCAL programs and VCE.


What happened to the professionals - professional teaching standards and the role of adult literacy and numeracy teachers working in the vocational sectorMargaret McHugh, ACAL; Pauline O’Maley, VALBEC

This presentation will focus on the definitions of teacher skills that are emerging from the national discussions around ‘foundation skills’. For the last decade and a half, the roles, skills and qualifications of literacy and numeracy specialists have been constrained, some would argue distorted, by the terminology, concepts, processes and compliances asserted by the vocational training sector. Perhaps we have reached a point where we really should drop the E from VET: education no longer plays a role in the sector. This presentation will put forward an argument that qualifications, skills and knowledge of specialist literacy and numeracy teachers in the adult sector are different from those of vocational trainers; they require very high levels of abstract knowledge about semiotic and social systems, and demand the application of specialist skills. Like TESOL teachers, adult literacy and numeracy teachers should have a national standard to protect and define their professional competence.

Margaret McHugh has been a member of the ACAL executive since 2005. Since 1991 she has worked in the vocational education and training sector in Western Australia in a policy and development role. This role has involved development of new curriculum particularly those which are used in Western Australia to embed language, literacy and numeracy with vocational training. A current focus of her work is Aboriginal literacy taking a bi-dialectal approach with colleagues in the school sector in WA.

Pauline O’Maley has recently joined Victoria University as an Educational Developer, Language, Literacy and Numeracy Strategy within the Arts, Education and Human Development faculty. Previously, Pauline worked with the Salvation Army in a range of teaching and management roles. Pauline is a long serving VALBEC and ACAL committee member.


A bite size experience volunteering in South AfricaLeonie Francis, Riverina Institute TAFE NSW

Welcome to a bite size anecdotal conversation relaying my short but transformative journey as a literacy volunteer in South Africa. The conversation includes reflections on being a volunteer in a literacy project in Cape Town and how I received much more than I paid for.

Leonie Francis is an adult literacy practitioner and Head of Department in a large regional TAFE campus in Wagga Wagga, NSW. Leonie’s professional interests include developing and promoting literacy conversations with colleagues in her Institute and beyond and discovering new and innovative ways to engage adult literacy learners, especially in community settings.D


concurrent sessions e Wednesday 28th SeptemBer abstracts

Level 9 Room 926 • 11.00am-11.50am • 50 min e1Hard to engage learners

Julie Neeson, Southern Grampians Adult Education; Dr Kaye Scholfield, RMIT; Melissa Collits, Project Worker

This presentation is a continuation of the presentation at the VALBEC Conference 2010 ‘Positive Parenting Pupil Participation’ where the partnership of a rural primary school, regional ACE organisation and a Regional University campus looked at literacy in a school environment as a means to engage parents in literacy and skills development. The initial project has now been completed and it is planned to extend the findings into a larger primary school environment.

Julie Neeson is Executive Officer at Southern Grampians Adult Education. Julie has worked in adult education in South West Victoria for over 20 years. With a passion for literacy Julie has developed many programs with a life skills literacy focus. The anecdotal generational impact of literacy has led to the development of this project.

Dr Kaye Scholfield manages RMIT’s Hamilton campus. She has a particular interest in rural education, including the need for access to appropriate education, training and employment for rural people and developing initiatives that develop community capacity.

Melissa Collits, co presenter and Project Worker, has worked in the publishing industry and while living in Hamilton used her project management and communications experience in the local educational sector.

Level 9 Room 901 • 11.00am-11.50am • 50 min e2Teaching outside the comfort zone: self-reflective practice in the ESL classroom

Mary Brooke, Pilbara TAFE

This session presents the experience of one lecturer who has trodden the path of uncomfortable pedagogical self-examination and lived to tell the tale! Truly self-reflective practice is a conundrum for many LLN practitioners, especially for those working alone, or in an isolated region. Without colleagues in the field to observe and comment on teaching practice, how can we avoid becoming set in our ways and allowing our techniques to become stale? This paper includes the background, methodology and results of an action research project undertaken on the South Hedland campus of Pilbara TAFE in Western Australia, the aim being to improve outcomes for small groups of English language learners, specifically by examining teacher habits and attitudes, with some unexpected results.

Mary Brooke is a lecturer in language and communication in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, where she teaches ESL, literacy and numeracy. Her teaching career includes two years in Japan, as well as many years spent in both the private and public education sectors in Western Australia. Along the way, she has gained a Master of Arts (Applied Linguistics) and a Graduate Diploma (Tertiary and Adult Education). As well as being fascinated on a daily basis by her students, she is deeply interested in research which explores different teaching methodologies for engaging learner groups.

Level 9 Room 904 • 11.00am-11.50am • 50 min e3Embedding numeracy into a trades course

Warren Shepheard, National Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, NZ

This session looks at how a tutor, with support from a Numeracy Developer, went about identifying the numeracy needs of his group of 18 to 24 year old students. How he developed a plan of actions involving deliberate acts of teaching and how he assessed his effectiveness and student success. The tutor was running a 20 week course involving getting students back into the work force. His area of expertise was in landscaping.

Warren Shepheard spent 16 years as a teacher. In 1985 he joined the Ministry of Education as a mathematics adviser. In 2000 he went into private enterprise as a mathematics consultant and contracted to the then SKillNZ, later to become the Tertiary Education Commission, where he ran numeracy workshops for tutors throughout New Zealand. For the last 2 years he has been a Numeracy Developer at the National Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy‚ supporting ITP’s and PTE’s in adult numeracy education. He was also involved in the development of the ‘Numeracy Progressions’ for Adult Learners.

Level 12 Room 4 • 11.00am-11.50am • 50 min e4Shape shifting

Karen Dymke, Luther College

Teaching Literacy across the curriculum and the sectors, from community, to TAFE, to a secondary setting has provided the opportunity to observe the innovations, trends and uptake of pedagogies in literacy. This workshop will describe the journey, the lessons learnt and the possible connections. It will also look at how Literacy is understood and prioritized across the sectors.

Karen Dymke has been a member of the ACAL executive, and has taught in community, TAFE and the University sector. After 7 years as a Literacy consultant, primarily with VCAL, Karen is now the Director of Learning at Luther College. e


abstracts Wednesday 28th SeptemBer concurrent sessions e & F

e5 Level 9 Room 905 • 11.00am-11.50am • 50 min

“What if your lesson was stunningly relevant?” Teaching speaking in contextLindee Conway, Community West

What if you invited an employer or industry consultant to talk at a staff meeting, about “What do our learners need to know, so they can find work?” and you only did it so you could tick a box on your compliance audit?

But, what if the information you received was so useful for the learner that you could turn it into a lesson that made you feel like you were teaching something very helpful? Wouldn’t that be beaut?

This workshop will focus on the positive, AND tick some boxes.

Lindee Conway is an experienced ESL and LLN practitioner. Her interest is in good teaching, and students feeling they have an active role in their learning. Her current contract, as an Education Manager, calls for ensuring that a variety of KPI’s are met. This workshop is about ticking all the boxes, and not giving up on the overarching importance of a great lesson for adult learners. This will be a practical and lively workshop.

e6 Level 9 Room 906 • 11.00am-11.50am • 50 min

Mapping tertiary student capabilities - shared concepts of literacy and learningAnne Taib, Victoria University

Freebody argues that locating literacy in the ‚‘human capital’ model (Freebody, 2004), has led government and media to foreground the testing, measuring and assessment of literacy levels. Victoria University’s response to this is the Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) Strategy underpinned by a developmental approach and contextualised LLN requirements for each discipline. In this workshop we report the work carried out using Post Entry Language Assessment (PELA), and how we mapped discipline specific assessment to the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). One of the outcomes was that this process has provided a constructive means for discussing shared concepts about language and literacy learning. The next step will be integrating these components into curriculum, thereby making discipline specific requirements of discourses explicit.

Anne is the Manager of the Victoria University LLN Strategy. She has extensive experience as a teacher, teacher educator and manager of educational projects in higher education and broader tertiary contexts. Her academic background is in applied linguistics and TESOL. Her professional focus in the last fifteen years has been in international education; scholarship of teaching and learning, academic language, learning and literacy; language assessment and teacher development. Anne’s current research interests include the impact of diversity on teaching and learning and the development of inclusive pedagogies.

F1 Level 12 Room 3 • 11.00am-12.50pm • 90 min

Exploring new options for professional development and skill building - support materials for TAE70110 and TAE80110Robert Bluer, Innovation and Business Skills Australia (IBSA); Louise Wignall, Lynne Fitzpatrick, Anita Roberts on behalf of IBSA

The TAE10 Training and Education Training Package has been developed by IBSA and represents part of the continuing cycle of quality improvement in Training Packages. LLN skill and knowledge development is one of the principal focus areas in TAE10, with the two new vocational graduate qualifications developed to support the delivery of LLN in vocational education and training (VET) undertaken in industries, enterprises, government agencies, training organisations, and community and school settings. The two qualifications that are the focus for this User Guide are: TAE70110 Vocational Graduate Certificate in Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice, which represents the skills and knowledge required to address the LLN skill development of learners; TAE80110 Vocational Graduate Diploma of Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Leadership, which provides leadership and research opportunities. This panel style workshop will provide and overview of the project’s history, an outline of the two qualifications and the support materials and assessment tasks that are currently under development. The workshop will engage participants in a sample activity from the Knowledge Bank from the Vocational Graduate Certificate in Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice.

Robert Bluer is the Education Industry Manager at Innovation and Business Skills Australia (IBSA). Robert has worked in various roles in education and training for 35 years. He has been working on projects concerning adult literacy both during his time with the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) and at IBSA where most recently he has managed the development of a suite of adult LLN units and graduate qualifications in the TAE Training Package. He is currently manager of the Foundation Skills Training Package development project.

Louise Wignall has worked in the education sector for the past 25 years as a teacher, resource developer, policy advisor and quality assurance manager with a specialisation in adult literacy and learning in the community, vocational education and training (VET) and the workplace.

Lynne Fitzpatrick has worked in adult literacy for about 30 years in a variety of roles, and in national and state-based training, research and consultative organisations.

Anita Roberts has worked at a national level on a wide range of VET initiatives with a particular focus on adult literacy and workforce capability building. She is currently the project co-ordinator for IBSA’s development of the Foundation Skills Training Package.F


concurrent sessions F & G Wednesday 28th SeptemBer abstracts

Level 12 Room 4 • 11.00am-12.50pm • 90 min F2Wading into the reading whitespace: a literacy perspective on e-collaboration to exploit visual texts

Jenni Percy, Unitec Institute of Technology, NZ

As we become increasingly exposed to visual imagery in our daily lives, it is crucial that we give our learners strategies for decoding, interpreting and challenging the often highly complex cultural messages they contain. But this takes time and with the pressure to complete everything in a tightly prescribed curriculum, we don’t often give ourselves permission to slow down, and to spend more time exploring fewer texts in a deeper way. This workshop will look at a model of teacher collaboration to create a bank of activities for exploiting a single visual text, in this case an advertisement. Participants will then evaluate the activities from the perspective of Freebody and Luke’s 4 roles of a reader and will leave with a shared pool of ready to use or easy to adapt ideas for enabling learners, across all levels, to be more critical readers of visual texts.

Jenni Percy has worked as an EAL/literacy teacher for over 20 years. She currently balances the dual roles of teacher of a Beginner level adult migrant EAL course, and Literacy Support Coordinator charged with enhancing the literacy capability of EAL teachers in the Department of Languages at Unitec Institute of Technology. In this latter role she is constantly exploring effective ways to share best practice without adding to workload.

Level 9 Room 926 • 11.55am-12.50pm • 50 min G1Diverse environments - educational voices in the workplace

Rhonda Pelletier, Fiveways Training Support; John Molenaar, Manufacturing Learning Victoria

Educational Voices in the Workplace is a WELL Strategic project funded by DEEWR. The project visited each state, and the Northern Territory to talk to current WELL practitioners. Practitioners came from urban, rural and remote training providers; from private, public, community, large and small registered training organisations. The years of experience of the practitioners ranged from 15 years to one year. The message from the practitioners was very consistent: much professional satisfaction and personal enjoyment comes from enabling people to communicate more effectively in their workplace. However, there was variation when asked if they would consider returning to classroom delivery. A summary of the findings, excerpts from the DVD and the trialled induction activities will be presented to gain participants’ feedback.

Rhonda Pelletier has taught in a variety of LLN settings since the early 90’s including employment and workplace programs. Her current interests include working with VET teachers to develop pre-training LLN assessments using the ACSF, to integrate LLN into their programs by building on good current practice; writing curriculum materials.

John Molenaar is a Director at Manufacturing Learning Victoria and has extensive experience in VET and adult education.

Level 9 Room 904 • 11.55am-12.50pm • 50 min G2Helping learners understand calculations in a course: moving learners from step 4 to step 5/6 of the

make sense of number progressionsJenny Amaranathan, National Centre of Literacy and Numeracy for Adults, The University of Waikato, NZ

Working with numbers is fundamental to operating successfully in work and everyday life. Do you have learners who can find the answer to 35 x 47 but struggle to find the answer to 4.5 x 3.7 or who struggle to: convert within the metric system, work out materials needed for a job, find area and volume, understand % off sales, do currency conversion? In this workshop we will look at a range of instructional approaches especially designed to help learners. The workshop will also look at key ideas and misconceptions that hold back many adult learners.

Jenny has been involved in mathematics education for over twenty years as a teacher, facilitator and professional developer. She was a member of the team that worked on the development of the ‘Learning Progressions for Adult Literacy and Numeracy’ and the adult numeracy professional development. For over five years she has worked with educators/trainers in ITPs, PTEs, Wananga and ITOs focusing on numeracy development with a particular interest in ‘attitudes to numeracy’ and passion for lifting the profile of numeracy in the workplace.

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abstracts Wednesday 28th SeptemBer concurrent sessions G

G3 Level 9 Room 906 • 11.55am-12.50pm • 50 min

Digital literacy and future LLN provisionSue-Ellen Evans, Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council

Kerry Rock, Response Training

Digital Literacy is now embedded in any Literacy instruction. An increase in the number of text types and text structures as a result of the use of digital technologies as well as the expanded use of the Internet mean that the two can no longer be listed as separate skills. Therefore any comprehensive LLN Program should include digital literacies. Developing an awareness of the issues surrounding the use of technology in workplace settings and the implications for critical literacy, both receptive and expressive, needs to be incorporated in future LLN programs. Digital technology needs to be harnessed as a way of training rather than as a training tool. Embracing technology in LLN provision is futuristic and supports sustainability in training practice.

Sue-Ellen Evans has worked as an LLN Trainer since 1982, working as a TAFE literacy and numeracy teacher and Adult Literacy Officer for over 25 years. She has coordinated and taught on WELL programs and community Literacy programs and completed a Masters in Adult Education through UTS in 2010. She is now working with Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council as Language Literacy Coordinator.

Kerry Rock is training manager at Response Employment and Training and has co-presented with Sue-Ellen several workshops for DEEWR regarding Digital Literacy and E Learning Training and Assessment.


Breaking down barriersVicki Singleton and Marina Makushev, Swinburne University (TAFE)

Students from a Level 2/3 adult CGEA class (including ESB and NESB learners) have been involved in interactive classroom activities with a VCAL class at the same campus. The experience has been a win-win situation for both groups, with valuable sharing of ideas and knowledge taking place and preconceived ideas about members within each group often being dispelled. Themes have included: Goal-setting, Cultural Awareness and Youth Culture. By providing an audience for each other, students have been motivated to fine-tune presentation skills, and feedback offered after the sessions (mainly written) has provided an insight into the significant personal and educational value of the whole experience. The workshop will include opportunities for practitioners to share similar relevant teaching experiences and to brainstorm other suggestions for interactive activities involving seemingly disparate groups.

Vicki Singleton started her teaching life as a secondary English teacher, but soon afterwards retrained as an ESL teacher. Having taught at Swinburne University (TAFE) for the past 20 years across 3 campuses and at all levels of the CGEA, she has had a broad experience of different types of students and classes. In 2003, she obtained a Master of Education (ICT in Education) and tries to incorporate technology in her teaching practice where possible. As well as being a teacher, Vicki is a campus convenor and voluntary tutor coordinator.

Marina Makushev “fell” into teaching ESL in the ACE sector many moons ago, which she absolutely loved and earned a nomination for Tutor of the Year. Soon after, she “fell” again into teaching another cohort of learners, “at risk” youth, this time and actually won this prestigious award. She has specialised in engaging and innovative delivery of literacy, personal development and work related skills across both the CGEA and VCAL programs at Swinburne TAFE. Whilst enjoying her role as Youth Programs Coordinator, it is in the classroom “trenches” that her passion lies and in the achievements there that she takes greatest pride.


Do we need a paradigm shift?Lini Kane

Adult learners bring along local and/or overseas life experiences in a classroom, added to multilingual/multicultural perspectives. As ESL learners, they need to build-in independent learning strategies when they progress step by step and build up confidence in articulating their thoughts with clear and intelligible pronunciations in English. Many teachers/trainers believe in the inclusion of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) whether it is implicit or explicit, but some are dead set against it. After initial group discussion, we will be delving deep into current research on learner centred approaches to teaching intelligible pronunciation and how bilingual/multilingual understanding can be enhanced with the inclusion of IPA. This interactive presentation will be useful for teachers who would like to update their knowledge of IPA and views on this issue based on research and pragmatic strategies, in addition to some handy resources.

Lini Kane is an experienced English specialist, current LLNP trainer, and trilingual NAATI accredited translator.

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concurrent sessions G Wednesday 28th SeptemBer abstracts

Level 9 Room 901 • 11.55am-12.50pm • 50 min G6Adult LLN on the Level - Blurring the Lines Between Community and SchoolMalcolm Lobban and Catherine Forrest, Christies Beach High School (CBHS) ACE Centre, SA

Christie’s Beach High School ACE Centre had doggedly kept its LLN focus for highly disadvantaged adult learners despite shifts in government policy. This presentation will highlight the ‘community of practice’ approach recently developed in partnership with four local Community Centres and TAFESAs. The combination of collaboration, dedicated LLN practitioners and programs, from experiential at Community Centres, to more rigorous and structured pre-SACE at CBHS ACE Centre offer adult learners new paths to SACE or TAFE. The bumpy terrain for disenfranchised adult learners is bolstered using dynamic pedagogy and andragogy, resulting in the ‘blurring’ of lines between school, community and the adult learner.

Malcolm Lobban is a qualified Developmental Educator, Special Education/LOTE teacher and Career Development Practitioner and has worked in both private and public sectors over 30 years. Currently working as Adult Manager at CBHS, a highly disadvantaged school, Malcolm manages the 250 students of the ACE Centre as part of the Learner Outreach Program. He holds Degrees in Disability Studies, Special Education, Modern Languages and Career Development and is currently completing the Doctor of Education program at UniSA, his research focussing on his work at CBHS.

Catherine Forrest has experience working in media, retail, administration, hospitality, education and self-employment, completing a BA (Hons) and CELTA qualifications along the way. A DEEWR scholarship winner in 2010, Cath is now gaining formal qualifications and experience in LLN. Cath has strength in imparting enthusiasm for literacy and breaking through learning difficulties of highly disadvantaged adult learners. Through the new Foundation Skills Partnership between local Community Centres, school and TAFE, Cath is utilising her skills in assessment and training and creation of programs to reach a range of disenfranchised adult learners in the wider community G


n o t e s

TAE70110 Vocational Graduate Certi cate in Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice – Online facilitated learning

Are you looking to enhance your theoretical knowledge and practical skills to enable you to effectively assess, deliver, design and facilitate adult language, literacy and numeracy programs?

This program is designed for individuals who are working in roles such as:

• WELL Practitioners

• Secondary Teachers interested in working in Adult Learning

• TAFE CGEA and VCAL Teachers

• LLNP Teachers in VET, industry or community learning settings

Government funded training is available for those applicants who already hold a Bachelor or lower level quali cation.

TAE40110 Certi cate IV in Training and Assessment

This course is aimed at individuals who may be currently working as trainers/assessors or those seeking a career in the Vocational Education and Training sector.

This course has been designed to accommodate a variety of exible delivery modes:

• Facilitated on-line delivery

• Individual learning plans

• Workshop delivery

• Workplace delivery

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)is available for experiencedpractitioners.

For further information contact1300 ASK SWIN (1300 275 794)

Swinburne University of TechnologyFoundation Skills TrainingPackageThe Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (CS&HISC) is conducting a national series of workshops to introduce the new Foundation Skills Training Package and discuss how industry can be supported to develop the foundation skills of learners and employees.

Registrations are open for Health and Community Service stakeholders to attend the following forums:

Dates:TAS — 24 Aug VIC — 29 SepNT — 6 Oct QLD — TBCSA — 1 Nov ACT — 10 NovWA — 1 Dec NSW — 10 Dec

Register online: www.cshisc.com.au

or contact Project Officer:[email protected]

Limited Places Available

2011 conf pogram booklet

Documents

adult literacy acal

n t e n t

annual conference literacy

equitable adult literacy

n n i n gthe planning

literacy programs

map acal

numeracy education