Nursery Worker
Literacy and Numeracy Summary
Nursery Worker
Literacy and Numeracy Profile Summary
Many adults in New Zealand would benefit from gaining better reading, writing and maths skills to function productively at work and at home. Every industry is striving to help in achieving this goal and as part of this effort the NZHITO, in association with our main funding body the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), have been working on a Literacy and Numeracy (LN) project. Our ultimate aim is to increase individuals’ literacy and numeracy skills in order to make workplaces safer and more productive, as well as to ensure learners have the skills to succeed in their everyday lives. As part of this project we have completed a Literacy and Numeracy profile for the Plant Nursery industry trainees. The profile:
· Gives those working with trainees an understanding of the skill levels required by their goal occupations, which can be compared with TEC Assessment Tool reports of trainees’ levels of ability.
· Gives trainers some guidelines for embedding the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills along with nursery worker vocational skills and knowledge.
Read with understanding – Step 3
· While the majority of texts that a nursery worker needs to read use skills around step 3, the activity of spraying requires reading skills at step 6. For this reason, the use of texts involving chemical data should be incorporated into training
· Critical reading is an important skill for documents read at the commencement of employment (such as an employment contract).
· Decoding and Vocabulary are the most consistently higher-ranking reading skills needed because of the use of Latin plant names.
Documents at step 3 would include: some general workplace forms, a spray diary, some simple equipment manuals etc.
Write to communicate – Step 2
· A nursery worker only needs basic writing skills for everyday tasks.
· Forms requiring detailed descriptions (e.g. injury and incident form) often require step 4-5 purpose and audience consideration skills.
· The use of Latin plant names increases vocabulary and spelling skill demands.
Tasks at step 2 would include: general workplace forms, timesheets or spray diaries etc.
Listen with understanding and speak to communicate – Step 4
· Nursery workers need adequate communication skills in order to work safely and efficiently.
Listening and speaking tasks at step 4 would include: Communicating with other staff members or machinery operators etc.
Numeracy – Step 4
· Nursery workers need good number knowledge and number strategies.
· Proficient measurement skills are important.
· Spraying uses step 6 skills and these may need to be specifically taught if relevant.
Tasks using numeracy at step 4 on the Literacy and Numeracy Learning Progressions include: ordering supplies, completing cuttings and potting sheets, recording engine hours etc.
For full details of the learning progressions please refer to: www.literacyandnumeracyforadults.com
