Knowing the demands

From WikiEducator
Jump to: navigation, search


Background to Knowing the Demands

What are the literacy demands of the workplace you are training learners for, or of the programme they are likely to pathway to?

Are you giving students enough opportunities to practise the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills they will need to pathway successfully? What types of texts and tasks do you need to give them practise with?

Before you give your learners a reading or writing task, analyse how difficult the text or task is.
Electrical symbols library
Are learners likely to have seen a text like this before? Does it have technical or specialist vocabulary that learners may be unfamiliar with? What writing skills does the writing task require? 'Map' these skills against the Learning Progressions; then incorporate this into your teaching plan.

'Mapping' a text or task shows you what knowledge and skills a learner would need in order to read that text or do that task with understanding. Think about the complexity of the text or task in relation to what you learned about students' literacy and numeracy skills, from the LNAAT results and other initial assessment information.

When you map tasks that are used in your course against the Progressions, and compare this information with what you know about the learners (see 'Knowing the learner'), you will be able to determine your priorities and select suitable teaching activities and materials (see Knowing what to do').



Icon reading.jpg

Reading

  • Workbase has analysed the literacy and numeracy demands of a number of trades. Check the literacy profiles that are relevant to your programme. Can you include more opportunities to practise these skills in class?.
  • The Learning Progressions contain instructions on how to analyse texts and tasks in terms of their literacy and numeracy demands. Examples of mapped tasks are also given. Look through the hard copies of the Learning Progressions books (available at the Learning Centre at Otago Polytechnic), or follow the link to the digital versions






Icon multimedia.gif

Media



Icon casestudy.gif

Examples