JISC

Learning Literacies for the Digital Age was a research study aiming to find out what literacies learners require and what UK HE and FE institutions are doing to support them. The study informs JISC and the wider UK FE and HE communities by providing a better understanding of learning literacies, how they are evolving, how requirements are changing, and how they may be supported in different contexts.

Objectives of project

• To gain a better understanding of current definitions of learning literacies, and examples of relevant competency frameworks, as they may be applied to UK HE and FE
• To gather a body of evidence concerning the range of learning literacies which are currently being supported in institutions
• To identify and record examples of learners AND teachers using technology to support their academic practice, and evidence of how ‘effective’ digital learners and teachers came to be so

• To present a collection of best practice examples including ‘learner-led’ provision, i.e. development of their capacity to learn effectively which learners are undertaking for themselves

Not all of the necessary evidence had previously been collected, so 2 highly-targeted data collection exercises augmented the desk work - detailed audits of a range of institutions to identify:

• What learning literacies are visible in policies, strategies, service level agreements?
• What learning literacies are supported by central services (e.g. library, learning development)?
• What learning literacies, if any, are actively embedded into subject curricula?

The study provides an enhanced understanding of learning literacies, how they are evolving, how requirements are changing, and how they may be supported in different contexts.

Embedding of practitioner-focused outcomes into workshops to be run by ELESIG and the ‘Learner Experiences of e-Learning’ team will ensure rapid uptake of tools and findings.

By engaging with real examples of academic and learners practices this report provides compelling evidence of how effective digital learners develop and can be supported, and materials on which staff development of various kinds can be based.