Using literacy tools and strategies
as a foundation to enhance
students’ learning and study
success
Hazel Owen and Bettina Schwenger
Centre for Teaching and Learning
Innovation Unitec NZ

Overview
• Supporting student success
• A continuum of learning
• Tools and strategies - underpinning
principles
• Making decisions about tools and
strategies: three examples
• Interactive task for you
• Conclusion / feedback

Supporting student
success through ...
Learning in real-world contexts
Analysis and Transferable skills
interpretation tasks
Strategies CRSP Tools
Small group work Investigational work
Problem solving
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A continuum of learning...
“Literacy is the ability to identify, understand,
interpret, create, communicate and compute,
using printed and written materials
associated with varying contexts. Literacy
involves a continuum of learning to enable an
individual to achieve his or her goals, to
develop his or her knowledge and potential,
and to participate fully in the wider society.”
(UNESCO, 2003, p. 5)

Tools and strategies - underpinning principles
Deliberate
and explicit
Constructivist
Purposeful
Underpinning
Principles
Encourage
Appropriate independence
and relevant
Using tools Practitioners’
and best capability
practice

Literacy expert
Discipline expert
Students
(Smith, 2008)

Dynamic variables affecting literacy
Reading
Teacher culture
training Pedagogy
Opportunities
Education to read
Literacy
Access to books
Wealth Freedom/
creativity
Vocational
Political skills
policies Family
Society & culture
Literary canon Status of literature

The 'tradeshow' approach

Initiated & championed by
Iain Seymour-Hart, Head of
Tools Department
Vocabulary
profiler
Issues with Tradeshow 1 –
teaching
Survey – reading
6 tools demonstrated,
Lesson plan 10 minutes each
Numeracy
Multi-media
Feedback from lecturers.
What are the issues? VOCABULARY
Approaches to vocabulary:
Hot Potatoes Tradeshow 2 -
E-flash cards
Teaching vocabulary
Numeracy
On-line assessment
Critical thinking
An example of teaching: Tradeshow 3 -
Vocab Demonstration lessons
Reading
Information literacy
15 minutes each
(Smith, 2008) Numeracy
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Review quizzes

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Hot Potatoes
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Hot Potatoes (cont.)
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Feedback
Keesing-Styles, L. (2008). Automotive Tradeshows - Literacy and Numeracy in Vocational Education. The VET(31), 7.

Feedback (cont.)
This is a superb model for staff
professional development, no matter
what the topic. Here, a whole
department is engaged in reflecting on
and improving their teaching and their
students’ learning.
Linda Keesing-Styles
Keesing-Styles, L. (2008). Automotive Tradeshows - Literacy and Numeracy in Vocational Education. The VET(31), 7.

Management
support
Workshops Feedback
Specific
Building follow-up
Capability sessions
Tradeshows
Professional Individual
Toolbox help
Location
(on-line)
& food
(Smith, 2008)
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Interactive task for you
1. Turn to the person next to you
2. Using the handout, discuss the
questions, and
3. Write your responses
4. There will be opportunity for people to
describe their conclusions/ reaction
5. Please hand your completed handout to
Mark and Bettina (the presenters)

Items to discuss
1. Describe a tool or strategy that you
have used to teach literacy and
numeracy. Explain what you feel made
it effective.
2. Would some of the tools and strategies
demonstrated today be useful in your
context? Why / why not?
3. What are the questions we need to ask
of the tools and strategies when
deciding on what to use with learners?

Conclusion
• More successful teaching and
learning can take place
• Ask ‘why’ – purpose and
rationale
• The tradeshow must go on
Open Blackboard in a browser:
http://bb.unitec.ac.nz
Login in with the username:
eittl2008 & password: eittl2008
Click on: UATI Automotive
Toolkit

Thank you for
listening
Any questions and feedback
please email:
howen@unitec.ac.nz
msmith@unitec.ac.nz
bschwenger@unitec.ac.nz