Mapping the Core Literacies | The Teaching & Learning Centre | Seneca Polytechnic

For each of the core literacies, every program area will provide evidence of the ways in which the literacy is taught, practiced and assessed. The mapping process will identify in which courses, and describe in what manner, this occurs.

Further, for each of the Core Literacies, one Exemplar will be provided that includes:

1. A lesson plan, including topics
2. Student practice activities
3. The associated assessment
4. The marking scheme (grading criteria/rubric/checklist, etc.).

The Mapping Process:

1. Review the program curriculum on a course-by-course basis to identify evidence of where each Core Literacy is taught, practiced, and assessed.
2. Use the information and resources provided for each Literacy to guide your thinking through this process. Not every course will include all three elements, nor will they address all core literacies. Some programs may identify that a particular core literacy is not met through the core program curriculum.
3. Complete the Course-Mapping template documents.
4. Collect one exemplar for each Core Literacy, as outlined above.

Mapping Documents
Programs will use the documents below to provide brief written descriptions of how the knowledge, skills and attitudes are taught by faculty and practiced by students in the courses that are identified as doing such.

For example, where a program identifies that materials related to the core literacy are taught in Course 1, a brief description (bullet points or a couple of sentences) of what the material is and how it is taught will be provided.

Similarly, when it is indicated that the student has an opportunity to apply the knowledge in such a way so as to practice skills, there will be a brief description of how this practice occurs.

As well, evidence must be provided to show that the assessing of the core literacy area is done in such a manner as to show the achievement of the benchmark is attained at the required level of performance.

The intent is to collect and review this material, which will allow the College to identify exemplars and build a body of ‘best practices’ that can be shared across and throughout all program areas in the College.

Definitions
Taught: There is deliberate instruction specific to the skill or element.

Example: Critical thinking-the elements of what defines critical thinking are discussed and a model or process for thinking critically is presented and demonstrated.

Practiced: Students have applied the skill or element to course content and, ideally, been given formative feedback on their performance.

Example: A scaffolded writing assignment that includes a short one page draft, perhaps in-class, which receives feedback to inform a summative assessment (e.g.: larger essay).

Assessed: The skill or element is evaluated to determine the student’s level of performance and whether the student has demonstrated competency. The evaluation tool (e.g.: rubric) clearly identifies the markers of performance.

Example: An oral presentation requires specific elements of performance that are clearly assessed using an evaluation tool.

Templates

Core Literacies Instructions and Tracking

• Core Literacies Mapping Overview (.docx) 
• Core Literacies Process Timeline (.docx) 
• Core Literacies Tracking Sheet (.docx) 

Individual Course and Program Mapping Documents

• Core Literacies Individual Course Mapping Template (.docx) 
• Core Literacies Course Mapping Master Template (.docx) 
• Core Literacies Program Mapping Gap Analysis Template (.docx)