National Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Conference

Conference speakers

Keynote Speakers

Dr John Mitchell, Managing Director, JMA Analytics

Professor Geoff Masters, CEO, Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)

Robin Shreeve, CEO, Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency

Pam Christie, Managing Director, TAFE NSW

Conference and Pre-Conference Workshop Presenters

Juliette Mendelovits, Research Director, ACER

Dave Tout, Manager, Corporate and Vocational Assessment Services, ACER

Dr Tom Lumley, Senior Research Fellow, ACER

Justin Brown, Senior Research Fellow, ACER

Ron Wilson, Executive Director, VISTA (Association of VET Professionals)

Philippa McLean, Director, Escalier McLean Consulting

Jim Spithill, Research Fellow, ACER

Lynn Sendy-Smithers, Research Fellow, ACER

Martina Bovell, Senior Research Fellow, ACER

Louise Wignall, Innovation & Business Skills Australia (IBSA)

Claire Wright, TAFE NSW

Dr Phillip McKenzie, Research Director of the Teaching, Learning and Transitions program, ACER

Michael Taylor, National Policy and Projects Manager, Australian Industry Group

Sue Goodwin, Ithaca group

Michelle Circelli, National Centre for Vocational Education Research

Jenny Field, Evocca Colleage and Australian College of Training and Employment

Koula Lykourinos, Coordinator of Literacy and Numeracy, NMIT

Natasha McCormick, Commercial Manager for the Learning Skills & Koorie Education Centre, GOTAFE

Dr John Mitchell, Managing Director, JMA Analytics

Dr John Mitchell is Managing Director, JMA Analytics, a company founded in 2010 and specialising in workforce capability measurement, using quantitative methods.

He is also Managing Director of the parent company John Mitchell & Associates (JMA), a leading Australian research, evaluation and consulting company founded in 1992.

Recent research conducted by John’s two companies provides up-to-date evidence about the importance of core skills for industry and VET, and unprecedented evidence about the capability of the VET system and workforce to accommodate them.

A range of case studies of industry prepared by John clearly position core skills as essential for workplace learning, productivity improvement and firm competitiveness. These case studies confirm earlier research by AiG, Industry Skills Councils and other bodies in Australia and internationally.

John’s case study research also shows that the development of students’ core skills is critical for VET providers as the VET system increasingly prioritises the importance of student completion rates. However, unless students are helped to develop core skills their successful completion of programs will be at risk.

Finally, the unique capability analysis tools (CATs) implemented by JMA Analytics across Australia since 2010 provide invaluable insights into the capability of the VET system and workforce to accommodate the development of core skills. Data from the VETCAT® surveys reveal the strengths and gaps of teaching staff to assist students to develop core skills and their aspirations for improving their ability to develop these skills. The data is compelling and debunks any easy assumption that staff are ready for the era of core skills.

Additionally, data from the ADMINCAT® and MANAGECAT® surveys reveal that administrative, support and management staff have vast responsibilities but dramatically uneven levels of capability, restricting their ability to assist teachers to perform new tasks such as developing students’ core skills. Overall, VET staff are highly motivated to improve their services for students, but staff capability needs extensive and targeted development.

Professor Geoff Masters, CEO, Australian Council for Educational Research

Geoff Masters is Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) – roles he has held since 1998.

He has a PhD in educational measurement from the University of Chicago and has published widely in the fields of educational assessment and research.

Professor Masters has served on a range of bodies, including terms as founding President of the Asia-Pacific Educational Research Association; President of the Australian College of Educators; Chair of the Technical Advisory Committee for the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA); Chair of the Technical Advisory Group for the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA); member of the Business Council of Australia’s Education, Skills and Innovation Taskforce; member of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO (and Chair of the Commission’s Education Network); and member of the International Baccalaureate Research Committee.

He has undertaken a number of reviews for governments, including a review of examination procedures in the New South Wales Higher School Certificate (2002); an investigation of options for the introduction of an Australian Certificate of Education (2005); a national review of options for reporting and comparing school performances (2008); and a review of strategies for improving literacy, numeracy and science learning in Queensland primary schools (2009). He is currently working with the Northern Territory Department of Education and Training on improving educational outcomes, with a particular focus on the ongoing improvement of students’ literacy and numeracy achievements and with the Tasmanian Department of Education, focusing on school improvement.

Professor Masters was the recipient of the Australian College of Educators’ 2009 College Medal in recognition of his contributions to education.

Pam Christie, Managing Director, TAFE NSW

Pam Christie is Managing Director of TAFE NSW and Deputy Director-General, TAFE and Community Education with the NSW Department of Education and Communities. Her key responsibilities include positioning TAFE NSW to meet the State’s skill priorities and working with industry to ensure a highly skilled and productive workforce.

Pam has worked in education and training for over 30 years. She began her career as a secondary school teacher, worked overseas as an Australian volunteer and for the Adult English Migrant Service. Pam has held senior Government positions in the vocational education and training sector, leading regulatory and funding reforms in NSW including major reforms related to apprenticeships.

Pam has headed up two TAFE NSW Institutes, South Western Sydney and Sydney Institutes and led the initiative to establish TAFE NSW as a higher education provider.

Pam is a member of the NSW TAFE Commission Board, the NSW Board of Studies and the LH Martin Institute Executive Advisory Board.

Robin Shreeve, CEO, Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency

Robin Shreeve has worked in the skills sector for more than 30 years in Australia and England.

He is currently the Chief Executive of the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency (AWPA) having also been CEO of its predecessor organisation, Skills Australia. AWPA is an independent research and advisory body advising the Australian Government on workforce development and workforce skill needs. It also sets priorities for the National Workforce Development Fund which supports enterprises to undertake innovative workforce development programs.

Robin has been the Chief Executive of two large Tertiary Institutions – one in Australia, the North Coast Institute of TAFE and one in Westminster, Central London.

For different periods between 1989 and 2005 Robin worked for the Department of Education and Training in New South Wales Australia. His final position was Deputy Director-General for Technical, Further and Community Education (TAFE).

Robin has also been a Board Director for a number of organisations including the NSW Board of Studies, AeSharenet, Worldskills Australia, TAFE Global Pty Ltd, the Paddington Development Trust, the London Apprenticeship Company and the Westminster Small Minority Business Council. Robin holds degrees from the Universities of York and Sheffield and has spoken and published widely on vocational education and training and marketing topics.

Dr Juliette Mendelovits, Research Director, ACER

Juliette began her career as an educator in secondary and tertiary institutions, and adult basic education, after graduating with a Master of Arts degree in English literature. She joined ACER in 1991. Since 1998, Juliette has worked on the reading literacy component of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) project. She played a leading role in the development of the reading literacy instrument for PISA 2000 and she coordinated the reading literacy framework and test development for PISA 2009. Juliette has directed a number of other projects including the Victorian General Achievement Test, the Western Australian Education Department's Monitoring Standards in Education program (English), a consultancy to the Indonesian National Ministry of Education on curriculum and assessment reform, the Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool (in partnership with the New Zealand Council for Educational Research), and literacy test development for the OECD’s Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). In 2010 she became inaugural research director of the research program, Assessment and Reporting: Humanities and Social Sciences.

Dave Tout, Manager, Corporate and Vocational Assessment Services, ACER

Dave Tout is the Manager, Corporate and Vocational Assessment Services in the Corporate and Vocational Education division, and also holds the position of Senior Research Fellow in the Assessment and Reporting research program at the Australian Council for Educational Research. He joined ACER in 2008, and has worked on a number of projects including the online Adult Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Tool for the Tertiary Education Commission in New Zealand, a joint project between ACER and NZCER; the numeracy components of the international Adult Literacy and Lifeskills (ALLS) and the Programme in Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) surveys; the development of online literacy and numeracy assessment tools for disengaged young people and for adults; and the mathematical literacy item development component of PISA 2012. Dave has had over 40 years experience in the education sector, with most of those being in the VET sector, and has worked within a range of programs in schools, TAFEs, ACE providers, universities, AMES and industry. He has had wide experience not only in teaching and training, but also in working at a state, national and international level in research, curriculum, assessment and materials development.

Dr Tom Lumley, Senior Research Fellow, ACER

Dr Tom Lumley is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research, in the Assessment and Reporting research program. In recent years Dr Lumley has played a major role in the development of the reading materials for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), for both the digital and print assessments. He has delivered workshops on reading item development and marker training for PISA and related projects in Australia, Mexico and several European countries. He has directed development of the reading component of an online assessment tool of literacy and numeracy for adults in New Zealand and developed materials for the reading component of the Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Before joining ACER in 2004 Dr Lumley worked at the Language Testing Research Centre at the University of Melbourne and in the English Department at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, carrying out research and development for a wide range of English language tests and classroom assessment procedures used in schools, universities and workplaces.

Justin Brown, Senior Research Fellow, ACER

Justin Brown is the Senior Research Fellow (VET) in the Teaching, Learning and Transitions program at the Australian Council for Educational Research. His research interests include financing of VET systems, equity, Indigenous education and student pathways. Justin has contributed to a number of VET-specific research projects for clients including the DEECD, DEEWR, Skills Australia, National VET Equity Advisory Council (NVEAC), the LH Martin Institute, the Australian Qualifications Framework Council (AQFC) and MEGT.

Justin is currently leading an evaluation, in partnership with Monash University, of the 2011 Access and Equity Grants Scheme in Victoria. He has previously led a national research project for NVEAC which investigated services models to support disadvantaged learners in the Australian VET system and a research and community consultation project on Indigenous youth transitions for the Victorian Ministerial Taskforce on Aboriginal Affairs. Justin is a member of the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) and the VISTA network (Victorian Association of VET Professionals).

Ron Wilson, Executive Director, Association of VET Professionals (VISTA)

Ron Wilson has 35years experience in the Victorian education system including 19 years’ experience as a senior manager / general manager in a large metropolitan TAFE Institute. Key institute wide portfolios included strategic planning, Government liaison / contract management, student learning and support; and organisational development. Achievements resulted in implementation of major cultural and system change projects in diverse areas such as: leading and implementing institute wide strategic planning; introducing new business systems; planning and development of programs for unique groups (such as prisoners; indigenous Australians etc.) In 1996 Ron was awarded the Public Service Medal in the Australia Day Honours for introducing Vocational Education and Training into Victoria’s Prison and Juvenile Justice systems. Ron is committed to a philosophy of life long education resulting in gaining many qualifications and is currently completing a PhD.

Ron is a member of the Adult Community and Further Education (ACFE) Board, Vice President of the Eltham High School Council and a number of a number of Professional and Business Associations.

Philippa McLean, Director, Escalier McLean Consulting

Philippa has extensive and successful experience in the Vocational Education and Training, VET, sector, with particular expertise in adult language, literacy and numeracy. In recent years Philippa’s prime focus has been on the delivery of professional development and project work for adult language literacy and numeracy teachers and trainers at a statewide and national level. She has worked on national projects developing exemplar LLN assessment tools and delivery resources. Philippa is a member of the consortium that developed the Australian Core Skills Framework, ACSF. She was the project manager for the two DEEWR projects: revision of the ACSF; and the development of an ACSF pre level 1 supplement.

Jim Spithill, Research Fellow, ACER

Jim taught secondary level mathematics on and off for thirty years in Melbourne up to 2009. He has taught effective reading skills for industry clients, and has developed and delivered training courses for sports coaches and officials. Since 2010 he has been a Test Developer at ACER where he has been a team member on several different projects, including NAPLAN numeracy tests, the international PISA tests of mathematical literacy, and most recently the numeracy component of the Core Skills Profile for Adults. He has delivered a number of workshops for the ACER Institute for secondary and post-secondary practitioners on the processes that underpin the writing of good numeracy assessment items.

Lynn Sendy-Smithers, Research Fellow, ACER

Lynn is a Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research, in the Assessment and Reporting research program. Originally a secondary school English teacher, Lynn has also worked as an advocate for post secondary students at the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, and since joining ACER has developed materials for the reading component of an online assessment tool of literacy and numeracy for adults in New Zealand, and the literacy component of the ACER Vocational Indicator for online delivery. Other project work at ACER has included NAPLAN and the International Schools Assessment.

Martina Bovell, Senior Research Fellow, ACER

Martina Bovell is a Senior Research Fellow at the Perth Office of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). She is an experienced writing test developer and has developed a number of criterion-referenced analytic writing rubrics. She was part of a team that developed the New Zealand Adult Literacy Assessment tool, commissioned by the New Zealand Tertiary Education Commission and the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER), and she managed the joint NZCER and ACER automated writing service for schools (eWrite). She has conceptualised and conducted standard setting exercises, working with WA and NZ school documents and with the ACSF.

Louise Wignall, IBSA

Louise Wignall has worked in the education sector for the past 25 years as a teacher, resource developer, policy advisor and quality assurance manager with a specialisation in adult literacy and learning in vocational education and training (VET), the community and the workplace. She is presently involved in a number of national and State-based LLN initiatives at both policy and implementation level. Her key interest is in ‘joining the dots’ between policy and practice and highlighting ‘what works’.

Claire Wright, TAFE NSW

Claire Wright has worked in adult literacy and numeracy with TAFE NSW for over 20 years both as a teacher and as a manager. Currently, she is involved in a range of national and state LLN projects involving industry, government and community agencies.

Phillip McKenzie, Research Director of the Teaching, Learning and Transitions program, ACER

Phillip McKenzie is Research Director of the Teaching, Learning and Transitions program at ACER and a former Director of the Monash – ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET). He has worked on a wide range of studies the costs, financing and labour market outcomes of education and training, and education policy issues.

Michael Taylor, National Policy and Projects Manager, Australian Industry Group

Michael Taylor is the National Policy and Projects Manager within the Australian Industry Group and responsible for the management of a number of education and training projects. These currently include Building Employer Commitment to Workplace Literacy, the Corporate Champions project and a Manufacturing e-learning project. Former projects include Skilling the Existing Workforce Project, the National Workforce Literacy Project and World Class Skills for World Class Industries. Michael also contributes to policy formulation across a wide spectrum of education and training which includes apprenticeships, workplace development and skills surveys. Michael is also a member of a number of committees including the Foundation Skills Training Package. Reference Group. Michael has also been the director of his own consulting company, Manager of Youth Transitions within the Australian National Training Authority and State Manager of Vocational Education in Schools with the Victorian Department of Education and Training.

Sue Goodwin, Ithaca group

Sue is the consultancy manager of Ithaca Group and has over twenty years experience across all three education and training sectors. In addition to teaching and training qualifications, Sue holds a Masters of Social Planning and Development and has had a number of years experience in social research and planning both in Australia and overseas. Sue has led or been part of the project team for a wide variety of projects for Ithaca Group providing research, facilitation and strategic planning services and advice on education and training issues such as VET workforce capability, reform of the apprenticeship system, skills for sustainability, pathways between VET and Higher Education, and Language, Literacy and Numeracy in VET. Most recently, Sue has led a Commonwealth funded project to develop a national, cross-sector framework for Employability Skills.

Michelle Circelli, National Centre for Vocational Education Research

Michelle Circelli is a Senior Research Officer with the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research. Michelle manages research commissioned through the National Vocational Education and Training Research Program covering such topics as the literacy and numeracy practices of production workers, the numeracy skills of literacy and numeracy practitioners, and the role of vocational education and training in the labour market outcomes for individuals. When the opportunities arise, Michelle also undertakes research primarily focused on adult literacy and numeracy.

Jenny Field, Evocca Colleage and Australian College of Training and Employment

Jenny Field is passionate and determined to break down the barriers to training and skills development and assist all students reach their personal best potential. Jenny leads a team of inspiration educators to provide exceptional education and outstanding experiences. Jenny has over 20 years in the VET sector, having taught in both public and private providers. Jenny has also taught in correctional centres, within labour market programs and in corporate environments. Jenny's special interests include adult learning, management, small business, social inclusion, e-learning, community engagement, and regional development.

Qualifications include: Bachelor of Teaching (Education and Training of Adults); Advanced Diploma of Business; Diploma of Business Admin; Cert IV TAE; currently enrolled in Executive MBA with Australian Catholic University. Jenny is currently serving on the following national boards: ACPET- Australian Council of Private Education and Training; NCVER – National Council Vocational Education Research.

Koula Lykourinos, Coordinator of Literacy and Numeracy, NMIT

Koula Lykourinos is the Coordinator of literacy and numeracy assessment across NMIT. Having worked in the fields LLN and VET training for the past 17 years Koula has delivered and managed a range of programs across a wide variety of VET providers and industries. Koula is also involved in the planning, development and provision of LLN professional development at NMIT aimed at increasing VET teachers’ capacity to meet their students’ LLN needs.

Natasha McCormick, Commercial Manager for the Learning Skills & Koorie Education Centre, GOTAFE

Natasha McCormick, Commercial Manager for the Learning Skills & Koorie Education Centre with GOTAFE, a large Regional TAFE Institute in Regional Victoria. From a literacy and numeracy teaching background teaching of 15 years and managing for 7 years within this area. For many years has been working and managing across Centres, Divisions providing learning support for students undertaking a diverse range of courses from pre-Apprenticeships to Advanced Diplomas.