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Australian Council for Adult Literacy
ACAL eNews
May 2013
ACAL eNews is the electronic newsletter of the Australian Council of Adult Literacy (ACAL) and is distributed free to people interested in adult literacy and numeracy. See below for subscription details or to unsubscribe.
In this issue
Professional Development
1. 2013 ACAL Conference
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Call for presentations
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Registration opening very soon!
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Discounts
2. ACER National Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Conference
3. Fulbright winner to measure success of national literacy and numeracy programs
4. Excellence in Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice Award
Resources
5. Podcast with Tom Karmel
6. Funding for Resource and Strategic Projects 2013 Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) Program.
7. Feedback requested for ACSF assessment
8. LLN for Trainers workshop resources
State activities
9. Victoria
10. NSW
11. Queensland
12. Tasmania
Professional Development
1. 2013 ACAL Conference
Call for presentations
You can still submit a proposal for a session of 50 minutes duration.
Presenters will receive discounted registration.
Registration opening very soon!
To enable people to plan ahead and may be pay for the conference in this financial year, the conference organisers have agreed to open registration very early in May. You'll receive an email when this is available. The fees are displayed on the website.
Discounts
Member discounts are available for members of NSW ALNC and ACAL and students.
Early Bird discounts are available to everybody. Early bird closes on 5.00 p.m. AEST on Wednesday, July 31, 2013.
2. ACER National Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Conference
ACER’s second national Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Conference and pre-conference workshops are being held in Sydney on 9-10 May, 2013. The aim of the 2013 Conference, Building on evidence to improve skills, is to bring together evidence-based research with industry and training perspectives in order to share and discuss issues around the assessment of language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) and implications for effective vocational and workplace education and training. A series of practical, half day pre-conference workshops about LLN assessment related issues are on May 9, with the main conference on Friday, 10 May.
Key note speakers include Robin Shreeve, CEO, Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency and Pam Christie, Managing Director, TAFE NSW.
3. Fulbright winner to measure success of national literacy and numeracy programs
Michelle Circelli, a Senior Research Officer with the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in Adelaide (and known to many through her contribution to ACAL conferences), has been selected as the Fulbright Professional Scholar in Vocational Education and Training, and will undertake three months of research into measuring the success of adult literacy and numeracy programs in the US.
4. Excellence in Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice Award
The Excellence in Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) Practice Award will recognise innovation and excellence by an individual involved in improving English language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills in an educational, community or workplace context.
Applications can be made by relevant individuals or organisations (eg colleagues, professional bodies, students, employers, industry or community representatives); or through self-nomination.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the award, the nominated LLN practitioner (‘the Nominee’) must meet the Conditions of Entry requirements and:
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have appropriate qualifications to deliver training to adult learners, as required by the Australian Quality Training Framework;
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have at least twelve months of professional experience in adult LLN training provision and/or have completed a post-graduate LLN qualification*; and
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have been involved in the provision of LLN training to adult learners [for some period] in the last twelve months.
*Post-graduate LLN qualifications include the Vocational Graduate Certificate in Adult LLN Practice (TAE70110); and Vocational Graduate Diploma of Adult LLN Leadership (TAE80110).
Resources
5. Podcast with Tom Karmel
'The impact of schools on young people's transition to university'
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with co-author Tom Karmel about this report which uses data from the 2006 cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) to investigate how schools influence tertiary entrance rank and university enrolment over and above young people's individual background characteristics. A point of discussion was the authors' finding that schools do matter and although young people's individual characteristics are the main contributors to university entrance, the school characteristics are responsible for almost 20% of the variation in tertiary entrance rankings.
6. Funding for Resource and Strategic Projects 2013 Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) Program.
Submissions for WELL funding are invited from eligible organisations that wish to develop a resource or strategic project that supports adult language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) training across one or more industry sectors.
Resources can include training materials that support:
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a nationally endorsed Training Package;
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industry relevant LLN assessment and reporting methods; or
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professional development resources for industry trainers/assessors aligned with Training Packages.
Strategic projects must have national scope and can include: - the development of LLN plans for a particular industry or industry group; or - the development and implementation of a national model or strategy to integrate LLN into workplace training with a cross-industry focus.
Application forms, guidelines and other relevant information are available on the WELL website.
For further information, contact the WELL Resource Coordinator.
7. Feedback requested for ACSF assessment
The bank of ACSF assessment tasks on the Precision Consultancy website has been updated and expanded, utilising 2012/13 WELL Resource funding. Go to www.precisionconsultancy.com.au/acs_framework (and scroll down to see the table of tasks).
The bank covers tasks for the five skills of Learning, Reading, Writing, Oral communication and Numeracy, at pre-level 1 through to level 4. The ‘old’ tasks have been updated to align with the 2012 ACSF, and 22 new tasks have been added. New tasks are marked with asterisks at the end of the title and have been uploaded in PDF format until the content has been validated.
Precision would value your feedback on the new tasks. For further information, please contact Jenni Oldfield on (03)9606 0118 or jenni@precisionconsultancy.com.au , or see details on the website .
8. LLN for Trainers workshop resources
These resources are to assist a WELL trainer to run a PD workshop for VET trainers to support their learners with LLN difficulties. The resources were developed for a two day workshop and include:
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session plans
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notes on activities
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worksheets and handouts
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PowerPoint presentations
They were originally produced for meat processing trainers, but have since been used with Community Services and Health trainers. Contact Jodie Hummerston at jhummerston@mintrac.com.au for a free email copy.
State activities
9. Victoria
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Planning and preparation for Annual Conference – Literacies in a diverse world
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May 17th William Angliss Centre
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Conference presenters to write article for Fine Print
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Monthly report - ‘Numbers numbers everywhere’ contributions by committee members – April-Easter eggs and chocolate
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New draft of constitution – model rules put to committee for discussion in preparation for AGM
10. NSW
The NSW Adult Literacy & Numeracy Council's submission to the TAFE Inquiry can be found on the website at Submission to the TAFE Inquiry
11. Queensland
QCAL has had a very productive few months. In March, we held a professional development afternoon. Four speakers presented their favourite tips for teaching - followed by a networking and afternoon session. The afternoon was enjoyed by all who attended. Thanks to those who shared their ideas. Further details can be found on our website
We have also been upgrading our website and looking at ways to increase our social media profile.
In May, we will be joining with members of Queensland Association of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (QATESOL) for a joint professional development weekend in Rockhampton, furthering our regional ties. See our website for further details.
12. Tasmania
TCAL is now on Facebook. If you are on Facebook, please Like the TCAL page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tasmanian-Council-for-Adult-Literacy-TCAL/377881692325020?ref=hl