Links to helpful and relevant materials for embedding literacy and numeracy
Three categories of links to click on for information and materials to assist you in the following three ways, identifying ways in which to embed and sharing ideas on practical ways to embed literacy and numeracy in your own programmes.
- Describe the embedding of literacy and numeracy and how this is different from unembedded literacy and numeracy
- Identify ways in which literacy and numeracy may be embedded in specific courses
- Design courses embedding literacy and numeracy to address the learning needs of their local communities
Also see our Embedding Literacy & Numeracy Activities
We welcome your material - click here to offer a resource from your experience or share your experiences in our forum.
1. Describe the embedding of literacy and numeracy and how this is different from unembedded literacy and numeracy
Learning through life – A study of older people with literacy difficulties in Ireland
A new report (Dec. 2009) from the Irish National Adult Literacy Agency on literacy needs in the older population includes the recommendation:
"Service providers should continue to develop and promote adult and community education models for learning which do not evoke memories of the formal education system for older people. This can be achieved by continuing to adopt an integrated approach, by incorporating literacy modules and interventions with settings and activities where older people are engaging, for example in day care centres, sheltered housing complexes and bingo halls."
Several other recommendations refer to the principles of embedding literacy in everyday learning.
An executive summary of the report: ‘Learning through life – A study of older people with literacy difficulties in Ireland’ is at www.nala.ie/index.cfm/section/publications/ext/literacyolderpeoplesummary
The New Zealand Literacy Portal
Link: www.nzliteracyportal.org.nz
A free online information database funded by the TEC and run by Workbase. It is designed to provide a knowledge base of adult literacy information contributed by both New Zealand and international organisations. The Portal links to over 1,700 free items on topics which include e-literacy, ESOL, financial literacy, health literacy, learning disabilities, literacy, numeracy and te reo Māori. Content includes:
- practical resources for use with learners
- resources for staff professional development/learning
- research reports and case studies
- journal articles and newsletters
- a calendar of events
- links to adult literacy discussion lists
The service was set up in 2003 and receives about 2200 visits (of 10+ minutes) per month.
New Zealand-based research into foundation learning, emphasising embedded learning since 2003
Link: www.dol.govt.nz/publications/research/learning/learning-evaluation_07.asp
This Department of Labour overview of NZ research since 2003 emphasises the need for ongoing professional learning for tutors in including LLN (Literacy, Language and Numeracy) in programmes for adults. It cautions that when a single teacher is asked to take dual responsibility for teaching vocation skills and LLN the probability of learners succeeding with literacy and numeracy qualifications is lower than if they had specialist teachers in those areas.
The point is made that tutors and providers would benefit from easier access to information about innovative programmes inside New Zealand.
Embedded Literacy and Numeracy ("Skills for Life") - UK
The "Skills for Life" project in the UK made the following observations, informed by ongoing research:
- Embedded approaches require teachers with different expertise to work together in a complementary way to meet learners' needs
The National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (LRDC) in the UK uses a working definition in which the degree of 'embeddedness' is defined from the perspective of the learner, as points on a continuum, from discrete to fully embedded:
- Separate elements. Learners experience their LLN (Literacy, Language & Numeracy) development and vocational studies as entirely, or almost entirely, separate. LLN teaching is provided through an additional programme, rather than being based on the vocational or subject context. Any connections between the different areas are made by the learners themselves.
- Partly embedded. Learners experience their LLN development and vocational studies as integrated to some degree or in only some aspects.
- Mostly embedded. Learners mostly experience LLN development as an integral part of their vocational studies, but some aspects of their LLN development and vocational studies remain unco-ordinated.
- Fully embedded or integrated. Learners experience their LLN development as an integral part of their vocational or other studies. LLN teaching is organised in such a way that it is an integral part of the vocational or other programme itself, but may include explicit work on LLN.
- It is likely that in many or most situations literacy, numeracy and ESOL teaching expertise will be located in different individual teachers.
They emphasise that:
- 'Embedding' should be a strategic priority for the provider and part of the ethos of an organisation. A whole organisation approach is needed
- There is no one best model of delivery for embedded learning. Each organisation needs to organise delivery in a way that suits the specific context, the learners themselves, and the skills of the individual teachers in the team
- Embedding is not just about mapping the vocational curriculum to the literacy/language/numeracy (LLN) curricula yje literacy, language or numeracy teacher has to learn how LLN are used both for the particular vocational area and in each different learning environment
- The integration and timing of the learning of LLN is crucial. It needs to be integrated not just with the vocational context in general but with the specific vocational task the learner has in hand at the time
- Good relationships between teachers are vital. Vocational and LLN teachers should plan and work closely together as a teaching team. They should share the same vocational objectives for their learners, be strongly learner-centred and prepared to learn from each other
- The way in which teachers, both vocational and LLN specialists, introduce LLN is critical to motivating learners and to develop positive learners attitudes
- There are continuing professional development implications both for vocational teachers and for LLN teachers.
The New Zealand Learning Progressions
Link: http://www.tec.govt.nz/templates/standard.aspx?id=1016
A link to the TEC website's Learning Progressions page. There is also an email address to order hard copies of this very useful document. Contains sections - downloadable separately in .pdf format - on:
- Adult Literacy - Starting points and strand charts
- Adult Numeracy - strand charts
- Professional development around using the learning progressions
2. Identify ways in which literacy and numeracy may be embedded in specific courses
Erin McKean redefines the dictionary
15mins 54secs. Talk on the work of compiling dictionaries. Erin McKean, a lexicographer, speaks on why she would rather be a word fisherman than a word traffic cop! Very funny, but also food for thought. Discusses online dictionaries and their ongoing evolution. (And the way they can interfere with the serendipitous discovery of a word that you didn’t know of while looking for another).
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California Distance Learning Project - Adult Learning Activities
This site has a resource bank for practical use in teaching literacy to adults from the California Distance Learning Project. It is American, so the stories focus on US issues, but there is a range of stories, some with accompanying video clips, that learners may read, listen to and learn from.
Link - www.cdlponline.org
That's Mathematics - by Tom Lehrer
A cute little song to remind us that numeracy is everywhere.
Adult Learning Knowledge Centre: Adult Education in the Fishing Industry
The Canadian Council on Education & Training have produced this YouTube clip to highlight the way vocational fishers are being helped through ACE practices to obtain necessary licenses to carry on fishing in the traditional ways followed by their families for generations. Times have changed and knowledge and tradition are not enough. ‘Conducting a field study on the participation and professionalization of fishers’ produced by the Canadian Adult Learning Knowledge Centre & the Adult Education and Training Centre.
Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. Although this is 18mins 49secs, maybe it could be a holiday treat for our online community. It is a wonderful talk that highlights assumptions and the need for a wider world view. Ties in with our Literacy topic, and by ACE in general.
From TED - 'Ideas worth sharing' - www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html
Arthur Benjamin's formula for changing maths education
Professor Arthur Benjamin talks about how and why maths should be presented and taught for everyday use. A TED 3-minute ‘Idea worth spreading’ An interesting and relevant concept.
From TED - www.ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_s_formula_for_changing_math_education.html
United Kingdom National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NDRC)
Link: www.nrdc.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=424&ArticleID=700
This is a link to the research reports of seven case studies where Embedding of Liteacy and Numeracy was used in vocational contexts. There is an overall summary and 7 separately downloadable reports, one for each subject area. Subjects are:
- sporting essential skills
- horticulture
- construction
- entry to employment (E2E)
- childcare
- complementary therapy and personal care
- nursing
Includes methodology, context, issues and implications, instructions in literacy, conclusions and references, all in a very readable and useful style, with transcripts of actual conversations.
Literacy and Numeracy in Adults - a New Zealand resource bank
Downloadable research, outlines, descriptions - a goldmine of information in this TEC website. There are 4 pages of resources which are specific to the New Zealand ACE context. Especially useful is information about the 'Learning progressions' and how to use them.
Click on "educators" on the right hand side to register to compile a personalised collection of learning resources. Some great content.
Numeracy for Adults - latest findings from New Zealand teaching and learning research
Link: www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/tertiary_education/51931/1
Published July 2009 by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, this book may be ordered or downloaded online from the Ministry's website.
The critical factors for effectively embedding numeracy are described in three sets of research-based understandings:
* How adults develop their numeracy expertise
* The features of effective embedded numeracy provision
* Managing and sustaining change to achieve effective long-term embedding of literacy
Each of these three sets is developed as four understandings.
The report may be downloaded in .pdf or word format.
3. Design courses embedding literacy and numeracy to address the learning needs of their local communities
The Phantom Parabola
This week our resource is a YouTube clip from the Breakfast programme on TV1. Paul Henry’s daughter’s mathematics teacher (Phil Lloyd) has made a discovery that has been hailed around the world and he demonstrated it recently in a very funny but informative way. The clip is 8mins 38secs and is well worth watching, even if phantom parabolas and imaginary numbers are not your thing! Click here for a transcript of the video.
Korero Mai
A range of excellent resources can be found at the Korero Mai website - www.korero.maori.nz. Especially look at the Māori Language Week sections - the theme this year is Te Mahi Kai - the language of food. This is described as being open to "a very liberal interpretation of the theme for this year because “te mahi kai” means not just partaking in a meal, but includes all the activity undertaken to create that meal, traditional as well as contemporary. This can include hunting, diving, fishing, foraging, as well as shopping, through to food preparation in the kitchen. The language contained within just these activities alone is extensive, and provides a rich base for people and organisations to develop what we hope will be original and innovative Māori language initiatives and projects across the community."
Thinkfinity
Thinkfinity is a United States Foundation whose goal is "to improve student achievement in traditional classroom settings and beyond by providing high-quality content and extensive professional development training”. The Thinkfinity Literacy Network delivers free, top-quality online educational resources for literacy instruction and lifelong learning for adults and family literacy programs.
Their webpage http://thinkfinity.org is an introduction to a wide range of educational resources for all ages and abilities, with links, through their ‘Content partners’ to huge numbers of resources. We will investigate these in the future and choose some to highlight, but for the holidays, take time to dip in and out of their extensive resources yourselves.
Margaret Wertheim on the beautiful maths of coral
Margaret Wertheim leads a project to re-create the creatures of the coral reefs using a crochet technique invented by a mathematician -- celebrating the amazements of the reef, and deep-diving into the hyperbolic geometry underlying coral creation. Snowflakes, fractals, the patterns on a leaf -- there's beauty to be found at the intersection of nature and physics, beauty and math. Science writer Margaret Wertheim (along with her twin sister, Christine) founded the Institute for Figuring to advance the aesthetic appreciation of scientific concepts, from the natural physics of snowflakes and fractals to human constructs such as Islamic mosaics, string figures and weaving.
The IFF's latest project is perhaps its most beguilingly strange -- a coral reef constructed entirely by crochet hook, a project that takes advantage of the happy congruence between the mathematical phenomena modeled perfectly by the creatures of the reef, and repetitive tasks such as crocheting -- which, as it turns out, is perfectly adapted to model hyperbolic space. It is easy to sink into the kaleidoscopic, dripping beauty of the yarn-modeled reef, but the aim of the reef project is twofold: to draw attention to distressed coral reefs around the world, dying in droves from changing ocean saline levels, overfishing, and a myriad of threats; and to display a flavor of math that was previously almost impossible to picture. By modeling these complex equations in physical space, this technique can help mathematicians see patterns and make breakthroughs. This talk is 15mins 31secs. (We challenge you to watch this clip and NOT click here to investigate more: http://www.theiff.org/main.html)
From TED - "Ideas worth spreading" - http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/margaret_wertheim_crochets_the_coral_reef.html
Tracey Shepherd, North Otago ACE network
Here is an example, from Tracey Shepherd, tutor in Otago and member of the North Otago ACE Network, of embedding literacy in an ACE course. She teaches patchwork and quilting classes – let her describe her ideas in her own words.
Permission to use this clip from the DVD A Slice of ACE'(October 2009) was kindly granted by the North Otago ACE network.
Video about Boots company winning the nPower Skills for Life award in the UK
This 2 minute video briefly introduces the Boots company's story of successfully working with education providers to offer programmes that embed literacy and numeracy. This initiative made a big difference to over 1000 employees affected by restructuring and changed the company culture. You can also read about the case study here.
Workbase - ReAL = Resources for Adult Learning (NZ)
Link: http://elearning.workbase.org.nz/file.php/18/Production/index.html?username=guest
A click-by-click resource bank of usable ideas and scenario-based e-learning sessions. Excellent information, ideas and opportunities. Worth a bit of time investigating every aspect.
Embedded Literacy & Numeracy - PD for tutors
Link: www.esito.org.nz/research_and_projects/Literacy/Professional_Development_Programme.aspx
Electrical Supply Industry Training Organisation - ESITO New Zealand
Downloadable (in .pdf format) outlines of courses to train tutors in the teaching of literacy and numeracy in a vocational context. Includes 'Step Up with ESITO' brochure and enrolment details.
Online workshop with Marian Richards
Here is the recording of ACEnet’s first online workshop with Marian Richards, held 29 January 2010.
The first picture on the right shows what your screen would have looked like if you had joined us. When you use this tool – flashmeeting (http://flashmeeting.e2bn.net/) – you can see videos of others who are there, if they have a webcam. As you can see, for this meeting, 10 of us had a webcam and 2 didn't. This means you can see what others are doing – smiling, laughing or yawning – as well as hear them talk.
We believe you may find this recording of interest for two reasons.
Firstly, Marian’s story of how she and her team have used blended learning to better meet the literacy and numeracy needs of their adult learners is interesting.
To access please click on the link http://flashmeeting.e2bn.net/fm/fmm.php?pwd=72f243-8398, then click on the List tab on the upper right, and go to '46:10 Marian'. The second picture on the right shows what you will see on your screen with the List view of the recording. You may need to scroll down to get to '46:10'. Here you can listen to Marian share her story and answer questions from others who were there.
Secondly, we believe this tool is interesting because of how we can use it to support learning – our own and our learners. If you agree, and want to understand how it works, view and listen to the sections before 46:10, where we all introduced ourselves. You can also click on the ‘chat’ tab in the upper right hand corner to see what we were typing in chat while Marian talked. The third picture on the right shows what you will see on your screen with the chat view of the recording. We used chat to ask Marian questions, and to make c
omments to one another.