Developing tertiary students' literacy skills

Abstract

Not all students arrive at university with the basic literacy skills they require to be successful in their studies. In fact, many students display a considerable deficit in their spoken and written English which seems at times to be at odds with their sometimes considerable ability to use higher-order thinking skills to comprehend and interact with the subject matter of their chosen fields of study. This seeming lack of control over the primary areas of spelling, punctuation, grammar and sentence formation is often the reason for poor assignment and exam marks, and requires addressing in a practical and systematic way. If the literacy problems of individuals and groups of students are systematically analysed and identified, then programs can be developed to assist students to understand and overcome areas of weakness in communication skills and to apply their new understanding successfully in university assessment tasks. In this session participants will analyse some of the literacy issues which have arisen in a teacher education course and discuss with presenters the development and application of strategies to overcome what appears to be a high literacy deficit in students studying to be teachers of literacy themselves. In spite of being competent users of new technologies, many students require old-fashioned 'back to basics' teaching. In an evaluation of the Literacy Mentorship program at their university, the presenters argue that boundaries of teaching sometimes need pushing backwards as well as forwards.