International Literacy Day stories
16 November 2011
In recognition of International Literacy Day this year we asked for your stories about inspirational people who have made a valuable contribution to or achieved highly in the Language, Literacy and Numeracy sector. Read on for the first of these stories.
Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) acknowledge Gary Sharpe
WITT is lucky enough to have an Automotive tutor who really values creative teaching and learning. His name is Gary Sharpe – at WITT, we call him ‘Spannerman’. Gary works at WITT for three days as Automotive tutor and two days as Literacy and Numeracy Advisor. His contribution to both fields is outstanding.
Gary has a background in family counselling, so he is no stranger to the hardships that walk into his classrooms on the backs of his students. ‘Clearing the way’ for learning to occur is what Gary does naturally. His students appreciate his attention to their wellbeing (hauora) as well as the environment in which he teaches.
Introducing Spannerman
Mapping Automotive course texts and assessing learners’ literacy and numeracy highlighted a gap between learner skills, industry requirements and delivery material. Thus, the concept of ‘Spannerman’ evolved into a template for delivery material. Gary has spent countless hours re-writing Automotive material to reflect the needs of his learners. ‘Spannerman’ is his iconic little tool-man who appears on most pages of the re-vamped workbooks. While learners cannot be insulated from industry terms and language, Gary’s modification of material and resources has accommodated a broader range of learner abilities.
‘Spannerman’ – Gary’s animated spanner, has already shown benefits in linking material and prompting the learner to perform various tasks, research, and procedure explanations. For example, a ‘Key Words’ table at the top of each new piece of text is highlighted by Spannerman. These key words give the learner the word, its definition and most importantly, its industry use.
Spannerman is also used to highlight ‘must know’ parts of the material and again appears at the end of short pieces of text, announcing tasks for the learner to complete. These tasks can range from internet research, to writing short summaries, maths principles and completing charts. Spannerman in his many poses is now instantly identifiable by learners, who recognise these poses like icons on a computer desk top.
Bridging LN gaps
Spannerman has helped Gary to achieve congruence between course demands and learners’ literacy and numeracy ‘steps’. Spannerman’s evolution continues as more material is developed to this template. Meanwhile, Gary is seeking out new ways to improve the retention and success of his Automotive students. He also supports Foundation tutors in the embedding of literacy and numeracy into their delivery. This includes administering the online assessment tool in literacy and numeracy.
All in all, WITT is extremely proud of Gary Sharpe and his achievements as a cutting edge tutor. Best practice in the form of ‘Spannerman’ is here to stay.