Core Skills Profile for Adults

Contact us

Australian Council for Educational Research
19 Prospect Hill Rd, Camberwell, VIC, Australia 3124

Registration queries: 
Blanca Camacho
Senior Project Director
+61 3 9277 5498

Administration queries: 
Rebecca Simpson
Project Officer
+61 3 9277 5761

ACER recently signed a partnership with ACPET to deliver a series of LLN workshop for its members.

To support members to efficiently address students’ language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) needs and grow their own workforce capability around LLN, ACPET has partnered with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to deliver workshops around Australia to all ACPET members. 

Meeting the standards: getting compliant with LLN

Transform your thinking and practices about LLN.

ACPET is supporting the ACER Core Skills Profile for Adults, a robust, easy-to-use LLN diagnostic online assessment that automatically generates results on incoming students’ LLN needs, from basic to advanced (covering ACSF 1 to 5 in reading, numeracy and writing), with support resources to help address those needs once identified.

LLN skills have been identified by industry, government and the VET sector as essential to ensuring successful outcomes in education, training and workplace productivity. This practical workshop identifies the key issues in LLN, focusing on the role and importance of literacy and numeracy skills in workplace education and training.  Workshop themes include:

• investigating the potential impacts of low LLN skills on an adult's capacity to engage in training and effectively participate in the workplace
• understanding the importance of early identification of LLN skills prior to undertaking training or in preparedness for work, and
• applying evidence based knowledge about the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy and the ACSF to identify gaps and support effective intervention strategies for adult learners.  

The workshop combines two elements:

• LLN workshopping to bring participants up to speed on understanding and dealing with LLN in the workplace, the importance of LLN assessment at all training levels, RTOs’ increasing LLN compliance obligations and how to measure LLN needs against the Australian Core Skills Framework, and
• an introduction to the ACER Core Skills Profile for Adults e-tool, with the opportunity for your RTO to purchase discounted login access, under a special licencing agreement for ACPET members only. Access to the tool is only available to those who have attended a face to face workshop or videoconference.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants will have the knowledge and skills to:

• appreciate the role LLN skills have on outcomes in training and workplace delivery and productivity
• understand the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF)
• understand the role of assessment of LLN in VET, and
• knowledge and understanding of strategies and activities that teachers and trainers can undertake to address and support any LLN gaps that exist and are identified.

Facilitated by: Dave Tout

Dave is the Manager, Corporate and Vocational Assessment Services at The Australian Council for Educational Research.  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. Dave has had major responsibility for the numeracy domain of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) and is widely recognised as one of Australia's leading numeracy specialists.

To register please go to this link http://www.acpet.edu.au/services/professional-development/ and select the workshop by city and dates.

Other Workshops offered by ACER for VET Practitioners

The ACER Institute runs a number of workshops for VET Practitioners.  Click on the workshop you are interested in attending for dates and registration details.

The Importance and Role of Literacy and Numeracy in VET

This practical workshop will look at a range of issues related to the role and importance of literacy and numeracy (L&N) skills in life and learning. It will look at the potential training impacts of low LLN skills on an adult’s capacity to improve and learn in the VET system either as part of their training or in their participation in the workplace, and the importance therefore of early identification of the literacy and numeracy skills of adults undertaking any form of training or in preparedness for employment and work.

Based on knowledge of research about adults’ skills in literacy and numeracy, about the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy and of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF), this workshop will provide practical advice and strategies for VET and workplace teachers and trainers about what actions and activities they can undertake to address any literacy and numeracy issues identified. Topics covered will include:

• What are Literacy & Numeracy skills and how do they impact on adult Australians?
• What is the Australian Core Skills Framework and what does it tell us?
• What can teachers and trainers do to support adults in both VET and workplaces who may have low Literacy & Numeracy skills?

A Beginners’ Guide to Writing Literacy Items in Assessments for Adults

Good assessment items are made, not born. This workshop will provide an overview of the process of item writing, including the theoretical principles and reasons for choices made at every stage. Some of the processes that typically go into developing strong and valid assessment items will be explored in the workshop. Throughout this workshop the discussion will be linked to specific items from a variety of sources.

Participants will examine how both reading texts and accompanying items start as drafts. They will contribute to the process of panelling and revision of both text and items, and compare their suggestions with the real history of revisions made to material used in an existing Literacy test. They will consider qualities of the items in relation to the key feature of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). The results of a formal trial-by-learner – the field test – will be examined. They will compare the initial drafts of a unit of items with the final set as used in an operational assessment tool.

The last part of the workshop will give participants time to put the principles to work and to write and panel some items. This may include putting some of their own assessment items up for critique.

A Beginners’ Guide to Writing Numeracy Items in Assessments for Adults

This workshop will provide an overview of the process of Numeracy and Mathematics item writing, including the theoretical principles and reasons for choices made at every stage. Some of the processes that typically go into developing strong and valid assessment items will be explored in the workshop. Throughout this workshop the discussion will be linked to specific items from a variety of sources.

Participants will examine how a stimulus and the accompanying assessment items start as drafts. They will contribute to the process of panelling and revision of both text and items, and compare their suggestions with the real history of revisions made to material used in an existing Numeracy test. They will consider qualities of the items in relation to the key feature of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). The results of a formal trial-by-learner – the field test – will be examined. They will compare the initial drafts of a unit of items with the final set as used in an operational assessment tool. Specific numeracy issues related to the complexity of the language and the text in the stimulus will also be addressed. The choice of distractors for multiple choice numeracy items creates opportunity to report diagnostically on common misunderstandings that lead students to incorrect responses.

The last part of the workshop will give participants time to put the principles to work and to write and panel some items. This may include putting some of their own assessment items up for critique.

More than match stats: Language, literacy and numeracy workshops for VET practitioners

ACER recently conducted a two-day workshop for Player Development Regional Managers from the AFL Players Association to better understand the impact of language, literacy and numeracy skills on players’ capacity to learn. 

Focus and rationale

The two-day AFL Players Association workshop incorporated:

• Language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills and their impact on adult learning

• LLN skills and the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF)

• using ACER’s Core Skills Profile for Adults to identify the level of AFL players’ LLN skills, and ways to support AFL players with low LLN skills.

The workshop addressed the following key questions:

• What are LLN skills and how do they impact on adult Australians?
• What is the ACSF and what does it tell us?
• What can teachers and trainers do to support adults in VET and workplaces who might have low LLN skills?

Contact us on 03 9277 5498 to organise a LLN workshop tailored for your industry, to be delivered at your convenience and in your premises.