National Adult Literacy Database

Series: Audio Centre - HRSDC

Authors: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)

This is the seventh part of a podcast series developed by the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES), part of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), to provide information about a research project that will help to update the numeracy element of the Essential Skills framework.

In this podcast, OLES policy analyst Katherine Clarke-Nolan explains that the numeracy framework will be revised into two domains: a declarative mathematical knowledge domain, which is the content; and a procedural mathematical knowledge domain, which refers, for instance, to responses and actions performed or required.

In addition to these two domains, there are four other components that could be included in the revised framework. The first component of these is the context, with the proposed framework emphasizing that numeracy exists within contexts, including everyday life and social settings.

Other components include cognitive enabling processes, like broader reasoning skills as well as more general literacy skills; non-cognitive enabling processes, like prior experience with mathematics; and meta-cognitive processes, like the ability of individuals to be aware of their thought processes and progress as they solve numeracy-related tasks.

These four components are not conceptualized here as separate domains, but rather as enabling processes and factors for the broader domains of declarative and procedural mathematical knowledge.

Added: 2013-05-22

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Authors: Gordon Hope

Located in a small community southwest of Montreal in Quebec, the Huntingdon Learning Centre is a nonprofit organization that offers workshops, in both French and English, in basic reading, writing and mathematics. It also offers courses in both English and French as a second language for newcomers to the area.

This document describes the experience of one adult learner whose life was changed by the programs offered at the centre.

Gordon Hope is the winner of the 2007 Canada Post Literacy Award for individual achievement. He describes growing up on a farm, where the heavy workload made it difficult to get much schooling.

As an adult, he worked long hours at a factory. The stress of the work was compounded by the factory’s shaky economic footing.

He turned to the Huntingdon Learning Centre to help him improve his basic skills. He has also acquired computer skills, made friends with people from many countries, and gained confidence in his abilities.

Added: 2013-05-22

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Authors: Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI)

Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI), founded in 1986, is a nonprofit organization that helps low-income earners gain economic independence through financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and asset building.

This video focuses on a facilitator who teaches money skills and has been recognized by SEDI for her commitment to financial literacy.

She brings her personal experience to her work, noting that after her marriage ended, she found herself with a low income, high expenses, and a growing debt load. She knew something had to change and she had to become more financially literate.

By being in control of their money, people gain control of other areas of their lives as well, she points out.

Added: 2013-05-22

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Authors: AlphaPlus

This document is housed on the AlphaPlus server, where it can be downloaded in PDF or Microsoft Word format.

This roadmap is designed to help adult literacy organizations make the best use of the technology they already have, and to plan for their future needs.

It is divided into four components: a technology infrastructure inventory package; technology assessment and processes package; technology plan package; and a technology professional development plan package

The four packages can be used together or separately, and in the order that works best for a particular organization.

Each component includes charts and tables to help in the planning process. For example, the infrastructure inventory package contains a chart for keeping track of information about the organization’s computer hardware and software, including date of purchase; operating system; programs installed; and whether it is used by staff, students, or the public.

AlphaPlus is a provincially-funded Ontario organization that provides expertise to support adult educators.

This document has been licensed under Creative Commons, a non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of works available to share legally. Creative Commons has developed copyright licences that allow creators to specify which rights they reserve and which rights they waive with regard to the use of their work.

Added: 2013-05-21

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Series: Literacy Fact Sheets – Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador

Authors: Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador

In this fact sheet, part of a series prepared by Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador, the authors point out that many adults lack adequate health literacy skills.

They suggest addressing the problem of low health literacy by increasing the emphasis on lifelong learning; practising reading and writing skills daily; increasing opportunities to learn about health and developing literacy skills in the community; and incorporating health literacy in regular learning programs.

They also encourage health professionals to improve their ability to recognize low literacy and health literacy skills among the patients they deal with.

Added: 2013-05-21

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Series: SCALES Project

Authors: CONNECT Strategic Alliances

This guide is one of the resources developed through the SCALES (Supporting the Canadian Advancement of Literacy and Essential Skills) project, undertaken by CONNECT Strategic Alliances, representing Ontario’s 24 publicly funded colleges.

With funding from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada-Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (HRSDC-OLES), CONNECT partnered with Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) and Douglas College in British Columbia to develop a series of tools and best practices intended to help practitioners working with unemployed and low-skilled workers to incorporate a Literacy and Essential Skills (LES) approach into their work.

This facilitator’s guide is designed to help career practitioners offer Essential Skills workshops to other practitioners and to participants who are accessing career services. It complements the CONNECT SCALES Essential Skills Workshop Series sections.

The guide includes copies of the CONNECT SCALES project exercise sheets and handouts for workshop participants; lists of coordinating materials and supplies required for each section of the workshop; a list of video hyperlinks; and samples of workshop options.

For more information about the workshops, visit CONNECT’s website at http://collegeconnect.on.ca/.

Added: 2013-05-17

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See also:

• Guide de l'animateur des ateliers du projet SCALES

Authors: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)

This video focuses on a woman who trained for a new, more rewarding job after an injury forced her out of the old one. She had worked for years in the stockroom of a bookstore but, after an injury, wasn’t able to return to the heavy lifting required in her old job.

After being out of work for a year, she enrolled in the Targeted Initiative for Older Workers (TIOW), funded by the Government of Canada in partnership with provinces and territories. The program helps workers either go back to the workplace or determine what training they will require to find another job.

In this case, the woman eventually became a legal assistant in a law firm.

Added: 2013-05-17

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Series: How do your skills measure up?

Authors: SkillPlan and Construction Sector Council (CSC)

This Essential Skills tool is for tradespeople, apprentices, and people interested in construction careers who want to assess their current Essential Skills and their readiness for technical training.

Based on typical construction workplace tasks, the exercises allow users to practice Reading Text, Document Use, and Numeracy. The score sheet allows them to assess their skills, and identify their strengths and weaknesses.

You can purchase a hard copy of this document on the website of the Construction Sector Council, now called BuildForce Canada, at: http://www.buildforce.ca/en/catalog/essential-skills/essential-skills-tools.

Funders:

• Government of Canada
• Sector Council Program of Canada

Added: 2013-05-16

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See also:

• Cahier d'activités d'autoévaluation avec page de résultats – pour les Travailleurs de la construction

Authors: Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN)

This webinar outlines a project undertaken by the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN) to get a national picture of Literacy and Essential Skills (LES) practitioners working with adults across Canada.

Presented on March 13, 2013, the webinar features Anne Ramsay, project manager for the labour market study, introducing the online survey that will provide core data for the project. The survey is open to paid LES practitioners of all types, working in a variety of settings.

She notes that while there is substantial information about who accesses LES programs and which tools are used to increase LES skills, recent studies have revealed a gap in knowledge about who works in the LES field. This project aims to close that gap and increase the understanding of human resources issues that may affect Canada’s capacity to improve LES results among Canadians.

In addition to the survey, the project will include the examination of relevant research from Canada and other jurisdictions; interviews with key informants; focus groups of practitioners working with English, French, and Aboriginal learners; and the creation of a database of contacts connected with the field.

The project is funded by the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

Added: 2013-05-16

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Series: Audio Centre - HRSDC

Authors: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)

This audio file is part of a podcast series developed by Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES), Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), describing a research project that will help to update the numeracy element of the Essential Skills framework.

In this segment, OLES policy analyst Katherine Clarke-Nolan discusses one of the most challenging parts of establishing a methodology for the research project: undertaking a comparative analysis of the complexity levels in international assessment frameworks for numeracy.

After comparing and analyzing the complexity ratings used in the international assessments, three complexity scales were proposed to be included in the Essential Skills Research Project methodology.

The first one, the declarative knowledge complexity rating scale, includes two dimensions: the complexity of mathematical concepts involved in the task, ranging from simple concrete to more complex abstract concepts; and the context familiarity, ranging from familiar to novel situations.

The second one consists of a procedural knowledge complexity rating scale, which assesses the complexity of the procedures required to complete a numeracy task effectively.

The third is a mathematical representation complexity rating scale, which evaluates the complexity of the information and the variety of representations of mathematical information in a task.

Added: 2013-05-15

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