A teachers guide to using literacy, language, numercacy and ICT

In the last few blogs we have looked at lots of different ways to improve the way we all do things in the classroom and this last post will add the cherry on the cake!



Now, something every learner will need you to do, no matter what the subject you teach, is provide them opportunities to practise their literacy, language, numeracy and ICT skills. This should be done in every session and is mainly done by using different teaching and learning techniques.

We're going to start a virtual course, this will give us a chance to look at different ways of improving literacy, language, numeracy and ICT - the course we're going to use, in homage to the illustration above, is Cupcake Decorating Course.



So, you're now a Cupcake decorating tutor, what can you do to introduce functional skills to your course, you really need to think about two things, your teaching and learning techniques and assessment.

So, here goes.....

A quiz works in a few different ways, not only does it assess the learners it also helps imparts literacy.



This could be done throughout the course as it is important to monitor learners progress. For example it could be used as initial assessment to find out how much learners know about cupcake decorating, there then could be a quiz once a week to assess how the learners are getting on. This improves the the learners literacy as they have to read the questions and write the answers.

Card matching game will also improve literacy of the learners. For this course, learners could match combination of flavours for example - mint and chocolate (a personal favourite!) Or, the learners could match different decorating techniques they think would look good.


Presentations may sound daunting, but they help in so many different ways.



 Setting your learners research presentation topics will impart both literacy and language. In this course the topic could be something along the lines of - You are producing cupcakes with a theme of the Queens Jubilee, you have to produce 12 cupcakes with 6 different flavours or designs - what would they be?



Learners would have to research different things surrounding the theme etc, this would help embed literacy and ICT skills through the research and by potentially producing a PowerPoint presentation. It also embeds language as the learners will have to present their creations to the rest of the group. This could also be used as a good assessment method for the tutor.

A tutor led group discussion is another way of imparting language as it allows the learners to discuss a topic giving there views and opinions. This could be part of the project mentioned above, the tutor could ask for initial ideas and the group would talk about these ideas and get some constructive feedback.

We've already looked at one option of including ICT skills in  your session, research. This is a valuable technique as it increases the knowledge of the learners and increases the functional skills. It is also really good for independent learning.

In this course there are a few things that you can use to improve ICT. One option would be creating a spreadsheet in Excel.



This could be used to work out quantities of ingredients and help to keep within budgets. For example a budget could be set and the Excel chart could be used to keep a record of what you've bought and how much this cost. Different scenarios could be used, for example if you were to make X amount of cakes what quantity of ingredients would be needed and how much would it cost. So in this exercise not only would you embed ICT skills by using Excel and working out Excel formula's, you would also be embedding numeracy skills.

So, what do you need to remember when you're teaching any course, functional skills! You're not just teaching them new things about your subject - you have to include ways to improve the learners functional skills.

A teachers guide to assessment

When you say the word assessment - learners straight away think exam!


But - it doesn't always have to be that, there are lots of ways for you, the tutor, to assess your learners and even ways your learner's can assess themselves.

Assessment starts as soon as you make contact - this could be an initial conversation at an open evening. This allows you to speak to the learner to see if the course is at the right level, what they want from it etc. This is known as informal initial assessment
If your course doesn't have an open evening or taster day the first way you can assess your learners is through an enrolment form. You can find a lot about your learners from this form - qualifications, experience, if they have an extra needs. This kind of assessment is formal initial assessment. This allows you to see if your learners have any extra needs - for example one of your learners may need to record a voice recording instead of writing an essay.

Setting individual goals is an excellent thing to do at this stage, as some learners may not learn at the same pace - this will motivate learners to reach there own individual goal.

It is important to assess your learners all the way through the course and not just at the end of your course -


but don't worry, it won't leave your learners pulling their hair out!

Assessment throughout the course is called formative and allows the teacher and the learner to see their progress as the course goes on, this helps meets the needs of the learners

Something as simple as question and answer is a great way if assessing your learners


The great thing about this is they don't even feel like they're being put to the test. If you're asking questions to the learners about the subjects you've been teaching then you are assessing how much they have taken in. A really good time to do this is at the end of the session to see if your learners have reached your SMART objectives.


Peer and self assessment are a great way of involving learners as it allows them to give constructive feedback.




Peer assessment really helps the rapport of the group as they are working together by giving constructive criticism and points for development - both of these things are really important!

No one likes being told they're wrong!

You've spent hours grafting away on an essay, you hand it in and you get told it's all wrong - how demotivating!

This is why it's really important that the learners give points of development, not criticism. Point of development will help the learners improve, where as criticism doesn't help anyone! Peer assessment helps both the learners reflect on what they are doing well in and their own strengths by taking positives from the work.

It is really hard to look at your own work and find ways you can improve - again, don't forget you are not looking for fault, you are looking at your work in a constructive way, looking for ways you can develop. 

So remember, it is important to include your learners in assessment through peer and self assessment, make sure you're meeting their needs and make sure you try hard to make assessment less scary!!