Course coordinator
Dr Garth Stahl
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- External
- Attendance mode
- Online
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Education School
Literacy and numeracy are key enabling skills for full and effective participation in and beyond school life. Literate and numerate citizens contribute to the functioning of society and hence literacy and numeracy are a fundamental aspect of education. Literacy and numeracy practices are performed in a multitude of diverse contexts. The term `multiliteracies' acknowledges both the socially diverse (i.e., diverse languages, communication styles and socio-cultural contexts) and multimodal (i.e., any combination of these modes: oral, visual, audio, written, spatial, gestural, tactile) nature of literacy and numeracy practices in the twenty first century. Based on international and Australian research and theory, this course explores multiliteracies meaning making across the curricula, whilst embracing the participatory disposition of today's learners, who interpret, understand, use and create multimodal texts that, for example, incorporate images, video clips, sound effects, music, animation or more specialized representations (mathematical formulas, graphs and tables etc.). Research tells us that it is important to understand how various literacies and various cultural traditions combine these different modalities to make meanings that are more than the sum of what each could mean separately. National and international educational policy recognises both literacy and numeracy as essential foundational skills for success in all learning areas. Teaching strategies to build literacy and numeracy competence as general capabilities for personal enablement, civic and economic participation and social equity are the main focus of this course.
This course may not be offered In Person if the enrolment is less than 10 students.
This course explores literacy and numeracy as interdisciplinary skills for meaning making and analysis across all sectors of society. The complexity of social, cultural and political issues pertaining to literacy and numeracy are critically examined and possible pathways forward are mapped that employ up-to-date research and theory on effective pedagogical strategies for literacy and numeracy education.
Course requirements
Restrictions
This course is restricted to Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies and Master of Educational Studies students only.
Quota: Minimum 10 student enrolments for In Person offering
Jointly taught details
This course is jointly-taught with:
- Another instance of the same course
This course has Internal and External offerings and will be run in a hybrid environment with simultaneous synchronous in-person and online delivery.
Course contact
Lecturer
Dr Garth Stahl
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Jana Visnovska
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
- To explore contemporary understandings of issues pertaining to multiliteracies and numeracy across the curriculum
- To provoke critical engagement with up-to-date research and theory on effective pedagogical strategies for the literacy and numeracy teaching across the curriculum
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate comprehensive and well-founded knowledge of the current nature of literacy and numeracy in the twenty first century
LO2.
Critically review contemporary international and national empirical research on literacy and numeracy learning across curricula
LO3.
Apply contemporary international and national empirical research on literacy and numeracy learning to teaching and learning design across learning areas
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Presentation | Problem statement for your inquiry | 15% 300 words |
19/08/2024 2:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Literature review and plan of actions for inquiry | 40% 2000 words |
23/09/2024 2:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Inquiry report | 45% 3000 words |
4/11/2024 2:00 pm |
Assessment details
Problem statement for your inquiry
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Presentation
- Weight
- 15% 300 words
- Due date
19/08/2024 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
Task 1: Action research problem statement Action research in education is a reflective research practice that many experienced teachers engage in. It usually relates to improving practice with a key question asking – “How can I improve what I do in relation to…” (see for instance Getting to Know the Problem, Trying to Find a Solution section in McAteer chapter). However, if you are not currently practicing as a teacher you may look at inquiring into something that you are interested in, perplexed by or want to change by analysing documents (policies, curricula, websites) to inform your future practice.
For the action research to be manageable within the semester time frame, it is preferable to focus your inquiry on analysis of texts that are publicly available (e.g., curriculum and policy documents, websites), and/or self-reflections of own practice. Inclusion of reflections of small number of colleagues can be manageable, if you have no intention to publish from this analysis (while coursework is exempt from ethical approval, publications are not).
Define your inquiry by forming a problem statement and key question and sub questions. Use p. 15 of Efron and Ravid (2013) as a guide for writing a problem statement and pp. 31- 33 for guidance on research questions. The purpose of this task is to clarify focus of your inquiry. (300 words, written submission) Prepare and submit a presentation to introduce your problem context and argue the significance of your inquiry in that context. Format: (shorter) Pecha Kucha – 6 images projected for 20 seconds each (2 mins total) see http://www.pechakucha.org/ ). Pique our interests and demonstrate your professional multimodal communication.
Please see Task Description on Blackboard site for more details.
Submission guidelines
Submissions are accepted via the Blackboard site. Please follow instructions for submission of the text and the video files on the Course Blackboard site, Assessment section.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Please see UQ policies regarding late assessment, specifically "10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item, or one grade per 24 hours if graded on a scale of 1-7, or equivalent penalty if an alternative grading approach is used."
Literature review and plan of actions for inquiry
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 40% 2000 words
- Due date
23/09/2024 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
Task Two – Action research literature review and project plan
1. Demonstrate comprehensive and well-founded knowledge of the current nature of literacy and numeracy in the twenty first century
2. Critically review contemporary international and national empirical research on literacy and numeracy learning across curricula
3. Apply contemporary international and national empirical research on literacy and numeracy learning to teaching and learning design across learning areas
Task 2: Literature review and plan of actions for inquiry • Conduct a literature review of the issue you identified in Task 1. Gather information on your focus issue from literature, policies, reports and your own personal experience. (Read pp. 17-31 on developing a literature review in Efron & Ravid, 2013) • Consolidate all this information into a literature review. • Plan actions that you have and/or will undertake over the next 1-2 months to understand the phenomena of your inquiry informed by your review of the issue. List what you will read, what documents you will analyse, and what data you will gather (e.g., personal reflections of practice) to understand your inquiry, noting the time period for each action
Please see Task Description on Blackboard site for more details.
Submission guidelines
Submissions are accepted via the Blackboard site. Please follow instructions for submission on the Course Blackboard site, Assessment section.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Please see UQ policies regarding late assessment, specifically "10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item, or one grade per 24 hours if graded on a scale of 1-7, or equivalent penalty if an alternative grading approach is used."
Inquiry report
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 45% 3000 words
- Due date
4/11/2024 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
Task 3 – Action research report
1. Demonstrate comprehensive and well—founded knowledge of the current nature of literacy and numeracy in the twenty first century
2. Critically review contemporary international and national empirical research on literacy and numeracy learning across curricula
3. Apply contemporary international and national empirical research on literacy and numeracy learning to teaching and learning design across learning areas
Task 3: Action research report
Develop a comprehensive report on your reflections and interpretations of your inquiry across the semester. The report documents the actions that you took to understand the literacy and numeracy education issue further, and your reflections and interpretations of these actions. From the documents (e.g., policy documents, websites, reports, teaching reflective journaling/ drawing/ memos) that you gather identify themes and patterns (see Ch. 7 of Efron & Ravid (2013) on qualitative data analysis) and discuss these in relation to what the literature says. Then write conclusions and implications from your assessment of the issue (see pp. 215-217 Efron & Ravid (2013) for a guide). Use Efron & Ravid (2013) as a guide for writing a report. The required sections are mapped out on pp. 226-230, though those of you not focusing your inquiry within a teaching context you will not have a research site and participants section.
Please see Task Description on Blackboard site for more details.
Submission guidelines
Submissions are accepted via the Blackboard site. Please follow instructions for submission on the Course Blackboard site, Assessment section.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Please see UQ policies regarding late assessment, specifically "10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item, or one grade per 24 hours if graded on a scale of 1-7, or equivalent penalty if an alternative grading approach is used."
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Failed to pass all assignments and did not demonstrate understanding of key concepts of evidence, quality, equity and forms of teacher research. |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Failed to pass all assignments and showed very limited understanding of key concepts in the course. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Passed one of the assignments but failed the other assignments. Showed some understanding of some of the key concepts but did not develop a sufficient level of understanding of the key concepts. |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrated an understanding of all the key concepts in the course but didn't show a comprehensive or in-depth understanding and application. |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The key concepts in the course are understood in some depth and applied appropriately in the two assignments. |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The key concepts are clearly understood in depth and applied in ways that suggest original contributions and applications to professional contexts. |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The assignments demonstrated original insights and deep understanding and application of the key concepts in the course. |
Additional course grading information
Determining final grades
- The final grades are determined by consideration of the weighting of individual assessment items, ﾠthrough the use ofﾠweighting formula and the profile of individual grades across accumulated assessment tasks.ﾠPlease note that the weighting of an assignment refers to the relative significance of the assignment within the assessment program, not to a number for a grade. The use of these multiple sources of information means that your final grade relates to a position within a grade band and not to a percentage.
All assignments in this course will be provided a grade out of 7. The final grade will be calculated using the weighting and individual grades as follows:
Example: A student receives the following grades - ﾠAssignment 1 (A1): grade 7ﾠat 15% weighting, Assignment 2 (A2) grade 5 at 40% weighting and Assignment 3 (A3) grade 6 at 45% weighting. The final grade for this student taking into account the weighting of each assignment would be: A1 (0.15ﾠx 7) + A2 (0.40 x 5) + A3 (0.45ﾠx 6)= 5.75
In the case where the final grade is 0.5 or above, the grade will be rounded up to the nearest whole number (e.g. 5.5 would become 6). In the case where the final grade is 0.49 or below, the grade will be rounded down to the nearest whole number (e.g. 6.49 would become 6).
ﾠ
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the 'Assessment' folder in Blackboard for this course.
Release of assessment item marks and feedback
In addition to the grade awarded, feedback will be provided in a timely manner to enable students to apply the feedback to further tasks within the course or program and/or plan for supplementary assessment, requests for re-mark, or re-enrolment. However, as per UQ Policy and Procedures Library under the Assessment Policy, results for the final assessment item are to be released only after the final grade for the course has been released. Time frames for applications for assessment re-mark are indicated under the Assessment Procedure.
Re-mark policy
After each assessable item, students will be given the opportunity to view their assessment and so satisfy themselves that a marking or administrative error has not occurred. The formal process of querying a course result (requesting a remark on academic grounds) is set out in the UQ Policy and Procedures Library under the Assessment Procedure.
Use of AI
The following applies to all assessments in this course:
Use of generative AI to support or inform assessment
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. ﾠWhilst students may use AI technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (22 Jul - 28 Jul) |
Workshop |
Literacy and numeracy definitions (Wednesday, July 24th) . Willis, S. (1998). Which numeracy? Unicorn, 24(2), 32-42. Manfra, M. M. (2019). Action research and systematic, intentional change in teaching practice. Review of Research in Education, 43(1), 163-196. Learning outcomes: L01 |
Week 2 (29 Jul - 04 Aug) |
Workshop |
Global & national literacy and numeracy landscape (Wednesday, July 31st) . Thomson, S., De Bortoli, L., Underwood, C., & Schmid, M. (2019). PISA 2018 in Brief I. Student performance. ACER. Retrieved from https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=ozpisa Hardy, I. (2015). A logic of enumeration. The nature and effects of national literacy and numeracy testing in Australia. Journal of Education Policy, 30(3), 335-362. doi: 10.1080/02680939.2014.945964 Learning outcomes: L02, L03 |
Week 3 (05 Aug - 11 Aug) |
Workshop |
Critical literacies (Wednesday, Aug 7th) Consultations about Task 1 encouraged. Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (2023 forthcoming). Towards education justice: A pedagogy of multiliteracies, revisited. In B. Cope, M. Kalantziz, & G. C. Zapata (Eds.) Multiliteracies in International Educational Contexts: Towards Education Justice? Routledge. Learning outcomes: L02, L03 |
Week 4 (12 Aug - 18 Aug) |
Workshop |
History and policy of numeracy (Wednesday, Aug 14th) / Ekka Holiday Consultations about Task 1 encouraged in Week 3. Department of Employment, Education, Training, and Youth Affairs [DEETYA]. (1997). Numeracy = everyone's business. The report of the numeracy education strategy development conference. Adelaide: Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers. Education Council (2019). Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration. Education Services Australia. https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/alice-springs-mparntwe-education-declaration Jablonka, E. (2003). Mathematical literacy. In A. J. Bishop, M. A. Clements, C. Keitel, J. Kilpatrick & F. K. S. Leung (Eds.), Second international handbook of mathematics education (pp. 75-102). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. doi: 10.1007/978-94-010-0273-8_4 Learning outcomes: L02, L03 |
Week 5 (19 Aug - 25 Aug) |
Workshop |
Multimodal and artifactual literacies (Wednesday, Aug 21st) . Albers, P., Harste, J.C., & Vasquez, V.M. (2015). Critical and Multimodal Literacy Curricula. In R. Heydon, K. Hibbert & R. Stooke (Eds.). Negotiating Spaces for Literacy Learning: Multimodality and Governmentality (pp. 115 130). : Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved June 27, 2022, from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/10.5040/9781474257138.ch-008 Learning outcomes: L02, L03 |
Week 6 (26 Aug - 01 Sep) |
Workshop |
Numeracy today (Wednesday, Aug 28th) . Zevenbergen, R. (2004). Technologizing numeracy: Intergenerational differences in working mathematically in New Times. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 56, 97-117. Faragher, R. (2019). The New Functional Mathematics for Learners with Down Syndrome: Numeracy for a Digital World. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 66(2), 206-217. Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Week 7 (02 Sep - 08 Sep) |
Workshop |
Place-based & community engaged literacies (Wednesday, Sept 4th) . Learning outcomes: L03 |
Week 8 (09 Sep - 15 Sep) |
Workshop |
Numeracy in the school curriculum (Wednesday, Sept 11th) . Kissane, B. (2012). Numeracy: Connecting mathematics. In B. Kaur & T. L. Toh (Eds.). Reasoning, communication and connections in mathematics: Yearbook 2012 (pp. 261-287). Singapore. World Scientific Publishing Co. Venkat, H., & Winter, M. (2015). Boundary objects and boundary crossing for numeracy teaching. ZDM Mathematics Education, 47(4), 575-586. doi: 10.1007/s11858-015-0683-6 Learning outcomes: L02, L03 |
Week 9 (16 Sep - 22 Sep) |
Workshop |
Literacies pedagogies (Wednesday, Sept 18th) . Unsworth, L. (2014). Toward a metalanguage for multimedia narrative interpretation and authoring pedagogy: A national curriculum perspective from Australia, In L. Unsworth & A. Thomas (Eds.) English teaching and new literacies pedagogy: Interpreting and authoring digital multimedia narratives (pp. 1-22). New York: Peter Lang. Learning outcomes: L01, L02 |
Week 10 (30 Sep - 06 Oct) |
Workshop |
Embedding numeracy across the curriculum (Wednesday, Oct 2nd) . There is no Workshop this week due to the King's Birthday (October 2nd) ------------------------------------ Crowe, A. (2010). What's math got to do with it? : Numeracy and Social Studies education. The Social Studies, 101(3), 105-110. doi: 10.1080/00377990903493846 Goos, M. , Geiger, V., & Bennison, A. (2015). Conceptualising and enacting numeracy across the curriculum. In K. Beswick, K., T. Muir, T., & J. Wells, (Eds.). Proceedings of the 39th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 3, pp. 3-9). Hobart, Australia: PME. Thornton, S., & Hogan, J. (2004). Orientations to numeracy: Teachers confidence and disposition to use mathematics across the curriculum. In M. J. Hoines & A. B. Fuglestad (Eds.), Proceedings of the 28th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 4, pp. 315-320). Bergen: PME. Learning outcomes: L02, L03 |
Week 11 (07 Oct - 13 Oct) |
Workshop |
Assessing literacies (Wednesday, Oct 9th) . Compton-Lilly, C., Dixon, K., Janks, H., Woods, A. (2020) The problem with summative literacy assessments and how they imagine children: an international comparison. In C. Martin, D. Polly, R. Lambert (Eds.) Handbook of Research on Formative Assessment in Pre-K through Elementary Classrooms IGI Global pp. 368-390 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Week 12 (14 Oct - 20 Oct) |
Workshop |
Assessing numeracy (Wednesday, Oct 16th) . Liljedahl, P. (2015). Numeracy task design: A case of changing mathematics teaching practice. ZDM Mathematics Education, 47(4), 625-637. doi: 10.1007/s11858-015-0703-6 Tout, D., & Gal, I. (2015). Perspectives on numeracy: Reflections from international assessment. ZDM Mathematics Education, 47(4), 691-706. doi: 10.1007/s11858-015-0672-9 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Week 13 (21 Oct - 27 Oct) |
Workshop |
Where to from here: The next Action Research cycle (Wednesday, Oct 23rd) Planning for future learning and research. Final discussion of open questions. Outstanding readings and other resources discussion. Learning outcomes: L01 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.