Full Conference program

(Subject to change without notice)

Session types

1. Workshops sessions will involve participants in active learning that will enhance their professional development and provide take-away skills and knowledge.
2. Panel presentations are likely to promote debate and have significant influence on future initiatives.
3. Practice tasters provide ‘tried and tested’ approaches used with organisations or learning groups.
4. Individual papers provide the view of the author or co-author.

WEDNESDAY September 13, 2017
7:30am
Registration desk opens
8:35am
Larrakia Welcome to Country; ACAL President Welcome
10:10-10:30am
Morning Break
10:30-10:55am
Group A • Choose 1 of 4
A1 • Show me the Money (Workshop)
Marc Brierty, Melbourne Polytechnic
Show Me the Money is a presentation based around students being able achieve a number of EAL Framework Curriculum assessment modules simultaneously and is a valuable example of how teachers can incorporate theme based project activities into their learning plans. The oral presentation modules in Certificates III and IV in EAL (Further Study) are compulsory core units that students normally complete in semester one each year.
The emphasis is on an active group learning environment and maintaining authenticity and currency. To achieve this, real life examples of realia are used to improve students understanding of other cultures and real life situations. Australian Bank Notes and Coins are used in class as a springboard, to develop teamwork skills, research and oral presentation skills. The activity examines elements of Australian Art, Culture and History as well as numeracy and WIL. Students are motivated to go beyond the classroom into their communities, families and friends and the exercise empowers them to communicate with local native speakers because money is an everyday item and it is a great talking point. (See examples of idioms, proverbs, clichés, and jargon on Money – there are pages of them!)
Students comment how they have been able to talk to their family and friends about who are the famous people on the Australian currency. The assessment activity incorporates Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing and Researching. The task runs on a weekly basis throughout the semester once it is established. The students learn that Melbourne is the home of plastic notes (known formally as polymer notes) and it is a theme that permeates so many facets of life as we discover how money really does make the world go round.
Marc Brierty taught at Victoria University for 10 years, La Trobe University for 12 years and for the past 6 years, he has been teaching EAL to Migrants and Refugees at Melbourne Polytechnic. Marc has also taught English to adults in the UK, Japan, Saudi Arabia and China.
A2 • Technology Tearoom - A social learning model to assist mature age learners in developing skills in using digital devices. (Practice taster)
Kerrie Tomkins, Leopold Community & Learning Centre
Many mature aged learners build barriers and have developed a range avoidance strategies when dealing with digital devices. All of our mature aged learners who participate in the Technology Tearoom stated that they were reliant on younger members of their family to assist them and some even express anxiety around internet and smart phones. Many of our learners stated that they limited their use of smart phones to just making calls and found the phones confusing to use.
The Technology Tearoom was developed to assist our mature aged learners to build their confidence and competence in using a range of digital devices. The program is delivered in a social setting and the curriculum is developed with input from individual learners (they identify what they want to learn to do at the beginning of each term. A constructivist learning model has been used which uses the existing knowledge and experience of each individual learner to support them to build their own learning framework and reduce the levels of anxiety they experience using digital technology. The social context of the Technology Tearoom facilitates peer teaching and learning and has been a key aspect in developing individual strategies for our mature aged learners.
Kerrie Tomkins, MBA, B Edn (Honours), Dip Teaching, Dip Sustainability. Experience working in education for over twenty years, with the last five years focused on adult learning. Under taken research into constructivist learning theory and developed a learning model using the theory to assist adult learners to build their own framework. Currently the centre Coordinator for Leopold Community and Learning Centre, prior to this appointment was a Regional Education Officer working with business, local government and community organisations in sustainability education for the Victorian State Government.
A3 • Connecting the Dots: the Reading Writing Hotline’s role in navigating the complex LLN landscape (Paper)
Vanessa Iles and Jill Finch, Reading Writing Hotline
The Reading Writing Hotline has a unique, 25 year national overview of LLN in Australia. This session will explore the disconnect between the needs of the callers to the Hotline and the provision currently available. It will look at ways we can work together to better connect learners, practitioners, industry and funding.
There are still many people out there with non-vocational LLN needs: more than three quarters of the callers to the Hotline are not eligible for the SEE program. How can we help callers to the Hotline find appropriate provision in a world full of change? How can we assist practitioners by making better referrals? What implications does this have for literacy policy?
Vanessa Iles an experienced LLN practitioner and manager of the Hotline. She coordinates a national database of LLN providers and a team of experienced teachers who field enquiries from individuals, organisations and industry. Vanessa also currently manages several national projects improving the Hotline's engagement with industry and providing an improved service to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations.
Jill Finch is a Project Officer with the Reading Writing Hotline. Jill has been a LLN Head Teacher in TAFE for 25 years and is a past President of NSWALNC. She has coordinated and delivered a number of WELL projects and teacher training programs including the Grad Dip Adult LLN Practice. Jill works with the Hotline to deliver their strategic improvement projects.
A4 • SenaiNT: A success story in the transnational delivery of an English language and foundational skills program in Timor Leste
Maria Albion, SenaiNT foundation principal and Joao da Costa, former student
SenaiNT English Language Centre, fully funded by the NT Department of Education, commenced operations in Becora, Dili in late 2015. The purpose of the Centre is to provide Australian Skills Quality Authority accredited Certificate 1 and 2 courses in Written and Spoken English and Foundation Skills to Timorese nationals seeking employment in Timor Leste and around the world, but specifically in the Northern Territory through the Timor Leste government seasonal workers program. Well over 200 students have graduated with qualifications since the program commenced. All staff are Timorese nationals.
Maria Albion, a Timorese national, is the foundation principal of SenaiNT. She has had a successful long term career in the Northern Territory Department of Education in several locations as a teacher, senior teacher, curriculum officer, assistant principal and executive contract principal. Maria fled to Darwin by boat from East Timor as a young girl in 1975 to escape the hostilities occurring in her home country.
Joao da Costa is a former student at SenaiNT who is now studying education at Charles Darwin University. He will co-present on the difference the program has made to his life.
11:00-11:25am
Group B • Choose 1 of 2
• B1 is continuation of A1
B2 • Untangling the literacies of university governance documents: A community of practice approach (Paper)
Alison Reedy, Dr Penny Wurm and Mrs Amanda Janssen, Charles Darwin University
University governance documents are intended to clearly articulate an institution's values, approaches and commitments and how these are to be achieved, though at times the language used in policy and procedure documents is impenetrable to the staff and students who are required to comply with them. This has serious implications for universities when, as a consequence, policy and procedure documents are ignored or enacted inconsistently. Charles Darwin University (CDU), along with other Australian universities, has experienced increasing numbers of student breaches of academic integrity over recent years. When such incidents occur the importance of clear, easy to read and accessible governance documents is apparent. This presentation explores the high-level literacy practices of a Community of Practice (CoP) that formed to untangle the language and make meaning from university governance documents related to student academic integrity. The presentation also showcases the resources that were developed by the CoP to reinterpret governance documents in forms that are accessible, engaging and meaningful to university staff and students.
Alison Reedy is Team Leader, Higher Education and Training in the Office of Learning and Teaching at Charles Darwin University. Alison’s professional background started in the area of banking and finance before she moved into the field of education 25 years ago. She has worked across the school, community education, vocational and higher education sectors. She has a particular interest in English language and literacy education, Indigenous education, and online learning and learning design. Alison was the ACAL NT Representative from 2010 to 2015 and is currently enrolled in PhD studies on the topic ‘Indigenous Learners Online: Indigenous Perspectives on Online Learning in Higher Education’.
Amanda Janssen is Theme Leader for the Academic Language and Learning Success Program (ALLSP) at Charles Darwin University. This team works with students and staff to improve and develop academic skills and assessment. In addition she coordinates the PASS program, which is a peer led study program to assist students to improve their marks. Amanda is also part of the steering group for the ‘External and International Student Orientation’ as well as a key member of the working group to develop university wide resources to promote academic integrity. Her research interests broadly include assessment design, Social Semiotics and mapping genre and skills requirements. She is currently part of the executive team for the Association for Academic Language and Learning (AALL).
Dr Penny Wurm is an ecologist based at Charles Darwin University with research interests in the ecology and management of monsoonal wetlands and invasive plant species, and a teaching practice in environmental science. In January 2016, Penny completed a three year appointment as Associate Head of School - Learning & Teaching, School of Environment at CDU. She formerly served as Higher Education Project Leader for the Tropical Savannas CRC, and has also taught in the VET sector. Penny has won a Vice-Chancellors Award for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (2015) for the Eastern Indonesian Field Intensive; an Endeavour Executive Award – DEEWR (2011) for a ten week funded placement at Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia; a National Carrick Institute Citation (2006) for an engaging, flexible postgraduate program, focusing on tropical Australia and building skills and understandings for regional Professionals in authentic learning contexts; and a national Australian Society for Computers in Tertiary Education (ascilite) Award for ‘Exemplary use of electronic technologies in teaching and learning in higher education’.
B3 • Comparative delivery of Adult Basic Education in British Columbia, Canada, and Foundation Skills in New South Wales (Paper)
Berni Aquilina, TAFE NSW
This presentation offers key findings from a June 2016 NSW Premier's Teacher Scholarship study tour to Canada. The Premier’s Samsung Technology in Rural and Remote Schools Scholarship provided an opportunity to investigate the delivery of Adult Basic Education (ABE) in regional and remote settings across British Columbia (BC) and to reflect on its application with respect to current TAFE teaching of Foundation Skills in regional and remote parts of NSW. The aim of this non-academic study tour was to gain knowledge, increase networks and share ideas. Canada was chosen because it has similarities with Australia in terms of size, population and LLN levels. Visits were made to community colleges, teaching universities, community organisations and other providers across BC to learn about their facilities and delivery methods. Surprisingly less use was made of technology for Adult ABE in BC than is commonly used in NSW, whilst volunteers often supported delivery. The Canadian Rockies Great Teachers Seminar in Banff, Alberta, provided further opportunities to network with adult teachers from community colleges and universities. This presentation makes comparisons regarding current delivery practices of Foundation Skills in NSW and several recommendations are made concerning levels of technology, use of volunteers, cultural inclusion and the need for an adult literacy strategy for NSW.
Berni Aquilina is a Head Teacher of Foundation Skills at TAFE NSW West region. She moved to Mudgee nine years ago from Nelson, New Zealand, where she was a tutor with Adult Learning Support (a community-based literacy organisation) and a study skills teacher at NMIT. For a short time she was also a trainer for Literacy Aotearoa. Prior to that, Berni had a 20 year pearling career that took her across northern Australia and through the Pacific, where she developed and delivered pearl technician training courses for local people in the Cook Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati.
• B4 is continuation of A4
11:30-11:55am
Group C • Choose 1 of 4
C1 • From 16 to 80 Supporting Aboriginal Students with LLN at Tauondi Aboriginal College (Practice taster)
Vicki Hartman, Tauondi Aboriginal College
Tauondi is a Kaurna word, and means to penetrate, or to break through. The name of the college acknowledges the Kaurna people, our hosts and the traditional people of the land where Tauondi is located. Tauondi College provides education for the 'whole' person, affirming Aboriginal cultures and identities in ways that respect Aboriginal law and customs and the diversity of students' experiences and ambitions. With this holistic philosophy, Tauondi College offers a range of nationally accredited training programs, as well as non-accredited Adult Community Education (ACE) activities specifically designed to meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their communities. This practice taster is about the journey Tauondi students travel from Language, Literacy Numeracy development to meaningful training which results in the successful transition to employment. Throughout their journeys, Tauondi offers Literacy Numeracy support and training and employment mentor support, increasing student's confidence and retention rates, reducing their ‘shame factor’. COAG target 4.4. Improved literacy and numeracy levels can improve social, educational and employment outcomes. Students that were also mentored have a better success rate.
Vicki Hartman, is a Foundation Skills Mentor at Tauondi Aboriginal College and has been involved in adult literacy and numeracy since 2009, from a trainer in the Certificate I in Introduction to Vocational Education to her current role as Foundation Skills Mentor. Vicki's role includes coordinating LLN tutor support for individual and whole course groups based on individual and whole course group requirements. Vicki currently sits as Secretary on the Australian Council for Adult Literacy (ACAL), since 2015. She is also Vice-President on the South Australian Council for Adult Literacy (SACAL). Vicki has been involved with SACAL since 2010.
C2 • Digital learning resources for remote learners. (Paper)
Brendan Kavanagh, Central Australian Remote Health Development Services (CARHDS)
CARHDS is a very small Registered Training Organisation delivering accredited and non-accredited training to learners in remote communities within the NT. Changes in funding has co-opted CARHDS to tune in to digital learning as a teaching and learning tool to better meet the fast pace of technology, the needs of the learner (often with low literacy), compliance requirements of regulatory bodies and workplace demands. This presentation showcases a series of digital resources developed by CARHDS and its learners through the delivery of Foundation Skills Certificate I in Skills for Vocational Pathways.
The digital world demands our attention and our learners need our attention. This is our best effort to balance digital technology, Aboriginal language and workplace responsibilities to create an innovative learning environment - yes still with limited internet access. As we navigate the digital world of technology, we realise that there is a great need to expand our professional development practices to embrace coding, on-line learning, interactive software and at the same time maintain strong interpersonal and relationship skills with employers and learners.
Brendan Kavanagh is a passionate advocate for adult learners and for languages. He has taught English in China and for the past 6 years has been working with remote communities as a Language, Literacy and Numeracy Trainer in the Top End and Central Australia. Brendan is currently studying a Master of Applied Linguistics and is responsible for the development of many digital resources used at CARHDS. Brendan is a fluent Mandarin speaker who is able to successfully integrate Aboriginal languages with learning resources.
C3 • 1977 to 2017: How did we get here? (Paper)
Pamela Osmond, University of Technology Sydney
The presentation will trace the forty year development of the field of adult basic education in Australia with particular focus on the socio-economic drivers of change. It will trace its beginnings, grounded in a liberal humanist view of literacy education, to the present day employment-driven, human capital view and trace the influences on the profession through those decades. It is the aim of the presentation, and of the study from which it draws its data, to help practitioners to contextualise their practice and to identify ways in which they might regain something of the agency over their profession which was evident in earlier eras. The presentation will draw on data from an historical interpretive study of adult literacy and basic education in NSW which will serve as a case study or exemplar for the development of programs nationally, since all states have been subject to similar national and global socio-economic influences.
Pamela Osmond has worked in the field of Adult Basic Education since the 1970s. She has taught in a range of contexts and occupied a number of management and curriculum support roles in TAFE NSW. She is the author of a wide range of teaching / learning resources, including 'So You Want to Teach an Adult to Read…?' and 'Literacy Face to Face'. Pamela’s present roles are as teacher educator at OTEN, TAFE NSW and as project officer at the Reading Writing Hotline. She is at present researching the history of Adult Basic Education in NSW.
C4 • A 21st Century Yolŋu ‘Bothways’ approach to English and Warramiri Literacy at Gäwa. (Paper)
Ben van Gelderen, Charles Darwin University
In North-East Arnhem Land there are numerous stories concerning the Yolŋu ‘ancestral dog’ Djuranydjura. The most famous concerns his interaction with the Macassans who established mutually beneficial relationships with Yolŋu over the centuries; trepang collecting services traded for articles such as fish hooks, tobacco, knives and cloth (Macknight, 1976). Nevertheless, in the Djuranydjura story, when the Macassan offers rice and shoes and blankets, he rejects them all, in favour of his own land and resources (Warner, 1958; Berndt & Berndt, 1989; McIntosh, 1994). At Gäwa homeland on Elcho Island, this powerful story of identity and ‘defiance in the face of outside intrusion’ (McIntosh, 2003, p. 314) is interpreted to also include the arrival of balanda (white) teachers, and their focus on English literacy. However, it is not that English literacy is not a priority, but that it must maintain its proper place; negotiated to sit alongside literacy of the land, and the foundational Warramiri language itself (Guthadjaka, 2012). One approach of applying such a ‘Bothways’ pedagogy through utilising a systematic literacy suite such as ‘Accelerated Literacy’ for both languages and cultures is outlined to demonstrate that synthesis and strengthened identity is quite attainable when teachers and community work together.
Ben van Gelderen is a Lecturer in Education; Co-ordinator of the Growing Our Own project. This innovative program involves the delivery of the Bachelor of Education in five remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. Ben has worked as a Lawyer, English teacher, Chaplain, Teacher/Linguist, EAL/D consultant and Curriculum Advisor. His Master of Education project was collaborative and transdisciplinary research with the Gäwa community to help provide digital resources for the intergenerational transmission of language and cultural knowledge and his PhD study is a multidisciplinary history of Gäwa Christian School.
12:00 noon
Lunch
1:00-1:55pm
Keynote 1 ‘Can technology erase poor literacy from the global South?’ - Professor Santosh Mehrotra
2:00-2.25pm
Group D • Choose 1 of 4
D1 • ALPA-Developing a Healthy Indigenous Workforce (Workshop)
Angela Nolan and Tracey Fitzgibbon, Arnhem Land Aboriginal Progress Corporation
This presentation will showcase programs delivered by the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal (ALPA) Corporation, demonstrating how these are contextualised to the workplace, while addressing the Language Literacy and Numeracy needs of Indigenous participants. ALPA owns five community stores throughout Arnhem Land and manages twenty-two community stores in the Northern Territory. ALPA’s training department identified that there is no word for ‘measurement’ in Australian indigenous languages and has addressed the LLN skills gap by developing a specific program Ready 4 Djama (work) with a focus on measurement and preparing employees to apply these skills in the workplace.
Indigenous Australians are one of the most disadvantaged population groups in Australia as indicated by their poor health status. Identifying the need for education and training in nutrition, the ALPA nutritionist developed a Good Food Person Program, and plans for each store to employee a trained Good Food Person, who can advise customers on nutrition and healthy eating practices. Videos, power point, ALPA wiki spaces and hardcopies of LLN resources will be used during the presentation, to share ALPA’s knowledge.
Angela Nolan has eight years’ experience in indigenous vocational education and training, with considerable experience in contextualising assessment tools and addressing the Language Literacy and numeracy needs of an indigenous cohort. As the Training Manager for the ALPA RTO she manages the retail user choice contract for one hundred and thirty students. Angela developed the ready for work program for CDP and is currently implementing an Indigenous leadership program. In 2016 Angela completed a Diploma of Vocational Education and Training/Design and Development and in 2014 a Graduate Diploma of Adult LLN practice.
Tracey Fitzgibbon’s passion for nutrition began during her career with Coles as a Department manager for the Delicatessen, Fruit and Vegetable Department and Grocery Department.
After her career with Coles, Tracey decided to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics and began her career with ALPA. During this time she also completed a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment which developed her training skills. Her responsibilities as a Senior Nutritionist involve nutrition and food safety training with staff and managers, promoting healthy options and improving access and affordability of nutritious food.
D2 • Numeracy, what’s the problem? (Workshop)
Christine Tully, Melbourne Polytechnic
Why is Maths such an issue for people? In this workshop we will explore students pre-conceptions about maths and the difficulties they had with learning it. We will then look at the types of numeracy they need for functioning in society including financial literacy, information literacy and technology literacy. We will then explore practical ways to involve students in learning numeracy that connects it their needs. Participants will be given a opportunity to discuss what has worked for them and why it has worked and what hasn't. It will be an opportunity for them to bring along any resources that work with their students. They will also be explore some delivery materials and concepts that have proved successful with a variety of adult students.
Chris Tully has worked in the Adult Education field for 26 years across a range of areas. Recently she has worked in the Literacy and Numeracy support area, providing numeracy support to a variety of VET programs. She also has extensive experience in delivery numeracy to adults including in classes with a high number of EAL students, indigenous students, people returning to study and in workplaces. She has been involved in the accreditation and re-accreditation of various curriculum and training packages including the CGEA.
D3 • Evaluating the Western Australian dual enrolment vocational support courses (Paper)
Cheryl Wiltshire, Department of Training and Workforce Development, Western Australia
The Course in Applied Vocational Study Skills (CAVSS) and Course in Underpinning Skills for Industry Qualifications (USIQ) are a crucial part of the support system for vocational students so they receive specialist literacy numeracy teaching and can also access other soft skills such as cultural knowledge, digital capabilities etc.
Recent external evaluations have provided an analysis of how the extensive implementation of these courses in WA is progressing and what issues are arising.
Both courses take a radically different approach to assessment in comparison to other access courses which focus on literacy and numeracy levels often based on the Australian Core Skills Framework. In a competency based system, this results in artificial imposition of a particular level on a whole student group or the need to use multiple courses. CAVSS and USIQ are non-assessable and hence teachers are free to focus on the needs of the students in the vocational course which vary according to study modes and industry needs.
The success of the courses relies on the expertise of specialist teachers and their willingness to match their teaching methodologies to those of their vocational partner. Business Rules detail the model with a greater level of detail than most accredited courses to promote greater understanding of strategies found to be successful.
Reports are available for both evaluations and Cheryl Wiltshire will present a paper at this conference detailing the planned response to the evaluations.
Cheryl Wiltshire works at the Department of Training and Workforce Development in WA in the professional learning section. She has been part of the team supporting the accreditation and implementation of CAVSS and USIQ for 17 years and prior to that worked in TAFE and jobseeker training.
D4 • What attitudes are we talking about? (Paper)
Ser Loy Chan, Charles Darwin University
Learning Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) skills improves lives. Workers with comprehensive workplace LLN skills benefit from improved performance. Work skills and attitudes are linked. Learners have varied attitudes, and occasionally these impede learning. There are attitudes towards learning, attitudes about the learning content as well as attitudes related to the job skill. Although LLN trainers may be limited in their response to the attitudes of their students, they can include attitude content in their curriculum. Does awareness of attitudes associated with content inform pedagogies to improve learning outcomes? This paper discusses some relevant findings from a Master of Education research that examines attitudes in Competency-Based Training within national qualifications frameworks in Australia and Singapore. Document analysis of training packages, official reports and relevant literature with a content analysis approach was used. This paper discusses how content may be analysed for associated attitudes, and provides a basis for identifying such attitudes. LLN Pedagogies can then be adjusted to raise awareness of such content attitudes in learners to help learners achieve better learning outcomes. This paper gives guidance to LLN trainers to address attitudinal components in their teaching of (LLN) skills. (190 words)
Ser Loy Chan is a Singapore qualified trainer, assessor and curriculum developer of national CET (VET) programsand held adjunct positions between 2013 and 2014 as an Adult Educator and Research Associate at the Institute for Adult Learning, a part of the national training authority in Singapore. Ser Loy graduated from CDU in 2016 with a Master of Education (International) culminating in a research thesis examining how attitude learning is incorporated into training within the national qualification frameworks of Australia and Singapore. Currently pursuing a PhD in Education and Training at CDU to further research into how attitudes can be meaningfully incorporated into training within national qualifications frameworks. The co-author (not presenting) is Associate Professor Greg Shaw, School of Education, CDU – co-author. Greg has long experience working in a range of educational contexts. He began his career as a secondary agriculture science teacher, and has worked in primary, vocational education, community development, Higher Education and as a consultant in education.
2:30-2:55pm
Group E • Choose 1 of 2
• E1 is continuation of D1
• E2 is continuation of D2
E3 • Describing capability in the foundation skills field (Paper)
Louise Wignall, Wignall Consulting
The Foundation Skills Professional Standards Framework was developed through extensive national consultation as an action under the National Foundation Skills Strategy for Adults. It describes the diverse range of capabilities that practitioners use to deliver foundation skills services in education, workplace and community environments. Descriptors for four levels of capability across three domains – Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement – make it possible to articulate the breadth and variety of roles and responsibilities that are found in the foundation skills space. By providing a consistent language for describing these capabilities, the Framework has many potential uses including career planning, professional development, recruitment and workforce capability management. This workshop will use a series of case studies and activities to explore how the Framework can be used to support practitioner capability, pathways and professional development.
Louise Wignall has contributed to strategic projects focused on the importance of Foundation Skills in VET over the last 25 years. Through recent work under the National Foundation Skills Strategy project she has worked with Anita Roberts to develop a Foundation Skills Professional Standards Framework.
E4 • Digital literacies, hyper-personalisation, new tribes and points of contact (Paper)
Stefan Popenici, Charles Darwin University
The aim to personalise education is widely accepted as one of the most attractive ideas in educational theory and policies. The possibility to utilise new digital tools to identify and address students' specific needs and create individual educational packages is raising the promise of a better and more efficient teaching process. However, education should have a closer look at promises and risks associated with personalisation tools delivered by Silicon Valley companies. Beyond efficiency we see that individuals are susceptible to become trapped in 'echo chambers' that isolate them from opposing viewpoints, making them more open to accept viral nonsense, pseudoscience and to remain exposed to narrowly curated and manipulated information.
The hyper-personalisation is created in online environments by algorithms that select not what is important, valuable or educational, but what is the most susceptible to raise Internet traffic and revenues. Algorithms are also designed with programmers' own biases and filters that impact on the structure of these personalised packages. The creation of ‘opposite tribes’ by these filters is making even more important to rethink and develop new digital literacies for students and teachers in higher education, with new points of contact for alternative views and seminal ideas.
Dr Stefan Popenici is currently working at Charles Darwin University and is an Honorary Fellow of the Melbourne-CSHE at the University of Melbourne. He is also Associate Director of the Imaginative Education Research Group at Simon Fraser University, Canada. Stefan is an academic with extensive work experience in teaching and learning, research, governance and academic development with universities in Europe, North America, South East Asia, New Zealand and Australia. He is investigating digital futures and the role of imagination, creativity and innovation in education.
3:00-3:25pm
Afternoon Break
3:30-4:30pm
Group F • Choose 1 of 2
F1 • Re-imagining WELL for work in the 21st Century (Panel)
Jenny Macaffer, Adult Learning Australia and Ros Bauer, Director Adult Literacy Services and ALA Board member
The closure of the Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) Program in 2014 has created a vacuum for working people with language, literacy and numeracy needs. Join us in this interactive session by contributing to a new WELL model that is responsive to diversity and the requirements of workers across all States and Territories.
Jenny Macaffer is the CEO of Adult Learning Australia, a not for profit national peak body for adult and community education (ACE). She advocates for equitable access to lifelong learning, particularly in communities of disadvantage. Jenny has a long history of working in community development, promoting human rights and social justice.
Ros Bauer has extensive experience in adult education as a language literacy numeracy practitioner. She was the winner of the 2013 Australian Training Awards Excellence in Adult LLN Practice and a recipient of an Executive Fellowship through the Australian Endeavour Awards; which included a professional learning experience in Scandinavia. She is part of the NT LLN Network Group and is the educational consultant to the Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation.
F2 • Panel: Language at Home and in the Academy: Resistance and Compromise (Panel)
Birut Zemits and Adelle Sefton-Rowston, Charles Darwin University, Robyn Ober, Michele Willsher and Janine Oldfield, Lecturers at Batchelor Institute, Melanie Mullins and Therese Parry, (students at Charles Darwin University)
Languages spoken and used in the community can be radically different to that which is needed in academic situations. This is particularly true for speakers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, Kriol, Pidgin and Aboriginal English. These languages, which are essential to define ways of knowing, are also intrinsic to individual social and cultural identity. Sometimes there are tensions and difficulties with negotiating this space between academic English and home language. At other times, compromise is easy when there is a bigger picture or motivation in view. This panel will discuss a variety of issues related to language maintenance and individual adjustments needed to survive and succeed in the English dominated academic domain. Ideas and research by panel members will highlight a diverse range of situations from linguistic research, literature studies, teaching of academic literacy and the perspective of being a university student. Exploring the fine line between resistance and compromise with language between home and the academy will raise many questions that apply to a broad range of situations.
Robyn Ober has been researching Aboriginal English and language shifts in formal contexts and written extensively on Both Ways philosophy. Dr Michele Willsher and Janine Oldfield highlight the importance of recognising and responding in a culturally responsive way to the demands of writing for Higher Education. Dr Adelle Sefton-Rowston explores how Aboriginal English is represented by Indigenous authors in literature. Dr Birut Zemits (panel chair) teaches in enabling, undergraduate to post-doctoral levels, providing a broad overview of language demands for students in the university. Education students, Melanie Mullins and Therese Parry, share direct experiences of moving between languages and cultural perspectives in their studies.
5:00pm
Walk along Waterfront area
6:00pm
Darwin Deckchair Cinema doors open - food, eating area, drink and networking
7:30pm sharp
Film commences
About 9:00pm
Film ends – return to hotels – on foot or pre-arranged private transport
THURSDAY September 14, 2017
8:00am
Registration desk opens
9:00am
Keynote 1 Applying ‘Red Dirt Thinking’ to adult learning in the Northern Territory, Dr John Guenther
10:00-10:30am
Morning Break
10:30-10:55am
Group J • Choose 1 of 4
J1 • Transition to University: Supporting nursing students to develop their numeracy skills (Practice taster)
Elaine Bell and Jan Thompson, Flinders University
Background: Undergraduate nursing students have diverse backgrounds with varying basic numeracy skills. Some students enter university with limited numeracy skills requiring extensive assistance to bring them to a safe level for nursing practice. Aim: This study aimed to address all aspects of numeracy required for successful entry into the nursing profession. The intervention combined rigorous formative student assessment with individualised feedback and support in the first year undergraduate nursing program.

Method: Students were given a pre-test multiple choice quiz in hard copy in class and within 48 hours students received feedback and direction about where they need to focus their numeracy development for a subsequent hard copy quiz. A mixed method approach was used, quantitative data was collected focused on the pre and post results analysed along with student interaction with the relevant online resources. A total population of 919 students, 415 consented of which 25 were interviewed and 5 staff were also interviewed.

Results: Quantitative: Post test score increased following intervention (67.95%); Pre & post test score remained same despite intervention (15.9%); Post test score decreased following intervention (10.12%); Missing data (1.2%) Qualitative: 3 key themes: Existing knowledge and experience, learning and teaching strategies, feedback and assessment.

Elaine Bell is a Lecturer in Nursing at Flinders University. Prior to which she was the Nursing and Midwifery Education Director at the Women and Children’s Health Network. Jan Thompson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Flinders University where she has been working for the past 25 years. She has been the Coordinator of the Undergraduate Nursing Programs for the past 8 years. Elaine and Jan are interested in transition to university for undergraduate nursing students with a particular lens on numeracy skills and how to scaffold these throughout the three year program.
J2 • Graffiti as Literacy: reading and writing as anti-text
Adelle Sefton-Rowston, Charles Darwin University
This presentation will reflect on the Four Corners program 'Australia's Shame' that exposed the abuse of boys in Darwin's Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. When we see Dylan Voller graffiti the walls of his isolation cell and write his name over and over again, we see a boy who is clearly distressed but calling to be read. Literacy as a practice of expression can be taught in various creative ways that lead to practical, but sometimes unpredictable reading and writing outcomes. How is graffiti as (anti-text) an interface for learning?
Adelle Sefton-Rowston lectures in Common Units at Charles Darwin University. She completed her PhD in Literary Studies at Deakin University in 2013 and was winner of last year’s NT Literary Awards essay prize. She has published critical essays in international journals and writes poetry and short stories. She is an active member of two major literary committees and vice president of the NT Writers Centre Board.
J3 • Tacit Knowledge, Performativity and Professionals as ‘Numbers Crunchers’ of the Digital Age: Implications for Adult Education (Paper)
John Garrick, Charles Darwin University
This paper examines the relationship between the tacit knowledge held by professionals and the performance measurement regimes of post-modern organizations. Drawing on Polanyi’s (1958; 1968) influential ideas about tacit knowledge and Lyotard’s (1984) theory of performativity with regard to criteria such as profit-performance, it assesses the applicability and relevance of tacit, working knowledge in the internet age to the daily working lives of adult educators. A central question for the study is whether professionals can still tap into and utilise their tacit know-how without having it reduced by contemporary performance oriented regimes of ‘knowledge’. Key words: Tacit knowledge, performativity, adult education and training, experiential learning, working knowledge, organizational performance, key performance indicators.
John Garrick LLB (Hon 1, UTS), M.Soc Stud (Sydney), Ph.D (UTS), is currently Senior Lecturer in Business Law at Charles Darwin University. He is a Supreme Court attorney in Australia and, until 2007, was in private legal practice with a major Sydney law firm specialising in international comparative law and Chinese commercial law reform. He is author and co-editor of a wide range of scholarly publications including several well-known Routledge books on workplace learning and power and international commercial law. He has worked extensively in both legal practice and academia in Hong Kong, the Middle-East, North America and Australia.
J4 • The Yolngu way: Learning financial literacy skills through the strength of traditional concepts (Paper)
Bronwyn Rossingh, Accountability Notions and Yalmay Yunupingu, Yirrkala School, Yirrkala
Financial literacy tools and resources have been developed and re-developed over many years as an attempt to bring about awareness and skill development in the financial literacy field that has numeracy and business concepts as its foundation. This heavily Westernised and institutionalised field remains complex and confusing for many. For Indigenous people from remote communities the challenge to find a productive base for learning these abstract concepts continues. This paper describes a small but interesting project undertaken in Yirrkala whereby a number of complex financial literacy concepts were deconstructed to allow Yolngu women to devise their own method of learning through metaphors and the deeper cultural and ceremonial practices. This allowed the development of a cultural tool that explains the meaning behind the Western concepts based on a Yolngu perspective that values culture and respects the strengths of Yolngu people.
Dr Bronwyn Rossingh has been leading and managing projects in Indigenous communities regarding youth justice and leadership, improving education pathways, enterprise development and financial literacy for many years. She is the Managing Director of Accountability Notions and also works with CDU. Bronwyn is a Fellow of the CPA and is an Editor of the Evaluation Journal of Australasia. Yalmay Yunupingu is a Yolngu Rirratjingu woman from Yirrkala. Yalmay has been teaching for over 40 years and is the Senior Linguist at the Yirrkala School. Yalmay has received numerous education awards including ‘Teacher of Excellence (Remote Community)’. She is a strong advocate of the bilingual ‘Two Way Learning’ philosophy and is passionate about Yolngu people achieving their dreams.
11:00-11:55am
Group K • Choose 1 of 4
K1 • The Impact of Domestic and Family Violence on Adult Women Learners, their Lecturers and their Workplaces (Workshop)
Rachael Uebergang and Sandra Dann, NT Working Women's Centre
Given that one in three women have an experience of domestic and family violence what consideration have adult learning institutions undertaken of the impact of these statistics on women who return to study, seek to re-train and who wish to enter the workplace? What are the particular learning needs of women students who have experienced or are experiencing domestic and family violence (DFV) and how are these needs being met in learning contexts?
This workshop will report on a pilot program run jointly by TAFE SA and a domestic and family violence service in Adelaide for women with experiences of DFV. The program was run at the dv service with 2 subjects from the Women's Education program delivered by a lecturer skilled in working with women students with DFV experiences and supported by a case worker at the dv service.
This program had very positive outcomes with the majority of students going on to complete training with TAFE, Universities and in securing employment. Further, this workshop will examine the impact on workplaces when domestic and family violence enters learning institutions. Do learning institutions hav/e domestic and family violence polices in place? Does their enterprise agreement provide for domestic and family violence leave? What do employees need to know about their own safety at work, how do staff and managers handle disclosures of DFV from students and colleagues, what resources are available to negotiate domestic and family violence safety plans and what is known about appropriate referrals within and outside the learning institution.
Rachael Uebergang and Sandra Dann are Directors of the NT Working Women's Centre and the Working Women's Centre SA respectively. These Centres work primarily with non union women experiencing workplace issues but jointly work on delivering awareness and training to workplaces and their managers of domestic and family violence in their national DFV Work Aware program. Rachael and Sandra are accredited to deliver White Ribbon Workplace Programs and have experience consulting with organisations who are seeking or who have gained White Ribbon accreditation.
K2 • Blended Learning for the LLN Classroom (Workshop)
Kathrin Colgan, Chisholm Institute
This workshop will assist educators to familiarise themselves with blended learning tools and applications such as Moodle, Edmodo, Nearpod, Kahoot, and Edpuzzle. As part of a Vet Development Centre grant in 2016, presenters were involved in a 6 month trial of blended learning products with LLN and CALD students. They are keen to share their successes and strategies for overcoming difficulties in implementing blended delivery tools in the classroom. The workshop will be hands on and enhance teachers’ technological skills, as well as cover tips for instructional design and dealing with copyright. At the end of the workshop each participant will have an engaging activity to take away and trial with their students. This is a BYOD workshop and participants are encouraged to download Nearpod, Kahoot and Edpuzzle before the session.
The EAL teaching team at Chisholm Institute have been working closely with their students to develop engaging activities through technology that not only strengthens the delivery in daily classes, but prepares the students to enter the new world when they go on with their education. Each of the team members bring more than 20 years’ experience in teaching EAL and also draw on their current capability of working with different delivery models and funding streams. Kathrin Colgan, on behalf of the team, welcomes you to share the techknowledgey at the workshop.
K3 • Can we learn anything from Kiwis across the ditch? (Panel)
David Do, Adult Literacy and Numeracy, Tertiary Education Commission, New Zealand and Lindee Conway, Foundation & Preparatory Studies, Melbourne Polytechnic
We will inform and inspire on what Australia and its states could do better to help more adults reach their full potential. The adults we all serve would benefit from for more considered approaches to teaching, learning, and assessment. Both countries' recent OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) results provide further impetus for such moves.
We want participants to understand New Zealand's coordinated approach to lifting adult literacy and numeracy skills. We will outline the: benefits from improving and integrating assessment systems with teaching, learning, and the use of data; factors supporting good public policy; and assessment tools that support learner success. Participants can then consider what could be done differently nationally or in states.
We want participants to understand New Zealand's coordinated approach to lifting adult literacy and numeracy skills. We will outline the: benefits from improving and integrating assessment systems with teaching, learning, and the use of data; factors supporting good public policy; and assessment tools that support learner success. Participants can then consider what could be done differently nationally or in states.
Lindee’s International Specialised Skills Institute fellowship study sparked this workshop. She looked at New Zealand's response to Foundation Studies needs among adults. Her report canvasses the benefits of a single assessment tool, associated rigorous research-based teaching and assessment approaches, and applicable lessons for Victoria.
David helped develop the latest iteration of the New Zealand government’s world-leading programme of system change. Learners, tertiary institutions, employers, and industry, benefit from an approach which integrates adult foundation skills assessment with teaching and learning to create the right conditions to improve adult literacy and numeracy skills.
David Do led the development of the TEC's Adult Literacy and Numeracy Implementation Strategy 2015-19 which set future directions for this government priority area. Son of a Vietnamese refugee and Chinese migrant, he's a proud Kiwi born in Auckland. He happily lives in Wellington now after being New Zealand Union of Students' Associations Co-President 2010-2011. Lindee Conway has almost 30 years’ experience in Foundation Studies as a teacher, program coordinator and team leader in the community and VET sectors. Her interest in how assessment works successfully for learners and teachers is reflected in her fellowship. She wants to make formal literacy and numeracy assessment manageable for educators and meaningful for adult learners.
K4 • Yes, I Can! From NSW to the NT? (Workshop)
Deborah Durnan, Literacy for Life Foundation and Bob Boughton, University of New England
Yes, I Can! (or Yo Si Puedo') is an Aboriginal-led adult literacy campaign that aims to achieve population-level change. It was first piloted in Australia in 2012 in Wilcannia, in the Murdi Paaki region of north western NSW, using a model originally developed in Cuba. Over the last six years, the campaign has extended to 7 western NSW Aboriginal communities. By the end of 2017, over 130 Aboriginal adults will have successfully participated. The Literacy for Life Foundation coordinates the campaign in partnership with local communities and their organisations. Plans are underway to move to the Northern Territory, with several trial sites proposed. In this workshop, an Aboriginal community staff member from western NSW will present on the campaign in her community, supported by a member of the national campaign team and the campaign evaluator. The workshop will explain how the campaign is rolled out in a community in three phases, how local staff are recruited and trained, what resources are needed, and how participants progress through it. By the end of the workshop, people who attend should be able to make an informed decision about whether this model could work in their contexts, and what steps they can take to extend it to more communities.
Deborah Durnan and Wendy Fernando work for the Literacy for Life Foundation, the national Aboriginal organisation which leads the Yes, I Can! campaign in Australia. Deborah is the national campaign coordinator, Wendy is the community campaign coordinator in Walgett. Bob Boughton teaches adult education at the University of New England, and has been the campaign evaluator since 2011.
12:00 noon
Lunch
1:00pm
Keynote 3 Literacy in the Time of Decoloniality: New Critical Capacities, Professor Melissa Steyn
2:00-2:25pm
Group L • Choose 1 of 4
L1 • Points of contact for research and teaching: exploring NCVER pods to improve practice (Practice taster)
Michele Circelli, NCVER
This Practice Taster provides an opportunity to showcase NCVER’s portfolio of literacy, language and numeracy related resources. The Centre’s VOCEDplus Pod Network captures information about VET and presents it within thematically arranged 'Pod' pages, making access to this information quick, easy and direct. More specific topics within these themes are presented within smaller Pods, called Podlets. The Pod Network has resonated with users in the VET sector as a resource for providing easy access to quality resources. User analytics clearly show that the Foundation Skills Pod is the most viewed page in the entire Pod Network. This session will provide a practical introduction to the Pods, how to use them and enable participants to provide feedback on Pod content and structure of the podlets.
Michelle Circelli is Team Leader Research with the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, where she manages and undertakes research projects funded under the National VET Research Program. Michelle has a particular interest in foundation skills and recently managed and was a mentor for the Foundation Skills Literature Review project, a joint initiative with the University of Technology Sydney and ACAL. This project was aimed at building the practitioner research capabilities of the foundation skills workforce. Michelle was the 2013 Fulbright Professional Scholar in Vocational Education and Training spending time in the United States undertaking research into measuring success of adult literacy and numeracy programs with the Californian Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the federal Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education.
L2 • Journeys of new migrants: I know who I am now, therefore I can (limit of 25) (Workshop)
Serena Seah, Swinburne University of Technology
Limit of 25
In their journey to learn the English language, some students face road blocks that they struggle to overcome. 7 years of teaching English to new migrants has sparked an investigation into the road blocks facing new migrants, specifically those with an intermediate language proficiency. Students in the class were surveyed about their identify and perception of English ability, prior to and after arrival in Australia, the language they use to think in and whether they see themselves as Australians. They also wrote about the adjustments and factors which would support the change in their cultural identity. There were follow-up classroom discussions. After which, students evaluated the extent in which the survey and discussions helped in their understanding of their developing Australian identity. Following on, the students wrote a narrative about an identity or citizenship shift in their lives. That gave voice to their change in identity and citizenship. They compiled their stories to publish a book and to read their story to an audience. The empowering impact of this project can be seen in the increased confidence of the students and their self-belief.
Serena Seah has been teaching at Swinburne (Tafe) for the past 10 years to new migrants, within the AMEP and SEE programs. In 2010 she was awarded the Swinburne Teaching Award for her work in helping migrant students achieve their goals of employment through engagement with the community, volunteer tutors, mentors and Employment Forums. Her other passion is in her Volunteer Tutor Co-ordinator role where she trains and supports 100+ volunteer tutors across the 3 campuses in the General Education Department. She was on the Knox Multicultural Advisory Committee and also sat on the Board of Migrant Information
L3 • LLN for employees, is a change of focus required? (Paper)
Lesley Harvey, TAFESA - APY Lands
Participation in employment requires specific LLN and communication competencies which do not necessarily mean that a person has to be able to read and write the English language to a high ACSF level. Training has historically focused on the delivery of generic LLN skills that may or may not empower the student in the world of work. For Indigenous people living and working in remote central Australia this approach can have a significant impact on their ability to undertake employment.
By contextualising delivery of language and literacy skills specific to workplace requirements, students identify with the relevance of the training and participation improves. It has also been found that students, once engaged can determine to own their learning and in addition, when they have mastered the skills required for their work, actively seek to improve their overall literacy and language skills. From the employer perspective workforce development is paramount to ensure a positive relationship with employees and to improve retention rates.
The current delivery model for LLN in the APY Lands is incorporating and building on these employment focused skills and forging strong relationships with employers and students to ensure the needs are met in a realistic, contextualised and dynamic environment.
Lesley Harvey is an Education Manager for TAFESA based in metropolitan Adelaide and managing a team of lecturers in the remote APY Lands in the far north of South Australia. She has been in this role for 16 years travelling regularly to the APY Lands to facilitate the delivery of LLN training. Delivery of training is to Indigenous adult students for whom English is a second or third language and who have low levels of schooling. Lesley is passionate about improving the life skills and opportunities for Anangu students and has been able to forge lasting relationships with many community members in the time she has been travelling to the APY Lands.
L4 • Communication in time of disaster and emergency: valuing, planning and engaging Indigenous and local knowledge systems.
L4A • Indigenous Knowledge and Disaster Preparedness of the Tagakaulo in Malita, Davao Occidental, Philippines
Mary Grace Agbas, University of Southeastern Philippines
This study explores the indigenous knowledge on disaster preparedness of the Tagakaulo peoples of Malita, Philippines. In living off these ecosystems, indigenous peoples have been observing the changes in the amount of rainfall, temperature and changes in season. The study sought to explain the disasters they have experienced, effects of these disasters on their families, social networks of the Tagakaulo during the calamity and probable reasons of indigenous knowledge’ erosion. Qualitative data was gathered through key informant interviews and focused group discussions. It also utilized secondary source data drawn from published materials.
Analysis of the data indicated that the observation of animal behaviors, heavenly bodies’ movements, and the gifted people (anitoan) were very important in predicting the occurrence of a certain calamity. More so, Tagakaulo social networking had developed actual actions to respond to and manage disasters. Thus, the significant contribution of this study to mainstream research is the knowledge the Tagakaulo of Malita draw on to support their livelihoods and disseminating this information to a wider audience enables mainstream audiences and educators to understand the importance of local knowledges for sustainable livelihoods.
Mary Grace Agbas is a holder of Ph.D. in Education major in Applied Linguistics and an associate professor in the General Education Department. She is currently the Director/Coordinator of the Pamulaan Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Education, University of Southeastern Philippines, Mintal campus, Davao City. She graduated Bachelor of Arts in English, major in Literature at the Mindanao State University, Marawi City and Master of Education in Language Teaching, major in English at the University of Southeastern Philippines. She teaches English subjects both in Pamulaan Center and Graduate School of the College of Education.
L4B • Indigenous Knowledge on Disaster Preparedness of the Obu-Manuvu of Davao City, Philippines
Gladys Florangel Ortiz, University of Southeastern Philippines
The study was conducted with Dibabawon and Mangguangan tribes in Montevista, Compostela Valley, Philippines. Specifically, it sought to determine the disasters they have experienced, their preparations for a disaster, the tribes’ beliefs and observations on what activities/phenomena foretell disasters, the effects of these disasters on their families and communities, and their social networks during the disaster. Focus group discussions were conducted to gather the data. Secondary sources were also used.
Results showed that unusual behaviour of animals such as the brown turtledoves, hornbill, dogs, frogs, and chicken as well as the crickets, centipedes, and worms foretell disasters. Changes in texture, volume, color in trees as well as movement of rocks and soil warn of imminent disasters. Villagers construct some structures to keep them safe during disasters. Moreover, landslides and flashfloods occurred in their respective areas during typhoons and heavy rains. As a result, many people lost their houses and farm animals and suffered from hunger and sickness.
The study shows that each of the barangays (village) has organized their respective Barangay Tribal Council of Elders and Leaders (BTCL) to manage the affairs of the indigenous peoples in the barangay, including disaster management. The BTCLs have developed a system before, during and after a disaster. A panawag-tawag or calling of the good spirits is held when disasters have no casualties. However the study also indicated that exposure to mainstream culture has contributed to an erosion of this indigenous knowledge among the Dibabawons and Manguangans, making disaster preparedness a challenge as older knowledges are not incorporated and renewed in more contemporary disaster planning practices.
Gladys Florangel Ortiz is an Associate Professor in the College of Governance and Business of the University of Southeastern Philippines. She is the Head of the Graduate Programs in Development Administration and in Environmental Resource Management.
She is a licensed social worker, and in fact placed second overall in the national licensure examination. Her graduate degree is in development administration. She earned graduate units in sociology and anthropology. Her research interests include social protection, disaster risk reduction, development administration and indigenous knowledge.
2:30-2:55pm
Group M • Choose 1 of 3
3:00-3:25pm
Afternoon Break
M1 • Reflections on a bygone era: How changes in work, workplaces and policy have changed what we research and what we find (Paper)
Marilyn Kell, Charles Darwin University
In 2005 I was awarded a doctoral degree as a result of my original research around nine men who self reported literacy difficulties. The chapters in which I provided a vignette of each of the nine and the results and findings chapters proved to be really interesting.
Following a recent discussion with a colleague I began to wonder if my study could be replicated in light of the changes to work, workplaces and policy since I completed my a study and it prompted the question: if this study could be replicated, would the results be the same?
Using reports and discussions published on the ACAL site and my doctoral thesis, this paper seeks to respond to this question. Essentially it reviews the characteristics of those respondents who had achieved success at work despite (in some cases) quite considerable literacy difficulties and maps these characteristics against post-2005 changes to work, workplaces and policy. The review is preceded by a definition of literacy difficulties and an introduction to the theoretical underpinnings of the thesis. This reflective paper serves to demonstrate how policy changes have undermined notions of literacy, identity and forever altered the possible findings of such research.
Marilyn Kell is a Research Fellow at the Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University, Australia. She has extensive background as an educator and, as an academic, has experience with students from diverse language and cultural backgrounds. Her research interests include literacy pedagogy and assessment, the international student experience and work integrated learning. In 2013 she and Peter Kell published, Literacy and Language in East Asia; Shifting meanings, values and approaches. She is currently investigating the post-school educational aspirations of children from the NT African communities.
• M2 is continuation of L2
M3 • Facilitating Foundation Skills - A Pacific Perspective
Lina Visinia-I'amafana, Australia-Pacific Technical College
The Australia Pacific Technical College (APTC) is an innovative development program funded by the Australian Government. APTC provides training towards Australian qualifications to students across the Pacific in the areas of Trades, Hospitality and Community Services. English is rarely our learners’ first language and the support APTC provides in identifying and addressing LLN needs is essential. This presentation looks at the model APTC uses for Foundation Skills support, that incorporates some of the best practices developed in the region (including Australia!!) We share with you how we support our students to develop foundation skills to meet the needs of 21st century industry. How do our students develop a 21st Century identity in a region where traditional cultural practices of village life remain strong? Our Pacific Island LLN practitioners, Lina (from Samoa) and Isikeli (from Fiji) will share the impact that this support has not only on individual’s skills and employability, but the ripple effect it has on entire communities.
To assist us in identifying our learner’s LLN skills level, we conduct an initial LLN skill test whereby the results are measured against LLN benchmarks which have been worked out based on the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). In addition, we implement Learners Profile and Student Success Profile which are tools that aid us in identifying at-risk learners at an early stage and immediate actions to resolve identified learning issues. Data gathered from these two documents have made us realise the challenging role that we have as LLN practitioners in the Pacific island. The 3-6-9 Scan Form is a tool APTC has developed to document support required for the learners. A Post LLN Test was piloted to determine the learners ACSF exit at the end of their 6-month training with APTC which produced remarkable results. Sharing some of these practices and learning from the Australia LLN community is the focus of our participation. Our findings will support us in better equipping our learners with the LLN requirements to meet the demands of the modern industry and their engagement in their communities.
Isikeli Naqaya has been serving as a Learning Support Facilitator (LSF) for the Australia Pacific Technical College (APTC) for 5 years. He first joined APTC as an LLN Tutor before the role was reviewed and upgraded to Learning Support Facilitator. He works in partnership with vocational trainers in providing integrated learning support to students specifically in the areas of literacy and numeracy, employability skills, computer skills and return to study assistance. He graduated from the Fiji College of Advanced Education with a Diploma of Education majoring in English/Social Science and taught in high schools around Fiji. His interest in supporting learners with LLN difficulties inspired him to pursue his studies in Bachelor of Special Education at Griffith University in Brisbane. After successfully completing his studies at Griffith University, he joined the Fiji National University as a Tutor in English as a Second Language (TESL). The opportunity in working for APTC fulfilled his career goal of supporting Pacific Island learners with their foundation skills. His skills were further expanded when he completed his Certificate IV in TAE and the TAELLN501B unit in supporting the development of adult language literacy and numeracy skills.
Mrs Lina Visinia-I’amafana joined the Australia-Pacific Technical College in 2014 after more than ten years of teaching in high school and six years as a lecturer at the local National University of Samoa. She is the Learning Support and Work Skills facilitator at APTC Her roles require her to work collaboratively with the vocational trainers in ensuring the learners transition successfully in their learning when they enter APTC and in returning to their respective workplaces. In addition, she is greatly involved in developing LLN profiles of all learners to enable trainers to grasp the levels of LLN skills the learners bring with them in the classroom environment. Lina is a graduate of the University of the South Pacific with a Bachelor of Arts degree double majoring in Language/Literature and Education. She worked with the Commonwealth of Learning while at the NUS in developing learning materials in Basic Trades literacy. Lina recently completed a course in International Trainers and Assessor with Tafe Queensland and she dreams in training the Samoa TVET trainers not only in delivery and assessment skills but with a great emphasis on foundation skills.
M4 • ‘Locked out’ and ‘left behind’: Indigenous Adult English Literacy and Numeracy in northern Australia’s remote regions (Paper)
Lorraine Sushames, Allison Stewart and Fiona Shalley, Charles Darwin University
This paper seeks to respond to the deficit in policy, planning and provision to address the English language literacy and numeracy (LLN) needs of Indigenous adults in the NT. Government policy support for Indigenous participation in the economy emphasises the need for active participation by all people yet the majority of Indigenous adults cannot fully participate due to low levels of English language, literacy and numeracy. English is often a second language, and not spoken at home. Adult literacy continues to be treated as a peripheral issue however research shows that English LLN is central to intercultural relationships, social capacity building, framing ones' future and participating in the economy and society. Also, though Indigenous people constitute 30% of the NT's population there is no comprehensive data on Indigenous literacy levels. This paper considers findings from CDU’s strategic project on LLN which been putting together a statistical picture from available data. Excellent models of service provision exist, and community engagement indicates high levels of Indigenous aspiration, yet there is little coordinated action for change. This paper considers alternative ways of thinking about the issue and collective impact approaches that could lead positive change.
Lorraine Sushames has extensive experience in the Australian Vocational Education and Training sector where she has held a broad variety of teaching, project management and evaluation roles. Her adult literacy specialist expertise has contributed significantly to her work in design, development and delivery of effective capacity development initiatives conducted in urban, regional and remote Indigenous communities in Australia, and internationally in part of nation building projects in Timor Leste. Her research interests and regular contributions to national and international conferences reflect these diverse development contexts, focussing on the role that English language and literacy plays in independence, empowerment and economic advancement.
As a social planner/researcher and community development practitioner Allison Stewart has worked inter-culturally throughout her career, applying her engagement and strategic leadership skills in sectors such as primary health care, housing and infrastructure; community-based public works, water supply and sanitation, refugee settlement and humanitarian aid, Indigenous employment, education and training and, participatory and applied research. Experience within government, non-government, public beneficence, indigenous corporations and academia has enabled life-wide learning and a range of generic skills, knowledge and a quality of spirit which Allison currently applies to her work with the Whole of Community Engagement program as Strategic Priority Projects (SPP) Manager at Charles Darwin University.
Through her career with the ABS, Fiona Shalley has been committed to enhancing the validity and utility of statistics for and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. She moved to the NT in 2010 to play a small part in the operations of the 2011 Census, taking on responsibility for counting the populations living in Arnhem Land, Mount Isa/Gulf, Cape York and Torres Strait Islands. The diversity of people, language and country, the complexity of data collection design and activities, and the power of revealing statistical stories has kept her brain and heart alive. Her last role in the ABS was as the Director for the National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics.
3:30-3:55pm
Group N choose 1 of 3
N1 • Phonics-based adult literacy resources (Practice taster)
Kate Randell, Adult Literacy Resources
The targeted audience is language, literacy and numeracy practitioners. There are fantastic resources available for practitioners working with students who are looking to further develop and refine their literacy skills, but there are far fewer evidence-based resources for adult students who are just starting their literacy journey. This presentation aims to explore some resources that have been developed for beginner students. The resources have been developed to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students who did not have access to formal literacy education in their country of origin.
Kate Randell MA App Ling, has worked in English language, Aboriginal education, and literacy classes for twenty years. She has worked at TAFE, RTOs and universities in Australia and overseas. She has a strong interest in evidence-based teaching strategies, and skill acquisition in early literacy development.
N2 • The use of legacy materials for Indigenous literacy development (Paper)
Cathy Bow, Charles Darwin University
During the era of bilingual education, many Indigenous children in remote schools in the Northern Territory were given the opportunity to learn to read and write in their mother tongue as a stepping stone to literacy in English. A vast range of materials were produced for this purpose, and also supported adult literacy skills and a rich documentation of Indigenous language and cultural practices. With the demise of bilingual education programs, such activities are significantly diminished, leaving few opportunities for Indigenous children and adults to develop literacy in their own languages.
Many of the materials created for the bilingual programs are now available online at the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages (www.cdu.edu.au/laal) and continue to provide opportunities to engage with vernacular literacy. The variety of genres represented in the collection demonstrate a rich literary landscape, which sometimes defies Western categorisation, creating a challenge for classification, and inviting reflection on how the language resources and technologies configure each other. This paper will describe the archive and some of the affordances it offers not only for literacy development but also for new knowledge practices in a digital context, through access to a rich cultural heritage.
Cathy Bow is a linguist with research experience in both descriptive and applied linguistics. She currently works as project manager for the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages at Charles Darwin University, and is completing her PhD (jointly between CDU and ANU) in digital technologies and Aboriginal languages.
N4 • Work opportunities for women in Timor-Leste: From training to employment' (Paper)
Ricar Pascoela and Sandra Dann, Working Women's Centre, Timor-Leste
Work opportunities for women in Timor-Leste are very limited. Apheda Union Aid Abroad and the Working Women's Centres in SA, Qld and NT have supported women through the Working Women's Centre in Timor-Leste to gain training as domestic workers and nannies and then to gain employment mainly in Dili, the capital.
This innovative program ensures that employers sign an employment contract before a worker takes up her employment. This provides legal wages and conditions to the women workers. WWCTL staff provide a follow up service to ensure that the employers are meeting their obligations and the workers are safe and happy in their employment.
VET training opportunities are limited in Timor-Leste, Women in Timor-Leste are keen to ensure that Timorese women can take their place in the emerging economy and share the benefits of training and employment.
Currently informal training is provided using basic resources but the hope of WWC TL is that formal training links can be developed with Australia, thus ensuring recognised skills development for the employees, which in turn potentially secures better employment outcomes for both employees and employers.
Ricar Pascoela co-ordinates the Working Women's Centre in Timor-Leste, overseeing 3 staff. Ricar has worked in various NGOs in Timor-Leste and has management experience in this sector. She understands the needs of women in one of the world's poorest countries. Ricar has presented at a number of conferences and meetings in Australia and has completed the Anna Stewart Trade Union Training for Women program in Adelaide.
Sandra  Dann is currently the Director of the Working Women’s Centre in SA, active voicing women's rights and also a member of the Australia East Timor Friendship Association.
4:00-5:00pm
CLOSING FORUM: Snapshots of change: What next for Adult LLN? 2018 Conference Announcement
5:30pm
Bus – departing from Waterfront/city to Mindil Beach Market
6:00pm
Sunset and Dining @ Mindil Beach Market: Seating area, food, friendship and networking
8:00pm
Bus #1 - returns to Waterfront/city hotels
8:30pm
Bus #2 - returns to Waterfront/city hotels
STATE ASSOCIATIONS
Queensland Council for Adult Literacy
New South Wales Adult Literacy and Numeracy Council
Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council
Tasmanian Council for Adult Literacy
South Australian Council for Adult Literacy
Western Australian Adult Literacy Council