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​VCAA Bulletin
No. 45 - February 2019
Feature Article

Back to VCAA Bulletin No. 45 - February 2019

Making numeracy more engaging for VCAL students

a woman and a man talking to the camera with the VCAL logo in the middle 

The VCAA has released the VCAL Literacy and Numeracy Skills Units for implementation in 2019. VCAL practitioners will receive both a Curriculum Planning Guide and an Advice for Teachers to support the delivery of the units.

Two new VCAL Numeracy Skills Units have been introduced at the Intermediate and Senior levels. One of the highlights of these new units is the requirement for students to complete a numeracy based project plan. The aim is to help students improve their understanding and application of numeracy skills in the workplace.

In 2018, forty VCAL providers participated in a target group to deliver the VCAL Numeracy Skills Units. Throughout the year, they offered invaluable feedback on the units, including attending panel discussions and sharing their expertise.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. Larisha Rowney (pictured above left), a teacher at Mildura Secondary College who participated in the target program, commented: 'Well, I've actually never before seen students excited to learn maths and put it into their own project, confidently calling people, asking for assistance.

'I even had a student come from another class, who just wanted to be a part of this numeracy class that was so different. And he really enjoyed it,' she said.

According to Adam Roche (pictured above right), who teaches at Doncaster Secondary College, the new approach 'is easier to apply in the real world context'.

'I was actually able to give the students the new units and say "These are your four outcomes. Figure out where you think these might apply in the real world." And then we could start to base learnings and examples and teaching experiences around what they thought was interesting, what they thought was relevant to them,' he explained.

Further information about the 2019 VCAL Literacy and Numeracy Skills Units is available on the VCAL Teacher Resources webpage. Watch Larisha and Adam speaking on the video below.

Video transcript of Making numeracy more engaging for VCAL students