Collaborating to embed the teaching and assessment of literacy in Education: A targeted unit approach
This paper discusses collaborations at an Australian university between lecturers from the Centre for University Teaching and Learning (CUTL) and lecturers in the School of Education. These collaborations focus on embedding the teaching and assessment of literacy in the undergraduate teacher educat...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2016
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| Online Access: | https://journal.aall.org.au/index.php/jall/issue/archive http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/77832 |
| Summary: | This paper discusses collaborations at an Australian university between lecturers from the Centre for University Teaching and Learning (CUTL) and
lecturers in the School of Education. These collaborations focus on embedding the teaching and assessment of literacy in the undergraduate teacher education curriculum. The paper describes collaborative practices and outcomes intended to make literacy more explicit in teaching, learning and assessment in two compulsory Education units: a new transitional first year
unit and an established foundational second year unit. Central to these collaborations is the strategy of embedding literacy through targeted units –
core, compulsory units that mark a major step in students’ progress through
the course. The targeted unit approach signals a change in the CUTL focus
from working with at-risk students adjacent to their studies, to embedding
and integrating academic language and learning (ALL) knowledge and capacities within the curriculum. This strategy reflects the broad shift in ALL
practice from adjunct support of some students to an integrated curriculum
that benefits all students. The underlying rationale for this practice is the inter-relationship of curriculum content and the skills and capacities required
to successfully engage with it. The targeted unit approach focuses on integration with curriculum through a focus on the place and function of core
units within courses of study. The implications for collaboration between
disciplinary lecturers and ALL practitioners to embed literacy are discussed
in terms of literacy in assessment, and a sustainable, targeted approach to the
development of literacy across the curriculum. |
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