1. Foundation Skills for Assessment Tools

2. Today’s Workshop Welcome & Introductions Housekeeping
Overview of the day
Ground rules for participation
Introduction of self and each other. For participants not known to each other, have them identify employer and their role with the organisation.
Housekeeping: emergency procedures, location of toilets, tea & coffee if available, turning off / silent mobile phones
Three sections – as participants will be listening (learning), then practicing and performing.
Will explore more detail shortly.
Rules for Participation –
Contribute – through questions and constructive comment
Be willing to listen to alternative perspectives
Suspend judgement
Be clear on purpose of workshop – what will / will not be addressed
Have some fun!
Session should end 4.00pm. Breaks morning, lunch and afternoon.

3. Why are we here?
Develop an understanding of how to address foundation skills within assessment tools.
Central theme: What does competency (vocational or foundation skill) look like in the workplace?
Use a ‘6 step model’
Foremost throughout improvements will be considerations of ‘what does competency look like in the workplace’
Discuss what this means for the audience.

4. Again, why are we here?
Improve learner achievements through: Clearer assessment instructions Assessment activities contextualised for workplace expectations Strengthened foundation skills 4

5. What are foundation skills?
Term to describe “the generic skills that underpin the development and application of more specific skills.”
Range from basic, entry-level skills to very specialised or high-level skills.
Impact on career choices and ability to progress
Allow for general discussion to determine what participants understand of the term for ‘foundation skills’.
Present working definition for purpose of the workshop – as accepted for development of foundation skills strategy.
Establish that foundation skills exceed literacy and numeracy needs of learners as commonly addressed in current attentions. 5

6. What are foundation skills?
CORE SKILLS
Learning
Reading
Writing
Oral Communication
Numeracy
EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
Teamwork
Problem solving
Communication
Planning and Organising
Self-management
Initiative
Technology
FOUNDATION SKILLS
Learning
Reading
Writing
Oral Communication
Numeracy
Digital Technology + =
Agreed definition encompasses both core skills and employability skills.
Employability skills have more recently been ‘shifted’ to a core skills for work framework.
However for the development of the foundation skills training package the ‘original’ definitions of employability skills have been used.

7. The Foundation Skills Training Package
Tool developed to assist in developing foundation skills that will enable participation in vocational training and accessing employment pathways
3 Qualifications
91 Units of competency
Contextualised for industry and field of work
Options for use – adding to, embedding or stand alone
Explain the purpose of the FSK TP –
Developed in response to concerns regarding learner needs to be able to participate /achieve through the VET system.
Concurrent with other conversations / initiatives such as the development of foundation skills strategy for adults.
Developed as a tool to enable participation in VET
One tool – not a complete answer or solution.
Unique package ‘lack’ of an industry focus. And range of purposes:
Qualifications can be used as stand alone.
Units can be imported
Units can be used as resource for supporting delivery / assessment (workshop purpose) 7

8. The Foundation Skills Training Package
Foundation Skills Group
Description
Subgroup
Learning
Analysing, interpreting and evaluating information
Planning/Organising
Problem solving
Career planning
Learn to Learn
Reading
Making sense of information
Writing
Considering the audience and purpose when writing, grammar, sentence structure and spelling
Oral Communication
Speaking, listening and body language
Negotiation
Meetings
Participation
Presenting
Teamwork
Digital Technology
Identifying and using appropriate technology for the workplace task
Numeracy
Making sense of mathematical information
Algebra
Measurement
Space/Shape
Calculus
Data/graphs/
statistics
Probability
Numbers
Graphs
Trigonometry
Calculator
Matrices
Vectors
Review the ‘grouping’ and subgrouping of foundation skills.
Discuss connection to ACSF
At this point, to introduce the matrix which will be used later in the workshop.
For more detailed understanding - review the matrix within the participant workbook Workbook pages 20 and 21 and units page 17 8

9. Learning today: Independent Guided Practice Demonstration Performance
Today’s workshop has three stages:
Demonstration
- will look at an example ‘pre and post’ the model to be applied
- Unit of use BSBWHS508A. Manage WHS hazards associated with plant Sourced from IBSA – Building Stronger Foundations.
Guided Practice
allow for the skills of demonstration to be applied with second unit and review assessment activity
Unit of use BSBCMM201A Communicate in the workplace
Independent Performance
working on individual examples of assessment tools
review how to apply the model for own purposes I

10. Address foundation skills in assessment tools:
Identify foundation skill requirements
Define workplace activity
Assign level of performance (ACSF)
Select appropriate support (FSKTP)
Modify / Develop assessment tool
Evaluate the assessment tool
As per overview – purpose of session -
“provide understanding of how to improve existing assessment tools that will contribute to improved student achievement as well as strengthening their foundation skills to meet workplace expectations”
The model being introduced – 6 steps.
Present the six steps.
Will be demonstrated and then opportunity to apply under supervisions and then to your own unit of competency through independent practice.

11. 1. Identify foundation skill requirements
Look for ‘trigger’ words
Can be nouns (names of things) or verbs (action words)
Put trigger words into context
Is ‘report’ an oral or written foundation skill demand?
What foundation skills are required?
Trigger word type
Trigger word/s
Foundation skill
Noun
Policies and procedures
Reading
Verb
consult
Oral communication
Approach being taken – identify trigger words.
Determine who is familiar with this approach.
Those who have completed TAELLN401 are likely to be familiar.
Ask one of the participants to explain the approach.
Refer to workbook – examples of trigger words, page 26.

12. 1. Identify foundation skill requirements
BSBWHS508A Manage WHS hazards associated with plant
Slide purely to ‘show’ the connection between the materials provided – unit of competency (for purpose of this workshop) and the trigger words listing. Leads to a determination that learning is a required foundation skill.
Refer participants to the workbook pages.

13. 1. Identify foundation skill requirements
BSBWHS508A Manage WHS hazards associated with plant

14. 2. Define the workplace activity
What does this unit of competence look like in the workplace?
What activities will demonstrate this skill / knowledge?
Consider job role, industry, working conditions.
Discuss the central theme of what does this unit of competence look like in the workplace?
Purpose of VET is for development of skills / knowledge that can be applied in workplace / job roles. Not the meeting of training package / VET system – these are the vehicles to prepare for workplace participation and contribution.
From the list generated by the group – ask the question – what foundation skills would be required for these activities?
Purpose here is to consider the workplace activities and explore the connection to required foundation skills – use the terms of oral communication, digital technology and learning to reinforce the connection to foundation skills as clustered within FSK TP – broaden from “LLN” as a narrow focus.

15. 2. Define the workplace activity
Review Workplace Activities Grid
Activities are clustered to foundation skills
Introduce the Workplace Activity Grid – completed version in workbook, pages 35 and 35. .
This shows a range of workplace activities that would demonstrate the unit of competence in the workplace.

16. 2. Define the workplace activity
Learning skill summary - problem solving, planning and organising skills to apply WHS information to assess and rectify workplace compliance to do with plant use.
Workplace activities
Check that workplace plant SOPs, risk assessments, hazard checks and training requirements are compliant with WHS legislation.
Conduct hazard check and risk assessment.
Develop risk control options such as Job Safety Analysis, Standard Operating Procedures, training and skill requirements
Making the connection in a more detailed level – working through a specific example to connect the foundation skill and what that looks like in the workplace – as opposed to the vocational skill in workplace.
Show how it connects the three elements – foundation skill, vocational skill and workplace activity.

17. 2. Define the workplace activity
Writing skill summary – recording and reporting on WHS compliance assessment regarding plant use. Writing instructions and schedules about safe plant use.
Workplace activities
Write a machine induction
Write a purchase, installation and commissioning report
Write a Job Safety Analysis report

18. 3. Assign the level of performance
Vocational skills develop from ‘entry level’ through ‘trade’ and diploma and beyond (AQF)
Foundation skills exist on a continuum – progressing from simple to more complex
Progress of foundation skills linked to ACSF levels of performance
Having determined what foundation skills are required and the workplace activity that will provide demonstration of vocational and foundation skills, need to consider the level of performance required.
Why? – to ensure that the activity being developed does not exceed the requirements of unit of competence.
Vocational skills develop as they progress through AQF. Increasing levels of AQF lead to increasing job roles and associated workplace expectations.
Foundation skills exist on similar continuum, however not mapped to AQF levels of performance. (Despite apparent correlation)
Recall earlier conversation to determine level of understanding of ACSF.
Revisit purpose of ACSF and for the connection for this workshop. Avoiding lengthy discussion on use of development / use of the tool.
Core skills – learning, reading, writing, oral communication, numeracy.
ACSF describes performance in each of the core skills at five levels of performance.
Levels of performance impacted by – complexity of the task, learner support required, complexity of any text involved…..

19. 3. Assign the level of performance
ACSF sample activities – workplace and employment
Look at the words - identify the changes in performance
Refer to ACSF resource. Use ACSF Red book if available for demonstration only.
For each core skill there is a guide as to what this looks like in a range of contexts (domains of communication).
There is a connection to be made : what a vocational unit of competence looks like in the workplace and what a core skill looks like in the workplace.
Refer to the workbook page 30, for copy of workplace and employment context examples. This is a summary from ACSF. Note the left hand side – number 1 through 5, plus pre-level 1. Indicates the progress in performance level. Consider the language – see how it varies as the levels of performance increase. General discussion.
Sample activities can be found in the ACSF under ‘workplace and employment’ for each focus skill.

20. 3. Assign the level of performance
Note the level of performance in workplace activity grid
Just to demonstrate that the level of performance is assigned to foundations skills – as determined by the workplace sample activity.
Does not need to be done by participants as working with completed example.
Returning to completed workplace activities grid – look at the words used for these examples.
How do the words correspond to the words in the workplace examples?
Make connections and establish the level of performance at 4.

21. 3. Assign the level of performance
Digital Technology – aligned but not directly mapped.
FSKDIG01- Basics tasks under supervision = ACSF 1
FSKDIG02 - Simple tasks, support available on request = ASCF 2
FSKDIG03 - Routine tasks, independently access support = ACSF 3
Within the range of foundations skills explicitly defined (streamed) within FSKTP, digital technology assigned some ‘equivalency’ to ACSF levels of performance.

22. 4. Select appropriate support (FSKTP)
FSK TP is a tool that has been developed to assist in developing foundation skills that will enable learners to participate in vocational training and /or accessing employment pathways
Units are designed to support the development of foundation skills in a vocational context
Recall – FSK Training package is a tool to assist in developing foundation skills that will enable learning in a vocational context.
Different approaches for use –
Inclusion of units within vocational training plan
Delivery of defined qualifications – including importing of vocational units.
Resource to inform embedding of foundation skills within vocational units. (workshop focus)

23. 4. Select appropriate support (FSKTP)
Foundation skill group
Before progressing – review the arrangement of the FSK TP units including progression and language used in writing the units.
The range of writing units are included in the workbook. Allow paired discussions to explore and interpret how these are different from vocational units of competence.
Consider:
Basic, simple, routine, complex, highly complex
Progressing in complexity – level of performance needed.
Writing, draft, review and revise to finalise
Finalise, check draft, seek advice on draft, self review, critically review, review and reflect.
Discuss the implications of each of these stages.
Looking at the matrix – appropriate unit to select for support is FSKWTG10

24. 4. Select appropriate support (FSKTP)
FSKWTG10 Write complex workplace texts
Review in detail the elements and performance criteria of FSKWTG10
What actions would demonstrate the elements / performance?
Refer to session plan to guide the discussion as a group.
Make notes on whiteboard.
This is about translating the language of the unit to determine; “what does this foundation skill look like in a workplace?”

25. 5. Modify / Develop the assessment activity
How does the revised assessment activity for BSBWHS508 allow for demonstration of foundation skills as expressed in FSKWTG10?
Not intending to make the assessment easy, but easier to understand….and achieve
Review the ‘revised assessment tool for BSBWHS508.
Identify how the elements of the foundation skill unit of competency has been incorporated into the revised tool.
Session plan includes a table that links the assessment tool to FSKWTG10 – discuss.

26. 6. Evaluate the assessment tool
Evaluation in this context is to consider integration of foundation skills and overall useability of the assessment tool.
Three questions to address:
  Does the activity reflect real workplace activity?
Does the activity reflect real workplace standards?
Is it user friendly for the learner?
Explain both assessments are:
1 of a number of assessments – this is addressing an aspect of the evidence required for the vocational unit
about roles and responsibilities in the hazard identification and risk assessment processes.
Revised assessment improved by:
Instructions follow logical steps – more cohesive
Use of space / pictograms
Incorporates consideration of audience / purpose
Evaluates what is to be included in report – consistent with workplace conventions
Provides for draft, review and revisions before submission of final product
Directs to use templates consistent with workplace practices
This discussion was held at start of workshop– it is anticipated that now the observations and comments will have more depth and understanding of how foundation skills are embedded.

27. Learning today Guided Practice Independent Demonstration Performance
Second stage of the workshop is to provide opportunity for guided practice. 27

28. Address foundation skills in assessment tools:
Identify foundation skill requirements
Define workplace activity
Assign level of performance (ACSF)
Select appropriate support (FSKTP)
Modify / Develop assessment tool
Evaluate assessment tool
As per overview – purpose of session -
“provide understanding of how to improve existing assessment tools that will contribute to improved student achievement as well as strengthening their foundation skills to meet workplace expectations”
The model being applied – 6steps.
Review the six steps.
Unit of competency for this stage – BSBCMM201A – Communicate in the workplace. Unit that has wide range of application to job roles / industry and sectors.

29. 1. Identify foundation skill requirements
Look for trigger words
Refer to table of trigger words associated with foundation skills
Identify the foundation skills

30. 2. Define the workplace activity
What does the unit of competency look like in the workplace?
Consider job role / working environment / industry context.
List a number of activities that could realistically provide evidence of the skill in a workplace setting.
Use blank workplace activities grid in workbook.
Completed sample included in facilitators guide / session plan – for reference only. Not a definitive example.
Evaluate suggested activities to ensure they are specific and address the workplace expectations, not general outcomes of a UoC / Training package speak.
Focus on ‘industry specialist knowledge’ .

31. 3. Assign the level of performance
Use the ACSF examples sheet
Match workplace activities to examples sheet
Note performance level in workplace activity grid
Sample activities can be found in the ACSF under ‘workplace and employment’ for each focus skill.
Allow pairs to assign the complexity of task.
Discuss results by asking each pair to report on one group or subgroup, there may be differences – explore these.
Variations may depend on the workplace / context and job role.
Purpose is to develop appreciation of increasing levels of foundation skills and complexity of expectations in workplaces.

32. 4. Select appropriate support (FSKTP)
Foundation skill group
Select appropriate support – FSKTP
Which unit of competency could be used and why?
Activity sits within oral communication – review these choices.
Select the FSKOCM07 – one to one interaction as dictated by the vocational unit and example activity

33. 5. Modify/Develop the assessment activity
Determine the scenario to be provided to the learner – using format of role play.
Identify a purpose for the presentation.
What information will be included and how presented?
How will the reflection of performance be addressed?
Present clear instructions

34. Guided Practice – assessment activity
Scenario, stating the situation and the roles and what is to be conducted as part of the role play
Role play of presentation 10 minutes
Presentation notes
Questions to be asked for purpose of self reflection
Template for development of handout
Opportunity for participant to gain feedback from observation and reflect on performance

35. 6. Evaluate the assessment tool
Evaluation in this context is to consider integration of foundation skills and overall useability of the assessment tool.
Three questions to address:
Does the activity reflect real workplace activity?
Does the activity reflect real workplace standards?
Is it user friendly for the learner?

36. Independent Performance
Using own unit of competency and assessment materials, apply the six steps
Identify foundation skill requirements
Define workplace activity
Assign level of performance (ACSF)
Select appropriate support (FSKTP)
Modify / Develop assessment tool
Evaluate the assessment tool

37. Independent Performance
Review performance
How were foundation skills addressed for this assessment tool?

38. Workshop Review Initial purpose & aims What has been learned?
What has been of most benefit?
What will be done next?
References and resources