Embedding academic literacy skills into the mainstream curriculum: the case of information systems 131/132

Abstract

This paper reports on collaborative teaching between two academic literacy (AL) specialists and two lecturers teaching first-year students Information Systems (IFS) 131/132 during the 2012 and 2013 academic years in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Western Cape. The aim of the collaborative teaching was to embed AL skills into the first-year IFS curriculum in order to ensure that the transfer of skills was taking place effectively. The objective was to determine whether the skills taught were enabling the students to pass their IFS modules well, thereby ensuring access for success. The theoretical framework used in this paper draws on Barton's 'ecology' approach to literacy and learning; the social learning theory of Wenger; and the views of Bransford, Brown and Cocking on how people learn and transfer knowledge.