A collaborative approach to embedding academic literacies in first year grant projects

This paper describes the collaborative approach that Academic Language and Learning developers are using as part of a university’s First Year Experience project. This project draws on the idea of a third generation approach which utilises a bottom-up and top-down institutional framework. Intrinsic to this framework at UTS is a small grant scheme devised to support academics in designing curricula which facilitate first year students’ transition. However, smooth transition can be affected by the academic and linguistic capital of the increasingly diverse student population. This has provided the opportunity for ALL developers to become active participants in the small grant scheme and to work collaboratively with academics on the seamless integration of domain specific academic literacy. Two case studies of FYE grants illustrate the parameters and benefits of such an approach and how it may enable a discursive space to support sustainable practice