It’s been awhile, but I’m still thinking about the New Zealand Diploma in Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NZ Dip ALNE).

This newly revised diploma is now on the NZQA framework. It’s a 120 credit level 6 qualification.

The new one is a million times better than the old one. I think I started trying to write the old one about 6 times and failed each time.

What I’d like to find out is… is anyone else still interested?

It’s a lot of work to work to write the documentation that a provider needs to get this accredited. And then there’s a lot more work to do to create the actual course content.

I have a bunch of (mostly untested) assumptions about the NZ Dip ALNE that I’d like some feedback on.

So feel free to comment here or let us know by email (assess@alec.ac.nz):

Here are some of my assumptions… in no particular order:

1. NCALNE (Voc) and NCALNE (Educator) graduates would be interested in extending themselves through the NZ Dip ALNE. This would include those who enjoyed the personal challenge of their previous literacy and numeracy professional development and saw positive changes in their own professional practice.
2. Graduates who are now in leadership or management roles may be interested due to the fact that the level 6 qualification is focused on leadership and informing organisational change and capability.
3. Managers would support the further professional develop of experienced staff, particularly those who have shown an interest in embedding literacy and numeracy into their teaching.
4. ESOL teachers and managers involved in TEC funded training could be interested as their project work could reference the needs of ESOL learners and the contexts in which they work and study.
5. The TEC would support the training as it aligns with their current implementation strategy, priorities, and goals.
6. Cross-crediting up to 30 credits from previous NCALNE study could provide a strong incentive for joining the course. This includes NCALNE (Voc) graduates working in trades or vocational training.
7. Candidates would need up to 2 years to complete the qualification. And alternatively, some candidates would be able to work through the requirements faster depending on their circumstances.
8. A series of three or four big projects based on a teaching and learning inquiry cycle and that each reference all or most of the graduate profile outcomes would be more interesting and engaging for candidates. The alternative would be a series of smaller discrete assessment tasks that step through the graduate profile outcomes, but… [sorry, just fell asleep].
9. It would need to work (mostly) online and by distance. Although, there could be some great opportunities to bring candidates together at key times to support each other and contribute to sector development through sharing what people are learning through the work.

Some further thoughts on using three or four big projects… If you’ve done our ALEC version of the NCALNE (Voc), what I’m thinking of here is what we called your project work.

Our NCALNE (Voc) project work is a kind of inquiry cycle where you:

• look at issues and context
• then assess learner needs
• design literacy and numeracy skills development
• do some teaching
• measure learner gains
• and then evaluate your effectiveness.

The Diploma is bigger (120 credits instead of 40 for the Voc) and at a higher level (6 instead of 5). This means we need to turn the volume up. But if you could cross-credit up to 30 credits through a portfolio of your NCALNE (Voc) work and some other bits and pieces this would then leave you with 90 credits to complete across three big projects over two academic years.

Each project would take you through the inquiry cycle, but with a different focus each time. And because it’s a higher level course, you’d be required to provide leadership and support to other practitioners. These could be people you work with or your colleagues in other organisations.

The goal:

By the time you’ve put yourself (and your team or collaborators) through their paces three or four times, you’d have developed not just literacy and numeracy, but high-level teaching superpowers.

By this, I mean:

• You’d know more about teaching and learning and could use the knowledge.
• Your skills would be in much higher resolution than before.
• You’d be consistently able to get better results.

Sure, it would be about literacy and numeracy. But actually, it would be about leadership. And getting results. And learning to teach better. And supporting learners to learn better.

The literacy and numeracy content would be the vehicle… the waka… a way to create a growing community of badass educators who can thrive in the turmoil of sustained innovation and organisation change.