Embedding Academic Literacy – A
Case Study in Business at
UTS:Insearch
Susan Brooman-Jones (Presenting)
Greg Cunningham (Presenting)
Laura Hanna
David Wilson
ALL Conference – Adelaide 24 November 2011
UTS: Insearch - Business
Provider of pathway diploma with entry based on
•
High school academic performance
•
English language performance (IELTS) for international students
Old Program Structure
•
Discipline subjects
•
Generic stand-alone literacy subject
New Program Structure
•
Opportunity to review the entire DipBus program
•
Focus on integrating literacy objectives into discipline subjects
Focus on Academic Literacy
DEEWR report (2009) emphasises...
“for the retention and academic success of
international students in Australian universities, a
range of skills and strategies (in particular, written
and oral communication) need to be made visible,
explicit, and accessible and, importantly, integrated
within specific disciplinary contexts”
Levels of Integration
(Dudley-Evans 2001)
Cooperation
Level
1
• Independent adjunct classes offering generic skill support
• Servicing all disciplines – often by referral
• Academic literacy support regarded as remedial
Collaboration
Level
2
• Independent adjunct classes – discipline focused
• Co-developed by discipline and academic literacy staff
• Run concurrently with discipline classes
Team Teaching
Level
3
• Support is embedded in discipline subject
• Academic literacy and discipline staff co-teach
• No separation of academic literacy from discipline content
A Fourth Level
Integrated Assessment
Level
4
• Integrated and shared assessment between
discipline and academic literacy classes
• Scaffolding literacy learning and outcomes
across three core subjects
• Collaborative development of course material
• Clear literacy outcomes assessable in both
academic literacy and discipline subjects
• Academic literacy “in context”
Case Study: Overview
BABC001 Academic and Business Communication
•
The ‘Academic Literacy’ subject focusing directly on the communication
and study skills required for further study in business.
BACC001 Accounting for Business
•
This subject focuses on the broad and basic knowledge and skills
required to deal with accounting information systems.
BECO001 Economics for Business
•
This subject introduces students to the basic concepts, theories and
principles of economics and their application.
Accounting
BACC Assignment:
Week 5
Company analysis
(short answers)
Communications
Common
company
and topic
used for all
three
assessment
tasks
BABC001Assessment 1: Week 5
Review
BABC001Assessment 2:
Week 9
Report
(written using the
company from
Accounting)
Assessment 3: Week 11/12
Presentation
(groups present an analysis of the
case they write about in
Economics)
Common
case
study
Economics
BECO001 Assignment: Week 12
Case study analysis (written report)
Outcomes
Benefits of embedding through assessment
•
•
•
Positive feedback from students and staff
Effective model that involves collaboration and coordination in a way
that is practical and sustainable in an ongoing program.
Sense of ‘community of practice’ among staff
Challenges to address
•
Communication of aims and objectives across subjects and
disseminating information to tutors.
References
Full Paper
•
Brooman-Jones, S, Cunningham, G, Hanna, L and Wilson, D. (2011)
‘Embedding academic literacy – A case study in Business at UTS:Insearch’
Journal of Academic Language & Learning Vol. 5, No. 2, 2011, A1-A13.
ISSN 1835-5196 (Received 17 March 2011; Published online 28 November 2011)
Presentation
•
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR]
(2009). Good Practice Principles for English Language Proficiency for International
Students in Australian Universities. Final Project Report. Retrieved from
http://www.deewr.gov.au/highereducation/publications/pages/goodpracticeprinciples.aspx
•
Dudley-Evans, T. (2001). Team-teaching in EAP: Changes and adaptations in the
Birmingham approach. In M. Peacock, & J. Flowerdew (Eds.). Research perspective
on English for academic purposes (pp. 225-238). Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press