ACAL eNews October 2014

October 2014

1. President’s Report

Thank you again to QCAL for a successful ACAL 2014 Conference. ACAL and respective state councils are already planning for ACAL 2015 which SACAL will hold in the Adelaide Zoo (!) 'Resilience, Risk, Preservation' and WAALC is planning ACAL 2016 in Perth, WA.

Stephen Reder's tour across Australia has now concluded and many people are considering the benefits of longitudinal studies, engaging learners in practice to build proficiency that achieves long term outcomes and the benefits of linking data sets. The question Stephen's research raised for me is how can Australia strengthen the links between community, workplace, labour force and education practitioners, courses and programs to enable learners to move in and out and between programs and self-study to access the relevant support as they need to?

ACAL's AGM was held at the Conference and the ACAL Executive Committee this year consists of Vice-President Keiko Yasukawa, Secretary Carol Macreadie and Lorraine Sushames Treasurer and myself as President. State representatives on the ACAL committee are; Stewart Burkitt, NSW ANLC, Alison Reedy from NT CAL, Ann Kelly QCAL, Kita Scott from SACAL, Chris Oriel of TCAL, Sandra Wolfe of VALBEC, and Margaret McHugh of WAALC. Don MacDowall is ACAL Executive Support. I would like to especially thank Pauline Morrow for her invaluable support as ACAL Vice-President over 2013-14. It was a pleasure working with you, Pauline.

ACAL's key aim is to work to strengthen the adult literacy and numeracy field. In Australia we need to have a much clearer picture of how many specialist adult LLN practitioners we have, where there are gaps in their availability, and how we can best up-skill more specialist LLN practitioners. This is important not only for adult learners but also to ensure there is a strong community of specialists able to provide professional development and mentoring to beginning practitioners and people working in different contexts. ACAL is keen to encourage more people to complete the Grad Diploma of LLN or above and to ensure people are able to access mentoring, on-going professional development and on the job training. So ACAL is excited that NCVER is conducting a survey of practitioners involved in Foundation Skills delivery and the Dept. Of Industry has released LLN Practitioner Scholarships. Please promote these initiatives and encourage your network to participate.

Thank you for your continued support and I encourage you to get involved in ACAL events and your state Council for adult literacy or numeracy this year.

Jenni

Jenni Anderson
ACAL President
info@acal.edu.au
http://www.acal.edu.au

2. New Committee Executive

The AGM voted the following people into leadership positions.

President: Jenni Anderson
Vice-President: Keiko Yasukawa
Treasurer: Lorraine Sushames

Subsequently the committee voted Carol Macreadie into the role of ACAL Secretary - welcome Carol!

The state and territory representatives are appointed by their local organisation.

3. Geri Pancini - Life Member

At the AGM ACAL Life Membership was awarded to Geri Pancini.

Geri Pancini, ACAL’s immediate past President, has tendered her resignation from the ACAL Committee, due to her mounting commitments in her workplace. Geri was ACAL President during 2009-2012, a critical period for the adult literacy and numeracy community. She came into her role at the beginning of national discussions about a new national policy for adult literacy and numeracy which became the National Foundation Skills Strategy for Adults.

4. A remote solution to strengthening workforce capacity in LLN

ACAL webinar - November 28, 2014

11.30 am ACST (NT), 1:00 pm AEDT Check your time zone

Ros Bauer was the 2013 Australian Training Awards Winner – Excellence in Adult Language Literacy Numeracy Practice. She is passionate about implementing programs to support people with the development of their language, literacy and numeracy skills. With a Masters of Education, specialising in literacy and teaching English to speakers of other languages, and with more than 17 years’ experience in the field, Ros is currently working with Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse learners in the remote Northern Territory community of Yuendumu.

Ros has collaborated with an RTO which has the Develop Foundation Skills in Vocational practice Skills Set on scope. She is delivering to 3 trainers in community, who work with Warlpiri adult learners and young people, in Community Services and Sport & Recreation. On this webinar Ros will introduce 3 people working in Yuendumu in the Northern Territory i.e. Rebecca Toll, trainer & careers pathways with the local school, Dave Bauer, community youth worker and Alexis Apfelbaum, community services tutor. Ros is supporting Rebecca, Dave and Alexis through the ‘Develop Foundation Skills in Vocational Practice Skills Set’ and they will talk about the benefit and challenges for them in their unique delivery context.

More details to come.

5. ACAL support for World Indigenous Peoples Conference

The ACAL Executive gave a donation of $500 to support Soraya Daniel, a Torres Strait Islander living and working in the Tanami Desert, to attend the World Indigenous Peoples Conference in Education (WIPCE) in Hawaii in May.

Soraya is very dedicated to supporting Warlpiri people in employment and training. Ros Bauer, Winner - Excellence in Adult Language Literacy Numeracy Practice, Australian Training Awards 2013 has been mentoring her for the past two years to develop her understanding of adult literacy practices. ACAL is pleased to support the development of Indigenous policy and practice in adult literacy and numeracy.

See a video

6. LLN Practitioner Scholarships Programme

The LLN Practitioner Scholarships Programme is a competitive initiative which can help you to achieve these goals. The Programme provides scholarships of up to $5000 to individuals seeking to undertake approved study towards an adult LLN qualification. Up to 50 scholarships are awarded annually.

Applicants must successfully complete and submit their application on the Department’s online application system by midnight Wednesday, 12 November 2014, AEDT

7. 2014 ACAL Conference 'Literacy: a learning spiral for life'

Presentations online

Thanks to presenters and participants for a very successful and inspirational conference.

Presentations are available online for our keynote speakers and many of our session presenters.

24th and 25th September 2015 at the Adelaide Zoo

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9. WAALC 2015 Conference

The WA Adult Literacy Council is pleased to announce that the 2015 State Conference will be held at Central Institute of Technology on 16th and 17th April, 2015. The conference is titled Great Expectations: literacy, the individual and the economy.

10.Strengthening the vocational and education training system

Vocational education and training would be improved by measures such as requiring practical work placements, and placing more emphasis on both foundation skills and course completion, according to the Brotherhood’s recent submission to the federal VET Review.

Read BSL’s Recommendations to strengthen the capacity of our vocational and education training system: submission to the VET Review

More (PDF)

11. Literacy and Numeracy Studies

Latest issue

Literacy and Numeracy Studies has just published its latest issue. Review the Table of Contents here and then visit our web site to review articles and items of interest.

Vol 22, No 1 (2014)

Editorial - Keiko Yasukawa

Articles:

Reframing Literacy in Adult ESL Programs: Making the case for the inclusion of identity - Michael Atkinson
Networked Learning: Designing for adult literacy learners - Ana Pinto
Exploring Academic Voice in Multimodal Quantitative Texts - Robert Prince, Arlene Archer

Refractions:

What research has been/ is being undertaken in adult literacy and numeracy and by whom and why: internationally and locally? - Lesley Farrell

Book Review: Back to School - Pamela Osmond

12. ACSF materials for ALA members

ACAL members who have individual or organisational membership of Adult Learning Australia might be interested to know that there are now some ACSF assessment exemplars on the ALA website. They are written with SEE teaching and assessing (and learning- why not?) in mind.

More materials will be added over the next two months to cover each macro-skill. Low level assessment is the focus of this project.

13. Teaching in the VET Sector in Australia

New publication

David Barlow has just released a new Australian textbook for trainee teachers in the VET sector. The book maybe a useful resource for any LLN teachers delivering the LLN module in the Certificate IV, as well as new LLN teachers wanting to make sense of the VET sector.

Teaching in the VET Sector in Australia Edited by Ros Brennan Kemmis & Liz Atkins

Teaching in the VET sector is a complex and highly rewarding vocation. This book provides the reader with an in depth exploration of both the theory and the practice of teaching in this sector. Each chapter invites the reader to reflect on their own practice and offers practical examples and case stories to assist the teacher to develop their own professional expertise. The chapters have been written by highly acknowledged VET researchers and teachers and all the chapters have been reviewed by people with high levels of respect and credibility in the field.

This book provides the new teacher or trainee teacher with an overview of the VET sector in Australia and introduces the reader to some of the issues that are part of our VET environment. The book explores some of the dimensions of teaching and the diverse range of learners that are characteristic of any VET classroom, workshop or enterprise setting where teaching is taking place. The book also introduces the reader to some of the major learning theories that are relevant in VET and provides practical guidance on the implications of theory for VET practice.

14. Academic perspectives on The Forrest review: creating parity

The Forrest review: creating parity was released on 1 August 2014. It was commissioned by the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, on his election in September 2013, in line with a pre-election commitment to examine Indigenous training and employment in Australia. A number of academics met at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) to discuss the recommendations made in the Forrest Review.

15. Expenditure on education and training in Australia: analysis and background paper

Peter Noonan, Gerald Burke, Andrew Wade and Sarah Pilcher from the Mitchell Institute for Health and Education Policy argue that Australian governments are prioritising their investment in some aspects of education over others - with schools and universities the beneficiaries and vocational education and training (VET) in real decline.

16. TAE80113 Graduate Diploma of Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) Practice online.

The Open Training Education Network (OTEN WSI TAFE NSW) offers continuous enrolment in the Graduate Diploma. The course is fully online and enrolment is for up to two years (completion is usually 6-24 months) and qualifies you to work on SEE, WELL and a range of LLN courses.

The teachers delivering the course are experienced LLN practitioners with expertise in teaching, assessing, resource design, online facilitation and LLN consultation.

Phone 02 9715 8554 or email oten.abe@tafensw.edu.au

17. National Foundation Skills Survey

ACAL would like to encourage all adult literacy and numeracy teachers/tutors/practitioners to complete the National Foundation Skills Survey. This is important so that the Australian Government is able to identify who is working in the Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) sector, and where there are gaps with fewer qualified practitioners in regional, rural or remote or even metropolitan areas. Please encourage any colleagues working in this area within your networks to complete the survey.

There is also an opportunity to share stories from the field about how you became an adult LLN teacher/tutor/practitioner.

18. NCVER survey of practitioners involved in Foundation Skills delivery

NCVER is conducting a survey. Please support this initiative, and encourage your colleagues to participate. Help us explore foundation skills

Do you teach or help people develop their English language, literacy, numeracy or employability skills in Australia? As part of the National Foundation Skills Strategy Project we have been contracted to find out more about both paid and volunteer practitioners delivering foundation skills. Please help us find out more about the capacity of those delivering foundation skills. The survey takes 10 - 20 minutes and is open until 19 December 2014.

Complete the survey now

19. Speak Up, Speak Out: Australian Voices for Global Education Advocacy

Online conversation

Adult Learning Australia will be hosting an online conversation on the proposed Education Goal that forms part of the post-2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Adult education practitioners and education advocates can contribute towards the discussions at Speak Up, Speak Out: Australian Voices for Global Education Advocacy, an invitational conversation being held on October 30th in Melbourne. The outcomes of these conversations will inform the advocacy messages and actions needed at local, regional and global levels. Concretely, the outcomes will be tabled at the regional Festival of Learning being organised by ASPBAE in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in November, 2014 in preparation for the World Education Forum in Korea in May 2015.

Discuss these important policy developments via in the ALA Linked In group or email info@ala.asn.au

20. LLN in Australia LinkedIn Group

Join this open LinkedIn group and discuss LLN issues.

This is an ACAL and ALA joint initiative and gives you an opportunity to be informed or discuss current research, forums, or issues.

Try it (no cost, no commitment).

In this issue

Conferences

Resources

Training

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