Workplace numeracy skills need to be practised in context. With more than half (55%) of Australian adults and 48% of employed adults assessed as lacking the numeracy skills needed to cope with everyday life and work (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013), Tina and Dave put a case for a focused approach.
Measurement skills are a subset of numeracy skills and adult numeracy skills are a key economic driver influencing both labour force participation and wage levels. Every workplace depends on accurate and reliable measurements. For example, a building contractor depends on the new window fitting in the space allowed and a supermarket relies on the freezer keeping frozen products safely chilled. When it comes to measurement skills, like all numeracy skills, context is critical. Measurement skills in the workplace context are very different from measurement skills in a personal and community context or an education and training context.
Transferability
In the report No More Excuses (Industry Skills Councils 2011), Manufacturing Skills Australia gives an example of measuring length in two different contexts, the community and the workplace. In the community, length is commonly measured in centimetres using a tape measure marked in centimetres. In the workplace, length is commonly measured in millimetres using a tape measure marked in millimetres.
The task of measuring the same property (length) of the same object using the same measuring instrument (tape measure) has significantly different skill demands in relation to the mathematical information that must be read and understood, the scales used, and the mathematical information that must be represented and communicated. Therefore, the transfer of measurement skills between the two contexts of community versus workplace cannot be assumed.
Complexity
Measurement skills that may be considered basic in a personal and community context or a training and education context are not basic in a workplace where they are embedded in workplace tasks. For example, consider the measurement skills needed to read and record a digital temperature readout. In a learning environment, this is a straightforward reading and recording task. In the workplace, the task is made more complex by the context and may include task time demands (e.g. read and record every 30 minutes), safety requirements (e.g. equipment surfaces are over 200 °C), internal customer demands (e.g. records are used by a supervisor to make important workplace decisions), process monitoring demands (e.g. result is checked against process specification), quality implications (e.g. action is taken to quarantine product if result is outside specification), and productivity targets (e.g. quarantined product leads to under-production, disrupted workflow and unmet customer orders).
Overtness
In the workplace, measurement skills demands are often hidden in job tasks, concealed by processes and technology, and only revealed when something goes wrong. For example, an outdoor recreation worker uses a GPS to lead a hiking group. If the GPS breaks down or loses signal, the worker may need skills to use a topographical map and a hand-held compass.
Workplace measurement and the ACSF
Measurement skills include all three numeracy indicators, often in combination. Many small business owners keep a vehicle log book. The measurement skills needed by the worker include to be able to:
- Identify and interpret what measurements are needed (ACSF numeracy indicator .09)
- Use a diary, watch and odometer to read dates, times and mileage, add and subtract numbers and reflect on whether the readings and calculations are reasonable (ACSF numeracy indicator .10)
- Record the measurements in the vehicle log book and talk about the results, how they were produced and what they mean (ACSF numeracy indicator .11).
Although only one numeracy focus area explicitly refers to measurement, multiple focus areas are needed to describe the skills needed to complete a measurement task. Consider the example of a worker following an instruction to take and record a temperature in Table 1.
A retail assistant in a shoe store needs to be able to measure feet and use a conversion chart to determine a customer’s correct shoe size.
A specialised foot measuring device illustrating the types of measurement information involved is shown in Diagram 1. The ability to interpret measurements using the specialised foot measuring device is needed to complete this task.
Along with the use of the Brannock specialist foot measuring device or equivalent to measure feet, the job task also requires knowledge and understanding of Australian shoe sizes in relation to shoe sizes in other countries. The relationships between the four common shoe sizes for men and women: Australian (Au), United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and European (Eu) is shown in Table 2.
In this job task, the understanding and use of linear dimensions underpins the process of fitting the correct shoe size. Misunderstanding of foot measurements and shoe specifications could lead to poorly fitted shoes and customer dissatisfaction and complaints.
To undertake the whole task of measuring feet and fitting shoes requires the understanding and application of a range of measures and measurement activities relating to linear dimensions and numbers. Individually some of the components of the task are at level 1: reading whole numbers related to shoe sizes. However, as the job task demands a combination of a range of measurement skills and mathematical skills and their application, it requires using higher level skills aligned to ACSF numeracy level 2.
Supporting learners to build their measurement skills
The following strategies are examples of good practice adult numeracy teaching as applied to building measurement skills in the workplace.
- Encourage the learner to talk about measuring. Ask them to talk about the objects they must measure including what measurements are used for and why they are important, how they are used, and how and where the measurements are reported.
- What measurement tools are used? What units of measurement are used? What conversions need to be undertaken? Check this information against workplace requirements and identify what the learner needs. They may need support in one or more of the numeracy indicators, they may be suffering from maths anxiety or they may lack the complementary vocational skills needed to perform the task, such as correct understanding of the workplace procedures for using rates.
- Draw on what the learner already knows and challenge them by sequencing the training according to the learner’s individual needs. They may be skilled in reading a ruler but need support with metric conversions. As appropriate to the workplace, incorporate a range of different measurements and tools and workplace conditions. This may include examples of different objects to measure using different measuring instruments in the workplace.
- Ask questions to extend the learner, such as ‘What if you had to explain to someone else how to take a measurement?’ or ‘What if accuracy was not important?’ Mix up questions that do and do not require metric conversions for an additional challenge.
- Provide plenty of opportunities for practise without fear of failure and with time for reflection. During training support, this might involve working with measuring the length of objects gathered from the workplace and discussing the results. It should also include developing the skills to estimate measures by guessing the measurement value of the object before taking the actual measurements. Outside training support, this may involve removing avoidance strategies, such as relying on another team member to take the measurements and pairing with a buddy or mentor.
- Ask the learner to reflect on what they have learnt, the challenges encountered and how they were overcome.
Build your workplace measurement skills
You can build your own measurement skills and understanding in several ways. Identify as many examples you can find of typical measurements and instruments found in the workplace. Take a tour of a workplace and talk to people about measurements, including questions such as:
- How do they measure?
- What are the measurements used for?
- Why are measurements important?
- Who uses measurements?
- How are measurements used?
- How and where are measurements reported and recorded?
You can also find examples of typical measurements outside of the workplace. In the home, many measurements exist, such as a person’s height and weight, the dimensions of a window and the area of a room or a garden bed. Volumes of common household products can be analysed, such as food containers, cleaning and garden products, and household water usage. Next time you go shopping, look at how all the products are measured. What units are used? When is weight used compared to volume?
Practise taking measurements with different measuring instruments found in the workplace or home, and check your answers with others. You can always ask a trusted peer or mentor to challenge you to extend your skills and introduce you to new measures and how they are measured, and in what units.
You can use the internet, or friends and colleagues, to research questions about measurement such as:
- What is the difference between mass and weight?
- What is the difference between volume and capacity?
- What is the SI system of units?
- What are derived units of measures?
- What imperial units of measure are still used in Australia? Are there any still used in your workplace?
There are ongoing challenges to effectively teach measurement skills in both workplace and community settings. Keeping the learner focused on the context of the task and being able to practise in a safe and supported environment are crucial to success.
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013). 4228.0 – Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, Australia, 2011-2012. Canberra, ABS.
Berghella T., Tout D. (2014). Numeracy By Measure. Building the Workplace Measurement Skills of VET Practitioners, Department of Industry, Canberra
Industry Skills Councils. (2011). No more excuses: an industry response to the language, literacy and numeracy challenge.
This article first appeared in Fine Print in 2017 published by the Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council Inc.
Tina Berghella is the secretary of the Australian Workplace Practitioner’s Network and a former member of the National Foundation Skills Strategy Project’s Community of Practice. She has developed numeracy test items for the Foundation Skills Assessment Tool (FSAT) and delivered workplace literacy and numeracy training programs. Tina has conducted NCVER funded research exploring the numeracy skills of the VET workforce and is the author of a suite of professional development resources designed to build the workplace numeracy awareness and skills of VET practitioners.
Dave Tout is an experienced numeracy and mathematics educator who is particularly interested in making mathematics relevant, interesting and fun for all students especially those students who are disengaged from mathematics. He has worked in a range of teaching programs in schools, TAFEs, community providers, teacher education at universities and industry. He has written many numeracy teaching, curriculum, assessment and professional development materials and resources. Dave worked on the numeracy domain of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF), was also involved in the development of the numeracy components of the CGEA and the VCAL, and has worked on international numeracy assessments for the OECD.