From gspangenberg at caalusa.org Tue Jan 2 07:54:33 2007 From: gspangenberg at caalusa.org (Gail Spangenberg) Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 07:54:33 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 584] CAAL releases Executive Summary from its 2-year ESL Study Message-ID: <321416A9-E7FB-4412-B8CB-F781B83825E3@caalusa.org> Colleagues, As a service to the field, CAAL is releasing the Executive Summary from its upcoming report titled PASSING THE TORCH: Strategies for Innovation in Community College ESL. It is appended as a PDF file and is also available from the CAAL website (www.caalusa.org, scroll down the left column to the title). The full report will be published and formally released by February. Its authors are Forrest P. Chisman and JoAnn Crandall. two foremost experts in ESL and/or community college adult education work. Happy New Year to all. ? Gail Spangenberg President Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy 1221 Avenue of the Americas - 46th Fl New York, NY 10020 212-512-2362, F: 212-512-2610 www.caalusa.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070102/382a956d/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: eslexecsummary.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 411730 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070102/382a956d/attachment.pdf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070102/382a956d/attachment-0001.html From j-p-sinclair at worldnet.att.net Tue Jan 2 11:03:51 2007 From: j-p-sinclair at worldnet.att.net (Judith Sinclair) Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 10:03:51 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 585] Searching for a literacy volunteer in Washington Metro Area References: <321416A9-E7FB-4412-B8CB-F781B83825E3@caalusa.org> Message-ID: <008a01c72e87$9acb35e0$45254d0c@Dell> Hello, all: Can you help? Searching for a literacy volunteer in the Washington metro area to assist a 25 year old ESL trans-continent American who is having difficulty with reading, writing, and math, (RWM). The young woman has at least an average IQ, but due to most unusual circumstances has never received a proper education, and is now suffering the consequences. She is highly motivated, though for the past few years most unfortunately misdirected. The literacy volunteer need not be concerned with anything right now other than the basics of RWM and available time to meet for at least 2 hours a minimum of once a week. However, a good amount of kindness, understanding, patience, and determination to help a wonderful human being in need of help is mandatory. If you are interested, or if you know of someone else who would be interested, please contact me by phone at 202-364-3893 or by email at j-p-sinclair at att.net to discuss details. This would probably begin in the next two weeks. Thanks, and happy new year. Judith Peyton Sinclair, PhD -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070102/7d830096/attachment.html From nonesuch at MALA.BC.CA Tue Jan 2 11:27:55 2007 From: nonesuch at MALA.BC.CA (Kate Nonesuch) Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 08:27:55 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 586] Changing the Way We Teach Math References: <321416A9-E7FB-4412-B8CB-F781B83825E3@caalusa.org> Message-ID: <4DA696749F7F4B4F85E67688BF659E82A7CF4F@sidney.capitan.mala.bc.ca> What do the experts say about how to teach basic math to adult students? Most people who teach math have heard about most of their recommendations. Yet putting those recommendations into practice is harder than it seems. Over the past year I worked on a project to consult with more than 100 people who teach basic math to adults in BC. I presented some findings from the literature about teaching basic math, and got their reactions. Instructors talked about what changes they would like to make in their teaching practice, and what barriers got in the way of making change. In response to their concerns, I wrote a manual, available at the National Adult Literacy Database. Changing the Way We Teach Math: A Manual for Teaching Basic Math to Adults http://www.nald.ca/library/learning/mathman/mathman.pdf More Complicated Than It Seems: A Review of Literature about Teaching Math to Adults http://www.nald.ca/library/research/morecomp/morecomp.pdf The attached file gives more information about the project. I hope you will pass this information on to your networks. The project was funded by the National Office of Literacy and Learning (NOLL), Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Kate Nonesuch Career and Academic Preparation Malaspina University-College, Cowichan Campus 222 Cowichan Way Duncan, BC V9L 6P4 nonesuch at mala.ca phone: (250) 746-3565 Fax: (250) 746-3563 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 47152 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070102/b9d78c14/attachment.bin From cjones at alclv.org Tue Jan 2 14:32:39 2007 From: cjones at alclv.org (Carol T. Jones Ph.D.) Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 14:32:39 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 587] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 15, Issue 7 References: <000f01c726e8$37dae8f0$6601a8c0@D4TWM391> Message-ID: <003a01c72ea4$c414f310$7801a8c0@Lindadell> Hi--I'm not finding the link....could you please re-send it. I'm very interesting in checking it out. Thanks. Carol T. Jones, Ph.D. Executive Director Adult Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley 801 Hamilton Street, Suite 201 Allentown, PA 18101 Phone: 610-435-0680 ext. 114 Fax: 610-435-5134 cjones at alclv.org www.alclv.org 610-435-0680 EXT 114 Fax: 610-435-5134 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sylvia Provenski" To: Cc: "'Charles Ramsey'" Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2006 6:15 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 582] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 15, Issue 7 > Jean > Check out the following link to a great Canadian site that has a host of > shareware and freeware that has been evaluated by adult literacy learners > and practioners. Some of the software is for older computers such as those > you have described. There are lots of great programs to choose from. > > Enjoy! > > Sylvia Provenski > Director > Assiniboine Community College Adult Collegiate > Brandon, Manitoba, Canada > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] > On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov > Sent: December 23, 2006 11:00 AM > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 15, Issue 7 > > Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to > focusonbasics at nifl.gov > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov > > You can reach the person managing the list at > focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. [FocusOnBasics 579] Happy Holidays! (Julie McKinney) > 2. [FocusOnBasics 580] What would you put on an ABE learner's > computer? (PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:39:58 -0500 > From: "Julie McKinney" > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 579] Happy Holidays! > To: , > Message-ID: <458BD21E0200002D000006D0 at bostongwia.jsi.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > Hi Everyone, > > I hope you all have a happy and rejuvenating holiday weekend! As you take > a > break from your work, please give yourself praise for doing the type of > work > that really makes a difference in the lives of so many others! > > All the best, > Julie > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: 22 Dec 2006 18:57:34 -0000 > From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 580] What would you put on an ABE learner's > computer? > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Message-ID: <1166813854.1661689625.14188.sendItem at bloglines.com> > Content-Type: text/plain;charset="utf-8" > > Hi all. > My program has been blessed with a bunch of used computer donations > from the Cristina Foundation. Before you get excited, these are older > computers > from companies and individuals who have upgraded. For more info, go to > cristina.org > if you'd like to get some for your program. > > We initially used them to set > up a lab in our center, and have been giving the extras away. Since I > still > have extras, I would like to give some to my pre-literate Liberian refugee > senior citizen ABE students to practice their skills when they are away > from > class. > > We typically reformat the computers with Windows and Microsoft Works > and an antivirus/spyware program. They will have a standard internet > connection, > which we'll have to show the learners how to use. > > What I'm looking for > from you are some recommendations of websites or freeware you use in your > center with your most basic level adults. If you know of some fabulous > program > that costs money, let me know about it and I'll see what I can scrounge up > in the way of grant money. We are working as an all volunteer, no budget > organization > so I'm ideally looking for website recommendations or better still, stand > alone software so they just need to point and click and won't need to deal > with the internet. > > Thanks for your ideas! > Jean Marrapodi > Providence Assembly > of God Learning Center > Providence, RI > > > ------------------------------ > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 15, Issue 7 > ******************************************** > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Jan 2 16:24:47 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2007 16:24:47 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 588] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Studying ESOL Online Message-ID: <459A874F0200002D00000783@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I hope you all had some kind of a break over the past week, and some nice holiday festivities of one type or another! I didn't do an FOB Article-of-the-Week last week, but will start back in today with one that serves as another lead-in to our upcoming discussion of self study. (Coming soon: January 15: "Concepts of Participation and Program Support" from the latest issue!) Studying ESOL Online by Marisol Richmond, Marian Thacher, & Paul Porter http://www.ncsall.net/?id=742 This is from issue 7C, which is about different modes of delivery of adult basic education. In this article, the authors compare an online delivery model to three others to explore the value of online study for ESOL students. What kind of feedback have you gotten from students about online self-study? What kinds of factors seem to make it work better? All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Julie McKinney" 12/19/06 11:15 AM >>> Hi Everyone, A couple weeks ago, we featured John Strucker's article about "attendance turbulence", looking at the prevalence of students stopping class for a period of time, and a proposed support for this habit. This stop-and-go attendance pattern has been studied for some years now, and we will be discussing this concept in a guest discussion in January with Steve Reder about his article "Concepts of Participation and Program Support". To help prepare for this topic, I thought it might be interesting to look at some research from 1998 and look back at an article from issue 2A, which looks at Learner Motivation from different angles. Stopping Out, Not Dropping Out: Students and teachers may perceive withdrawing from a program differently by Alisa Belzer http://www.ncsall.net/?id=417 This describes a study which followed learners until they dropped out for a while and looked at their and the teachers perceptions of dropping out. Please take a look at this and let us know what your impressions are! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics From sylviap at westman.wave.ca Wed Jan 3 20:17:28 2007 From: sylviap at westman.wave.ca (Sylvia Provenski) Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2007 19:17:28 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 589] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 16, Issue 3 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <002901c72f9e$19e206d0$6601a8c0@D4TWM391> Carol, If you are still looking for the link to the software follow this.... http://www.nald.ca/tools/practitioner/practitioner.htm Then click on Software Evaluation. This will take you to another page, from there choose View Software List... This page provides a snapshot of information about the 108 pieces of software that were evaluated in this project, including title, rating, category and operating system. For each program listed, you can follow the links to see the evaluation or to download the software. Sylvia Provenski -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov Sent: January 3, 2007 11:00 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 16, Issue 3 Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to focusonbasics at nifl.gov To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov You can reach the person managing the list at focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." Today's Topics: 1. [FocusOnBasics 587] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 15, Issue 7 (Carol T. Jones Ph.D.) 2. [FocusOnBasics 588] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Studying ESOL Online (Julie McKinney) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 14:32:39 -0500 From: "Carol T. Jones Ph.D." Subject: [FocusOnBasics 587] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 15, Issue 7 To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Message-ID: <003a01c72ea4$c414f310$7801a8c0 at Lindadell> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Hi--I'm not finding the link....could you please re-send it. I'm very interesting in checking it out. Thanks. Carol T. Jones, Ph.D. Executive Director Adult Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley 801 Hamilton Street, Suite 201 Allentown, PA 18101 Phone: 610-435-0680 ext. 114 Fax: 610-435-5134 cjones at alclv.org www.alclv.org 610-435-0680 EXT 114 Fax: 610-435-5134 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sylvia Provenski" To: Cc: "'Charles Ramsey'" Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2006 6:15 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 582] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 15, Issue 7 > Jean > Check out the following link to a great Canadian site that has a host of > shareware and freeware that has been evaluated by adult literacy learners > and practioners. Some of the software is for older computers such as those > you have described. There are lots of great programs to choose from. > > Enjoy! > > Sylvia Provenski > Director > Assiniboine Community College Adult Collegiate > Brandon, Manitoba, Canada > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] > On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov > Sent: December 23, 2006 11:00 AM > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 15, Issue 7 > > Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to > focusonbasics at nifl.gov > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov > > You can reach the person managing the list at > focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. [FocusOnBasics 579] Happy Holidays! (Julie McKinney) > 2. [FocusOnBasics 580] What would you put on an ABE learner's > computer? (PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:39:58 -0500 > From: "Julie McKinney" > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 579] Happy Holidays! > To: , > Message-ID: <458BD21E0200002D000006D0 at bostongwia.jsi.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > Hi Everyone, > > I hope you all have a happy and rejuvenating holiday weekend! As you take > a > break from your work, please give yourself praise for doing the type of > work > that really makes a difference in the lives of so many others! > > All the best, > Julie > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: 22 Dec 2006 18:57:34 -0000 > From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 580] What would you put on an ABE learner's > computer? > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Message-ID: <1166813854.1661689625.14188.sendItem at bloglines.com> > Content-Type: text/plain;charset="utf-8" > > Hi all. > My program has been blessed with a bunch of used computer donations > from the Cristina Foundation. Before you get excited, these are older > computers > from companies and individuals who have upgraded. For more info, go to > cristina.org > if you'd like to get some for your program. > > We initially used them to set > up a lab in our center, and have been giving the extras away. Since I > still > have extras, I would like to give some to my pre-literate Liberian refugee > senior citizen ABE students to practice their skills when they are away > from > class. > > We typically reformat the computers with Windows and Microsoft Works > and an antivirus/spyware program. They will have a standard internet > connection, > which we'll have to show the learners how to use. > > What I'm looking for > from you are some recommendations of websites or freeware you use in your > center with your most basic level adults. If you know of some fabulous > program > that costs money, let me know about it and I'll see what I can scrounge up > in the way of grant money. We are working as an all volunteer, no budget > organization > so I'm ideally looking for website recommendations or better still, stand > alone software so they just need to point and click and won't need to deal > with the internet. > > Thanks for your ideas! > Jean Marrapodi > Providence Assembly > of God Learning Center > Providence, RI > > > ------------------------------ > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 15, Issue 7 > ******************************************** > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2007 16:24:47 -0500 From: "Julie McKinney" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 588] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Studying ESOL Online To: Message-ID: <459A874F0200002D00000783 at bostongwia.jsi.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Hi Everyone, I hope you all had some kind of a break over the past week, and some nice holiday festivities of one type or another! I didn't do an FOB Article-of-the-Week last week, but will start back in today with one that serves as another lead-in to our upcoming discussion of self study. (Coming soon: January 15: "Concepts of Participation and Program Support" from the latest issue!) Studying ESOL Online by Marisol Richmond, Marian Thacher, & Paul Porter http://www.ncsall.net/?id=742 This is from issue 7C, which is about different modes of delivery of adult basic education. In this article, the authors compare an online delivery model to three others to explore the value of online study for ESOL students. What kind of feedback have you gotten from students about online self-study? What kinds of factors seem to make it work better? All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Julie McKinney" 12/19/06 11:15 AM >>> Hi Everyone, A couple weeks ago, we featured John Strucker's article about "attendance turbulence", looking at the prevalence of students stopping class for a period of time, and a proposed support for this habit. This stop-and-go attendance pattern has been studied for some years now, and we will be discussing this concept in a guest discussion in January with Steve Reder about his article "Concepts of Participation and Program Support". To help prepare for this topic, I thought it might be interesting to look at some research from 1998 and look back at an article from issue 2A, which looks at Learner Motivation from different angles. Stopping Out, Not Dropping Out: Students and teachers may perceive withdrawing from a program differently by Alisa Belzer http://www.ncsall.net/?id=417 This describes a study which followed learners until they dropped out for a while and looked at their and the teachers perceptions of dropping out. Please take a look at this and let us know what your impressions are! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 16, Issue 3 ******************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070103/3e085ee5/attachment.html From wbquinones at adelphia.net Thu Jan 4 19:19:01 2007 From: wbquinones at adelphia.net (Wendy Quinones) Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2007 19:19:01 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 590] Re: What would you put on an ABE learner's computer? References: <1166813854.1661689625.14188.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: <00fc01c7305f$19fcc210$a500a8c0@nscdd05> If your students have trouble learning to use a mouse, I highly recommend the internet site Jigzone.com. It presents jigsaw puzzles ranging from six pieces to hundreds (your choice) which you have to drag and drop to assemble. It makes the mouse transparent, and can get a class or group cheering each other on to finish their puzzles. Wendy Quinones ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 1:57 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 580] What would you put on an ABE learner's computer? > Hi all. > My program has been blessed with a bunch of used computer donations > from the Cristina Foundation. Before you get excited, these are older > computers > from companies and individuals who have upgraded. For more info, go to > cristina.org > if you'd like to get some for your program. > > We initially used them to set > up a lab in our center, and have been giving the extras away. Since I > still > have extras, I would like to give some to my pre-literate Liberian refugee > senior citizen ABE students to practice their skills when they are away > from > class. > > We typically reformat the computers with Windows and Microsoft Works > and an antivirus/spyware program. They will have a standard internet > connection, > which we'll have to show the learners how to use. > > What I'm looking for > from you are some recommendations of websites or freeware you use in your > center with your most basic level adults. If you know of some fabulous > program > that costs money, let me know about it and I'll see what I can scrounge up > in the way of grant money. We are working as an all volunteer, no budget > organization > so I'm ideally looking for website recommendations or better still, stand > alone software so they just need to point and click and won't need to deal > with the internet. > > Thanks for your ideas! > Jean Marrapodi > Providence Assembly > of God Learning Center > Providence, RI > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Jan 9 10:45:10 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2007 10:45:10 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 591] Adult Numeracy and Math Instruction Message-ID: <45A372360200002D00000949@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I was asked by a subscriber to post the following announcement: ********************************************** In addition to the new NCSALL publication on adult numeracy just announced, those interested in this topic may want to read A Review of Literature in Adult Numeracy: Research and Conceptual Issues, which includes contributions by Iddo Gal, Diana Coben and Kathy Safford. The review is the first major product of the Adult Numeracy Initiative, a two-year project funded by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education, and conducted by the American Institutes for Research. The report provides a synthesis of conceptualizations of adult numeracy, a review of the U.S. and international research evaluating instructional approaches and interventions in adult mathematics and numeracy teaching, a summary of professional development initiatives and discussion of issues around assessment for adult numeracy. The second report of the project, a comprehensive review of professional development initiatives in adult numeracy, will be available later this winter. Go to: http://www.air.org/projects/projects_ehd_adult_ed.aspx to download the literature review. ************************************************ Those of you interested in numeracy should also look at issue 4B of Focus on Basics, which is all about Math Instruction. Find it at the following link: Mathematics Instruction http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=156 This issue includes articles on developing numerate thinking, using software applications for math teaching, math instruction for beginning readers, accommodating learners with learning disabilities, and more. All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Julie McKinney" Subject: Adult Numeracy And Math Instruction Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2007 10:25:02 -0500 Size: 4751 Url: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070109/27794d60/attachment.mht From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Jan 10 11:38:09 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:38:09 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 592] FOB Discussion Postponed to Jan 22 Message-ID: <45A4D0210200002D000009B3@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Our next scheduled discussion, originally planned for Jan. 15, will start on January 22nd instead so that we may all honor MLK with a day off. January 22-26 on the FOB Discussion List: Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support with Stephen Reder, Clare Strawn, Molly K. Robertson and Lauri McLellan Shoneck discussing their articles from Focus on Basics, issue 8C: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1150 All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Jan 10 17:24:54 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:24:54 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 593] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Math Instruction Message-ID: <45A521670200002D000009DC@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Sorry I'm a day late with Article-of-the-week! I thought I'd be announcing a discussion for next week, but we decided to postpone it. Since we have been sharing some resources about numeracy and teaching math, this week's FOB article is from the "Mathematics Instruction" issue, 4B: Making Peace in the Math Wars by Kathy Safford http://www.ncsall.net/?id=318 In this article, Safford explores the theories that underlie different approaches to math instruction, and envisions a math classroom that captures the positive aspects of them all. Also check out the NCSALL Website for another resource: The Components of Numeracy y Lynda Ginsburg, Myrna Manly, and Mary Jane Schmitt. http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1 As always, please write in to the list if you have comments or questions about these articles! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Jan 11 15:12:56 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:12:56 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 594] Discussion: Program Participation in Self Study: Jan. 22-26 Message-ID: <45A653F80200002D00000A20@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hello Everyone, I am pleased to announce a guest speaker discussion the week after next on the FOB list! We will be joined by four researcher/authors from the recent issue of FOB, who will discuss learner self study in terms of how programs can support it in different ways, and then look at some different models of self study. Please pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested in this discussion. ******************************************************** When: January 22-26, 2007 Where: Online on the Focus on Basics Discussion List (Anyone can join for free at: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Focusonbasics ) What: Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support Steve Reder, NCSALL researcher and director of the Portland Lab School and Clare Strawn, an analyst on the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning, will discuss their article of the same name from the latest issue of FOB. In addition, NCSALL researchers Molly Robertson, and Lauren Shoneck will discuss two practical examples of self-study, distance learning and GED via TV, respectively. Who: Stephen Reder is University Professor and Chair of the Department of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. His research interests focus on adult literacy and second language development. He is the Principal Investigator of two NCSALL projects: the Adult ESOL Labsite project and the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. Clare Strawn is Assistant Professor at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, and an analyst on the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. She is interested in patterns of program participation, the intersection of learning and community development, social capital influences on learning strategies, and technology. Lauri McLellan Schoneck is a professor at Seminole Community College, where she teaches ABE and GED math courses. A graduate of Florida State University, she has her master's in special education and has taught both K-12 students and adults. She is currently serving a second term on the Florida Department of Education Practitioners' Task Force on Adults with Learning Disabilities as a community college representative. Molly K. Robertson is the founding director of the Indiana GED ON TV program. She left high school at 16, earned a GED in 1982, and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in telecommunications. She lives in Muncie, Indiana, with two large, rowdy, black poodles. Recommended Reading (from Focus on Basics, issue 8C): Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1152 Distance Leanring as a Backup http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1153 The GED Via TV http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1154 *************************************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Jan 16 12:31:25 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 12:31:25 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 595] FOB Articles-of-the-Week: Self Study Message-ID: <45ACC59D0200002D00000ACC@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Next week we will be joined by four Focus on Basics authors for a discussion on: Self Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support. To prepare for this, the FOB Articles-of-the-Week will be those under discussion (from Focus on Basics, issue 8C): Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support by Stephen Reder and Clare Strawn http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1152 Distance Learning as a Backup by Lauri McLellan Schoneck http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1153 The GED Via TV by Molly K. Robertson http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1154 See the full announcement below. Please read the articles and think about questions, comments or experiences to share. We look forward to next week's discussion! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Julie McKinney" 01/11/07 3:12 PM >>> Hello Everyone, I am pleased to announce a guest speaker discussion the week after next on the FOB list! We will be joined by four researcher/authors from the recent issue of FOB, who will discuss learner self study in terms of how programs can support it in different ways, and then look at some different models of self study. Please pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested in this discussion. ******************************************************** When: January 22-26, 2007 Where: Online on the Focus on Basics Discussion List (Anyone can join for free at: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Focusonbasics ) What: Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support Steve Reder, NCSALL researcher and director of the Portland Lab School and Clare Strawn, an analyst on the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning, will discuss their article of the same name from the latest issue of FOB. In addition, NCSALL researchers Molly Robertson, and Lauren Shoneck will discuss two practical examples of self-study, distance learning and GED via TV, respectively. Who: Stephen Reder is University Professor and Chair of the Department of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. His research interests focus on adult literacy and second language development. He is the Principal Investigator of two NCSALL projects: the Adult ESOL Labsite project and the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. Clare Strawn is Assistant Professor at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, and an analyst on the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. She is interested in patterns of program participation, the intersection of learning and community development, social capital influences on learning strategies, and technology. Lauri McLellan Schoneck is a professor at Seminole Community College, where she teaches ABE and GED math courses. A graduate of Florida State University, she has her master's in special education and has taught both K-12 students and adults. She is currently serving a second term on the Florida Department of Education Practitioners' Task Force on Adults with Learning Disabilities as a community college representative. Molly K. Robertson is the founding director of the Indiana GED ON TV program. She left high school at 16, earned a GED in 1982, and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in telecommunications. She lives in Muncie, Indiana, with two large, rowdy, black poodles. Recommended Reading (from Focus on Basics, issue 8C): Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1152 Distance Leanring as a Backup http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1153 The GED Via TV http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1154 *************************************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics From kabeall at comcast.net Wed Jan 17 16:21:33 2007 From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 16:21:33 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 596] New from NCSALL Message-ID: <010301c73a7d$793c0c90$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6> The Health Literacy Environment of Hospitals and Health Centers: Partners for Action: Making Your Healthcare Facility Literacy-Friendly by Rima E. Rudd and Jennie E. Anderson The guide and the review tools found within it offer an approach for analyzing literacy-related barriers to healthcare access and navigation. The findings of such a review could spark discussions and help shape strategies to eliminate literacy barriers and enhance health literacy. For more information and to download the guide, go to: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1163 **************** Kaye Beall World Education 4401 S. Madison St. Muncie, IN 47302 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070117/66510be9/attachment.html From kabeall at comcast.net Wed Jan 17 16:21:33 2007 From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 16:21:33 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 597] Back Issues of Focus on Basics--Order by January 26, 2007 Message-ID: <010801c73a7d$79dbcf00$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6> Still available...free copies of Focus on Basics! The NCSALL project is coming to an end after 10 years of research and development. The Web site (www.ncsall.net) will remain available for free downloading of NCSALL materials. As the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) dissemination efforts are ending in March 2007, we are currently offering back issues of Focus on Basics: **FREE for orders of 50 - 100 copies **Minimal shipping costs for orders of 100 or more copies; see attached Order Form for details Orders will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. Orders must be received by Jan. 26, 2007! Minimum quantity of order: 50 copies Minimum quantity per issue: 10 copies To order: E-mail Caye Caplan at ccaplan at worlded.org with the following information-- Volume and Issue, Quantity per Issue, Mailing Address (provide street address; NO P.O. Box, please!), and Shipping Payment Method (if applicable). OR Fill out the attached "Comp FOB Order Form", and Fax to: 617 482-0617 attn: NCSALL/ Caye Caplan, or Mail to: Caye Caplan, NCSALL/World Education, 44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210 Shipment will be UPS Ground; please provide street address (physical address, "NO" PO Box please!). Allow 5 - 6 weeks for delivery. **************** Kaye Beall World Education 4401 S. Madison St. Muncie, IN 47302 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070117/a03bdfd2/attachment.html From kabeall at comcast.net Fri Jan 19 06:49:19 2007 From: kabeall at comcast.net (kabeall at comcast.net) Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:49:19 +0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 598] Re: Back Issues of Focus on Basics--Order by January 26, 2007 Message-ID: <011920071149.12651.45B0B03E000B5B710000316B220076370404040E0A0D0E05@comcast.net> Hi all, When I sent this notice out a couple of days ago, I forgot to attach the order form and the list of available issues. Let me add those two documents to the notice. Sorry for the inconvenience. ********************* Still available...free copies of Focus on Basics! The NCSALL project is coming to an end after 10 years of research and development. The Web site (www.ncsall.net) will remain available for free downloading of NCSALL materials. As the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) dissemination efforts are ending in March 2007, we are currently offering back issues of Focus on Basics: **FREE for orders of 50 - 100 copies **Minimal shipping costs for orders of 100 or more copies; see attached Order Form for details Orders will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. Orders must be received by Jan. 26, 2007! Minimum quantity of order: 50 copies Minimum quantity per issue: 10 copies To order: E-mail Caye Caplan at ccaplan at worlded.org with the following information-- Volume and Issue, Quantity per Issue, Mailing Address (provide street address; NO P.O. Box, please!), and Shipping Payment Method (if applicable). OR Fill out the attached "Comp FOB Order Form", and Fax to: 617 482-0617 attn: NCSALL/ Caye Caplan, or Mail to: Caye Caplan, NCSALL/World Education, 44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210 Shipment will be UPS Ground; please provide street address (physical address, "NO" PO Box please!). Allow 5 - 6 weeks for delivery. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070119/bf28ec02/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/msword Size: 138240 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070119/bf28ec02/attachment.dot -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/pdf Size: 42536 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070119/bf28ec02/attachment.pdf From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Jan 19 14:00:00 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 14:00:00 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 599] Re: Discussion: Program Participation in Self Study: Jan. 22-26 Message-ID: <45B0CEE00200002D00000B89@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Just a reminder that we have an exciting discussion starting on Monday! See below for the details. Hope to "see" you then! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Julie McKinney" 01/11/07 3:12 PM >>> Hello Everyone, I am pleased to announce a guest speaker discussion the week after next on the FOB list! We will be joined by four researcher/authors from the recent issue of FOB, who will discuss learner self study in terms of how programs can support it in different ways, and then look at some different models of self study. Please pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested in this discussion. ******************************************************** When: January 22-26, 2007 Where: Online on the Focus on Basics Discussion List (Anyone can join for free at: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Focusonbasics ) What: Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support Steve Reder, NCSALL researcher and director of the Portland Lab School and Clare Strawn, an analyst on the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning, will discuss their article of the same name from the latest issue of FOB. In addition, NCSALL researchers Molly Robertson, and Lauren Shoneck will discuss two practical examples of self-study, distance learning and GED via TV, respectively. Who: Stephen Reder is University Professor and Chair of the Department of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. His research interests focus on adult literacy and second language development. He is the Principal Investigator of two NCSALL projects: the Adult ESOL Labsite project and the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. Clare Strawn is Assistant Professor at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, and an analyst on the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. She is interested in patterns of program participation, the intersection of learning and community development, social capital influences on learning strategies, and technology. Lauri McLellan Schoneck is a professor at Seminole Community College, where she teaches ABE and GED math courses. A graduate of Florida State University, she has her master's in special education and has taught both K-12 students and adults. She is currently serving a second term on the Florida Department of Education Practitioners' Task Force on Adults with Learning Disabilities as a community college representative. Molly K. Robertson is the founding director of the Indiana GED ON TV program. She left high school at 16, earned a GED in 1982, and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in telecommunications. She lives in Muncie, Indiana, with two large, rowdy, black poodles. Recommended Reading (from Focus on Basics, issue 8C): Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1152 Distance Leanring as a Backup http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1153 The GED Via TV http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1154 *************************************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Jan 22 09:29:30 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 09:29:30 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 600] Welcome to our discussion: Program Participation in Self-study! Message-ID: <45B483FB0200002D00000BC0@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hello Everyone, I am pleased to announce our guest speakers for this week's discussion about broadening the concepts of participation and program support forlearner self-study. Welcome to researcher/authors Steve Reder and Clare Strawn, who are joining us to discuss the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL) and its findings regarding the prevalence of self -study among adult learners. They will also discuss how programs can best support learner self study. Then on Wednesday, we will introduce Lauri Shoneck and Molly Robertson, who will discuss two different models of self study. Please read the articles below, from Focus on Basics issue 8C, and send in your comments and questions for the authors and others to discuss. (Please note that Steve and Clare are on west coast time, so us easterners will have to be patient in the mornings!) All the best, Julie ******************************************************** Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1152 Distance Leanring as a Backup http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1153 The GED Via TV http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1154 ********************************************** Stephen Reder is University Professor and Chair of the Department of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. His research interests focus on adult literacy and second language development. He is the Principal Investigator of two NCSALL projects: the Adult ESOL Labsite project and the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. Clare Strawn is Assistant Professor at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, and an analyst on the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. She is interested in patterns of program participation, the intersection of learning and community development, social capital influences on learning strategies, and technology. ************************************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From reders at pdx.edu Mon Jan 22 10:59:29 2007 From: reders at pdx.edu (Steve Reder) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 07:59:29 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 601] introduction Message-ID: <000901c73e3e$4cdc29e0$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> Hi everyone, Let me introduce myself and our study a bit. I'm Steve Reder. I'm a professor of applied linguistics at Portland State University. My research and teaching interests center around how adults develop literacy and language abilities. The project we're discussing this week, the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL), has been following a sample of about 1,000 adults from the target population for adult education over the past 8-9 years. There are a couple things that make this study unique within our field. We are following adults who may or may not participate in adult literacy education programs rather than just program participants. We periodically interview our "panel" of subjects -- and assess their literacy skills and practices - regardless of whether they are in programs. We conduct in-depth qualitative interviews with some of individuals to complement the more formal interviews and assessments, helping us to interpret the patterns of change we see in the quantitative data. When individuals move - as they often do - during the course of this longitudinal study, we attempt to follow them. So far we have retained and continued to follow about 90% of our original sample over this long period of time, even though some individuals have moved away, a few may have gone to jail or prison, many experienced major changes in family and job situations, weathered a significant recession, and in general displayed great richness and diversity in their unfolding adult lives. The LSAL data give us a new view of the learners who come to programs as well as of their counterparts who do not come to programs. This gives us a broad perspective on individuals' decisions to participate or not, and over time, a new perspective on patterns of participation and other learning activities as people move in and out of programs. From what we are seeing so far, there is a "swirl" of learning activities that surrounds programs, with adults engaged in a rich variety of learning experiences to improve their basic skills or prepare for the GED. Some adults in this "swirl" come to our programs, whereas others may not because of job, family or other constraints. By considering this broader "swirl" of learning activity, we see higher rates of participation and more persistence of learning than if we take the more traditional program-based view of learning. We are trying to think about how programs may be able to broaden their outreach and support of these additional learners and this additional learning. Here are a few questions to think about as we discuss this issue of FOB. Have you had students in your programs who move in and out of participation because of changing needs or life circumstances? Have you tried to find ways to stay in touch with and support them even when they stop coming to class? Have they told you about friends or family members who would like to come to classes if other things weren't getting in the way? Have you tried ways to "blend" activities in your program with learning activities that students could carry out on their own? What role do you see for technology in blending program- and self-directed learning activities for improving basic skills? -Steve Reder -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070122/f7ba6754/attachment.html From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Jan 22 12:21:43 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 09:21:43 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 602] Re: introduction In-Reply-To: <000901c73e3e$4cdc29e0$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> References: <000901c73e3e$4cdc29e0$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> Message-ID: HI Steve! Great to be doing a long term study... Have you had students in your programs who move in and out of participation because of changing needs or life circumstances? Yes all the time for the last 37 years. Many return again at other sites and some return to the same site. Have you tried to find ways to stay in touch with and support them even when they stop coming to class? Yes, we tracked our family literacy parents from an Even Start Program in Salem. We interviewed these families 10 years after. I still have contact with about 20 of the families so I am regularly updated. Some have trouble still with health issues and maintaining employment. Have they told you about friends or family members who would like to come to classes if other things weren't getting in the way? Yes and talked about what type of program or tutoring might work for them, and which instructors. Have you tried ways to "blend" activities in your program with learning activities that students could carry out on their own? Yes, take home tasks such as emergency evacuation plans for fires and floods, etc. What role do you see for technology in blending program- and self-directed learning activities for improving basic skills? I think that On line choices have been a huge bonus for students. Many have access to computers through libraries and their on PC's. ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Steve Reder Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 601] introduction Hi everyone, Let me introduce myself and our study a bit. I'm Steve Reder. I'm a professor of applied linguistics at Portland State University. My research and teaching interests center around how adults develop literacy and language abilities. The project we're discussing this week, the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL), has been following a sample of about 1,000 adults from the target population for adult education over the past 8-9 years. There are a couple things that make this study unique within our field. We are following adults who may or may not participate in adult literacy education programs rather than just program participants. We periodically interview our "panel" of subjects -- and assess their literacy skills and practices - regardless of whether they are in programs. We conduct in-depth qualitative interviews with some of individuals to complement the more formal interviews and assessments, helping us to interpret the patterns of change we see in the quantitative data. When individuals move - as they often do - during the course of this longitudinal study, we attempt to follow them. So far we have retained and continued to follow about 90% of our original sample over this long period of time, even though some individuals have moved away, a few may have gone to jail or prison, many experienced major changes in family and job situations, weathered a significant recession, and in general displayed great richness and diversity in their unfolding adult lives. The LSAL data give us a new view of the learners who come to programs as well as of their counterparts who do not come to programs. This gives us a broad perspective on individuals' decisions to participate or not, and over time, a new perspective on patterns of participation and other learning activities as people move in and out of programs. From what we are seeing so far, there is a "swirl" of learning activities that surrounds programs, with adults engaged in a rich variety of learning experiences to improve their basic skills or prepare for the GED. Some adults in this "swirl" come to our programs, whereas others may not because of job, family or other constraints. By considering this broader "swirl" of learning activity, we see higher rates of participation and more persistence of learning than if we take the more traditional program-based view of learning. We are trying to think about how programs may be able to broaden their outreach and support of these additional learners and this additional learning. Here are a few questions to think about as we discuss this issue of FOB. Have you had students in your programs who move in and out of participation because of changing needs or life circumstances? Have you tried to find ways to stay in touch with and support them even when they stop coming to class? Have they told you about friends or family members who would like to come to classes if other things weren't getting in the way? Have you tried ways to "blend" activities in your program with learning activities that students could carry out on their own? What role do you see for technology in blending program- and self-directed learning activities for improving basic skills? -Steve Reder -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070122/997ffa94/attachment.html From wbquinones at comcast.net Mon Jan 22 13:09:55 2007 From: wbquinones at comcast.net (Wendy Quinones) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:09:55 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 603] Re: introduction References: <000901c73e3e$4cdc29e0$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> Message-ID: <016101c73e50$85896bb0$a500a8c0@nscdd05> (sorry if this is a repetition -- I changed email accounts this morning and sent this from the old one at first) Hello Steve, Thanks for being in the discussion and for such an intereting study I'm struck by two things, based on my experience in several adult learning centers: first, how on earth did you manage to keep in touch with such a high percentage of your subjects, and second, how do they manage self-study when they usually can't manage homework? These may seem like frivolous questions, but for my program they go to the heart of the question. We find it very difficult to contact students after they have "stopped out" -- phone numbers and addresses change and we have neither the time nor resources to keep up. In these circumstances, do you think making resources available to support self-study would help us retain contact, or would simply be a waste of time and effort? Secondly, my students have a great deal of difficulty completing homework because of their life and work situations. I can understand that self-study will often fit better into their difficult and often-changing situations, but I wonder about the wisdom of putting time and effort into resources that would at best (in my view anyway) be only intermittently used. I hope you have positive answers -- I'm sure self-study goes on, and in fact I've seen it when people have studied for themselves over a summer and return in the fall more skilled than when they left. It just seems an extremely tricky subject from an institutional point of view. Unfortunately I will be away for a few hours, but I'll be back during your workday, anyhow! Wendy Quinones ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Reder To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 10:59 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 601] introduction Hi everyone, Let me introduce myself and our study a bit. I'm Steve Reder. I'm a professor of applied linguistics at Portland State University. My research and teaching interests center around how adults develop literacy and language abilities. The project we're discussing this week, the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL), has been following a sample of about 1,000 adults from the target population for adult education over the past 8-9 years. There are a couple things that make this study unique within our field. We are following adults who may or may not participate in adult literacy education programs rather than just program participants. We periodically interview our "panel" of subjects -- and assess their literacy skills and practices - regardless of whether they are in programs. We conduct in-depth qualitative interviews with some of individuals to complement the more formal interviews and assessments, helping us to interpret the patterns of change we see in the quantitative data. When individuals move - as they often do - during the course of this longitudinal study, we attempt to follow them. So far we have retained and continued to follow about 90% of our original sample over this long period of time, even though some individuals have moved away, a few may have gone to jail or prison, many experienced major changes in family and job situations, weathered a significant recession, and in general displayed great richness and diversity in their unfolding adult lives. The LSAL data give us a new view of the learners who come to programs as well as of their counterparts who do not come to programs. This gives us a broad perspective on individuals' decisions to participate or not, and over time, a new perspective on patterns of participation and other learning activities as people move in and out of programs. From what we are seeing so far, there is a "swirl" of learning activities that surrounds programs, with adults engaged in a rich variety of learning experiences to improve their basic skills or prepare for the GED. Some adults in this "swirl" come to our programs, whereas others may not because of job, family or other constraints. By considering this broader "swirl" of learning activity, we see higher rates of participation and more persistence of learning than if we take the more traditional program-based view of learning. We are trying to think about how programs may be able to broaden their outreach and support of these additional learners and this additional learning. Here are a few questions to think about as we discuss this issue of FOB. Have you had students in your programs who move in and out of participation because of changing needs or life circumstances? Have you tried to find ways to stay in touch with and support them even when they stop coming to class? Have they told you about friends or family members who would like to come to classes if other things weren't getting in the way? Have you tried ways to "blend" activities in your program with learning activities that students could carry out on their own? What role do you see for technology in blending program- and self-directed learning activities for improving basic skills? -Steve Reder ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070122/476a6222/attachment.html From clare at pdx.edu Mon Jan 22 15:55:49 2007 From: clare at pdx.edu (Clare Strawn) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 12:55:49 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 604] self study discussion Message-ID: <001401c73e67$b2808830$95befc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> Hello - This is Clare Strawn. I have been working with Steve on the Longitudinal Study since the start. Most of my analytic work has been on understanding patterns of participation in adult education programs. I am interested in hearing if and how teachers incorporate the project of "learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving learners tools for self study and lifelong learning. I'm looking forward to participating in this discussion with you. Clare In response to the question about how we retained our sample. From the beginning of the study we decided to invest in building relationships with our respondents. We value their contributions with payment. We have an in-house system for keeping in touch with people by calling them every three months to update our information. It is also very important to ask them for contacts of friends and relatives who can help us find them when we loose contact with us. Clare -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070122/678abc45/attachment.html From reders at pdx.edu Mon Jan 22 17:07:46 2007 From: reders at pdx.edu (Steve Reder) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 14:07:46 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 605] Re: introduction In-Reply-To: <016101c73e50$85896bb0$a500a8c0@nscdd05> References: <000901c73e3e$4cdc29e0$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> <016101c73e50$85896bb0$a500a8c0@nscdd05> Message-ID: <001501c73e71$bf49a650$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> Hi Wendy, Good questions. I think Clare has addressed the first one about how we keep in touch with our subjects. Your second question is harder to answer. Many students do engage in self-study because they aren't able to attend programs regularly because of the life and work situations you mentioned. Noting that this happens is easier than describing how they manage it and how effective it is. Maintaining contact with students after they have stopped out could be difficult & resource-intensive if appropriate tools are not in place to bridge between self-study and programs and to help learners manage their self-study. We are experimenting with one approach, The Learner Web, that is designed to provide these kind of bridges and supportive pieces. We see this as a promising resource for both programs and learners. But there are all the problems that you describe, to be sure. -Steve _____ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Wendy Quinones Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 10:10 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 603] Re: introduction (sorry if this is a repetition -- I changed email accounts this morning and sent this from the old one at first) Hello Steve, Thanks for being in the discussion and for such an intereting study I'm struck by two things, based on my experience in several adult learning centers: first, how on earth did you manage to keep in touch with such a high percentage of your subjects, and second, how do they manage self-study when they usually can't manage homework? These may seem like frivolous questions, but for my program they go to the heart of the question. We find it very difficult to contact students after they have "stopped out" -- phone numbers and addresses change and we have neither the time nor resources to keep up. In these circumstances, do you think making resources available to support self-study would help us retain contact, or would simply be a waste of time and effort? Secondly, my students have a great deal of difficulty completing homework because of their life and work situations. I can understand that self-study will often fit better into their difficult and often-changing situations, but I wonder about the wisdom of putting time and effort into resources that would at best (in my view anyway) be only intermittently used. I hope you have positive answers -- I'm sure self-study goes on, and in fact I've seen it when people have studied for themselves over a summer and return in the fall more skilled than when they left. It just seems an extremely tricky subject from an institutional point of view. Unfortunately I will be away for a few hours, but I'll be back during your workday, anyhow! Wendy Quinones ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Reder To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Monday, January 22, 2007 10:59 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 601] introduction Hi everyone, Let me introduce myself and our study a bit. I'm Steve Reder. I'm a professor of applied linguistics at Portland State University. My research and teaching interests center around how adults develop literacy and language abilities. The project we're discussing this week, the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL), has been following a sample of about 1,000 adults from the target population for adult education over the past 8-9 years. There are a couple things that make this study unique within our field. We are following adults who may or may not participate in adult literacy education programs rather than just program participants. We periodically interview our "panel" of subjects -- and assess their literacy skills and practices - regardless of whether they are in programs. We conduct in-depth qualitative interviews with some of individuals to complement the more formal interviews and assessments, helping us to interpret the patterns of change we see in the quantitative data. When individuals move - as they often do - during the course of this longitudinal study, we attempt to follow them. So far we have retained and continued to follow about 90% of our original sample over this long period of time, even though some individuals have moved away, a few may have gone to jail or prison, many experienced major changes in family and job situations, weathered a significant recession, and in general displayed great richness and diversity in their unfolding adult lives. The LSAL data give us a new view of the learners who come to programs as well as of their counterparts who do not come to programs. This gives us a broad perspective on individuals' decisions to participate or not, and over time, a new perspective on patterns of participation and other learning activities as people move in and out of programs. From what we are seeing so far, there is a "swirl" of learning activities that surrounds programs, with adults engaged in a rich variety of learning experiences to improve their basic skills or prepare for the GED. Some adults in this "swirl" come to our programs, whereas others may not because of job, family or other constraints. By considering this broader "swirl" of learning activity, we see higher rates of participation and more persistence of learning than if we take the more traditional program-based view of learning. We are trying to think about how programs may be able to broaden their outreach and support of these additional learners and this additional learning. Here are a few questions to think about as we discuss this issue of FOB. Have you had students in your programs who move in and out of participation because of changing needs or life circumstances? Have you tried to find ways to stay in touch with and support them even when they stop coming to class? Have they told you about friends or family members who would like to come to classes if other things weren't getting in the way? Have you tried ways to "blend" activities in your program with learning activities that students could carry out on their own? What role do you see for technology in blending program- and self-directed learning activities for improving basic skills? -Steve Reder _____ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070122/eb34c4f3/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Jan 24 09:27:40 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:27:40 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 606] Distance learning as self-study Message-ID: <45B7268C0200002D00000C63@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Today we welcome Lauri Schoneck who joins us to discuss distance learning as a form of self study. Please read her article below: Distance Learning as a Backup http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1153 Think about any experiences, preconceptions or questions you have about distance learning, and be ready to discuss them with Lauri. Steve and Clare may also be able to offer some thoughts on how programs can better support this kind of self-study. All the best, Julie ********************************************************** Lauri McLellan Schoneck is a professor at Seminole Community College, where she teaches ABE and GED math courses. A graduate of Florida State University, she has her master's in special education and has taught both K-12 students and adults. She is currently serving a second term on the Florida Department of Education Practitioners' Task Force on Adults with Learning Disabilities as a community college representative. *********************************************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From SchonecL at scc-fl.edu Tue Jan 23 15:35:32 2007 From: SchonecL at scc-fl.edu (Lauri Schoneck) Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 15:35:32 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 607] Re: Introduction In-Reply-To: <45B483FB0200002D00000BC0@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <45B483FB0200002D00000BC0@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <45B62B43.DE47.00C1.0@scc-fl.edu> Hello all...I am Lauri M. Schoneck, an Adult Basic Education (ABE)/GED professor with Seminole Community College (SCC) in Sanford, Florida. Although the article I wrote focuses on self-study, my main interest is adults with learning disabilities. I currently serve on the Florida Dept. Of Education's Practioner's Task Force on Adults with Learning Disabilities. Seminole Community College is a real gem in the adult education world. Due to it's vast resources and generous support, our ABE/GED dept. is able to provide a wide variety of options/programs to our students--free of charge. The "Distance Learning as a Backup" article focuses on our Home Study/GED Online program at SCC. As I am not the one who runs the Home Study/GED Online program, I'd like to reserve the right to refer some questions to our Home Study manager and GED Online professor. :-) I look forward to hearing from as many of you as possible. I'd be directly interested in anyone who has a similar program, a program in development or someone who has a more complete program--your trials & tribulations, successes and so forth. What are retention rates like for your self-study classes, etc....? Also, Home Study/GED Online has great potential for students with disabilities...I'd be glad to explore that path with anyone as well. Thank you so much... Lauri Schoneck Lauri M. Schoneck, M.Ed Professor, Adult Basic Education/GED Seminole Community College Sanford, FL >>> "Julie McKinney" 1/22/2007 9:29 AM >>> Hello Everyone, I am pleased to announce our guest speakers for this week's discussion about broadening the concepts of participation and program support forlearner self-study. Welcome to researcher/authors Steve Reder and Clare Strawn, who are joining us to discuss the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning (LSAL) and its findings regarding the prevalence of self -study among adult learners. They will also discuss how programs can best support learner self study. Then on Wednesday, we will introduce Lauri Shoneck and Molly Robertson, who will discuss two different models of self study. Please read the articles below, from Focus on Basics issue 8C, and send in your comments and questions for the authors and others to discuss. (Please note that Steve and Clare are on west coast time, so us easterners will have to be patient in the mornings!) All the best, Julie ******************************************************** Self-Study: Broadening the Concepts of Participation and Program Support http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1152 Distance Leanring as a Backup http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1153 The GED Via TV http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1154 ********************************************** Stephen Reder is University Professor and Chair of the Department of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. His research interests focus on adult literacy and second language development. He is the Principal Investigator of two NCSALL projects: the Adult ESOL Labsite project and the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. Clare Strawn is Assistant Professor at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, and an analyst on the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning. She is interested in patterns of program participation, the intersection of learning and community development, social capital influences on learning strategies, and technology. ************************************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Jan 24 13:53:15 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 13:53:15 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 608] Re: self study discussion Message-ID: <45B764CB0200002D00000C7E@bostongwia.jsi.com> Thanks, Steve and Clare for sharing the LSAL results and your interpretations. It seems from your results that self-study is both more common and more effective than we have tended to think over the years, and that it could be very significant to work harder at encouraging it. I wonder if learners who have "learned how to learn" as Clare says, or focused on self-study skills during their program participation, are more likely to self-study, and if their self-study is more effective? Steve, Clare, is there any data to answer this? If we assume that our students are likely self-study at some point, wether combined with or outside of a program, there is probably a lot we can do to encourage that while they are with us. I, too, would love to hear some answers to Clare's question about "how teachers incorporate the project of "learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving learners tools for self study and lifelong learning." Teachers, please tell us what you have done in this regard! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Clare Strawn" 01/22/07 3:55 PM >>> Hello - This is Clare Strawn. I have been working with Steve on the Longitudinal Study since the start. Most of my analytic work has been on understanding patterns of participation in adult education programs. I am interested in hearing if and how teachers incorporate the project of "learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving learners tools for self study and lifelong learning. I'm looking forward to participating in this discussion with you. Clare In response to the question about how we retained our sample. From the beginning of the study we decided to invest in building relationships with our respondents. We value their contributions with payment. We have an in-house system for keeping in touch with people by calling them every three months to update our information. It is also very important to ask them for contacts of friends and relatives who can help us find them when we loose contact with us. Clare From Jennifer.Rafferty at umb.edu Wed Jan 24 14:26:32 2007 From: Jennifer.Rafferty at umb.edu (Jennifer Rafferty) Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:26:32 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 609] Re: self study discussion In-Reply-To: <45B764CB0200002D00000C7E@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: Hi everyone, My name is Jennifer Rafferty and I oversee the Massachusetts ABE Distance Learning Project. We have been serving adults (both ABE/GED and ESOL) with blended learning since 1999. In the past two years, our dl staff has engaged in a series of discussions about the skills that are needed to be successful in a distance/blended program. Our discussions started off as brainstorming sessions and eventually turned into a project of developing a resource packet that instructors can use to help learners prepare for distance education. While our resource packet and web modules are only in the formative stage as of 2007, and we have not standardized the use of these resources across all dl programs, the packet might shed some light on the skills that all classroom programs should consider incorporating into their curricula. I believe that these skills should be recognized and practiced in classroom settings so that learners who "stop out" can more easily make the transition into distance/blended learning. The resource packet and the orientation modules are available at: http://anywhereanytimeabe.org/?page_id=51 . All the best, Jennifer Rafferty -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 1:53 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 608] Re: self study discussion Thanks, Steve and Clare for sharing the LSAL results and your interpretations. It seems from your results that self-study is both more common and more effective than we have tended to think over the years, and that it could be very significant to work harder at encouraging it. I wonder if learners who have "learned how to learn" as Clare says, or focused on self-study skills during their program participation, are more likely to self-study, and if their self-study is more effective? Steve, Clare, is there any data to answer this? If we assume that our students are likely self-study at some point, wether combined with or outside of a program, there is probably a lot we can do to encourage that while they are with us. I, too, would love to hear some answers to Clare's question about "how teachers incorporate the project of "learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving learners tools for self study and lifelong learning." Teachers, please tell us what you have done in this regard! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Clare Strawn" 01/22/07 3:55 PM >>> Hello - This is Clare Strawn. I have been working with Steve on the Longitudinal Study since the start. Most of my analytic work has been on understanding patterns of participation in adult education programs. I am interested in hearing if and how teachers incorporate the project of "learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving learners tools for self study and lifelong learning. I'm looking forward to participating in this discussion with you. Clare In response to the question about how we retained our sample. From the beginning of the study we decided to invest in building relationships with our respondents. We value their contributions with payment. We have an in-house system for keeping in touch with people by calling them every three months to update our information. It is also very important to ask them for contacts of friends and relatives who can help us find them when we loose contact with us. Clare ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics From reders at pdx.edu Wed Jan 24 14:44:45 2007 From: reders at pdx.edu (Steve Reder) Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 11:44:45 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 610] Re: self study discussion In-Reply-To: <45B764CB0200002D00000C7E@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <45B764CB0200002D00000C7E@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <005801c73ff0$1991e080$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> Thanks for those questions, Julie. Since Clare will probably respond to the "learning to learn" question, let me mention something else. Other LSAL findings that will be coming out in future publications indicate that both program participation and self-study activities contribute to the growth of literacy in adult life, with the largest apparent impact coming from the combination of both programs and self-study -- learners who engage in both (not necessarily at the same time) seem to make the most progress over a long period of time. We would love to hear from teachers who have tried to build/encourage self-study in their students. Many of the LSAL subjects who have gone to programs spend time in learning centers working independently, drawing on the teacher's support and assistance as needed (sort of a facilitated self-study). It seems plausible that these type of experiences may prepare some students to self-study more effectively on their own (especially if they could easily get help when needed). -Steve -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 10:53 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 608] Re: self study discussion Thanks, Steve and Clare for sharing the LSAL results and your interpretations. It seems from your results that self-study is both more common and more effective than we have tended to think over the years, and that it could be very significant to work harder at encouraging it. I wonder if learners who have "learned how to learn" as Clare says, or focused on self-study skills during their program participation, are more likely to self-study, and if their self-study is more effective? Steve, Clare, is there any data to answer this? If we assume that our students are likely self-study at some point, wether combined with or outside of a program, there is probably a lot we can do to encourage that while they are with us. I, too, would love to hear some answers to Clare's question about "how teachers incorporate the project of "learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving learners tools for self study and lifelong learning." Teachers, please tell us what you have done in this regard! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Clare Strawn" 01/22/07 3:55 PM >>> Hello - This is Clare Strawn. I have been working with Steve on the Longitudinal Study since the start. Most of my analytic work has been on understanding patterns of participation in adult education programs. I am interested in hearing if and how teachers incorporate the project of "learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving learners tools for self study and lifelong learning. I'm looking forward to participating in this discussion with you. Clare In response to the question about how we retained our sample. From the beginning of the study we decided to invest in building relationships with our respondents. We value their contributions with payment. We have an in-house system for keeping in touch with people by calling them every three months to update our information. It is also very important to ask them for contacts of friends and relatives who can help us find them when we loose contact with us. Clare ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics From clare at pdx.edu Wed Jan 24 16:29:12 2007 From: clare at pdx.edu (Clare Strawn) Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 13:29:12 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 611] [FocusOnBasics] self-study & Learning to Learn Message-ID: <003a01c73ffe$b15b1d10$95befc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> RE: >I wonder if learners who have "learned how to learn" as Clare says, or focused on self-study >skills during their program participation, are more likely to self-study, and if their self-study >is more effective? >Steve, Clare, is there any data to answer this? WE don't have data that address this question directly, although I think it would be an excellent practitioner research question! The LSAL as not collected much data on the characteristics of courses - pedagogy, etc. What kinds of teacher directed activities that support development of self-study skills do you (or would you) suggest? Clare -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070124/586b075b/attachment.html From woodsnh at isp.com Wed Jan 24 21:39:48 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 21:39:48 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 612] Re: self study discussion In-Reply-To: <005801c73ff0$1991e080$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> References: <45B764CB0200002D00000C7E@bostongwia.jsi.com> <005801c73ff0$1991e080$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> Message-ID: <45B81874.4000501@isp.com> About this question of promoting self-study, I consider it to be one of my more important aims as an educator, and virtually everything I do in my school attempts in one way or another to encourage an attitude of continual lifelong learning. I am a radical constructivist in my philosophy of learning and education. Constructivists subscribe to the belief that we all construct our own knowledge from experiences that are personally meaningful. Over the past few years constructivism has been corrupted into notions about teaching in a certain way, but really it is a description of how we learn. Whether we believe it or not, it is what we all do all the time. We have an experience. We take things from the experience and build them into a larger structure of knowledge that is relevant to ourselves. Our current educational practices sometimes lose sight of this reality. We begin to think of learning as something people do in a school at a certain time and place, or even worse, we think of it as the outcome of something that people do to us when they teach. In my teaching I try to "cure" people of those notions, as A.S. Neill would say. A big component involves modeling. I, myself, love to learn, and I share that love with my students. By modeling, students see my attitude and they see how I do it. Another component involves giving students freedom to make their own educational choices. I will make suggestions about learning goals and how to pursue them, but I'll never tell my students what courses to take or what to study. That is for them to tell me. A third component involves accepting my students' learning. As a constructivist I know that even though two students may share the same experience, they will learn very different things from it. Each learns what he or she is ready to learn. I have to accept that. I have to refrain from forming expectations about what I want them to learn and instead let the "what" come from the students. This has an extremely powerful effect. It places responsibility for learning on the student where it belongs. It removes the possibility for failure. It creates an environment in which students can form and pursue their own goals instead of a teacher's goals or a curriculum's learning objectives. I feel like I may have digressed a little from what seems to be a straightforward question, given program and self-study, do students who engage in both make the most progress? The question is deceptive. It is interesting, if somewhat disconcerting, to think about how easily we can view and treat program-study and self-study as being separate things. When we do, how does it affect our ideas about progress and effectiveness? Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont. Steve Reder wrote: >Thanks for those questions, Julie. Since Clare will probably respond to the >"learning to learn" question, let me mention something else. Other LSAL >findings that will be coming out in future publications indicate that both >program participation and self-study activities contribute to the growth of >literacy in adult life, with the largest apparent impact coming from the >combination of both programs and self-study -- learners who engage in both >(not necessarily at the same time) seem to make the most progress over a >long period of time. > >We would love to hear from teachers who have tried to build/encourage >self-study in their students. Many of the LSAL subjects who have gone to >programs spend time in learning centers working independently, drawing on >the teacher's support and assistance as needed (sort of a facilitated >self-study). It seems plausible that these type of experiences may prepare >some students to self-study more effectively on their own (especially if >they could easily get help when needed). > >-Steve > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Julie McKinney >Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 10:53 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 608] Re: self study discussion > >Thanks, Steve and Clare for sharing the LSAL results and your >interpretations. It seems from your results that self-study is both more >common and more effective than we have tended to think over the years, >and that it could be very significant to work harder at encouraging it. > >I wonder if learners who have "learned how to learn" as Clare says, or >focused on self-study skills during their program participation, are >more likely to self-study, and if their self-study is more effective? >Steve, Clare, is there any data to answer this? > >If we assume that our students are likely self-study at some point, >wether combined with or outside of a program, there is probably a lot we >can do to encourage that while they are with us. I, too, would love to >hear some answers to Clare's question about "how teachers incorporate >the project of "learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving >learners tools for self >study and lifelong learning." > >Teachers, please tell us what you have done in this regard! > >All the best, >Julie > >Julie McKinney >Discussion List Moderator >World Education/NCSALL >jmckinney at worlded.org > > > >>>>"Clare Strawn" 01/22/07 3:55 PM >>> >>>> >>>> >Hello - This is Clare Strawn. I have been working with Steve on the >Longitudinal Study since the start. Most of my analytic work has been on >understanding patterns of participation in adult education programs. I >am >interested in hearing if and how teachers incorporate the project of >"learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving learners tools for >self >study and lifelong learning. > >I'm looking forward to participating in this discussion with you. > >Clare > >In response to the question about how we retained our sample. From the >beginning of the study we decided to invest in building relationships >with >our respondents. We value their contributions with payment. We have an >in-house system for keeping in touch with people by calling them every >three >months to update our information. It is also very important to ask them >for >contacts of friends and relatives who can help us find them when we >loose >contact with us. > >Clare > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > > > From reders at pdx.edu Thu Jan 25 09:42:19 2007 From: reders at pdx.edu (Steve Reder) Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 06:42:19 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 613] Re: self study discussion In-Reply-To: <45B81874.4000501@isp.com> References: <45B764CB0200002D00000C7E@bostongwia.jsi.com><005801c73ff0$1991e080$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> <45B81874.4000501@isp.com> Message-ID: <013b01c7408f$047b29f0$5074fc83@PSU.DS.PDX.EDU> Thanks, Tom, for your response. It certainly resonates with me. We don't see a hard separation between independent and facilitated learning, either. That's why we have followed learners over time regardless of whether they are in programs or not. What has surprised us is finding so many adults with basic skills needs who are trying to improve their basic skills without the support of programs and teachers. Because those who do attend programs generally stay for relatively short periods of time, we are wondering how programs might be able to stay better connected with and support them over longer periods of time. -Steve -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 6:40 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 612] Re: self study discussion About this question of promoting self-study, I consider it to be one of my more important aims as an educator, and virtually everything I do in my school attempts in one way or another to encourage an attitude of continual lifelong learning. I am a radical constructivist in my philosophy of learning and education. Constructivists subscribe to the belief that we all construct our own knowledge from experiences that are personally meaningful. Over the past few years constructivism has been corrupted into notions about teaching in a certain way, but really it is a description of how we learn. Whether we believe it or not, it is what we all do all the time. We have an experience. We take things from the experience and build them into a larger structure of knowledge that is relevant to ourselves. Our current educational practices sometimes lose sight of this reality. We begin to think of learning as something people do in a school at a certain time and place, or even worse, we think of it as the outcome of something that people do to us when they teach. In my teaching I try to "cure" people of those notions, as A.S. Neill would say. A big component involves modeling. I, myself, love to learn, and I share that love with my students. By modeling, students see my attitude and they see how I do it. Another component involves giving students freedom to make their own educational choices. I will make suggestions about learning goals and how to pursue them, but I'll never tell my students what courses to take or what to study. That is for them to tell me. A third component involves accepting my students' learning. As a constructivist I know that even though two students may share the same experience, they will learn very different things from it. Each learns what he or she is ready to learn. I have to accept that. I have to refrain from forming expectations about what I want them to learn and instead let the "what" come from the students. This has an extremely powerful effect. It places responsibility for learning on the student where it belongs. It removes the possibility for failure. It creates an environment in which students can form and pursue their own goals instead of a teacher's goals or a curriculum's learning objectives. I feel like I may have digressed a little from what seems to be a straightforward question, given program and self-study, do students who engage in both make the most progress? The question is deceptive. It is interesting, if somewhat disconcerting, to think about how easily we can view and treat program-study and self-study as being separate things. When we do, how does it affect our ideas about progress and effectiveness? Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont. Steve Reder wrote: >Thanks for those questions, Julie. Since Clare will probably respond to the >"learning to learn" question, let me mention something else. Other LSAL >findings that will be coming out in future publications indicate that both >program participation and self-study activities contribute to the growth of >literacy in adult life, with the largest apparent impact coming from the >combination of both programs and self-study -- learners who engage in both >(not necessarily at the same time) seem to make the most progress over a >long period of time. > >We would love to hear from teachers who have tried to build/encourage >self-study in their students. Many of the LSAL subjects who have gone to >programs spend time in learning centers working independently, drawing on >the teacher's support and assistance as needed (sort of a facilitated >self-study). It seems plausible that these type of experiences may prepare >some students to self-study more effectively on their own (especially if >they could easily get help when needed). > >-Steve > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Julie McKinney >Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 10:53 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 608] Re: self study discussion > >Thanks, Steve and Clare for sharing the LSAL results and your >interpretations. It seems from your results that self-study is both more >common and more effective than we have tended to think over the years, >and that it could be very significant to work harder at encouraging it. > >I wonder if learners who have "learned how to learn" as Clare says, or >focused on self-study skills during their program participation, are >more likely to self-study, and if their self-study is more effective? >Steve, Clare, is there any data to answer this? > >If we assume that our students are likely self-study at some point, >wether combined with or outside of a program, there is probably a lot we >can do to encourage that while they are with us. I, too, would love to >hear some answers to Clare's question about "how teachers incorporate >the project of "learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving >learners tools for self >study and lifelong learning." > >Teachers, please tell us what you have done in this regard! > >All the best, >Julie > >Julie McKinney >Discussion List Moderator >World Education/NCSALL >jmckinney at worlded.org > > > >>>>"Clare Strawn" 01/22/07 3:55 PM >>> >>>> >>>> >Hello - This is Clare Strawn. I have been working with Steve on the >Longitudinal Study since the start. Most of my analytic work has been on >understanding patterns of participation in adult education programs. I >am >interested in hearing if and how teachers incorporate the project of >"learning how to learn" into the curriculum, giving learners tools for >self >study and lifelong learning. > >I'm looking forward to participating in this discussion with you. > >Clare > >In response to the question about how we retained our sample. From the >beginning of the study we decided to invest in building relationships >with >our respondents. We value their contributions with payment. We have an >in-house system for keeping in touch with people by calling them every >three >months to update our information. It is also very important to ask them >for >contacts of friends and relatives who can help us find them when we >loose >contact with us. > >Clare > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Jan 25 11:13:21 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:13:21 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 614] Distance Learning/GED Home Study Message-ID: <45B890D10200002D00000CB2@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Lauri, Thanks for sharing your article about the program at SCC. It seems like it has learned many important lessons thruought its lifespan and adjusted to meet the learners' needs. I have a few questions that you and others may be able to address. 1. I was intrigued how you said that home study is a good option for those with learning disabilities. I'd love to hear more about why this is. 2. Is there a way that SCC prepares those class-based students who forsee "stopping out" for the upcoming home study option? Also, is there specific preparation for learning the computer skills required for the GED Online part? 3. The grade levels required seem high, which makes sense. Does your program, or others out there, have self-study options that are appropriate for lower level learners? (Granted, this would be harder and require more contact and guidance.) Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From PainoI at scc-fl.edu Thu Jan 25 14:21:33 2007 From: PainoI at scc-fl.edu (Irene Paino) Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 14:21:33 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 615] Re: Distance Learning/GED Home Study In-Reply-To: <45B890D10200002D00000CB2@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <45B890D10200002D00000CB2@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <45B8BCED.612C.0029.0@scc-fl.edu> Hi, I'm Irene Paino, the GED Online Instructor for Seminole Community College. I'd like to answer your second and third questions, Julie. Before moving a student from the classroom to Home Study, their has already been discussion between the classroom instructor and student as well as the classroom instructor and myself. I also personally meet with each student to discuss the transition and review the program with them to be sure they understand what they are signing up for. Our GED Home Study/GED Online students always have the option to visit one of our outreach centers or our computer lab if they need help and I am not available. They are given a "pass" which introduces them to the outreach instructor or lab assistant. Given our current resources and availability, we found that we needed to stick with the higher TABE scores for students enrolling in the GED Home Study/GED Online courses. We certainly make exceptions for lower level students, so that we can serve them on a temporary basis. A recent example, was an ABE level 3 reader who was having surgery but wanted to stay connected with school. We enrolled him in Home Study and worked closely with him over the summer semester. He re-tested at the end of the semester and re-enrolled in campus classes as an ABE Level 4 reader. Irene Paino Instructor Adult Basic Education and GED Seminole Community College 100 Weldon Blvd. B224F Sanford, FL 32773-6199 painoi at scc-fl.edu 407.708.2627 (office) 407.708.2128 (fax) Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Jan 26 16:04:59 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:04:59 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 616] Thanks to all: Self-study and program participation Message-ID: <45BA26AB0200002D00000D18@bostongwia.jsi.com> Before it gets too late here on the east coast, I want thank everyone who shared their thoughts and experience about self-study and program participation. Please continue--we welcome more on this topic! In fact next week we hope to talk about another mode of self-study, GED via TV, with Molly Robertson (See article and bio below.) Thanks so much to Steve, Clare and Lauri! If there are any more thoughts from you three, or from others, please pass them on. I would like to hear if anyone has other thoughts about program support from the top levels in terms of systemically supporting programs to address self-study as part of their operating plan. How many do this? How many are trying? What are the barriers and supports? Given what we have heard here and read in the LSAL, it seems that this is a vital way to increase our effect on adult literacy. Have a great weekend all, and thanks again! Julie *************************** For next week: a continuation of this discussion... The GED Via TV http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1154 Molly K. Robertson is the founding director of the Indiana GED ON TV program. She left high school at 16, earned a GED in 1982, and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in telecommunications. She lives in Muncie, Indiana, with two large, rowdy, black poodles. ************************************** Steve Clare Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Irene Paino" 01/25/07 2:21 PM >>> Hi, I'm Irene Paino, the GED Online Instructor for Seminole Community College. I'd like to answer your second and third questions, Julie. Before moving a student from the classroom to Home Study, their has already been discussion between the classroom instructor and student as well as the classroom instructor and myself. I also personally meet with each student to discuss the transition and review the program with them to be sure they understand what they are signing up for. Our GED Home Study/GED Online students always have the option to visit one of our outreach centers or our computer lab if they need help and I am not available. They are given a "pass" which introduces them to the outreach instructor or lab assistant. Given our current resources and availability, we found that we needed to stick with the higher TABE scores for students enrolling in the GED Home Study/GED Online courses. We certainly make exceptions for lower level students, so that we can serve them on a temporary basis. A recent example, was an ABE level 3 reader who was having surgery but wanted to stay connected with school. We enrolled him in Home Study and worked closely with him over the summer semester. He re-tested at the end of the semester and re-enrolled in campus classes as an ABE Level 4 reader. Irene Paino Instructor Adult Basic Education and GED Seminole Community College 100 Weldon Blvd. B224F Sanford, FL 32773-6199 painoi at scc-fl.edu 407.708.2627 (office) 407.708.2128 (fax) Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Jan 29 14:37:17 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 11:37:17 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 617] Re: Distance Learning/GED Home Study In-Reply-To: <45B8BCED.612C.0029.0@scc-fl.edu> References: <45B890D10200002D00000CB2@bostongwia.jsi.com> <45B8BCED.612C.0029.0@scc-fl.edu> Message-ID: Over the years, what I've seen is that students who choose to study alone are often the very students who need interaction in order to gain and retain information. These are the folks who are most difficult to "talk out of" home schooling. We've had some success with them nonetheless. Online and home studies are a wonderful option for those students who are on kidney dialysis or have transportation difficulties. Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Irene Paino Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 11:22 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 615] Re: Distance Learning/GED Home Study Hi, I'm Irene Paino, the GED Online Instructor for Seminole Community College. I'd like to answer your second and third questions, Julie. Before moving a student from the classroom to Home Study, their has already been discussion between the classroom instructor and student as well as the classroom instructor and myself. I also personally meet with each student to discuss the transition and review the program with them to be sure they understand what they are signing up for. Our GED Home Study/GED Online students always have the option to visit one of our outreach centers or our computer lab if they need help and I am not available. They are given a "pass" which introduces them to the outreach instructor or lab assistant. Given our current resources and availability, we found that we needed to stick with the higher TABE scores for students enrolling in the GED Home Study/GED Online courses. We certainly make exceptions for lower level students, so that we can serve them on a temporary basis. A recent example, was an ABE level 3 reader who was having surgery but wanted to stay connected with school. We enrolled him in Home Study and worked closely with him over the summer semester. He re-tested at the end of the semester and re-enrolled in campus classes as an ABE Level 4 reader. Irene Paino Instructor Adult Basic Education and GED Seminole Community College 100 Weldon Blvd. B224F Sanford, FL 32773-6199 painoi at scc-fl.edu 407.708.2627 (office) 407.708.2128 (fax) Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Jan 30 12:58:53 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:58:53 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 618] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Using TV in Adult Ed. Message-ID: <45BF410D0200002D00000DA1@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Last week we talked about learner self-study in terms of the prevalence, the support porgrams can provide, and some examples, including distance education. We also recommended another article about the "GED via TV" program as another example of self-study. (see below) To follow up on this, today's FOB Article-of-the-Week is about another use of TV for adult learning, from issue 5 b: Letting Learners Lead: Theories of Adult Learning and TV411 by Debby D'Amico and Mary Ann Capehart http://www.ncsall.net/?id=267 Do adult learners benefit from educational television? Can educational television support learner leadership and help teachers position themselves as facilitators? What do viewers actually learn? What can practitioners learn from research on the impact of educational television? These and other questions guide researchers from the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan, as they study what viewers learn from TV411. Created by the Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA), TV411 is a national television series that aims both to reach learners not enrolled in adult basic education (ABE) classes and to enhance the education of learners enrolled in such programs. The GED Via TV by Molly K. Robertson http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1154 What happens to adult students who are afraid to go to a classroom, who can't afford the gas to drive to classes, who work during the times classes are available, who have small children and no child care, or who simply have no transportation? In Indiana they can enroll in the statewide GED ON TV program. The series of 39 half-hour GED Connection television programs is broadcast throughout the state on the eight Indiana Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) channels and is carried on dozens of cable channels. ***************************************** Molly K. Robertson is the founding director of the Indiana GED ON TV program. She left high school at 16, earned a GED in 1982, and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's in telecommunications. She lives in Muncie, Indiana, with two large, rowdy, black poodles. ***************************************** How many of you out there have incorporated some form of TV into your teaching? What were the results? Feel free to share any thoughts, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From TTownsend at dtihq.com Wed Jan 31 09:07:24 2007 From: TTownsend at dtihq.com (Townsend, Tara) Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:07:24 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 619] National STAR Training Network - (cross-posted) Message-ID: The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education is pleased to announce the launch of the National STAR Training Network Web site. The Web site contains information on the Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) initiative, created to assist states and local programs in making systemic and instructional changes required to improve the reading achievement of intermediate-level adult learners (G.L.E. 4.0-8.9). STAR provides teachers and administrators with Web-based tools that translate reading research into practice and high quality training and technical assistance to build capacity for reading reform. The National STAR Training Network is offering two training and technical assistance packages to states and local programs. The new Web site describes these services and provides an array of tools to help you learn about and plan to implement evidence-based reading instruction. We invite you to visit the Web site at http://www.startoolkit.org to learn more about how you can improve adult learners' reading achievement. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070131/8d43cd54/attachment.html From bcmrose at telus.net Thu Feb 1 01:38:32 2007 From: bcmrose at telus.net (Marg Rose) Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:38:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 620] reaching the "remote" with a remote In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Thanks for the open invite to comment, Julie. Given the low enrolment in adult literacy programs due to funding/hours/transportational barriers/lack of child care etc, and IALS survey results that showed that many adults with low literacy did not state they perceived a problem with their own literacy skills, we secured $100K from the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation to produce a ten week television series called Mathworks. It was based on a series of videotapes that came from the Nova Scotia Coalition on Literacy in Canada. We hired a TV producer who jazzed up the content, timing, added features like MathFACTS, Math Trivia, teaching tips, "streeters" asking questions about math in real life, and authentic interviews with local shopkeepers, etc who showed how math was used in daily life. It also had an on-air hostess who "taught" basic concepts. We embedded a website URL and call to action to visit www.mathworkstv.com and/or to call our LEARN LINE phone number "for help or to help" in the television show as a bumper (little advertisement) to track how many viewers we were attracting when it ran on satellite television over the first run. Well....the viewer numbers were staggering. The first night it ran, we had 10 calls to the LEARN line and 60 hits on the website. To make a long story short, by the time the end of the ten week run was over, a total of 60,000 people had logged onto the website (hopefully different people, not one busy person over and over!) and 66 extra calls to the LEARN line to inquire about programs. Given that only 2,200 people were enrolled in adult literacy programs across the whole province for the whole year, we were happy with the results. We did not measure the conversion factors of how many callers turned into learners (due to no funding to evaluate the project). The TV show went on to run three more times on the satellite network SCN, because we wanted to reach the remote who did not have access to programs. I hope it worked. We went on to convert the 10 week series into DVDs and CDs for teachers to use, tutors to try, adults to have in their homes, youth to use, and more. Many adult literacy instructors come from a Humanities background and may appreciate a bit of help with facilitating numeracy learning. YOu can order them from Grassroots Press for a ridiculously low price of $42.95 US for the CD and $71.95 for the DVD from www.literacyservices.com and enter Math Works TV in the search engine. http://secure.cartsvr.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=3129088&showprevnext=1 Marg Rose, Former Exec Director of the adult literacy coalition of Manitoba, Canada From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Feb 1 13:54:52 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2007 13:54:52 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 621] Re: reaching the "remote" with TV Message-ID: <45C1F12C0200002D00000E0F@bostongwia.jsi.com> Marg, Thanks for sharing that story! It certainly shows how TV can reach a larger audience than classroom programs, due to the factors you mentioned and more. It would be nice to study how many viewers turned into learners or pursued further study on their own. According to Molly's studies, the GED on TV program in Indiana (US) produced 7,600 GED completers in the state! (See #1. below) And, according to the study of the TV411 program by the Institute for Social Research, the use of programs like this can improve skills, increase participants' plans to engage in both formal study and everyday literacy activities, and encourage learners to take more of a leadership role in classroom-guided programs. (See #2. below.) This is all encouraging news! Who else has experienced a similar program? All the best, Julie ********************* #1. The GED Via TV by Molly K. Robertson http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1154 #2. Letting Learners Lead: Theories of Adult Learning and TV411 by Debby D'Amico and Mary Ann Capehart http://www.ncsall.net/?id=267 Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Marg Rose" 02/01/07 1:38 AM >>> Thanks for the open invite to comment, Julie. Given the low enrolment in adult literacy programs due to funding/hours/transportational barriers/lack of child care etc, and IALS survey results that showed that many adults with low literacy did not state they perceived a problem with their own literacy skills, we secured $100K from the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation to produce a ten week television series called Mathworks. It was based on a series of videotapes that came from the Nova Scotia Coalition on Literacy in Canada. We hired a TV producer who jazzed up the content, timing, added features like MathFACTS, Math Trivia, teaching tips, "streeters" asking questions about math in real life, and authentic interviews with local shopkeepers, etc who showed how math was used in daily life. It also had an on-air hostess who "taught" basic concepts. We embedded a website URL and call to action to visit www.mathworkstv.com and/or to call our LEARN LINE phone number "for help or to help" in the television show as a bumper (little advertisement) to track how many viewers we were attracting when it ran on satellite television over the first run. Well....the viewer numbers were staggering. The first night it ran, we had 10 calls to the LEARN line and 60 hits on the website. To make a long story short, by the time the end of the ten week run was over, a total of 60,000 people had logged onto the website (hopefully different people, not one busy person over and over!) and 66 extra calls to the LEARN line to inquire about programs. Given that only 2,200 people were enrolled in adult literacy programs across the whole province for the whole year, we were happy with the results. We did not measure the conversion factors of how many callers turned into learners (due to no funding to evaluate the project). The TV show went on to run three more times on the satellite network SCN, because we wanted to reach the remote who did not have access to programs. I hope it worked. We went on to convert the 10 week series into DVDs and CDs for teachers to use, tutors to try, adults to have in their homes, youth to use, and more. Many adult literacy instructors come from a Humanities background and may appreciate a bit of help with facilitating numeracy learning. YOu can order them from Grassroots Press for a ridiculously low price of $42.95 US for the CD and $71.95 for the DVD from www.literacyservices.com and enter Math Works TV in the search engine. http://secure.cartsvr.net/catalogs/catalog.asp?prodid=3129088&showprevnext=1 Marg Rose, Former Exec Director of the adult literacy coalition of Manitoba, Canada ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Feb 2 12:35:19 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:35:19 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 622] Self-Study discussion available on ALE Wiki Message-ID: <45C330080200002D00000E6E@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I just want to let you know that our recent discussion on "Broadening the concepts of self-study and program participation" is available on the Adult Learners' Self-Study page of the ALE Wiki. http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Learners%27_Self-Study Main page: http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page By the way, this section is seeking a topic area leader. If anyone is interested in developing this Wiki area, please contact David Rosen at: djrosen at comcast.net David will actually be following up on the topic of learner self-study with a discussion on the Special Topics list in the Fall about the newly developing Learner Web. Keep an eye out for that upcoming discussion! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Feb 6 16:15:50 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 06 Feb 2007 16:15:50 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 622] FOB Article-of-the-Week: The Open Door Policy Message-ID: <45C8A9B60200002D00000F76@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, In a couple weeks we will have a guest speaker discussion about transitions from the GED to college. This week's FOB Article-of-the-Week is about the open door policy at community colleges, which is meant to facilitate this transition. The Open Door Policy: Hidden Barriers to Postsecondary Education for Nontraditional Adult Learners by Deepa Rao http://www.ncsall.net/?id=174 Community colleges have long recognized the need for postsecondary education and made access to it easy and affordable. Most community colleges have made a strong commitment to what is known as the open door policy: they will not turn away any student who has a high school diploma or has passed the tests of General Educational Development (GED). Many nontraditional adult learners enter community colleges, via this open door, after completing adult basic education (ABE) programs or having been out of school for a long time. As inviting as the open door may be, some hidden barriers in this policy may prevent nontraditional learners from attaining a degree. This is from issue 6D, which is all about Transitions. You can find the whole issue at: http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=154 Enjoy the article, and please share any thoughts or questions! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Feb 9 09:28:44 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2007 09:28:44 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 623] Discussion on PovertyRaceWomen & Literacy List Message-ID: <45CC3ECC0200002D00001028@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am passing on this message from Daphne Greenberg, moderator of the PovertyRaceWomen & Literacy List, about a discussion next week on that list about women in prison. All the best, Julie ************************************************ It is my great honor and pleasure to announce that from Monday Feb. 12th through Friday Feb. 16th, Dominique Chlup will be facilitating a discussion on the PovertyRaceWomen and Literacy list on: Bars, Boundaries, and Barriers Researching Women's Spaces Dominique Chlup is an assistant professor of adult education and the director of the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) at Texas A&M University.She got her "calling" to be an adult educator after volunteering for a year at the Valhalla Women's Jail in New York. She taught in the "Right to Write" program. While her career has taken her into several other adult classrooms, she finds she returns again and again to her work with women student-inmates. She wrote a dissertation on the history of the educational programs and practices at the Framingham Reformatory for Women in Massachusetts, and she continues to research contemporary prison programs. As a part of her research with women inmates, she has encountered both literal and figurative bars. As such, she is always interested in dialoging with others about their own experiences researching and working in women's spaces. To learn more about her work, you can read http://www.ncsall.net/?id=828 and http://www.ncsall.net/?id=826 Please invite your friends and colleagues to join us during this "discussion." If they want to temporarily join us, they can subscribe and then later unsubscribe at: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen Daphne ******************************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Feb 9 12:58:08 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:58:08 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 624] Seeking submissions re: accountability systems Message-ID: <45CC6FE10200002D0000103F@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I want to pass along this submission request from Alisa Belzer, one of our FOB authors. Please read below and contact her if you are interested! All the best, Julie ********************************************* Special Issue Announcement The editors of International Journal of Literacy and Numeracy Studies are pleased to announce that Dr. Alisa Belzer of Rutgers University and Dr. Ralf St. Clair of University of Glasgow will edit a special issue of LNS to be published in 2007. This issue will focus on how national accountability systems are influencing practice at the program and classroom levels. The guest editors are seeking submissions of papers that explore the choices and compromises and the costs and benefits of increased demands for standardized accountability and reporting procedures. They are also interested in papers that document how teachers and learners are developing and maintaining "responsive" practices in this time when increasingly narrow accountability and curricular systems seem to be reducing the options open to educators and learners. They would like especially to urge practitioners to contribute, either as solo authors or in collaboration with university researchers or policy makers. Please submit papers to Dr. Belzer or Dr. St. Clair by June 30, 2007 at the latest. If you would like to contact our guest editors directly, email them at belzera at rci.rutgers.edu and/or rstclair at educ.gla.ac.uk. I'm excited about doing this issue, but scared that we won't get submissions, so I'm trying to put the word out in the US where I think this journal is relatively unknown. Thanks and all the best, Alisa ********************************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From kabeall at comcast.net Mon Feb 12 12:52:26 2007 From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:52:26 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 625] New from NCSALL Message-ID: <006d01c74ece$924d56c0$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6> Health Literacy Study Circle+ Facilitators Training The purpose of this training guide is to help experienced professional developers and others organize and conduct a one-day session to train and orient those who will serve as facilitators of a HALL/NCSALL Health Literacy Study Circle+. A Health and Adult Literacy and Learning (HALL)/National Center for Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) Health Literacy Study Circle+ is a professional development activity for adult basic education (ABE), adult secondary education (ASE), or adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) practitioners. This guide includes the information and materials you will need to conduct the training, but not background information on planning and facilitating training. Facilitators of the Health Literacy Study Circle+ Facilitators Training should be experienced trainers. For more information and to download the training guide, go to the NCSALL Web site: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1169 **************** Kaye Beall World Education 4401 S. Madison St. Muncie, IN 47302 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070212/ae267e45/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Feb 13 17:16:18 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 17:16:18 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 626] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Transitions and high school dropouts Message-ID: <45D1F2620200002D00001104@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, This week's Article-of-the-Week is about transitions again, this time looking at how a program had to adjust to meet the needs of recent high school dropouts. It is from Volume 6D, which contains several other articles about transitions issues. EdCAP: A Transition Program in Transition Fine tuning a transition program for recent high school drop outs requires a willingness to try and try again by Karen Johnson, Barbara Haas, Barbara Harrell, & Roy Alameida http://www.ncsall.net/?id=170 Please read this and send in any comments or questions! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Julie McKinney" Subject: FOB Article-of-the-Week: Transitions for high school dropouts Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:04:09 -0500 Size: 4491 Url: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070213/a737bcba/attachment.mht From kabeall at comcast.net Wed Feb 14 13:24:17 2007 From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:24:17 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 627] New from NCSALL Message-ID: <007d01c75065$59e99df0$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6> Adult Literacy Research: Opportunities and Challenges by John Comings and Lisa Soricone This occasional paper has two goals that support the building of a stronger research base for the adult literacy field. The first goal is to interest researchers in pursuing rigorous scientific research in this field. Despite the many challenges to research, this field offers researchers some opportunities to have a positive impact on education, increase the research base, and advance their careers. The second goal is to identify these challenges and approaches to overcoming them so that future research could design more successful studies. Addressing these challenges to research is a critical step toward building a larger and stronger foundation of evidence to support practitioner decisions. To download the paper, go to the NCSALL Web site: www.ncsall.net/?id=26#opps Evaluating and Interpreting Research Syntheses in Adult Learning and Literacy by Harris Cooper This occasional paper introduces the methods of research synthesis and meta-analysis to researchers and consumers of research in the field of adult learning and literacy. The first section defines key terms and offers a brief history of how the methodologies developed. The second section provides a conceptualization of research synthesis that views it no differently from other research endeavors in the social sciences. Then, the tasks of research synthesis are presented within the context of a hypothetical example drawn from the literature on adult learning and literacy. To download the paper, go to the NCSALL Web site: www.ncsall.net/?id=26#syntheses **************** Kaye Beall World Education 4401 S. Madison St. Muncie, IN 47302 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070214/2b0aa7ed/attachment.html From aalba1 at cox.net Sat Feb 17 09:53:07 2007 From: aalba1 at cox.net (AL) Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 09:53:07 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 628] Models Of Teaching Message-ID: Dear Educators, I have used Some aspects of Standards Based Instruction in the correctional classroom and I am seeking additional strategies. If you could describe methods that you have found successful to incorporate Standards Based Instruction that is aligned with the Social Constructivist Approach it would be helpful. The Social Constructivist Approach involves students engaged in active problem solving by participating in debates, cooperative work, real life problems, open ended dialogue, and higher level questioning. If you have any type of curricula, instructional practices, or resources that you use to foster students' creating thinking and the goals of the Social Constructivist Approach it would be appreciated if you could share such methods. Sincerely, AL ALba, PhD From PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Mon Feb 19 22:59:10 2007 From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com (PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com) Date: 20 Feb 2007 03:59:10 -0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 629] Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacy learners? Message-ID: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> Hi all. Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure improvement in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to see learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to another in the course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants and I'm not sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no reading) to Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read simple material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound sentences in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can write simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity and focus." When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document grwoth with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 and below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure a difference at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. Is there anything else folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success objectively, yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? Thanks! Jean Marrapodi Providence Assembly of God Learning Center From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Feb 20 11:43:26 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:43:26 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 630] Discussion on Family Lit list: Evaluations Message-ID: <45DADEDE0200002D000012B3@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I'm passing on this announcement from Gail Price about a discussion on the Family Literacy list next week. Please read on if you are interested! Julie **************************** Don Seaman, Ph.D., will join the Family Literacy Discussion List as guest moderator next Tuesday and Wednesday, February 27 and 28. His topic will be evaluation?expected outcomes and intended audiences. Dr. Seaman is a Professor Emeritus and former Research Scientist, College of Education, Texas A&M University. He and his wife, Anna, provide technical assistance and evaluation services to a number of Even Start family literacy programs in Texas. His own professional research focuses on (1) the impact, both short-range and long-range, of family literacy programs upon the lives of families who participate in them, and (2) the return on investment from Even Start family literacy in Texas. He has collaborated with Texas LEARNS in two recent research studies that documented the positive impact of the Even Start family literacy program on participating parents and children in Texas. Other of Dr. Seaman?s accomplishments include ? Served as a consultant/evaluator for projects involving family literacy, adult education, workforce literacy programs, and for the Barbara Bush-Texas initiative. ? Consulted with adult and family literacy projects in Australia, Canada, The Peoples? Republic of China, Ecuador, England, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Scotland, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe. ? Founded the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) at Texas A&M. TCALL is a self-supporting center for adult and family literacy that houses various externally-funded projects. ? Elected the first sole president of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education in 1984. ? Completed a five-month professional internship at the National Center for Family Literacy during which he evaluated, through on-site research, the Kenan Model for Family Literacy in 1991. That model is utilized in many family literacy programs throughout the U.S. ? Taught, with his wife, what is believed to have been one of the first graduate courses in family literacy in the U.S. in spring 1992. ? Inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 1998. If you are not a subscriber to the Family Literacy Discussion List and would like to join to be part of the Don Seaman discussion, please click on the following link and follow the directions for subscribing. http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Familyliteracy Gail J. Price Multimedia Specialist National Center for Family Literacy 325 W. Main Street, Suite 300 Louisville, KY 40202 gprice at famlit.org 502 584-1133, ext. 112 ****************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Feb 20 11:55:13 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:55:13 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 631] Discussion Next Week: Transition from GED Message-ID: <45DAE1A10200002D000012C1@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am pleased to announce a guest speaker discussion on the FOB list next week about transitions from GED to postsecondary education! Please read the article below and join us next week. All the best, Julie ************************************ February 26 - March 2 Transition from GED to Postsecondary Education This will focus on the results of a study by NCSALL researcher John Tyler of Brown University and colleague Magnus Lofstrom of the University of Texas at Dallas. The study found a low rate of enrollment in postsecondary education among GED holders as compared with high school graduates, and is described in Tyler?s article in FOB 8C, ?Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education??. Barbara Garner, editor of Focus on Basics, will introduce the findings, and then Cynthia Zafft, Director of the National College Transitions Network, and Sandy Goodman, Director, New England College Transition Project at World Education, Inc. will discuss promising strategies that are being done to address this issue. Recommended Reading: Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education? A Conversation with John Tyler by Barbara Garner http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1155 Recognizing that high school is not enough, growing numbers of adult basic education programs (ABE) are emphasizing the transition to postsecondary education. What impact does earning a certificate of General Educational Development (GED) have on the post secondary enrollment of high school dropouts? Brown University professor and NCSALL researcher John Tyler and a colleague, Magnus Lofstrom of the University of Texas at Dallas, examined this question using data from Texas. Focus on Basics asked John Tyler to summarize the results and discuss the questions they raise. Focus on Basics, Transitions Issue (6D) http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=154 This contains several articles about different aspects of transitions. Guest Speakers: Barb Garner was the editor of all 31 issues of "Focus on Basics", and co-author with Sara Fass of "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future." Having studied statistics with researcher John Tyler, she enjoys working with him to make sure his research findings reach the adult basic education community. Cynthia Zafft, MA, is the director of the National College Transition Network (NCTN), a network to support ABE staff, programs, and state programs in establishing and strengthening ABE-to-college transition services through technical assistance, professional development, collegial sharing, advocacy and increased visibility for this critical sector of the adult basic education system. Prior to coming to World Education, Cynthia coordinated several federally-funded postsecondary education transition projects for the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. The ICI is part of a national network of university-affiliated centers that offers training, conducts research, and provides assistance to organizations to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in school, work, and community activities. Sandy Goodman has been the Director of the New England College Transition Project at the New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education since November 2006. Prior to joining the College Transitions team, she directed a career ladders project under the Skillworks initiative called Partnership for Automotive Career Education (PACE) and facilitated collaboration between community based organizations, post-secondary and secondary education institutions, and private sector employers. Before PACE, she directed a community based ABE program in Boston that served approximately 400 people each year, and was also active in a number of city and statewide planning and advocacy efforts. She has a BA in Women's Studies/Social Thought and Political Economy from UMass, Amherst and an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government. When: Feb.26-March 2. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Edu From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Feb 20 11:57:50 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:57:50 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 632] FOB Article-of-the-Week: GED to Postsecondary Ed. Message-ID: <45DAE23E0200002D000012C5@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Since we are having a guest discussion next week, this week's FOB article will be the one under discussion: Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education? A Conversation with John Tyler by Barbara Garner http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1155 Recognizing that high school is not enough, growing numbers of adult basic education programs (ABE) are emphasizing the transition to postsecondary education. What impact does earning a certificate of General Educational Development (GED) have on the post secondary enrollment of high school dropouts? Brown University professor and NCSALL researcher John Tyler and a colleague, Magnus Lofstrom of the University of Texas at Dallas, examined this question using data from Texas. Focus on Basics asked John Tyler to summarize the results and discuss the questions they raise. Enjoy! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From tarv at chemeketa.edu Tue Feb 20 12:14:08 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 09:14:08 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 633] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? In-Reply-To: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> References: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: Have you looked at the CASAS lower level tests such as beginning literacy for 27, 28 and 31, 32, 32 RX -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 7:59 PM To: Focusonbasics at NIFL.GOV Subject: [FocusOnBasics 629] Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? Hi all. Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure improvement in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to see learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to another in the course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants and I'm not sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no reading) to Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read simple material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound sentences in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can write simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity and focus." When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document grwoth with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 and below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure a difference at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. Is there anything else folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success objectively, yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? Thanks! Jean Marrapodi Providence Assembly of God Learning Center ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org Tue Feb 20 14:01:06 2007 From: valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org (Valley Peters) Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:01:06 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 634] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? In-Reply-To: References: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: What about the BEST Literacy assessment? We use this with our ESOL students and it tests reading signs, bus schedules and other low literacy tasks. Valley Peters On Feb 20, 2007, at 10:14 AM, Virginia Tardaewether wrote: > Have you looked at the CASAS lower level tests such as beginning > literacy for 27, 28 and 31, 32, 32 RX > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com > Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 7:59 PM > To: Focusonbasics at NIFL.GOV > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 629] Diagnostic assessment for lowest > literacylearners? > > Hi all. > Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure > improvement > in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to > see > learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to > another in > the > course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants > and I'm > not > sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no > reading) > to > Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read > simple > material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound > sentences > in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can > write > simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity and > focus." > > > When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document > grwoth > with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 > and > below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure a > difference > at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. > > Is there anything else > folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success > objectively, > yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? > Thanks! > > Jean Marrapodi > Providence Assembly of God Learning Center > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org. > > Valley Peters Director of Adult Services valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org 307.733.9242, ext. 227 Teton Literacy Program provides literacy education and resources to open doors for individuals and families to achieve their personal, professional, and academic goals, as contributing members of our community. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070220/9493e4a6/attachment.html From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Feb 20 19:28:10 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 19:28:10 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 635] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacy learners? In-Reply-To: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> References: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: <8C923664C9E26D9-1BCC-367D@WEBMAIL-MB10.sysops.aol.com> Yet another indicator of how off-target the testing and levels of ESOL are at present.....Robin Lovrien Schwarz, INdpendent Consultant in Adult ESOL/ Education and Learning Difficulties. -----Original Message----- From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com To: Focusonbasics at NIFL.GOV Sent: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 9:59 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 629] Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacy learners? Hi all. Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure improvement in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to see learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to another in the course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants and I'm not sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no reading) to Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read simple material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound sentences in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can write simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity and focus." When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document grwoth with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 and below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure a difference at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. Is there anything else folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success objectively, yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? Thanks! Jean Marrapodi Providence Assembly of God Learning Center ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Feb 20 22:09:51 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 22:09:51 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 636] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? In-Reply-To: References: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: <8C9237CE2CF1989-1BCC-3E88@WEBMAIL-MB10.sysops.aol.com> Programs I work with complain loudly that the BEST does not measure what actually happens in instruction --unless one teaches to the BEST. My issue with the BEST,is that, according to extensive study in what causes adults to have difficulty in learning language and literacy, the BEST does not measure those things. Thus you can know what English your learners know, but not what to do to help them learn more nor WHY they are at that level. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 1:01 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 634] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? What about the BEST Literacy assessment?? We use this with our ESOL students and it tests reading signs, bus schedules and other low literacy tasks. Valley Peters On Feb 20, 2007, at 10:14 AM, Virginia Tardaewether wrote: Have you looked at the CASAS lower level tests such as beginning literacy for 27, 28 and 31, 32, 32 RX -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 7:59 PM To: Focusonbasics at NIFL.GOV Subject: [FocusOnBasics 629] Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? Hi all. Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure improvement in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to see learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to another in the course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants and I'm not sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no reading) to Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read simple material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound sentences in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can write simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity and focus." When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document grwoth with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 and below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure a difference at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. Is there anything else folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success objectively, yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? Thanks! Jean Marrapodi Providence Assembly of God Learning Center ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org. Valley Peters Director of Adult Services valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org 307.733.9242, ext. 227 Teton Literacy Program provides literacy education and resources to open doors for individuals and families to achieve their personal, professional, and academic goals, as contributing members of our community. = ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. =0 From woodsnh at isp.com Tue Feb 20 22:16:50 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 22:16:50 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 637] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacy learners? In-Reply-To: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> References: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: <45DBB9A2.2000109@isp.com> I don't know how much latitude you are given in your choice of a test, but this seems like a perfect opportunity create your own instrument that is criterion referenced, which would be so much more informative and useful in guiding instruction than a norm referenced test like TABE. Let me guess and say that basically you want to know how much each student progresses as a result of instruction. You need to define the areas where you want to see progress. Hopefully they will be the same things you'll be working on during instruction. Maybe you will want to measure things like word identification, reading fluency, comprehension, and maybe grade level. You might choose to ask students to read a graded list of words before instruction and after instruction to see if they improved their word i.d. skills. You could time their reading of a passage to measure fluency. You could ask them questions about the passage to gauge their comprehension. For determining grade level, you might use an accepted method, such as the Fry Readability Table, to determine the grade level of a passage. Then you would ask the student to read the passage while you check for accuracy and comprehension. To measure progress, you could determine the highest level passage at which the reader is proficient, both before and after instruction. Alternatively, you could give the student a higher level passage and determine his or her proficiency with it. Often, proficiency is gauged as Independent, Instructional, or Frustrational. At the beginning of instruction your testing might say, "reads 4th grade material at the frustrational level." After instruction, your testing might say, "Reads 4th grade material at the instructional level." The problem with standardized tests used for this purpose is that they really are not able to show how a person progresses. They are designed to show how a person's performance compares to others in the same peer group. These tests don't answer the question, what can the student do, what does the student know? They are only a comparison (i.e. the student knows more than some percentage of his or her peers). Creating your own test might be somewhat more work than the effort you place in choosing a standardized test. It is worth the investment, however, because you can target your measurements precisely at the things you teach your students. You will be more likely to show student gains because you're measuring exactly what you're teaching and what your students are learning. With a standardized test, it is the publisher who chooses what shall be measured, and you will need to target your instruction to the same material if you want to be able to show gains. If you're doing the teaching, then you should be the ones who have control over how you measure what is learned. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com wrote: >Hi all. >Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure improvement >in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to see >learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to another in the >course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants and I'm not >sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no reading) to >Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read simple >material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound sentences >in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can write >simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity and focus." > > >When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document grwoth >with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 and >below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure a difference >at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. > >Is there anything else >folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success objectively, >yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? >Thanks! > >Jean Marrapodi >Providence Assembly of God Learning Center >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > From JulieEnnis at aol.com Wed Feb 21 12:04:03 2007 From: JulieEnnis at aol.com (JulieEnnis at aol.com) Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:04:03 EST Subject: [FocusOnBasics 638] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? Message-ID: I use elements of the WJIII Tests of Achievement (Word ID, Word Attack, Spelling of Sounds, Sound Awareness) to get a baseline functioning level with low level readers. However, these tests do not necessarily allow for progress to be measured, when re-testing after a year of tutoring in a structured, phonics-based literacy program. Julie Ennis M.ED Education Consultant Fairfax VA _julieennis at aol.com_ (mailto:julieennis at aol.com)


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Check out free AOL at http://free.aol.com/thenewaol/index.adp. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, millions of free high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and much more. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070221/11d4d6e8/attachment.html From belzera at rci.rutgers.edu Wed Feb 21 12:53:11 2007 From: belzera at rci.rutgers.edu (Alisa Belzer) Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 12:53:11 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 638] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacy learners? In-Reply-To: <45DBB9A2.2000109@isp.com> References: <1171943950.3793748569.12459.sendItem@bloglines.com> <45DBB9A2.2000109@isp.com> Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.0.20070221125133.053fb588@rci.rutgers.edu> Sorry to interrupt, but this discussion fits perfectly with the topic of a special issue that I'm editing of the Journal of Literacy and Numeracy Studies. Please see the call for papers below, and consider getting involved! Alisa Literacy and Numeracy Studies An International Journal in the Education and Training of Adults Special Issue Announcement The editors of LNS are pleased to announce that Dr. Alisa Belzer of Rutgers University in the U.S. and Dr. Ralph St. Clair of University of Glasgow in Scotland will edit a special issue of LNS to be published early in 2008. This issue will focus on how national accountability systems are influencing practice at the program and classroom levels. The guest editors are seeking submissions of papers that explore the choices and compromises and the costs and benefits of increased demands for standardized accountability and reporting procedures. They are also interested in papers that document how teachers and learners are developing and maintaining "responsive" practices in this time when increasingly narrow accountability and curricular systems seem to be reducing the options open to educators and learners. They would like especially to urge practitioners to contribute, either as solo authors or in collaboration with researchers or policy people. Papers should be submitted by July 7 2007at the latest. If you would like to contact our guest editors directly, email Dr. Belzer at belzera at rci.rutgers.edu and/or Dr. St. Clair at rstclair at educ.gla.ac.uk. At 10:16 PM 2/20/2007, you wrote: >I don't know how much latitude you are given in your choice of a test, >but this seems like a perfect opportunity create your own instrument >that is criterion referenced, which would be so much more informative >and useful in guiding instruction than a norm referenced test like TABE. > >Let me guess and say that basically you want to know how much each >student progresses as a result of instruction. You need to define the >areas where you want to see progress. Hopefully they will be the same >things you'll be working on during instruction. Maybe you will want to >measure things like word identification, reading fluency, comprehension, >and maybe grade level. You might choose to ask students to read a graded >list of words before instruction and after instruction to see if they >improved their word i.d. skills. You could time their reading of a >passage to measure fluency. You could ask them questions about the >passage to gauge their comprehension. For determining grade level, you >might use an accepted method, such as the Fry Readability Table, to >determine the grade level of a passage. Then you would ask the student >to read the passage while you check for accuracy and comprehension. To >measure progress, you could determine the highest level passage at which >the reader is proficient, both before and after instruction. >Alternatively, you could give the student a higher level passage and >determine his or her proficiency with it. Often, proficiency is gauged >as Independent, Instructional, or Frustrational. At the beginning of >instruction your testing might say, "reads 4th grade material at the >frustrational level." After instruction, your testing might say, "Reads >4th grade material at the instructional level." > >The problem with standardized tests used for this purpose is that they >really are not able to show how a person progresses. They are designed >to show how a person's performance compares to others in the same peer >group. These tests don't answer the question, what can the student do, >what does the student know? They are only a comparison (i.e. the student >knows more than some percentage of his or her peers). > >Creating your own test might be somewhat more work than the effort you >place in choosing a standardized test. It is worth the investment, >however, because you can target your measurements precisely at the >things you teach your students. You will be more likely to show student >gains because you're measuring exactly what you're teaching and what >your students are learning. With a standardized test, it is the >publisher who chooses what shall be measured, and you will need to >target your instruction to the same material if you want to be able to >show gains. If you're doing the teaching, then you should be the ones >who have control over how you measure what is learned. > >Tom Woods >Community High School of Vermont > > > >PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com wrote: > > >Hi all. > >Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure improvement > >in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to see > >learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to another in the > >course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants and I'm not > >sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no reading) to > >Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read simple > >material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound sentences > >in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can write > >simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity > and focus." > > > > > >When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document grwoth > >with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 and > >below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure > a difference > >at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. > > > >Is there anything else > >folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success objectively, > >yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? > >Thanks! > > > >Jean Marrapodi > >Providence Assembly of God Learning Center > >---------------------------------------------------- > >National Institute for Literacy > >Focus on Basics mailing list > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to belzera at rci.rutgers.edu. Alisa Belzer Associate Professor Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 Seminary Place New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (732) 932-7496 ext. 8234 From howard at riral.org Wed Feb 21 15:14:57 2007 From: howard at riral.org (Howard Dooley) Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 15:14:57 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 639] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacy learners? Message-ID: <0BF2D0726318524ABEF6D58E7BB3CCEB02682D@pdc.Riral.local> This discussion now seems to tie into a discussion recently on the Assessment Listserv re: informal assessments as compared to standardized assessments. I would guess that the main reason we are talking about standardized tests is the NRS or other accountability system that we have to report to. Now, they have as their raison d'?tre the ability to compare learners across programs - not instruction of individual learners. But, of course, as instructors we want that information and don't really have comparing our learners as a priority. So, why do we agonize about what these tests don't do? The best solution, I believe, is to use what information they provide, and imbed it into the learning. That way, you will see improvement on these tests when the time comes, but you won't be teaching to the test or expecting to build a curriculum around it. Tom Woods' suggestions about informal assessments as the real work-horse for assessing learning is the right way to go. And there will be published assessments that you will find match your instructional style and your adults learning styles, and that will be great for you. Years ago I stumbled onto K. Patricia's Cross' "Classroom Assessment Techniques", and I knew I had found a kindred spirit and guide. Keep looking, and you'll find yours, too. Let the standardized assessment do what it is intended to do, and don't worry that it won't do what you want. Let it be connected to the learning, but not the focal point of learners' knowing that they have learned. We find here that as long as our learners understand what the assessment is about, see it's relevance to their learning and the program's success, then there aren't issues about taking them or interpreting the results. Of course, if you find no points of correlation between the standardized assessment you use and your instruction, then one of them has to change! To keep them disconnected, and just say to the learners "Because we have to, to get the money!" is a solution unworthy of both us as practitioners and our learners. Howard D. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] At 10:16 PM 2/20/2007, you wrote: >I don't know how much latitude you are given in your choice of a test, >but this seems like a perfect opportunity create your own instrument >that is criterion referenced, which would be so much more informative >and useful in guiding instruction than a norm referenced test like TABE. > >Let me guess and say that basically you want to know how much each >student progresses as a result of instruction. You need to define the >areas where you want to see progress. Hopefully they will be the same >things you'll be working on during instruction. Maybe you will want to >measure things like word identification, reading fluency, comprehension, >and maybe grade level. You might choose to ask students to read a graded >list of words before instruction and after instruction to see if they >improved their word i.d. skills. You could time their reading of a >passage to measure fluency. You could ask them questions about the >passage to gauge their comprehension. For determining grade level, you >might use an accepted method, such as the Fry Readability Table, to >determine the grade level of a passage. Then you would ask the student >to read the passage while you check for accuracy and comprehension. To >measure progress, you could determine the highest level passage at which >the reader is proficient, both before and after instruction. >Alternatively, you could give the student a higher level passage and >determine his or her proficiency with it. Often, proficiency is gauged >as Independent, Instructional, or Frustrational. At the beginning of >instruction your testing might say, "reads 4th grade material at the >frustrational level." After instruction, your testing might say, "Reads >4th grade material at the instructional level." > >The problem with standardized tests used for this purpose is that they >really are not able to show how a person progresses. They are designed >to show how a person's performance compares to others in the same peer >group. These tests don't answer the question, what can the student do, >what does the student know? They are only a comparison (i.e. the student >knows more than some percentage of his or her peers). > >Creating your own test might be somewhat more work than the effort you >place in choosing a standardized test. It is worth the investment, >however, because you can target your measurements precisely at the >things you teach your students. You will be more likely to show student >gains because you're measuring exactly what you're teaching and what >your students are learning. With a standardized test, it is the >publisher who chooses what shall be measured, and you will need to >target your instruction to the same material if you want to be able to >show gains. If you're doing the teaching, then you should be the ones >who have control over how you measure what is learned. > >Tom Woods >Community High School of Vermont > > > >PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com wrote: > > >Hi all. > >Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure improvement > >in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to see > >learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to another in the > >course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants and I'm not > >sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no reading) to > >Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read simple > >material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound sentences > >in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can write > >simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity > and focus." > > > > > >When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document grwoth > >with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 and > >below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure > a difference > >at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. > > > >Is there anything else > >folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success objectively, > >yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? > >Thanks! > > > >Jean Marrapodi > >Providence Assembly of God Learning Center > >---------------------------------------------------- > >National Institute for Literacy > >Focus on Basics mailing list > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to belzera at rci.rutgers.edu. Alisa Belzer Associate Professor Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 Seminary Place New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (732) 932-7496 ext. 8234 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to HDOOLEY at riral.org. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Wed Feb 21 22:28:32 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:28:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 640] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? In-Reply-To: <0BF2D0726318524ABEF6D58E7BB3CCEB02682D@pdc.Riral.local> References: <0BF2D0726318524ABEF6D58E7BB3CCEB02682D@pdc.Riral.local> Message-ID: I agree with Howard...if your instruction is working and making a difference- that difference will show up on an assessment tool. I have trouble worrying too much about getting the exact perfect tool....is there such a thing? In 40 years in education, this discussion seems to go round and round, back and forth. It is good to me when the assessment: is less stressful for students, I get the information that's needed to inform instruction, the students can see their progress and the state and federal government are satisfied. Personally, I like the Eureka Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6. As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too. Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Howard Dooley Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 12:15 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 639] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? This discussion now seems to tie into a discussion recently on the Assessment Listserv re: informal assessments as compared to standardized assessments. I would guess that the main reason we are talking about standardized tests is the NRS or other accountability system that we have to report to. Now, they have as their raison d'?tre the ability to compare learners across programs - not instruction of individual learners. But, of course, as instructors we want that information and don't really have comparing our learners as a priority. So, why do we agonize about what these tests don't do? The best solution, I believe, is to use what information they provide, and imbed it into the learning. That way, you will see improvement on these tests when the time comes, but you won't be teaching to the test or expecting to build a curriculum around it. Tom Woods' suggestions about informal assessments as the real work-horse for assessing learning is the right way to go. And there will be published assessments that you will find match your instructional style and your adults learning styles, and that will be great for you. Years ago I stumbled onto K. Patricia's Cross' "Classroom Assessment Techniques", and I knew I had found a kindred spirit and guide. Keep looking, and you'll find yours, too. Let the standardized assessment do what it is intended to do, and don't worry that it won't do what you want. Let it be connected to the learning, but not the focal point of learners' knowing that they have learned. We find here that as long as our learners understand what the assessment is about, see it's relevance to their learning and the program's success, then there aren't issues about taking them or interpreting the results. Of course, if you find no points of correlation between the standardized assessment you use and your instruction, then one of them has to change! To keep them disconnected, and just say to the learners "Because we have to, to get the money!" is a solution unworthy of both us as practitioners and our learners. Howard D. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] At 10:16 PM 2/20/2007, you wrote: >I don't know how much latitude you are given in your choice of a test, >but this seems like a perfect opportunity create your own instrument >that is criterion referenced, which would be so much more informative >and useful in guiding instruction than a norm referenced test like TABE. > >Let me guess and say that basically you want to know how much each >student progresses as a result of instruction. You need to define the >areas where you want to see progress. Hopefully they will be the same >things you'll be working on during instruction. Maybe you will want to >measure things like word identification, reading fluency, comprehension, >and maybe grade level. You might choose to ask students to read a graded >list of words before instruction and after instruction to see if they >improved their word i.d. skills. You could time their reading of a >passage to measure fluency. You could ask them questions about the >passage to gauge their comprehension. For determining grade level, you >might use an accepted method, such as the Fry Readability Table, to >determine the grade level of a passage. Then you would ask the student >to read the passage while you check for accuracy and comprehension. To >measure progress, you could determine the highest level passage at which >the reader is proficient, both before and after instruction. >Alternatively, you could give the student a higher level passage and >determine his or her proficiency with it. Often, proficiency is gauged >as Independent, Instructional, or Frustrational. At the beginning of >instruction your testing might say, "reads 4th grade material at the >frustrational level." After instruction, your testing might say, "Reads >4th grade material at the instructional level." > >The problem with standardized tests used for this purpose is that they >really are not able to show how a person progresses. They are designed >to show how a person's performance compares to others in the same peer >group. These tests don't answer the question, what can the student do, >what does the student know? They are only a comparison (i.e. the student >knows more than some percentage of his or her peers). > >Creating your own test might be somewhat more work than the effort you >place in choosing a standardized test. It is worth the investment, >however, because you can target your measurements precisely at the >things you teach your students. You will be more likely to show student >gains because you're measuring exactly what you're teaching and what >your students are learning. With a standardized test, it is the >publisher who chooses what shall be measured, and you will need to >target your instruction to the same material if you want to be able to >show gains. If you're doing the teaching, then you should be the ones >who have control over how you measure what is learned. > >Tom Woods >Community High School of Vermont > > > >PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com wrote: > > >Hi all. > >Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure improvement > >in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to see > >learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to another in the > >course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants and I'm not > >sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no reading) to > >Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read simple > >material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound sentences > >in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can write > >simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity > and focus." > > > > > >When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document grwoth > >with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 and > >below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure > a difference > >at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. > > > >Is there anything else > >folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success objectively, > >yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? > >Thanks! > > > >Jean Marrapodi > >Providence Assembly of God Learning Center > >---------------------------------------------------- > >National Institute for Literacy > >Focus on Basics mailing list > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to belzera at rci.rutgers.edu. Alisa Belzer Associate Professor Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 Seminary Place New Brunswick, NJ 08901 (732) 932-7496 ext. 8234 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to HDOOLEY at riral.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Feb 22 10:47:29 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 10:47:29 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 640] See Webcast to prepare for next week's discussion! Message-ID: <45DD74C20200002D0000130B@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I want to add to the recommended reading for next week's discussion about transitions from GED to postsecondary education. I encourage you to view this webcast from the National Institute for Literacy of a panel discussion about the economic benefits of earning a GED. It is moderated by Dr. David J. Rosen, and features Dr. John Tyler, Sara Fass and Sue Snider. Please see the link below: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/ged/webcast_ged.html DVDs of this webcast are available. For copies, send an email to: info at nifl.gov with a request for the Research on the Economic Impact of the GED Diploma Panel Discussion DVD, Be sure to include number of copies requested, name, address, and phone number. All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Fri Feb 23 23:26:12 2007 From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com (PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com) Date: 24 Feb 2007 04:26:12 -0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 641] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacy learners? Message-ID: <1172291172.1813580969.15830.sendItem@bloglines.com> This was great information, Tom! Thanks so much. I'm still exploring how much latitude I've got, and will be attending a worksop on Wed where the three main players will be in attendance (BEST, TABE, CASAS) and hope to ask the reps there directly. You make great points. I hadn't thought about designing my own and incorporating the criteriaon reference aspects, but that certainly could be a closer measurement of what they're actually doing. Jean --- The Focus on Basics Discussion List but this seems like a perfect opportunity create your own instrument > that is criterion referenced, which would be so much more informative > and useful in guiding instruction than a norm referenced test like TABE. > > Let me guess and say that basically you want to know how much each > student progresses as a result of instruction. You need to define the > areas where you want to see progress. Hopefully they will be the same > things you'll be working on during instruction. Maybe you will want to > measure things like word identification, reading fluency, comprehension, > and maybe grade level. You might choose to ask students to read a graded > list of words before instruction and after instruction to see if they > improved their word i.d. skills. You could time their reading of a > passage to measure fluency. You could ask them questions about the > passage to gauge their comprehension. For determining grade level, you > might use an accepted method, such as the Fry Readability Table, to > determine the grade level of a passage. Then you would ask the student > to read the passage while you check for accuracy and comprehension. To > measure progress, you could determine the highest level passage at which > the reader is proficient, both before and after instruction. > Alternatively, you could give the student a higher level passage and > determine his or her proficiency with it. Often, proficiency is gauged > as Independent, Instructional, or Frustrational. At the beginning of > instruction your testing might say, "reads 4th grade material at the > frustrational level." After instruction, your testing might say, "Reads > 4th grade material at the instructional level." > > The problem with standardized tests used for this purpose is that they > really are not able to show how a person progresses. They are designed > to show how a person's performance compares to others in the same peer > group. These tests don't answer the question, what can the student do, > what does the student know? They are only a comparison (i.e. the student > knows more than some percentage of his or her peers). > > Creating your own test might be somewhat more work than the effort you > place in choosing a standardized test. It is worth the investment, > however, because you can target your measurements precisely at the > things you teach your students. You will be more likely to show student > gains because you're measuring exactly what you're teaching and what > your students are learning. With a standardized test, it is the > publisher who chooses what shall be measured, and you will need to > target your instruction to the same material if you want to be able to > show gains. If you're doing the teaching, then you should be the ones > who have control over how you measure what is learned. > > Tom Woods > Community High School of Vermont > > > > PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com wrote: > > >Hi all. > >Does anyone out there have a test that can be used to measure improvement > >in the lowest literacy learners? I'm looking at a grant that wants to see > >learners move from one EFL (educational functioning level) to another in the > >course of a year. I'm working with pre-literate adult immigrants and I'm not > >sure that we'll be able to get from Beginning ABE Literacy (no reading) to > >Beginning Basic Education which is defined as "Individual can read simple > >material on familiar subjects and comprehend simple and compound sentences > >in single or linked paragraphs containing a familiar vocabulary; can write > >simple notes and messages on familiar situations but lacks clarity and focus." > > > > > >When I inquired about it, I was told that I should look to document grwoth > >with another assessment. TABE is below 367 at this level, CASAS is 200 and > >below and ABLE at 523. Are any of these granular enough to measure a difference > >at this level? I'm not super familiar with them. > > > >Is there anything else > >folks have used with pre-literate students to measure success objectively, > >yet not have the student "fail" 3/4 of the test to measure growth? > >Thanks! > > > >Jean Marrapodi > >Providence Assembly of God Learning Center > >---------------------------------------------------- > >National Institute for Literacy > >Focus on Basics mailing list > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com. > From PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Fri Feb 23 23:27:56 2007 From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com (PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com) Date: 24 Feb 2007 04:27:56 -0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 642] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? Message-ID: <1172291276.2167056525.25715.sendItem@bloglines.com> Julie-- Forgive my ignorance. What's WJIII? Jean --- The Focus on Basics Discussion List Spelling of Sounds, Sound Awareness) to get a baseline functioning level with low > level readers. However, these tests do not necessarily allow for progress to > be measured, when re-testing after a year of tutoring in a structured, > phonics-based literacy program. > > Julie Ennis M.ED > Education Consultant > Fairfax VA > _julieennis at aol.com_ (mailto:julieennis at aol.com) > > From PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Fri Feb 23 23:39:26 2007 From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com (PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com) Date: 24 Feb 2007 04:39:26 -0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 643] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? Message-ID: <1172291966.1001706068.1378.sendItem@bloglines.com> I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer". Do you let your students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those ideas? Thanks for sharing it. Jean Personally, I like the Eureka Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6. As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too. > Va From JulieEnnis at aol.com Sun Feb 25 13:34:54 2007 From: JulieEnnis at aol.com (JulieEnnis at aol.com) Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 13:34:54 EST Subject: [FocusOnBasics 642] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? Message-ID: Jean- The WJIII is the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement (3rd edition). I do not use the entire battery, just selected tests related to reading. These tests are normed for adults to aged 89, so can be quite useful. However, they only provide a baseline of functioning and do not work so well if you want to measure progress. I am still searching for something that will work better for that purpose. Julie Ennis M.ED Education Consultant Fairfax VA


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AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070225/22c56e34/attachment.html From rhondahammons1 at msn.com Sun Feb 25 16:00:22 2007 From: rhondahammons1 at msn.com (rhonda hammons) Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 13:00:22 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 643] Teaching the Undocumented Learning Disabled Adult Message-ID: ----- Original Message ----- From: rhonda hammons To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 12:32 PM Hello, everyone. Some of my fellow correctional educators and I are participating in a class on teaching the adult correctional (prison) student. We have identified a question in our studies that we would like for the members of the list serve to help us answer. "What instructional strategies have been found effective or are being experimented with in teaching the undocumented adult special education learner in such areas as: reintegration skills, retention skills, or general study skills?" Our students are incarcerated in correctional facilities throughout the central United States. We welcome any idea, comment or encouragement that the participants in the list serve may be able to direct to us. Thank you, Rhonda Hammons Rhondahammons1 at msn.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070225/d278c7ee/attachment.html From lanarita at sbcglobal.net Sun Feb 25 21:11:37 2007 From: lanarita at sbcglobal.net (Tim Lanari) Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 18:11:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention? In-Reply-To: <1172291966.1001706068.1378.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: <597704.74040.qm@web83212.mail.mud.yahoo.com> As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning. What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention? PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com wrote: I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer". Do you let your students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those ideas? Thanks for sharing it. Jean Personally, I like the Eureka Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6. As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too. > Va ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to lanarita at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070225/6360e22b/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Feb 26 10:04:48 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:04:48 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 645] Welcome to our discussion: Transition from GED to Postsecondary Education! Message-ID: <45E2B0C00200002D00001391@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am pleased to welcome you to our discussion on tranisitioning from getting a GED to enrolling in postsecondary education. We will hear from our guest speakers, Barbara Garner, Cynthia Zafft and Sandy Goodman, and hopefully from many of you as we discuss the findings of John Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom, which are described in the article below. Our plan was to first hear an overview of the research and its implications from Barbara Garner, but her introductory message has been lost in transit, and she is stuck in Denver without e-mail access (due to snow and flight cancellations). Hopefully she will be here tomorrow! In the meantime, I would like to invite you all to send in comments about your reaction to the findings of this study. Cynthia and Sandy will also introduce themselves, and discuss transition strategies after we have covered the research implications. All the best, Julie ************************************ February 26 - March 2 Transition from GED to Postsecondary Education This will focus on the results of a study by NCSALL researcher John Tyler of Brown University and colleague Magnus Lofstrom of the University of Texas at Dallas. The study found a low rate of enrollment in postsecondary education among GED holders as compared with high school graduates, and is described in Tyler?s article in FOB 8C, ?Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education??. Barbara Garner, editor of Focus on Basics, will introduce the findings, and then Cynthia Zafft, Director of the National College Transitions Network, and Sandy Goodman, Director, New England College Transition Project at World Education, Inc. will discuss promising strategies that are being done to address this issue. *************************** Recommended Reading: Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education? A Conversation with John Tyler by Barbara Garner http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1155 Recognizing that high school is not enough, growing numbers of adult basic education programs (ABE) are emphasizing the transition to postsecondary education. What impact does earning a certificate of General Educational Development (GED) have on the post secondary enrollment of high school dropouts? Brown University professor and NCSALL researcher John Tyler and a colleague, Magnus Lofstrom of the University of Texas at Dallas, examined this question using data from Texas. Focus on Basics asked John Tyler to summarize the results and discuss the questions they raise. **************************** Webcast from the National Institute for Literacy: Research on the Economic Impact of the GED Diploma Panel Discussion Moderated by Dr. David J. Rosen, and featuring Dr. John Tyler, Sara Fass and Sue Snider. http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/ged/webcast_ged.html ********************************** Focus on Basics, Transitions Issue (6D) http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=154 This contains several articles about different aspects of transitions. **************************************** Guest Speakers: Barb Garner was the editor of all 31 issues of "Focus on Basics", and co-author with Sara Fass of "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future." Having studied statistics with researcher John Tyler, she enjoys working with him to make sure his research findings reach the adult basic education community. Cynthia Zafft, MA, is the director of the National College Transition Network (NCTN), a network to support ABE staff, programs, and state programs in establishing and strengthening ABE-to-college transition services through technical assistance, professional development, collegial sharing, advocacy and increased visibility for this critical sector of the adult basic education system. Prior to coming to World Education, Cynthia coordinated several federally-funded postsecondary education transition projects for the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. The ICI is part of a national network of university-acts research, and provides assistance to organizations to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in school, work, and community activities. Sandy Goodman has been the Director of the New England College Transition Project at the New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education since November 2006. Prior to joining the College Transitions team, she directed a career ladders project under the Skillworks initiative called Partnership for Automotive Career Education (PACE) and facilitated collaboration between community based organizations, post-secondary and secondary education institutions, and private sector employers. Before PACE, she directed a community based ABE program in Boston that served approximately 400 people each year, and was also active in a number of city and statewide planning and advocacy efforts. She has a BA in Women's Studies/Social Thought and Political Economy from UMass, Amherst and an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government. When: Feb.26-March 2. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From cynthia_zafft at worlded.org Mon Feb 26 09:59:10 2007 From: cynthia_zafft at worlded.org (Cynthia Zafft) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 09:59:10 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion -- Greetings! Message-ID: <45E2AF6E0200008800002F05@bostongwia.jsi.com> Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There?s a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John?s work. In the FOB article, ?Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?? you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Feb 26 11:35:50 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:35:50 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] Transitions overview and questions from Barb Garner Message-ID: <45E2C6160200002D000013C3@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, While Barb is still snowbound, I have at least found her opening message for this discussion. It is pasted below. For those who don't know, Barb Garner was the editor of all 31 issues of "Focus on Basics", and co-author with Sara Fass of "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future." Having studied statistics with researcher John Tyler, she enjoys working with him to make sure his research findings reach the adult basic education community. All the best, Julie ******************** >From Barb: It?s pretty common knowledge these days that at least some college is necessary for economic success. Growing numbers of ABE programs are putting into place transition programs to help their learners enter and succeed in postsecondary school. And, many GED students cite entry into college as one of the reasons they?re getting their GEDs. With all that motivation, one might think that GED holders would be enrolling in postsecondary schools in droves. Are they? Researchers John Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom examined the impact that earning a GED has on the postsecondary enrollment of high school dropouts, relative to what would have happened to dropouts had they stayed in school. Setting up the research question this way, they hoped to capture the role of the GED (vs. other factors) in postsecondary enrollment. Their study, using data from Texas, revealed that only 20 percent of Texas GED holders enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Texas within three years of getting a GED. In contrast, 38 percent of high school completers with profiles similar to the GED holders were enrolled in postsecondary education within 3 years. Other data show that GED holders were achieving Associate?s degrees at lower rates than high school completers with similar profiles. Why are GED holders failing to enter college at the rates one might assume (and hope) they would? Tyler notes that the data they used was from 2001, and therefore wouldn?t reflect growing attempts on the part of ABE programs to ensure that students enter and succeed in postsecondary. What do you know about the students who earn GEDs at your program? Are they entering college? If not, what's keeping them from doing so? What might help them? Since more high school completers with academic skills similar to those of GED holders enter college than do GED holders, a case could be made that more emphasis should be placed on re-enrolling high school leavers back into high school. Any thoughts on this? Barb Garner **************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From cynthia_zafft at worlded.org Mon Feb 26 11:45:07 2007 From: cynthia_zafft at worlded.org (Cynthia Zafft) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:45:07 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why so few go on? Message-ID: <45E2C8430200008800002F22@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone: While we wait for Barb to dig herself out of the snow, I was wondering if others might want to just jump into the discussion. What do people think about the low number of GED holders that do go on? I was actually wondering if the "low" percentage of those enrolling in postsecondary education in Texas, 20 percent, might sound "high" in some places. And, what does the term postsecondary education really include? Do you find that more of your students feel the pressure to go on, especially if many of the jobs that pay more than minimum wage require postsecondary education? Is it still a pretty hard sell? And, if students say they are going on, what do you hear back from them about their experience? For those of you with transition components, what have you found? Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org From barguedas at sfccnm.edu Mon Feb 26 11:05:02 2007 From: barguedas at sfccnm.edu (Barbara Arguedas) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 09:05:02 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Message-ID: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C191@ex01.sfcc.edu> I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. From amuro5 at epcc.edu Mon Feb 26 12:25:40 2007 From: amuro5 at epcc.edu (Muro, Andres) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:25:40 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 649] Re: Teaching the Undocumented Learning DisabledAdult In-Reply-To: Message-ID: A good strategy is for them to talk and write about their personal experiences, their history, their struggles as immigrants, etc. They have fascinating stories to tell. Take a look at: http://bordersenses.com/memorias The above collections have been written by immigrant students. Click on the books on the right hand side to see the stories and poems. While they are written in Spanish, some have been translated. Andres ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of rhonda hammons Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 2:00 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Cc: learningdisabilities at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 643] Teaching the Undocumented Learning DisabledAdult ----- Original Message ----- From: rhonda hammons To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 12:32 PM Hello, everyone. Some of my fellow correctional educators and I are participating in a class on teaching the adult correctional (prison) student. We have identified a question in our studies that we would like for the members of the list serve to help us answer. "What instructional strategies have been found effective or are being experimented with in teaching the undocumented adult special education learner in such areas as: reintegration skills, retention skills, or general study skills?" Our students are incarcerated in correctional facilities throughout the central United States. We welcome any idea, comment or encouragement that the participants in the list serve may be able to direct to us. Thank you, Rhonda Hammons Rhondahammons1 at msn.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070226/405e65c9/attachment.html From amuro5 at epcc.edu Mon Feb 26 12:46:22 2007 From: amuro5 at epcc.edu (Muro, Andres) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:46:22 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 650] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why so few goon? In-Reply-To: <45E2C8430200008800002F22@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: I think that last week there was a question about the reason for there being more HS grads than GED grads going to college. I think that the reason is pretty obvious. Many immigrants and HS drop outs seek to get employment. At some point they realize that it is hard to get employed w/o a GED. They seek a GED certificate to improve their chances to get employed or better paying jobs. Many do not see themselves as college material. Transitional programs are an indispensable tool to ensure that GED students consider college as an alternative. In our program we have been transitioning students from GED to college for many years. We have identified barriers that have to do with access as well as with retention. In terms of access, GED grads do not generally see themselves as college prospects. They are intimidated by the whole idea of the college setting which represents an alien world to them. College admissions processes are very intimidating, bureaucratic, harsh and unfriendly. They serve as the first funnel. People need to be very committed to the whole college idea before approaching such an environment. GED students and GED grads are often reluctant about the idea of college. The first barrier that faces them will lead to them giving up. A transition program needs to consider the above an integrate strategies to address this. Moreover, it is better if the transition program is integrated into the GED instruction. Once students get their GED certificates they are gone. If students complete the whole admissions process before they earn their GEDs, there won't be a gap that can increase the chances of students not getting into college. In terms of retention, studies show that the first college semester has they highest rate of drop outs. There are multiple reasons for this that have to do with becoming a skilled student that go beyond academics. Students that master these skills will succeed and those that don't will have an awful time. A transition program ought to include a retention component that supports the students for the first couple of semesters and offers activities that build the students' skills. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 9:45 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why so few goon? Hi Everyone: While we wait for Barb to dig herself out of the snow, I was wondering if others might want to just jump into the discussion. What do people think about the low number of GED holders that do go on? I was actually wondering if the "low" percentage of those enrolling in postsecondary education in Texas, 20 percent, might sound "high" in some places. And, what does the term postsecondary education really include? Do you find that more of your students feel the pressure to go on, especially if many of the jobs that pay more than minimum wage require postsecondary education? Is it still a pretty hard sell? And, if students say they are going on, what do you hear back from them about their experience? For those of you with transition components, what have you found? Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. From jstrawn at clasp.org Mon Feb 26 12:44:25 2007 From: jstrawn at clasp.org (Julie Strawn) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:44:25 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 651] state and federal policy barriers References: <45E2B0C00200002D00001391@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <319C1E32908F254BB662F59E0BA057F0033029@srvmail.clasporg.local> My colleague Amy-Ellen Duke and I have been looking at various transition strategies for students seeking to move from adult ed/ESL to postsecondary education and training, including integrated and dual enrollment models. We often hear that local programs bump up against state and federal policy barriers in their transition efforts. We would be very interested in hearing about specific policy issues that have arisen in your work, whether those arise from adult ed/ESL policies at the state or federal level, or from WIA Title I policies or from higher education policies. Thank you, Julie Julie Strawn Center for Law and Social Policy 2240 Forest Street Denver CO 80207 720-941-1665 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Julie McKinney Sent: Mon 2/26/2007 10:04 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 645] Welcome to our discussion: Transition from GEDto Postsecondary Education! Hi Everyone, I am pleased to welcome you to our discussion on tranisitioning from getting a GED to enrolling in postsecondary education. We will hear from our guest speakers, Barbara Garner, Cynthia Zafft and Sandy Goodman, and hopefully from many of you as we discuss the findings of John Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom, which are described in the article below. Our plan was to first hear an overview of the research and its implications from Barbara Garner, but her introductory message has been lost in transit, and she is stuck in Denver without e-mail access (due to snow and flight cancellations). Hopefully she will be here tomorrow! In the meantime, I would like to invite you all to send in comments about your reaction to the findings of this study. Cynthia and Sandy will also introduce themselves, and discuss transition strategies after we have covered the research implications. All the best, Julie ************************************ February 26 - March 2 Transition from GED to Postsecondary Education This will focus on the results of a study by NCSALL researcher John Tyler of Brown University and colleague Magnus Lofstrom of the University of Texas at Dallas. The study found a low rate of enrollment in postsecondary education among GED holders as compared with high school graduates, and is described in Tyler's article in FOB 8C, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?". Barbara Garner, editor of Focus on Basics, will introduce the findings, and then Cynthia Zafft, Director of the National College Transitions Network, and Sandy Goodman, Director, New England College Transition Project at World Education, Inc. will discuss promising strategies that are being done to address this issue. *************************** Recommended Reading: Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education? A Conversation with John Tyler by Barbara Garner http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1155 Recognizing that high school is not enough, growing numbers of adult basic education programs (ABE) are emphasizing the transition to postsecondary education. What impact does earning a certificate of General Educational Development (GED) have on the post secondary enrollment of high school dropouts? Brown University professor and NCSALL researcher John Tyler and a colleague, Magnus Lofstrom of the University of Texas at Dallas, examined this question using data from Texas. Focus on Basics asked John Tyler to summarize the results and discuss the questions they raise. **************************** Webcast from the National Institute for Literacy: Research on the Economic Impact of the GED Diploma Panel Discussion Moderated by Dr. David J. Rosen, and featuring Dr. John Tyler, Sara Fass and Sue Snider. http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/ged/webcast_ged.html ********************************** Focus on Basics, Transitions Issue (6D) http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=154 This contains several articles about different aspects of transitions. **************************************** Guest Speakers: Barb Garner was the editor of all 31 issues of "Focus on Basics", and co-author with Sara Fass of "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future." Having studied statistics with researcher John Tyler, she enjoys working with him to make sure his research findings reach the adult basic education community. Cynthia Zafft, MA, is the director of the National College Transition Network (NCTN), a network to support ABE staff, programs, and state programs in establishing and strengthening ABE-to-college transition services through technical assistance, professional development, collegial sharing, advocacy and increased visibility for this critical sector of the adult basic education system. Prior to coming to World Education, Cynthia coordinated several federally-funded postsecondary education transition projects for the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. The ICI is part of a national network of university-acts research, and provides assistance to organizations to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in school, work, and community activities. Sandy Goodman has been the Director of the New England College Transition Project at the New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education since November 2006. Prior to joining the College Transitions team, she directed a career ladders project under the Skillworks initiative called Partnership for Automotive Career Education (PACE) and facilitated collaboration between community based organizations, post-secondary and secondary education institutions, and private sector employers. Before PACE, she directed a community based ABE program in Boston that served approximately 400 people each year, and was also active in a number of city and statewide planning and advocacy efforts. She has a BA in Women's Studies/Social Thought and Political Economy from UMass, Amherst and an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government. When: Feb.26-March 2. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jstrawn at clasp.org. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 5886 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070226/c39b22f7/attachment.bin From amuro5 at epcc.edu Mon Feb 26 12:49:01 2007 From: amuro5 at epcc.edu (Muro, Andres) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:49:01 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 652] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C191@ex01.sfcc.edu> Message-ID: Barbara: What you describe is more of a retention model, which is a very important component of a good transition program. However, the first part of a good transition program has to do with access, as I describe in another email. Once you get students in, you need to support them to make sure that they stay. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 9:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. From cynthia_zafft at worlded.org Mon Feb 26 15:05:02 2007 From: cynthia_zafft at worlded.org (Cynthia Zafft) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 15:05:02 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 653] about counting students Message-ID: <45E2F71E0200008800002F5E@bostongwia.jsi.com> Dear Julie and Barbara Going back to Barbara's earlier question about how programs count students...students enrolled for college credit classes who may also be enrolled in ABE. Barbara mentioned that... these students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE and she would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether they count these students in their ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Julie, in the publication you recently co-authored ("Working Together: Aligning State Systems and Policies for Individual and Regional Prosperity") you mention dual enrollment and other "blended models." Would these be similar to what Barbara is doing and did you find that other programs shared her concern? How did they deal with this issue? To read "Working Together" go to the CLASP website at http://www.clasp.org/publications/wsc_working_together.pdf Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org From jrivera at coloradomtn.edu Mon Feb 26 15:27:06 2007 From: jrivera at coloradomtn.edu (Rivera, Janet) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:27:06 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 654] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <31968B8B6A1EC14298B0DDD300C376E6851EED@CMCMAIL1.cmc.cmc> I agree with Mr. Muro's findings. However, I would add to this that many of our GED to college students leave after the first semester of college due to the high cost of college. The GED student may have come to me at first without the thought of college, just wanted a GED to improve employment, as mentioned. I can convince him to try college, convince him he can be successful at college, and support him through the first semester with study skills and other support, but unless I can give him financial assistance, I will probably lose him. In the original study that we are discussing, were the 20% of high school students who went on to college "with a similar background" to the GED students also doing this on their own without any financial assistance from parents? I am not surprised that after three years, the average completion is only 7 college credits. However, this is probably close to other students who come to college as adults who have worked and still need to work while they are studying. They work full-time, have a family, and go to college part-time. Most of them take a class or two each semester. They may quit during a peak work time, and come back at another time. This is similar to my GED to college students if they don't drop out after the first semester. At our college, we have offered the GED graduate his first college class free of charge as an incentive. Still, we can get him to come to that first class, but not come back for more. Janet Rivera Colorado Mountain College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Muro, Andres Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:46 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 650] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? I think that last week there was a question about the reason for there being more HS grads than GED grads going to college. I think that the reason is pretty obvious. Many immigrants and HS drop outs seek to get employment. At some point they realize that it is hard to get employed w/o a GED. They seek a GED certificate to improve their chances to get employed or better paying jobs. Many do not see themselves as college material. Transitional programs are an indispensable tool to ensure that GED students consider college as an alternative. In our program we have been transitioning students from GED to college for many years. We have identified barriers that have to do with access as well as with retention. In terms of access, GED grads do not generally see themselves as college prospects. They are intimidated by the whole idea of the college setting which represents an alien world to them. College admissions processes are very intimidating, bureaucratic, harsh and unfriendly. They serve as the first funnel. People need to be very committed to the whole college idea before approaching such an environment. GED students and GED grads are often reluctant about the idea of college. The first barrier that faces them will lead to them giving up. A transition program needs to consider the above an integrate strategies to address this. Moreover, it is better if the transition program is integrated into the GED instruction. Once students get their GED certificates they are gone. If students complete the whole admissions process before they earn their GEDs, there won't be a gap that can increase the chances of students not getting into college. In terms of retention, studies show that the first college semester has they highest rate of drop outs. There are multiple reasons for this that have to do with becoming a skilled student that go beyond academics. Students that master these skills will succeed and those that don't will have an awful time. A transition program ought to include a retention component that supports the students for the first couple of semesters and offers activities that build the students' skills. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 9:45 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why so few goon? Hi Everyone: While we wait for Barb to dig herself out of the snow, I was wondering if others might want to just jump into the discussion. What do people think about the low number of GED holders that do go on? I was actually wondering if the "low" percentage of those enrolling in postsecondary education in Texas, 20 percent, might sound "high" in some places. And, what does the term postsecondary education really include? Do you find that more of your students feel the pressure to go on, especially if many of the jobs that pay more than minimum wage require postsecondary education? Is it still a pretty hard sell? And, if students say they are going on, what do you hear back from them about their experience? For those of you with transition components, what have you found? Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jrivera at coloradomtn.edu. From jrivera at coloradomtn.edu Mon Feb 26 15:27:54 2007 From: jrivera at coloradomtn.edu (Rivera, Janet) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:27:54 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 655] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C191@ex01.sfcc.edu> Message-ID: <31968B8B6A1EC14298B0DDD300C376E6851EEF@CMCMAIL1.cmc.cmc> We do the same at Colorado Mountain College. Yes, we count them as ABE students for funding purposes. Janet Rivera -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 9:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jrivera at coloradomtn.edu. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Feb 26 15:36:53 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:36:53 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 656] Re: [Possible Spam] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? In-Reply-To: <1172291966.1001706068.1378.sendItem@bloglines.com> References: <1172291966.1001706068.1378.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: Actually tracking Eureka moments is a great graphing exercise and can lead to management by statistics. If your students' graphs are going up, then what you are doing instructionally is working; if not the instruction needs to be changed. I like the bell ringer idea too! -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 8:39 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [Possible Spam] [FocusOnBasics 643] Re: Diagnostic assessment for lowest literacylearners? Importance: Low I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer". Do you let your students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those ideas? Thanks for sharing it. Jean Personally, I like the Eureka Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6. As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too. > Va ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Feb 26 15:46:32 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention? In-Reply-To: <597704.74040.qm@web83212.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <1172291966.1001706068.1378.sendItem@bloglines.com> <597704.74040.qm@web83212.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Have you had any training with visual learning? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays. Va ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Tim Lanari Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 6:12 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention? As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning. What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention? PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com wrote: I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer". Do you let your students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those ideas? Thanks for sharing it. Jean Personally, I like the Eureka Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6. As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too. > Va ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to lanarita at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070226/b133582a/attachment.html From sandy_goodman at worlded.org Mon Feb 26 16:12:09 2007 From: sandy_goodman at worlded.org (Sandy Goodman) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:12:09 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 658] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why so few go on? In-Reply-To: <31968B8B6A1EC14298B0DDD300C376E6851EED@CMCMAIL1.cmc.cmc> References: <31968B8B6A1EC14298B0DDD300C376E6851EED@CMCMAIL1.cmc.cmc> Message-ID: <45E306D8.C96D.0057.0@worlded.org> Hello all - Sandy Goodman here of the New England College Transition Project. I agree that financing a college education is also one of the huge barriers to college for adult students. And although we could never claim that a college transition program can remove that barrier entirely (even when they can provide free credits, which is fantastic) providing information about financial planning and college financing - Pell grants, scholarships, etc. is a very valuable program component. Mapping Your Financial Journey: Helping Adults Plan for College is a publication that NCTN developed with the National Endowment for Financial Literacy. For a sample view of the publication and ordering information (shipping and handling costs) see our website http://www.collegetransition.org/index.html The academic aim of preparing students to score higher on college placement tests is also a financing strategy, because the fewer developmental ed courses a student has to take, the less money s/he is paying for college, and the more their financial aid money can be put to good use of credit-bearing courses. Best - Sandy Director, New England College Transition Project New England Literacy Resource Center World Education 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 Phone: (617) 482-9485 ext. 514 Fax: (617) 482-0617 www.nelrc.org www.collegetransition.org >>> "Rivera, Janet" 2/26/2007 3:27 PM >>> I agree with Mr. Muro's findings. However, I would add to this that many of our GED to college students leave after the first semester of college due to the high cost of college. The GED student may have come to me at first without the thought of college, just wanted a GED to improve employment, as mentioned. I can convince him to try college, convince him he can be successful at college, and support him through the first semester with study skills and other support, but unless I can give him financial assistance, I will probably lose him. In the original study that we are discussing, were the 20% of high school students who went on to college "with a similar background" to the GED students also doing this on their own without any financial assistance from parents? I am not surprised that after three years, the average completion is only 7 college credits. However, this is probably close to other students who come to college as adults who have worked and still need to work while they are studying. They work full-time, have a family, and go to college part-time. Most of them take a class or two each semester. They may quit during a peak work time, and come back at another time. This is similar to my GED to college students if they don't drop out after the first semester. At our college, we have offered the GED graduate his first college class free of charge as an incentive. Still, we can get him to come to that first class, but not come back for more. Janet Rivera Colorado Mountain College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Muro, Andres Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:46 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 650] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? I think that last week there was a question about the reason for there being more HS grads than GED grads going to college. I think that the reason is pretty obvious. Many immigrants and HS drop outs seek to get employment. At some point they realize that it is hard to get employed w/o a GED. They seek a GED certificate to improve their chances to get employed or better paying jobs. Many do not see themselves as college material. Transitional programs are an indispensable tool to ensure that GED students consider college as an alternative. In our program we have been transitioning students from GED to college for many years. We have identified barriers that have to do with access as well as with retention. In terms of access, GED grads do not generally see themselves as college prospects. They are intimidated by the whole idea of the college setting which represents an alien world to them. College admissions processes are very intimidating, bureaucratic, harsh and unfriendly. They serve as the first funnel. People need to be very committed to the whole college idea before approaching such an environment. GED students and GED grads are often reluctant about the idea of college. The first barrier that faces them will lead to them giving up. A transition program needs to consider the above an integrate strategies to address this. Moreover, it is better if the transition program is integrated into the GED instruction. Once students get their GED certificates they are gone. If students complete the whole admissions process before they earn their GEDs, there won't be a gap that can increase the chances of students not getting into college. In terms of retention, studies show that the first college semester has they highest rate of drop outs. There are multiple reasons for this that have to do with becoming a skilled student that go beyond academics. Students that master these skills will succeed and those that don't will have an awful time. A transition program ought to include a retention component that supports the students for the first couple of semesters and offers activities that build the students' skills. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 9:45 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why so few goon? Hi Everyone: While we wait for Barb to dig herself out of the snow, I was wondering if others might want to just jump into the discussion. What do people think about the low number of GED holders that do go on? I was actually wondering if the "low" percentage of those enrolling in postsecondary education in Texas, 20 percent, might sound "high" in some places. And, what does the term postsecondary education really include? Do you find that more of your students feel the pressure to go on, especially if many of the jobs that pay more than minimum wage require postsecondary education? Is it still a pretty hard sell? And, if students say they are going on, what do you hear back from them about their experience? For those of you with transition components, what have you found? Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jrivera at coloradomtn.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sgoodman at worlded.org. From Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us Mon Feb 26 14:22:15 2007 From: Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us (Brown, Charlene) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 14:22:15 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 659] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C191@ex01.sfcc.edu> Message-ID: We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. From pmfreiermuth at prodigy.net Mon Feb 26 18:04:21 2007 From: pmfreiermuth at prodigy.net (PAULA FREIERMUTH) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 15:04:21 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 660] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! In-Reply-To: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C191@ex01.sfcc.edu> Message-ID: <20070226230421.62857.qmail@web81211.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Barbara, We also have a similar type of transition model. Students are enrolled as ABE students with our program (Osseo Adult and Family Learning) and with North Hennepin Community College. Students have ABE classes and supplemental instruction on the college campus. Their time with ABE is counted by ABE; students also have to complete all intake and post-testing requirements. Paula Freiermuth Instructor, GED Preparation and Post-Secondary Transition Osseo Adult and Family Learning 7051 Brooklyn Blvd. Brooklyn Center, MN 55429 Barbara Arguedas wrote: I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to pmfreiermuth at prodigy.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070226/54b52928/attachment.html From KHinson at almanid.com Mon Feb 26 21:12:35 2007 From: KHinson at almanid.com (Katrina Hinson) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:12:35 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: References: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C191@ex01.sfcc.edu> Message-ID: <45E34D3D.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. From petersonnh at billings.k12.mt.us Mon Feb 26 21:35:51 2007 From: petersonnh at billings.k12.mt.us (Norene Peterson) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:35:51 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 662] Re: GED to Postsecondary EducationDiscussion--Greetings! References: Message-ID: <8728940CA8973249ABCFCF502B57BF2204783F0E@exchange.billings.k12.mt.us> For a long time if we were providing ABE services to our "college" students, we were able to count them as ABE students. We can no longer count dual-enrolled students for funding purposes; therefore, once our students enroll in college, they are no longer eligible for our services -- something that many of them could still use. NP =) Norene Peterson Adult Education Center 415 N. 30th Billings, MT 59101 petersonnh at billings.k12.mt.us ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Brown, Charlene Sent: Mon 2/26/2007 12:22 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 659] Re: GED to Postsecondary EducationDiscussion--Greetings! We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to PETERSONNH at billings.k12.mt.us. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070226/af6b2e43/attachment.html From sandy_goodman at worlded.org Mon Feb 26 22:17:41 2007 From: sandy_goodman at worlded.org (Sandy Goodman) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:17:41 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 663] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! Message-ID: <45E35C85020000570000213F@bostongwia.jsi.com> Wow, Katrina's posting is a powerful reminder of how important simply asking the question is and how the right questions can begin to open up new awareness and possibilities. I am wondering if you have developed a standard set of questions that you use in goal setting/education and career planning with students or if your process is more informal? I am also wondering if anyone uses and would recommend any of the career assessment/inventory tools that are out there? - Sandy >>> "Katrina Hinson" 02/26/07 9:12 PM >>> I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sgoodman at worlded.org. From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Tue Feb 27 00:25:30 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:25:30 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 664] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? Message-ID: <865089.11903.qm@web83312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Though I'm currently not in an adult education program per se, a lot of our college students are under prepared; there's a huge skills gap that faculty initiatives are beginning to address; if anyone has any research related not just to "multi-level" but more like "differentiated"--in terms of metacognitive skills levels in "being a good student," being intrinsically motivated, as well as more measurable "conventional" skills. We're trying to add to a college success seminar for freshmen a lot of self-assessment in "soft skills" and align them with college success and career success. I would say that our students correspond to a large degree with"HS students with a similar background;" and are terribly naive, and I'm afraid for them around the financial end of things. In terms of access, they can get in, but are not necessarily given the degree of support they need. Perhaps our taking the initiative and linking with an adult ed program as well as high schools would be a possibility, but it would involve an entire philosophy of education as community outreach rather than a "for profit" bottom line, with improved quality of students, which, unfortunately, is where my institution is heading. I want to ensure that this process of integrating under prepared students with the college community be cone with as much integrity as possible: the"sell" for college these days, as it is for GED, is to go to a"get a job," or do better financially, not to "get an education," let alone "be educated," whatever that means : looking at the 'big picture," thinking outside the box, higher order thinking skills, self-awareness and reflection.... Best, Bonnie Odiorne, Adjunct Professor and Writing Center Director, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: "Rivera, Janet" To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 3:27:06 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 654] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? I agree with Mr. Muro's findings. However, I would add to this that many of our GED to college students leave after the first semester of college due to the high cost of college. The GED student may have come to me at first without the thought of college, just wanted a GED to improve employment, as mentioned. I can convince him to try college, convince him he can be successful at college, and support him through the first semester with study skills and other support, but unless I can give him financial assistance, I will probably lose him. In the original study that we are discussing, were the 20% of high school students who went on to college "with a similar background" to the GED students also doing this on their own without any financial assistance from parents? I am not surprised that after three years, the average completion is only 7 college credits. However, this is probably close to other students who come to college as adults who have worked and still need to work while they are studying. They work full-time, have a family, and go to college part-time. Most of them take a class or two each semester. They may quit during a peak work time, and come back at another time. This is similar to my GED to college students if they don't drop out after the first semester. At our college, we have offered the GED graduate his first college class free of charge as an incentive. Still, we can get him to come to that first class, but not come back for more. Janet Rivera Colorado Mountain College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Muro, Andres Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:46 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 650] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? I think that last week there was a question about the reason for there being more HS grads than GED grads going to college. I think that the reason is pretty obvious. Many immigrants and HS drop outs seek to get employment. At some point they realize that it is hard to get employed w/o a GED. They seek a GED certificate to improve their chances to get employed or better paying jobs. Many do not see themselves as college material. Transitional programs are an indispensable tool to ensure that GED students consider college as an alternative. In our program we have been transitioning students from GED to college for many years. We have identified barriers that have to do with access as well as with retention. In terms of access, GED grads do not generally see themselves as college prospects. They are intimidated by the whole idea of the college setting which represents an alien world to them. College admissions processes are very intimidating, bureaucratic, harsh and unfriendly. They serve as the first funnel. People need to be very committed to the whole college idea before approaching such an environment. GED students and GED grads are often reluctant about the idea of college. The first barrier that faces them will lead to them giving up. A transition program needs to consider the above an integrate strategies to address this. Moreover, it is better if the transition program is integrated into the GED instruction. Once students get their GED certificates they are gone. If students complete the whole admissions process before they earn their GEDs, there won't be a gap that can increase the chances of students not getting into college. In terms of retention, studies show that the first college semester has they highest rate of drop outs. There are multiple reasons for this that have to do with becoming a skilled student that go beyond academics. Students that master these skills will succeed and those that don't will have an awful time. A transition program ought to include a retention component that supports the students for the first couple of semesters and offers activities that build the students' skills. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 9:45 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why so few goon? Hi Everyone: While we wait for Barb to dig herself out of the snow, I was wondering if others might want to just jump into the discussion. What do people think about the low number of GED holders that do go on? I was actually wondering if the "low" percentage of those enrolling in postsecondary education in Texas, 20 percent, might sound "high" in some places. And, what does the term postsecondary education really include? Do you find that more of your students feel the pressure to go on, especially if many of the jobs that pay more than minimum wage require postsecondary education? Is it still a pretty hard sell? And, if students say they are going on, what do you hear back from them about their experience? For those of you with transition components, what have you found? Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jrivera at coloradomtn.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070226/95391e62/attachment.html From hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu Tue Feb 27 08:16:04 2007 From: hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu (Hal Beder) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:16:04 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 665] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? In-Reply-To: <31968B8B6A1EC14298B0DDD300C376E6851EED@CMCMAIL1.cmc.cmc> References: <31968B8B6A1EC14298B0DDD300C376E6851EED@CMCMAIL1.cmc.cmc> Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20070227081227.02c1ca18@rci.rutgers.edu> There is a National data set called the NPSAS that has a great deal of data on post secondary education and also has GED as a variable. Here is some data from the NPSAS that partially explains why GED students are less likely to complete. When it comes to postsecondary education then, adult literacy education graduates struggle. They are less likely to enroll than traditional high school graduates. They are less likely to complete, and in community colleges, they are more likely to be assigned to developmental skills The questions is: why? A large part of the answer comes from the simple fact that they are adults and have all the responsibilities of adulthood that interfere with education. While the mean age for traditional high school graduates enrolled in postsecondary education is 26, the mean age for GED graduates is 32. GED graduates begin postsecondary education later than traditional graduates. While the mean age that traditional graduates begin postsecondary education is 21, the mean age for GED graduates is 27 (NPSAS 2004). Thirty-two percent of GED graduates enrolled in postsecondary education are married compared with 20 percent for traditional high school graduates. Forty nine percent of GED graduates have dependent children; twenty-three percent of traditional high school graduates have dependant children; While on the average traditional high school graduates receive $857 in financial aide, the figure for GED graduates is only $165 (NPSAS, 2004). If you are married, have children and have to make ends meet, of course postsecondary education is a struggle. From hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu Tue Feb 27 08:29:20 2007 From: hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu (Hal Beder) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:29:20 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 666] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? In-Reply-To: <865089.11903.qm@web83312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <865089.11903.qm@web83312.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20070227082036.02bac188@rci.rutgers.edu> Most GED prep programs are warm fuzzies. Learners get a lot of emotional support and are not sanctioned if they come late or are absent. Rarely is there mandatory homework. No one "fails." Post secondary is a hard contrast. In many NJ community colleges, if you have three un excused classes, you fail, and if you don't turn in your homework, it's a zero. Thus post secondary is often a total discontinuity for GED prep graduates and that is a huge part of the problem. From b.garner4 at verizon.net Tue Feb 27 08:35:35 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:35:35 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 667] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why so few go on? Message-ID: <2613957.9858851172583335679.JavaMail.root@vms074.mailsrvcs.net> This conversation is off to a rich and busy start! I?ve read Monday?s postings and will try to answer some of the questions that have come up and turn to John Tyler for answers to those I can?t handle on my own. My apologies for such a long posting. The research on the GED and college entry done prior to Tyler and Loftus?s recent paper showed that a greater percentage of GED holders than uncredentialed dropouts entered postsecondary education, but that high school completers entered postsecondary education at a greater rate than GED holders. Interesting points emerge from this research: community college may be equivalent to 4-year college in terms of economic benefits. This is important because GED holders tend to attend community college rather than 4-year colleges. What counts as postsecondary education in these studies? Both degreed and non-degreed programs. GED holders tend to enter non-degreed programs at higher rates than do regular high school graduates. Why is Tyler and Loftus? research important? They tried to add a piece to the puzzle by finding a two groups of high schoolers who were fairly demographically equivalent. The big difference between the two groups is that one group dropped out. That way they could study the question: Does obtaining a GED lead to postsecondary outcomes that are just as good as they would have been had the individual stayed in school and acquired a regular high school diploma? The data they used included GED holders who were between the ages of 16 and 22. They compared them to two groups: one group who completed high school ?on time??regular high school completers; the other group who completed high school a year or two late. Most of the GED holders in their sample completed their GEDs just a year or two after leaving high school. In this sense, they may be quite different from your students. They attempted to "make both of the high school graduate comparison groups as close to the GED holders as possible by controlling for observable factors likely to be correlated with both GED status and postsecondary education outcomes." In addition to Texas test scores, they controlled for being at risk of dropping out, participating in special education or gifted and talented programs, or being a participant in a Title I program. They also control for demographic characteristics of the sample members and factors such as age, gender and race/ethnicity, as well as the expected year of graduation. I don?t know if they controlled for household income, which, as someone suggested, may be a major factor in whether someone enrolls in postsecondary school or not. I hope those details are useful, Barb Garner From: Bonnie Odiorne Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 11:25:30 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 664] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? Though I'm currently not in an adult education program per se,?a lot of our college students are under prepared; there's a huge skills gap that faculty initiatives are beginning to address; if anyone has any research related not just to "multi-level" but more like "differentiated"--in terms of metacognitive skills levels in "being a good student," being intrinsically motivated, as well as more measurable "conventional" skills. We're trying to add to a college success seminar for freshmen a lot of self-assessment in "soft skills" and align them with college success and career success. I would say that our students correspond to a large degree with"HS students with a similar background;" and are terribly naive,?and I'm afraid for them?around the financial end of things. In terms of access, they can get in, but are not necessarily given the degree of support they need. Perhaps our taking the initiative and linking with an adult ed program as well as high schools would be a possibility, but it would involve an entire philosophy of education as community outreach rather than a "for profit" bottom line, with improved quality of students, which, unfortunately, is where my institution is heading. I want to ensure that this process of integrating under prepared students with?the college community be cone with as much integrity as possible: the"sell" for college these days, as it is for GED, is to go to a"get a job," or do better financially, not to "get an education," let alone "be educated," whatever that means : looking at the 'big picture," thinking outside the box, higher order thinking skills, self-awareness and reflection....Best,Bonnie Odiorne, Adjunct Professor and Writing Center Director, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: "Rivera, Janet" To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 3:27:06 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 654] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? I agree with Mr. Muro's findings.??However, I would add to this that many of our GED to college students leave after the first semester of college due to the high cost of college.?? The GED student may have come to me at first without the thought of college, just wanted a GED to improve employment, as mentioned.??I can convince him to try college, convince him he can be successful at college, and support him through the first semester with study skills and other support, but unless I can give him financial assistance, I will probably lose him.?? In the original study that we are discussing, were the 20% of high school students who went on to college "with a similar background" to the GED students also doing this on their own without any financial assistance from parents??? I am not surprised that after three years, the average completion is only 7 college credits.??However, this is probably close to other students who come to college as adults who have worked and still need to work while they are studying.??They work full-time, have a family, and go to college part-time.??Most of them take a class or two each semester.??They may quit during a peak work time, and come back at another time.??This is similar to my GED to college students if they don't drop out after the first semester.?? At our college, we have offered the GED graduate his first college class free of charge as an incentive.??Still, we can get him to come to that first class, but not come back for more.?? Janet Rivera Colorado Mountain College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Muro, Andres Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:46 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 650] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why sofew goon? I think that last week there was a question about the reason for there being more HS grads than GED grads going to college. I think that the reason is pretty obvious. Many immigrants and HS drop outs seek to get employment. At some point they realize that it is hard to get employed w/o a GED. They seek a GED certificate to improve their chances to get employed or better paying jobs. Many do not see themselves as college material. Transitional programs are an indispensable tool to ensure that GED students consider college as an alternative. In our program we have been transitioning students from GED to college for many years. We have identified barriers that have to do with access as well as with retention. In terms of access, GED grads do not generally see themselves as college prospects. They are intimidated by the whole idea of the college setting which represents an alien world to them. College admissions processes are very intimidating, bureaucratic, harsh and unfriendly. They serve as the first funnel. People need to be very committed to the whole college idea before approaching such an environment. GED students and GED grads are often reluctant about the idea of college. The first barrier that faces them will lead to them giving up. A transition program needs to consider the above an integrate strategies to address this. Moreover, it is better if the transition program is integrated into the GED instruction. Once students get their GED certificates they are gone. If students complete the whole admissions process before they earn their GEDs, there won't be a gap that can increase the chances of students not getting into college. In terms of retention, studies show that the first college semester has they highest rate of drop outs. There are multiple reasons for this that have to do with becoming a skilled student that go beyond academics. Students that master these skills will succeed and those that don't will
have an awful time. A transition program ought to include a retention
component that supports the students for the first couple of semesters
and offers activities that build the students' skills. Andres?? -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 9:45 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Why so few goon? Hi Everyone: While we wait for Barb to dig herself out of the snow, I was wondering if others might want to just jump into the discussion.??What do people think about the low number of GED holders that do go on???I was actually wondering if the "low" percentage of those enrolling in postsecondary education in Texas, 20 percent, might sound "high" in some places.??And, what does the term postsecondary education really include? Do you find that more of your students feel the pressure to go on, especially if many of the jobs that pay more than minimum wage require postsecondary education???Is it still a pretty hard sell???And, if students say they are going on, what do you hear back from them about their experience???For those of you with transition components, what have you found? Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jrivera at coloradomtn.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From b.garner4 at verizon.net Tue Feb 27 08:47:17 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:47:17 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! Message-ID: <27444803.9861861172584037937.JavaMail.root@vms074.mailsrvcs.net> Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? Barb Garner From: Katrina Hinson Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From RMechem at doe.mass.edu Tue Feb 27 10:09:02 2007 From: RMechem at doe.mass.edu (Mechem, Richard) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:09:02 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Message-ID: Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a step towards post-secondary education. Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? Barb Garner From: Katrina Hinson Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. From jschneider at eicc.edu Tue Feb 27 10:48:16 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:48:16 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 670] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87085EE658@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Hi, Jim Schneider, Asst Dean, Scott Community College Career Assistance Center - downtown adult learner center in Davenport Iowa. 2006 GED Results - 584 passed of 587 who completed the battery. It seems to me that the comparision and questions being asked as reversed of what would make sense. If our concern is getting GED recipients to pursue PSE, wouldn't we want to explore the differences between those GED recipients who pursue pse v those who do not? (This is the question I want to explore in my dissertation.) Perhaps those GED recipients who pursue pse do have a lot in common with hs grads who pursue pse. Perhaps those who do not pursue pse have more of the at-risk factors at play in their lives. Adult Literacy programming has never been funded to do much more than help people get their GED. Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater perhaps a little more research and programming emphasis might be in order? I completely support the premise that to graduate with a high school diploma is preferable to earning a GED. However, the current high school system wasn't appealing to these individuals when it was age appropriate, there is little that can be done once they have decided to drop. In addition, the vast majority of the younger GED recipients that I work with have earned very little if any credits towards their high school diploma. I make a concerted effort to get those who could graduate back into school, but it isn't the answer for the majority. Jim S. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:36 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Hi Everyone, While Barb is still snowbound, I have at least found her opening message for this discussion. It is pasted below. For those who don't know, Barb Garner was the editor of all 31 issues of "Focus on Basics", and co-author with Sara Fass of "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future." Having studied statistics with researcher John Tyler, she enjoys working with him to make sure his research findings reach the adult basic education community. All the best, Julie ******************** >From Barb: It's pretty common knowledge these days that at least some college is necessary for economic success. Growing numbers of ABE programs are putting into place transition programs to help their learners enter and succeed in postsecondary school. And, many GED students cite entry into college as one of the reasons they're getting their GEDs. With all that motivation, one might think that GED holders would be enrolling in postsecondary schools in droves. Are they? Researchers John Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom examined the impact that earning a GED has on the postsecondary enrollment of high school dropouts, relative to what would have happened to dropouts had they stayed in school. Setting up the research question this way, they hoped to capture the role of the GED (vs. other factors) in postsecondary enrollment. Their study, using data from Texas, revealed that only 20 percent of Texas GED holders enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Texas within three years of getting a GED. In contrast, 38 percent of high school completers with profiles similar to the GED holders were enrolled in postsecondary education within 3 years. Other data show that GED holders were achieving Associate's degrees at lower rates than high school completers with similar profiles. Why are GED holders failing to enter college at the rates one might assume (and hope) they would? Tyler notes that the data they used was from 2001, and therefore wouldn't reflect growing attempts on the part of ABE programs to ensure that students enter and succeed in postsecondary. What do you know about the students who earn GEDs at your program? Are they entering college? If not, what's keeping them from doing so? What might help them? Since more high school completers with academic skills similar to those of GED holders enter college than do GED holders, a case could be made that more emphasis should be placed on re-enrolling high school leavers back into high school. Any thoughts on this? Barb Garner **************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. From kjohnson at edcc.edu Tue Feb 27 11:06:05 2007 From: kjohnson at edcc.edu (Karen Johnson) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:06:05 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: <45E34D3D.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> References: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C191@ex01.sfcc.edu> <45E34D3D.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> Message-ID: Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. From amuro5 at epcc.edu Tue Feb 27 11:31:23 2007 From: amuro5 at epcc.edu (Muro, Andres) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:31:23 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 672] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! References: Message-ID: Tom: This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, retention and economic support. These would include all the knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can go. We should encourage them as much as possible. Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of crippling or terminal illnesses. I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college and become successful students. We also have to educate college instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face barriers that they have never imagined. Andres ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; Katrina Hinson Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a step towards post-secondary education. Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? Barb Garner From: Katrina Hinson Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070227/1831e195/attachment.html From barguedas at sfccnm.edu Tue Feb 27 12:21:06 2007 From: barguedas at sfccnm.edu (Barbara Arguedas) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:21:06 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Message-ID: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C1B3@ex01.sfcc.edu> Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Feb 27 12:36:54 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:36:54 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 674] GED to PSE - Counseling Services? Message-ID: <45E425E60200002D0000142C@bostongwia.jsi.com> It seems that the "warm and fuzzy" part, which is present in ABE, but disappears in PSE, is the counseling services that should be available in high schools and colleges. These services include promoting the assumption that students are heading towards college, asking the questions like "What do you want to do after the GED?", and helping to match students with financial aid and other types of needed support. Some time ago on this list we talked about counseling services in ABE, and it was agreed that, even in ABE, these services were under-supported. If a new GED-holder is not connected with a transitional program, how can they get these kinds of counseling services? How can we ensure that GED students have access to counseling services all the way through their preparation and transition to higher education? Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Karen Johnson" 02/27/07 11:06 AM >>> Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu Tue Feb 27 13:20:37 2007 From: hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu (Hal Beder) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:20:37 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20070227131925.02bcbb88@rci.rutgers.edu> Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 From b.garner4 at verizon.net Tue Feb 27 13:23:07 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:23:07 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 676] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Message-ID: <25897557.834951172600587842.JavaMail.root@vms069.mailsrvcs.net> A quick insert of a technical nature. I don't want to sidetrack this rich discussion Yesterday someone asked if Tyler's data included information on the level or courses GED holders were enrolling in. The answer is no, the data only indicated whether they were enrolled in 2- or 4-year colleges. Barb Garner Focus on Basics Massachusetts ==================== From: Barbara Arguedas Date: 2007/02/27 Tue AM 11:21:06 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From b.garner4 at verizon.net Tue Feb 27 13:27:53 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:27:53 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 677] Re: =?iso-8859-1?q?=A0GED_to_PSE_-_Economic_factors?= Message-ID: <28567495.836501172600873840.JavaMail.root@vms069.mailsrvcs.net> Following up on another question from yesterday: the economic status of the students. Tyler and Loftus did control for income. The control they used was an indicator in the Texas schools data that an individual is from an "economically disadvantaged" family. Barb Garner ===================== From: Julie McKinney Date: 2007/02/27 Tue AM 11:36:54 CST To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 674] GED to PSE - Counseling Services? It seems that the "warm and fuzzy" part, which is present in ABE, but disappears in PSE, is the counseling services that should be available in high schools and colleges. These services include promoting the assumption that students are heading towards college, asking the questions like "What do you want to do after the GED?", and helping to match students with financial aid and other types of needed support. Some time ago on this list we talked about counseling services in ABE, and it was agreed that, even in ABE, these services were under-supported. If a new GED-holder is not connected with a transitional program, how can they get these kinds of counseling services? How can we ensure that GED students have access to counseling services all the way through their preparation and transition to higher education? Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Karen Johnson" 02/27/07 11:06 AM >>> Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From cynthia_zafft at worlded.org Tue Feb 27 14:17:32 2007 From: cynthia_zafft at worlded.org (Cynthia Zafft) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 14:17:32 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 678] GED to postsecondary education -- financial aid one more time Message-ID: <45E43D7C.60A9.0088.0@worlded.org> While folks are thinking about counseling services, I thought I might add my three cents about financial aid. My first "cent": While the current federal financial aid system does not serve adults well, particularly if they are attending very part-time, students often don't even apply. According to a study titled, "Missed Opportunities: Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid" (2004), 62% of half-time students and 87% of less-than-half-time students (who generally take only one course per term) did not apply for aid. "Less-than-half-time students can qualify for Pell Grants and some federal aid programs, but 57% of dependent low-income students and 64% of independent low-income students in this attendance category did not apply for aid." See http://www.cherrycommission.org/docs/Resources/Participation/Student_FinancialAidArticle.pdf My second "cent": Completing the federal financial aid form is just the starting point for the institution's financial aid process. Students who don't fill out a FAFSA are not typically considered for a financial aid package because they are not even on the school's radar. So, institutions may have some innovative financial aid options but students don't hear about them if they don't apply. My third "cent": All this said, offsetting tuition, fees, and books is often just a drop in the bucket. Low-income adults, in particular, are often working more than one job or need all the overtime they can get in order to make ends meet. Forgone wages and the hidden expenses of college (e.g., childcare, transportation, access to technology at home) knock them right out. There needs to be conscious effort at all levels: federal, state, local, and institutional, if we want truly want to support adults to go and complete a postsecondary education. Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org From KHinson at almanid.com Tue Feb 27 14:20:32 2007 From: KHinson at almanid.com (Katrina Hinson) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:20:32 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 679] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: <45E35C85020000570000213F@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <45E35C85020000570000213F@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <45E43E32.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> I'm not sure it's formal in terms of what I ask but I do have a general set of questions. One I always try to ask is "What do you want to do when you finish my class?" and then I follow up with "Why?" Depending on the answer I get, I keep asking questions. I'm sitting here thinking that what I actually do is kind of like a "flow chart" process. If "yes" to this question, go here, if "no" then go here, kind of thing. For instance, if a student says "I don't know" I begin to ask questions about what they like or dislike. Why do they like it or dislike it because the "Why" of something is sometimes more important than anything else. Why may be related to something they do or do not know in terms of a skill they may be learning in class. Sometimes if the "Why" is addressed, the doors open rather than close for the student. I try to get my students to make "lists" of things. From that list we begin to formalize things. AT that point I also have my students complete the Career Choices profile in our Joblink center. They bring the results back to me and a copy for themselves and we talk about them. Students will come back with things like "financial analysts" but they hate math - they know they hate math and we discuss the feasibility or reality of pursuing that particular field and how just because the job field is on their list does not mean that they are "formatted" to follow it. The computer generated list is just a set of ideas - a place to start for lack of a better word. I'll try to actually figure out what other questions I ask and write them up to send them to the list if you want. Thanks for asking because it really is making thing through the process I actually use with my students. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Sandy Goodman" 2/26/2007 10:17 pm >>> Wow, Katrina's posting is a powerful reminder of how important simply asking the question is and how the right questions can begin to open up new awareness and possibilities. I am wondering if you have developed a standard set of questions that you use in goal setting/education and career planning with students or if your process is more informal? I am also wondering if anyone uses and would recommend any of the career assessment/inventory tools that are out there? - Sandy >>> "Katrina Hinson" 02/26/07 9:12 PM >>> I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sgoodman at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. From elizabeth.capps at sic.edu Tue Feb 27 14:30:15 2007 From: elizabeth.capps at sic.edu (Elizabeth Capps) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:30:15 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 680] Re: Financial Aid for GED students, and - how do you motivate GED earners to go to college? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <6D994FE0CED4EB47BA74081B8301597D01AC0B05@mail2.ntfalcon.net> I think that financial aid would be for programs such as the CNA licensure. Students do not have to have a GED/Diploma to get a CAN, but it helps in finding employment afterward. This is a non-financial aid-eligible program for graduates or GED/HS students, but at my site there is funding for GED grads for this program. Additionally, we have several students that are eligible for Displaced Homemakers funding - most often used for gas money/child care for our GED students. (our campus is 3-6 miles from the closest surrounding towns, and in a very, very rural community.) With that comment made, I do have a question. Many of my students do not see the value of post-secondary ed degrees, and even those who do see that are not prepared for the change between our open-enrollment, no punishment for absence, work at your own pace, come when you can setup and the challenges of a "normal" classroom. I have convinced the instructors to keep the students in the classroom throughout the session, but I fear that is not enough. How do you convince students that post-secondary is important, and more importantly, what do you do to keep them enrolled after thay have left your program? Elizabeth Capps ABE/GED Transition Specialist Southeastern Illinois College 3575 College Road Harrisburg, Illinois 62946 618-252-5400 ext. 2602 Fax 618-252-0538 ? Southeastern Illinois College enhances lifelong learning by providing quality accessible educational programs, cultural enrichment opportunities, and support for economic development. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 12:55 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 19 Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to focusonbasics at nifl.gov To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov You can reach the person managing the list at focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." Today's Topics: 1. [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! (Barbara Arguedas) 2. [FocusOnBasics 674] GED to PSE - Counseling Services? (Julie McKinney) 3. [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! (Hal Beder) 4. [FocusOnBasics 676] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! (Barbara Garner) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:21:06 -0700 From: "Barbara Arguedas" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Message-ID: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C1B3 at ex01.sfcc.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:36:54 -0500 From: "Julie McKinney" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 674] GED to PSE - Counseling Services? To: Message-ID: <45E425E60200002D0000142C at bostongwia.jsi.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII It seems that the "warm and fuzzy" part, which is present in ABE, but disappears in PSE, is the counseling services that should be available in high schools and colleges. These services include promoting the assumption that students are heading towards college, asking the questions like "What do you want to do after the GED?", and helping to match students with financial aid and other types of needed support. Some time ago on this list we talked about counseling services in ABE, and it was agreed that, even in ABE, these services were under-supported. If a new GED-holder is not connected with a transitional program, how can they get these kinds of counseling services? How can we ensure that GED students have access to counseling services all the way through their preparation and transition to higher education? Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Karen Johnson" 02/27/07 11:06 AM >>> Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:20:37 -0500 From: Hal Beder Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20070227131925.02bcbb88 at rci.rutgers.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:23:07 -0600 (CST) From: Barbara Garner Subject: [FocusOnBasics 676] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! To: Barbara Arguedas , The Focus on Basics Discussion List Message-ID: <25897557.834951172600587842.JavaMail.root at vms069.mailsrvcs.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 A quick insert of a technical nature. I don't want to sidetrack this rich discussion Yesterday someone asked if Tyler's data included information on the level or courses GED holders were enrolling in. The answer is no, the data only indicated whether they were enrolled in 2- or 4-year colleges. Barb Garner Focus on Basics Massachusetts ==================== From: Barbara Arguedas Date: 2007/02/27 Tue AM 11:21:06 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 19 ********************************************* From dezreen at excite.com Tue Feb 27 15:26:10 2007 From: dezreen at excite.com (kathleen morgan) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 15:26:10 -0500 (EST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Message-ID: <20070227202610.73B89B5801@xprdmxin.myway.com> Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of printable examples. Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered in bunnies. Kathleen Telluride CO --- On Mon 02/26, Virginia Tardaewether < tarv at chemeketa.edu > wrote: From: Virginia Tardaewether [mailto: tarv at chemeketa.edu] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention?

Have you had any training with visual learning?? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc.? Also techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays.?

Va

?

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Tim Lanari
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 6:12 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention?

?


As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs.? As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning.

?

What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention?

?

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PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com wrote:

I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track
them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find
on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to
acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer".

Do you let your
students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those
ideas?

Thanks for sharing it.
Jean

Personally, I like the Eureka
Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students
say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with
another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications
to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6.
As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are
doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too.
> Va

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Message sent to lanarita at sbcglobal.net.

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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! From amuro5 at epcc.edu Tue Feb 27 15:54:20 2007 From: amuro5 at epcc.edu (Muro, Andres) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:54:20 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: <6.2.3.4.2.20070227131925.02bcbb88@rci.rutgers.edu> Message-ID: Agreed Hal, and that is the role that transitional programs should fulfill. They can serve as mediators between teachers and students in making teachers more sensitive and understanding of students' problems. They can also help students overcome problems that prevent them from attending classes, completing assignments, etc. I have found that transitional programs work in both ways. First, they help students overcome barriers and adapt to college life. They also help teachers become more aware about non-traditional student barriers and develop strategies to serve them. CCs, which are the places where many of our students go to, are serving more and more non-traditional students. They have an average first year drop out rate of over 50%. So, being all macho, and thinking that ABE approaches are warm and fuzzy is not helping them prepare those in need. So, if they are really concerned about serving the population they need to understand that the macho, "In my math class only 40% complete the semester" doesn't make teachers and CCs look good. Instead, they need to thin, "how do I increase my retention rate to 80%". Transition programs can help with this. Also, a lot of faculty development to teach "teachers" that they role is to make their best to teach, and that requires that they change their pedagogies. An analogy can be made with the health care system. The original AMA health literacy video had the president of the AMA saying something like, "These people need to increase their skills to our level". Ten years later, the AMA has recognized that doctors need to stop saying "hypertension" and say "high blood pressure" to their patients. The medical system is still screwed up, but we must try to help it rather than say that we shouldn't send people to the doctor because they don't know what hypertension is. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. From jschneider at eicc.edu Tue Feb 27 16:12:42 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 15:12:42 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 682] Re: Financial Aid for GED students, and - how do you motivate GED earners to go to college? Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870867309B@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> It is clear that we cannot do too much to help them understand how important pse is for their future. The importance of pursuing PSE is a point of every staff meeting - using resources from the Dept. of Labor, Mortenson's http://www.postsecondary.org/home/default.aspPostsecondary , the NCSALL's Beyond the GED http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/teach/beyond_ged.pdf. I'm envious of how some states/institutions support this, following are our current efforts despite limited resources: 1. All students in our center are encouraged to utilize Choices - an online career information program 2. GED recipients are awarded a voucher for a free three credit class (or equivalent $ toward noncredit vocational training - e.g. CNA) 3. Two staff members share responsibilities to serve as an admission representative - assisting with application, Financial Aid, scheduling placement testing, advisement etc. 4. These staff members work to link them to the available support services. 5. They keep in touch and do their best to advocate for them. Jim Schneider jschneider at eicc.edu 563-326-5319 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Elizabeth Capps Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 1:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 680] Re: Financial Aid for GED students,and - how do you motivate GED earners to go to college? I think that financial aid would be for programs such as the CNA licensure. Students do not have to have a GED/Diploma to get a CAN, but it helps in finding employment afterward. This is a non-financial aid-eligible program for graduates or GED/HS students, but at my site there is funding for GED grads for this program. Additionally, we have several students that are eligible for Displaced Homemakers funding - most often used for gas money/child care for our GED students. (our campus is 3-6 miles from the closest surrounding towns, and in a very, very rural community.) With that comment made, I do have a question. Many of my students do not see the value of post-secondary ed degrees, and even those who do see that are not prepared for the change between our open-enrollment, no punishment for absence, work at your own pace, come when you can setup and the challenges of a "normal" classroom. I have convinced the instructors to keep the students in the classroom throughout the session, but I fear that is not enough. How do you convince students that post-secondary is important, and more importantly, what do you do to keep them enrolled after thay have left your program? Elizabeth Capps ABE/GED Transition Specialist Southeastern Illinois College 3575 College Road Harrisburg, Illinois 62946 618-252-5400 ext. 2602 Fax 618-252-0538 ? Southeastern Illinois College enhances lifelong learning by providing quality accessible educational programs, cultural enrichment opportunities, and support for economic development. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 12:55 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 19 Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to focusonbasics at nifl.gov To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov You can reach the person managing the list at focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." Today's Topics: 1. [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! (Barbara Arguedas) 2. [FocusOnBasics 674] GED to PSE - Counseling Services? (Julie McKinney) 3. [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! (Hal Beder) 4. [FocusOnBasics 676] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! (Barbara Garner) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:21:06 -0700 From: "Barbara Arguedas" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Message-ID: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C1B3 at ex01.sfcc.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:36:54 -0500 From: "Julie McKinney" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 674] GED to PSE - Counseling Services? To: Message-ID: <45E425E60200002D0000142C at bostongwia.jsi.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII It seems that the "warm and fuzzy" part, which is present in ABE, but disappears in PSE, is the counseling services that should be available in high schools and colleges. These services include promoting the assumption that students are heading towards college, asking the questions like "What do you want to do after the GED?", and helping to match students with financial aid and other types of needed support. Some time ago on this list we talked about counseling services in ABE, and it was agreed that, even in ABE, these services were under-supported. If a new GED-holder is not connected with a transitional program, how can they get these kinds of counseling services? How can we ensure that GED students have access to counseling services all the way through their preparation and transition to higher education? Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Karen Johnson" 02/27/07 11:06 AM >>> Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:20:37 -0500 From: Hal Beder Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20070227131925.02bcbb88 at rci.rutgers.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to WIA >and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as possible. It >would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to prepare students >for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it would be great if >part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the necessary skills to >transition into college which relate to access, retention and economic >support. These would include all the knowledge, issues and skills that >other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some would >fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the GED >provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as much >education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to WIA. >However, it is the students that should chose how far they can go. We >should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't think >that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, to a >great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't attend >classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the pisca (crop >picking). I've had women that stayed in school even while their >husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to call immigration >on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot attend class all the >time and have to study in hidding. I've had a student who was a janitor >at a school and after school she and her kids would stay at the school >and while she attended class her kids would help clean the school. I've >had students that walked miles to get to class. I've had a student >living in a car with her kids while going to school. I have students >living in abject poverty, with no windows, electricity, or potable >water. I have students that cannot come to school when the sheriff goes >into an anti-immigrant crusade and start patrolling the community to >turn undocumented people into INS. I've had students attending school >with all inds of crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is nothing >warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help everyone >earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college and become >successful students. We also have to educate college instructors that >being more attentive to student issues is not being warm and fuzzy. It >is understanding that many adult students face barriers that they have >never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus >sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL >and ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only >goals of any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED >prep programs, should be for the students to earn a high school >credential and go on to post-secondary education. Anything less is >sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty. These goals should be >publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, repeated ad infinitum, >shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to within an inch of >their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with our >programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our >students do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my >English." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and >post-secondary education. "I want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but >only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni >fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many >ABE students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do >they personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college >as part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full >out to introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high >school completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school >walls, the meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students >what makes the high school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - >they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling >unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" > >>> 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni >fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students >test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would >like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, >whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students >(only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with >state assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni >fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might >prefer touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when >they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three >years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research show which courses students take or at what level they begin >when they enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov >/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov >/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to >charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov >/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov >/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov >/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov >/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 12:23:07 -0600 (CST) From: Barbara Garner Subject: [FocusOnBasics 676] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! To: Barbara Arguedas , The Focus on Basics Discussion List Message-ID: <25897557.834951172600587842.JavaMail.root at vms069.mailsrvcs.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 A quick insert of a technical nature. I don't want to sidetrack this rich discussion Yesterday someone asked if Tyler's data included information on the level or courses GED holders were enrolling in. The answer is no, the data only indicated whether they were enrolled in 2- or 4-year colleges. Barb Garner Focus on Basics Massachusetts ==================== From: Barbara Arguedas Date: 2007/02/27 Tue AM 11:21:06 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 19 ********************************************* ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Feb 27 18:56:20 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:56:20 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 683] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8C928E2036CF8E0-1DEC-91D4@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Let's have a parade for Tom M!!! Well , well said! I can't even count the programs if have visited ( NOT in MA!!) where both teachers and learners only answer "GED" when asked what learner goals are......!!! An awful lot of research has shown time and again that low expectations equal low outcomes, no matter what level of educational instruction is involved. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: RMechem at doe.mass.edu To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; focusonbasics at nifl.gov; KHinson at almanid.com Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 9:09 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a step towards post-secondary education. Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? Barb Garner From: Katrina Hinson Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Feb 27 19:01:42 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:01:42 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 684] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner In-Reply-To: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87085EE658@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87085EE658@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Message-ID: <8C928E2C34D1832-1DEC-924D@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Thank you to Jim, not only for these great questions and challenges, but also for identifying his program AND STATE. Can those answering these comments with information about state procedures etc. please be so kind as to identify your state somewhere in your message? Thank you. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: jschneider at eicc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 9:48 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 670] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Hi, Jim Schneider, Asst Dean, Scott Community College Career Assistance Center - downtown adult learner center in Davenport Iowa. 2006 GED Results - 584 passed of 587 who completed the battery. It seems to me that the comparision and questions being asked as reversed of what would make sense. If our concern is getting GED recipients to pursue PSE, wouldn't we want to explore the differences between those GED recipients who pursue pse v those who do not? (This is the question I want to explore in my dissertation.) Perhaps those GED recipients who pursue pse do have a lot in common with hs grads who pursue pse. Perhaps those who do not pursue pse have more of the at-risk factors at play in their lives. Adult Literacy programming has never been funded to do much more than help people get their GED. Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater perhaps a little more research and programming emphasis might be in order? I completely support the premise that to graduate with a high school diploma is preferable to earning a GED. However, the current high school system wasn't appealing to these individuals when it was age appropriate, there is little that can be done once they have decided to drop. In addition, the vast majority of the younger GED recipients that I work with have earned very little if any credits towards their high school diploma. I make a concerted effort to get those who could graduate back into school, but it isn't the answer for the majority. Jim S. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:36 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Hi Everyone, While Barb is still snowbound, I have at least found her opening message for this discussion. It is pasted below. For those who don't know, Barb Garner was the editor of all 31 issues of "Focus on Basics", and co-author with Sara Fass of "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future." Having studied statistics with researcher John Tyler, she enjoys working with him to make sure his research findings reach the adult basic education community. All the best, Julie ******************** >From Barb: It's pretty common knowledge these days that at least some college is necessary for economic success. Growing numbers of ABE programs are putting into place transition programs to help their learners enter and succeed in postsecondary school. And, many GED students cite entry into college as one of the reasons they're getting their GEDs. With all that motivation, one might think that GED holders would be enrolling in postsecondary schools in droves. Are they? Researchers John Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom examined the impact that earning a GED has on the postsecondary enrollment of high school dropouts, relative to what would have happened to dropouts had they stayed in school. Setting up the research question this way, they hoped to capture the role of the GED (vs. other factors) in postsecondary enrollment. Their study, using data from Texas, revealed that only 20 percent of Texas GED holders enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Texas within three years of getting a GED. In contrast, 38 percent of high school completers with profiles similar to the GED holders were enrolled in postsecondary education within 3 years. Other data show that GED holders were achieving Associate's degrees at lower rates than high school completers with similar profiles. Why are GED holders failing to enter college at the rates one might assume (and hope) they would? Tyler notes that the data they used was from 2001, and therefore wouldn't reflect growing attempts on the part of ABE programs to ensure that students enter and succeed in postsecondary. What do you know about the students who earn GEDs at your program? Are they entering college? If not, what's keeping them from doing so? What might help them? Since more high school completers with academic skills similar to those of GED holders enter college than do GED holders, a case could be made that more emphasis should be placed on re-enrolling high school leavers back into high school. Any thoughts on this? Barb Garner **************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. From kjohnson at edcc.edu Tue Feb 27 19:04:11 2007 From: kjohnson at edcc.edu (Karen Johnson) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:04:11 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 685] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C1B3@ex01.sfcc.edu> References: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C1B3@ex01.sfcc.edu> Message-ID: Barbara and all, This is a pilot program designed to offer students who would not otherwise be eligible for financial aid to have the same opportunity as others. It is funded by the state legislature. It does fund tuition, fees, childcare, books, materials, and living expenses. Each student's allocation is determined on need as with other need based grants. Many of these students are in I BEST (integrated basic skills) programs that combine ABE and GED or ESL with a professional technical program and have two teachers that work together with a cohort in the program, so a basic skills instructor and a prof. tech. instructor share the class. Regular college tuition is charged, so financial aid is necessary. Other students might be in adult high school completing credits for a high school diploma and paying a reduced tuition. They also receive living expenses, tuition, etc. based on need. It is an interesting project and puts funding in the hands of the neediest students who would not be eligible for a pell grant as they don't have a diploma or GED. It evens up the playing field. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Feb 27 19:23:14 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:23:14 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? In-Reply-To: <20070227202610.73B89B5801@xprdmxin.myway.com> References: <20070227202610.73B89B5801@xprdmxin.myway.com> Message-ID: <8C928E5C5324DD0-1DEC-938D@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Richard Cooper's catalogue, at learningdifferences.com, is FULL of wonderful graphic organizers in pads and many other wonderful things to help learners learn in unusual ways. It is a treasure trove for any teacher of adult learners, no matter what their issues. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: dezreen at excite.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of printable examples. Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered in bunnies. Kathleen Telluride CO --- On Mon 02/26, Virginia Tardaewether < tarv at chemeketa.edu > wrote: From: Virginia Tardaewether [mailto: tarv at chemeketa.edu] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention?

Have you had any training with visual learning? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays.

Va

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Tim Lanari
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 6:12 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention?


As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning.

What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention?


PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.co m wrote:

I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track
them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find
on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to
acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer".

Do you let your
students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those
ideas?

Thanks for sharing it.
Jean

Personally, I like the Eureka
Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students
say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with
another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications
to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6.
As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are
doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too.
> Va

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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Feb 27 19:28:53 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:28:53 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 687] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <8C928E68F987CBE-1DEC-93D6@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Last year's Learning Disabilities Association conference, and indeed EVERY year's conference, has a wonderful assortment of presentations on these types of transitional programs that have had great success. I suggest anyone interested in such a program check out the LDA site (ldaamerica.org) for more on these at recent conferences. Also, I believe there will be such a session at the upcoming COABE in Philly. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: amuro5 at epcc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:54 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Agreed Hal, and that is the role that transitional programs should fulfill. They can serve as mediators between teachers and students in making teachers more sensitive and understanding of students' problems. They can also help students overcome problems that prevent them from attending classes, completing assignments, etc. I have found that transitional programs work in both ways. First, they help students overcome barriers and adapt to college life. They also help teachers become more aware about non-traditional student barriers and develop strategies to serve them. CCs, which are the places where many of our students go to, are serving more and more non-traditional students. They have an average first year drop out rate of over 50%. So, being all macho, and thinking that ABE approaches are warm and fuzzy is not helping them prepare those in need. So, if they are really concerned about serving the population they need to understand that the macho, "In my math class only 40% complete the semester" doesn't make teachers and CCs look good. Instead, they need to thin, "how do I increase my retention rate to 80%". Transition programs can help with this. Also, a lot of faculty development to teach "teachers" that they role is to make their best to teach, and that requires that they change their pedagogies. An analogy can be made with the health care system. The original AMA health literacy video had the president of the AMA saying something like, "These people need to increase their skills to our level". Ten years later, the AMA has recognized that doctors need to stop saying "hypertension" and say "high blood pressure" to their patients. The medical system is still screwed up, but we must try to help it rather than say that we shouldn't send people to the doctor because they don't know what hypertension is. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. From KHinson at almanid.com Tue Feb 27 19:55:44 2007 From: KHinson at almanid.com (Katrina Hinson) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 01:55:44 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 688] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: <6.2.3.4.2.20070227131925.02bcbb88@rci.rutgers.edu> References: <6.2.3.4.2.20070227131925.02bcbb88@rci.rutgers.edu> Message-ID: <45E48CC1.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> Wouldn't an additional question to consider be why they don't or can't go an extra mile? I know some that do. Why do they and how do they do that? Even in ABE/GED there is more and more of a push to hold students accountable for not attending - which to me seems to fly in the face of working with Adults. The problem is that in some cases the population pool in some areas is getting younger than the some of the numbers I"ve seen floating on the list with regards to the "mean" or "median" age of GED students. As High school systems across the country face an increasing dropout rate the number of 16-18 or 18-20 year olds is rapidly edging out perhaps some of the older "traditional" GED students and as a result, the same issues from public school are beginning to filter into the ABE/GED rule. I can't not be warm and fuzzy with my students. Sometimes I know I'm the only one in their life who is. I also remind them often that when they move into curriculum they won't find that warm fuzzy because the expectation is different. Sometimes that warm fuzzy is why a student sticks with the program vs quitting when they would rather leave. Somehow there has to be a balance or place for the warm fuzzy and the rule. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> Hal Beder 2/27/2007 1:20:37 pm >>> Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. From KHinson at almanid.com Tue Feb 27 19:58:57 2007 From: KHinson at almanid.com (Katrina Hinson) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 01:58:57 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 689] Re: GED to postsecondary education -- financial aid one more time In-Reply-To: <45E43D7C.60A9.0088.0@worlded.org> References: <45E43D7C.60A9.0088.0@worlded.org> Message-ID: <45E48D81.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> I want to add a "cent" - Additonally some students are attending class and have issues related to unemployment compensation etc...or something like that - they are not often given the time they truly need to complete the PSE with assistance. They can't do work study without it negatively impacting their unemployment yet their unemployment isn't enough to cover their expenses. Add to that, they're being told they have to complete in X number of hours or all their money is cut off. When this happens the student tries to take on more of an academic work load than they can really handle and then they become overwhelmed, overworked and frustrated. This too leads to them not finishing the PSE and usually at a time when it was within close reach. Katrina >>> "Cynthia Zafft" 2/27/2007 2:17:32 pm >>> While folks are thinking about counseling services, I thought I might add my three cents about financial aid. My first "cent": While the current federal financial aid system does not serve adults well, particularly if they are attending very part-time, students often don't even apply. According to a study titled, "Missed Opportunities: Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid" (2004), 62% of half-time students and 87% of less-than-half-time students (who generally take only one course per term) did not apply for aid. "Less-than-half-time students can qualify for Pell Grants and some federal aid programs, but 57% of dependent low-income students and 64% of independent low-income students in this attendance category did not apply for aid." See http://www.cherrycommission.org/docs/Resources/Participation/Student_FinancialAidArticle.pdf My second "cent": Completing the federal financial aid form is just the starting point for the institution's financial aid process. Students who don't fill out a FAFSA are not typically considered for a financial aid package because they are not even on the school's radar. So, institutions may have some innovative financial aid options but students don't hear about them if they don't apply. My third "cent": All this said, offsetting tuition, fees, and books is often just a drop in the bucket. Low-income adults, in particular, are often working more than one job or need all the overtime they can get in order to make ends meet. Forgone wages and the hidden expenses of college (e.g., childcare, transportation, access to technology at home) knock them right out. There needs to be conscious effort at all levels: federal, state, local, and institutional, if we want truly want to support adults to go and complete a postsecondary education. Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. From MLCarver at CLCILLINOIS.EDU Wed Feb 28 08:37:44 2007 From: MLCarver at CLCILLINOIS.EDU (Carver, Mary-Lynn) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:37:44 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 690] Re: Ideas to increase retention? References: <20070227202610.73B89B5801@xprdmxin.myway.com> <8C928E5C5324DD0-1DEC-938D@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: Robin, Thank you so much for the link to Dr. Cooper's website. I saw him 10+ years ago at an LD conference teaching tic-tac-toe math and it changed me as a teacher. I'm so happy to re-discover the website - LD or not, my students will benefit greatly. Thanks, ML Carver ABE Instructor College of Lake County Waukegan, IL ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of robinschwarz1 at aol.com Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 6:23 PM To: dezreen at excite.com; focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Richard Cooper's catalogue, at learningdifferences.com, is FULL of wonderful graphic organizers in pads and many other wonderful things to help learners learn in unusual ways. It is a treasure trove for any teacher of adult learners, no matter what their issues. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: dezreen at excite.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of printable examples. Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered in bunnies. Kathleen Telluride CO --- On Mon 02/26, Virginia Tardaewether < tarv at chemeketa.edu > wrote: From: Virginia Tardaewether [mailto: tarv at chemeketa.edu] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention?

Have you had any training with visual learning? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays.

Va

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Tim Lanari
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 6:12 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention?


As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning.

What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention?


PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.co m wrote:

I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track
them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find
on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to
acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer".

Do you let your
students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those
ideas?

Thanks for sharing it.
Jean

Personally, I like the Eureka
Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students
say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with
another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications
to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6.
As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are
doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too.
> Va

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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to MLCARVER at clcillinois.edu. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 13393 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070228/1b1d2242/attachment.bin From sylviap at westman.wave.ca Wed Feb 28 09:19:03 2007 From: sylviap at westman.wave.ca (Sylvia Provenski) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 08:19:03 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 691] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <002901c75b43$66610800$6401a8c0@D4TWM391> I'm not surprised that GED students do not indicate that their goal is to go on to post-secondary. I am the Education Director of the ACC Adult Collegiate in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Our students are adults that are returning to this adult high school to complete their high school diplomas. When they first enroll when asked what their goal is the majority reply..."to get my grade 12". In the course of their studies our students take a blend of high school and dual credit College courses. Once they have completed the first term, we ask them again what their goal is. At this point the majority now indicate that their goal is to go on to post-secondary education. When you ask why their goal has changed the response is often, "I didn't think I was College material, but now that I have completed College (dual credit) courses I know I can do it." I believe that when they first enroll they don't dare to set their sights on a goal that, at that point does not seem to be attainable. Once they know what skills they have and are capable of they can realistically set their goal higher. Each year 30-40% of our graduates enroll in post-secondary programs immediately upon graduating. Some students need to wait a year or two because of a lack of finances or because the program has a wait list. Sylvia Provenski Education Director Assiniboine Community College Adult Collegiate Brandon, Manitoba, Canada ProvenSy at assiniboine.net -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov Sent: February 28, 2007 6:33 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to focusonbasics at nifl.gov To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov You can reach the person managing the list at focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." Today's Topics: 1. [FocusOnBasics 683] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) 2. [FocusOnBasics 684] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) 3. [FocusOnBasics 685] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! (Karen Johnson) 4. [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) 5. [FocusOnBasics 687] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:56:20 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 683] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E2036CF8E0-1DEC-91D4 at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Let's have a parade for Tom M!!! Well , well said! I can't even count the programs if have visited ( NOT in MA!!) where both teachers and learners only answer "GED" when asked what learner goals are......!!! An awful lot of research has shown time and again that low expectations equal low outcomes, no matter what level of educational instruction is involved. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: RMechem at doe.mass.edu To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; focusonbasics at nifl.gov; KHinson at almanid.com Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 9:09 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a step towards post-secondary education. Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? Barb Garner From: Katrina Hinson Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:01:42 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 684] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E2C34D1832-1DEC-924D at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Thank you to Jim, not only for these great questions and challenges, but also for identifying his program AND STATE. Can those answering these comments with information about state procedures etc. please be so kind as to identify your state somewhere in your message? Thank you. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: jschneider at eicc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 9:48 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 670] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Hi, Jim Schneider, Asst Dean, Scott Community College Career Assistance Center - downtown adult learner center in Davenport Iowa. 2006 GED Results - 584 passed of 587 who completed the battery. It seems to me that the comparision and questions being asked as reversed of what would make sense. If our concern is getting GED recipients to pursue PSE, wouldn't we want to explore the differences between those GED recipients who pursue pse v those who do not? (This is the question I want to explore in my dissertation.) Perhaps those GED recipients who pursue pse do have a lot in common with hs grads who pursue pse. Perhaps those who do not pursue pse have more of the at-risk factors at play in their lives. Adult Literacy programming has never been funded to do much more than help people get their GED. Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater perhaps a little more research and programming emphasis might be in order? I completely support the premise that to graduate with a high school diploma is preferable to earning a GED. However, the current high school system wasn't appealing to these individuals when it was age appropriate, there is little that can be done once they have decided to drop. In addition, the vast majority of the younger GED recipients that I work with have earned very little if any credits towards their high school diploma. I make a concerted effort to get those who could graduate back into school, but it isn't the answer for the majority. Jim S. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:36 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Hi Everyone, While Barb is still snowbound, I have at least found her opening message for this discussion. It is pasted below. For those who don't know, Barb Garner was the editor of all 31 issues of "Focus on Basics", and co-author with Sara Fass of "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future." Having studied statistics with researcher John Tyler, she enjoys working with him to make sure his research findings reach the adult basic education community. All the best, Julie ******************** >From Barb: It's pretty common knowledge these days that at least some college is necessary for economic success. Growing numbers of ABE programs are putting into place transition programs to help their learners enter and succeed in postsecondary school. And, many GED students cite entry into college as one of the reasons they're getting their GEDs. With all that motivation, one might think that GED holders would be enrolling in postsecondary schools in droves. Are they? Researchers John Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom examined the impact that earning a GED has on the postsecondary enrollment of high school dropouts, relative to what would have happened to dropouts had they stayed in school. Setting up the research question this way, they hoped to capture the role of the GED (vs. other factors) in postsecondary enrollment. Their study, using data from Texas, revealed that only 20 percent of Texas GED holders enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Texas within three years of getting a GED. In contrast, 38 percent of high school completers with profiles similar to the GED holders were enrolled in postsecondary education within 3 years. Other data show that GED holders were achieving Associate's degrees at lower rates than high school completers with similar profiles. Why are GED holders failing to enter college at the rates one might assume (and hope) they would? Tyler notes that the data they used was from 2001, and therefore wouldn't reflect growing attempts on the part of ABE programs to ensure that students enter and succeed in postsecondary. What do you know about the students who earn GEDs at your program? Are they entering college? If not, what's keeping them from doing so? What might help them? Since more high school completers with academic skills similar to those of GED holders enter college than do GED holders, a case could be made that more emphasis should be placed on re-enrolling high school leavers back into high school. Any thoughts on this? Barb Garner **************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:04:11 -0800 From: "Karen Johnson" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 685] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Barbara and all, This is a pilot program designed to offer students who would not otherwise be eligible for financial aid to have the same opportunity as others. It is funded by the state legislature. It does fund tuition, fees, childcare, books, materials, and living expenses. Each student's allocation is determined on need as with other need based grants. Many of these students are in I BEST (integrated basic skills) programs that combine ABE and GED or ESL with a professional technical program and have two teachers that work together with a cohort in the program, so a basic skills instructor and a prof. tech. instructor share the class. Regular college tuition is charged, so financial aid is necessary. Other students might be in adult high school completing credits for a high school diploma and paying a reduced tuition. They also receive living expenses, tuition, etc. based on need. It is an interesting project and puts funding in the hands of the neediest students who would not be eligible for a pell grant as they don't have a diploma or GED. It evens up the playing field. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:23:14 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? To: dezreen at excite.com, focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E5C5324DD0-1DEC-938D at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Richard Cooper's catalogue, at learningdifferences.com, is FULL of wonderful graphic organizers in pads and many other wonderful things to help learners learn in unusual ways. It is a treasure trove for any teacher of adult learners, no matter what their issues. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: dezreen at excite.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of printable examples. Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered in bunnies. Kathleen Telluride CO --- On Mon 02/26, Virginia Tardaewether < tarv at chemeketa.edu > wrote: From: Virginia Tardaewether [mailto: tarv at chemeketa.edu] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention?

Have you had any training with visual learning? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays.

Va

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Tim Lanari
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 6:12 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention?


As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning.

What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention?


PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.co m wrote:

I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track
them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find
on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to
acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer".

Do you let your
students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those
ideas?

Thanks for sharing it.
Jean

Personally, I like the Eureka
Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students
say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with
another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications
to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6.
As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are
doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too.
> Va

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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:28:53 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 687] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E68F987CBE-1DEC-93D6 at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Last year's Learning Disabilities Association conference, and indeed EVERY year's conference, has a wonderful assortment of presentations on these types of transitional programs that have had great success. I suggest anyone interested in such a program check out the LDA site (ldaamerica.org) for more on these at recent conferences. Also, I believe there will be such a session at the upcoming COABE in Philly. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: amuro5 at epcc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:54 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Agreed Hal, and that is the role that transitional programs should fulfill. They can serve as mediators between teachers and students in making teachers more sensitive and understanding of students' problems. They can also help students overcome problems that prevent them from attending classes, completing assignments, etc. I have found that transitional programs work in both ways. First, they help students overcome barriers and adapt to college life. They also help teachers become more aware about non-traditional student barriers and develop strategies to serve them. CCs, which are the places where many of our students go to, are serving more and more non-traditional students. They have an average first year drop out rate of over 50%. So, being all macho, and thinking that ABE approaches are warm and fuzzy is not helping them prepare those in need. So, if they are really concerned about serving the population they need to understand that the macho, "In my math class only 40% complete the semester" doesn't make teachers and CCs look good. Instead, they need to thin, "how do I increase my retention rate to 80%". Transition programs can help with this. Also, a lot of faculty development to teach "teachers" that they role is to make their best to teach, and that requires that they change their pedagogies. An analogy can be made with the health care system. The original AMA health literacy video had the president of the AMA saying something like, "These people need to increase their skills to our level". Ten years later, the AMA has recognized that doctors need to stop saying "hypertension" and say "high blood pressure" to their patients. The medical system is still screwed up, but we must try to help it rather than say that we shouldn't send people to the doctor because they don't know what hypertension is. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 ********************************************* From rboone at vineland.org Wed Feb 28 09:49:51 2007 From: rboone at vineland.org (richard boone) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 09:49:51 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 692] Re: [POSSIBLE SPAM] Re: Ideas to increase retention? In-Reply-To: <20070227202610.73B89B5801@xprdmxin.myway.com> Message-ID: <001e01c75b47$b33e7910$1502120a@schools.vineland.org> http://www.bubbl.us > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics- > bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of kathleen morgan > Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 3:26 PM > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [POSSIBLE SPAM] [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: Ideas to increase > retention? > Importance: Low > > > Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of > printable examples. > Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered > in bunnies. > > Kathleen > Telluride CO > > > > > --- On Mon 02/26, Virginia Tardaewether < tarv at chemeketa.edu > wrote: > From: Virginia Tardaewether [mailto: tarv at chemeketa.edu] > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention? > > xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> > > > > > namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"/> > name="place"/> > name="PersonName"/> > > > > > > > >

> >

style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Have you had any training with visual > learning? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections > learners > who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as > webbing > and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays. >

> >

style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Va

> >

style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>

> >
> >
face="Times New Roman"> > >
> >
> >

From: face=Tahoma> > focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] > style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of Tim Lanari
> Sent: Sunday, February 25, > 2007 > 6:12 PM
> To: w:st="on">The > Focus on Basics Discussion List
> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] > Ideas > to increase retention?

> >
> >

> >
> >


> As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students > frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer > possible > brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health > issues, > and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As > instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these > students > who have so many complications to learning.

> >
> >
> >

> >
> >
> >

What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply > to > increase retention?

> >
> >
> >

> >
> >
> >

> >
> >
> >


> PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com > wrote:

> >
> >
> >

I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great > idea to > track
> them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd > find
> on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students > to
> acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer".
>
> Do you let your
> students know about the w:st="on">Eureka > factor and encourage them to express those
> ideas?
>
> Thanks for sharing it.
> Jean
>
> Personally, I like the w:st="on">Eureka
> Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when > students
> say w:st="on">Eureka! I > know they learned something. When they share their w:st="on"> w:st="on">Eureka with
> another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and > applications
> to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was > 6.
> As an instructor you can graph your w:st="on">Eureka's > and see visually how you are
> doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too.
> > Va
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
> Message sent to lanarita at sbcglobal.net.

> >
> >

> >
> > > > >

----------------------------------------------------
National > Institute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing > list
FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your > subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
Message sent to > DEZREEN at excite.com. > > _______________________________________________ > Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com > The most personalized portal on the Web! > From JZamierowski at Stairwaysbh.org Wed Feb 28 10:58:07 2007 From: JZamierowski at Stairwaysbh.org (Joy Zamierowski) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 10:58:07 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 693] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Message-ID: <6443EE0C17148B4D821EE3F48E59A051017A4AEE@mail> Dr. Cooper's Tic Tac Toe math is now on DVD, which is very helpful to those of us who attend the training and then feel that additional review would be helpful. This can be purchased from his website. Joy Zamierowski Northwest Professional Development Center 2919 State Street Erie, PA 16508 814-878-2010 http://www.nwpdc.org -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Carver, Mary-Lynn Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 8:38 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Robin, Thank you so much for the link to Dr. Cooper's website. I saw him 10+ years ago at an LD conference teaching tic-tac-toe math and it changed me as a teacher. I'm so happy to re-discover the website - LD or not, my students will benefit greatly. Thanks, ML Carver ABE Instructor College of Lake County Waukegan, IL ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of robinschwarz1 at aol.com Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 6:23 PM To: dezreen at excite.com; focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Richard Cooper's catalogue, at learningdifferences.com, is FULL of wonderful graphic organizers in pads and many other wonderful things to help learners learn in unusual ways. It is a treasure trove for any teacher of adult learners, no matter what their issues. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: dezreen at excite.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of printable examples. Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered in bunnies. Kathleen Telluride CO --- On Mon 02/26, Virginia Tardaewether < tarv at chemeketa.edu > wrote: From: Virginia Tardaewether [mailto: tarv at chemeketa.edu] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention?

Have you had any training with visual learning? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays.

Va

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Tim Lanari
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 6:12 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention?


As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning.

What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention?


PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.c o m wrote:

I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track
them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find
on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to
acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer".

Do you let your
students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those
ideas?

Thanks for sharing it.
Jean

Personally, I like the Eureka
Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students
say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with
another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications
to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6.
As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are
doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too.
> Va

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
Message sent to lanarita at sbcglobal.net.

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to MLCARVER at clcillinois.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070228/c43c895a/attachment.html From Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov Wed Feb 28 11:03:36 2007 From: Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov (Grant, Sandra) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 09:03:36 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 694] Re: Ideas to increase retention? In-Reply-To: <8C928E5C5324DD0-1DEC-938D@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> References: <20070227202610.73B89B5801@xprdmxin.myway.com> <8C928E5C5324DD0-1DEC-938D@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD002990017D71E3@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> Besides his website Dr. Cooper has written a math book for those who learn differently. It go though all of his ideas about teaching math. It is a very good resource. It is written for K-12 but work with adults with math anxiety and other difficulties. Sandra Grant -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of robinschwarz1 at aol.com Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 5:23 PM To: dezreen at excite.com; focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Richard Cooper's catalogue, at learningdifferences.com, is FULL of wonderful graphic organizers in pads and many other wonderful things to help learners learn in unusual ways. It is a treasure trove for any teacher of adult learners, no matter what their issues. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: dezreen at excite.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of printable examples. Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered in bunnies. Kathleen Telluride CO --- On Mon 02/26, Virginia Tardaewether < tarv at chemeketa.edu > wrote: From: Virginia Tardaewether [mailto: tarv at chemeketa.edu] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention?

Have you had any training with visual learning? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays.

Va

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Tim Lanari
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 6:12 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention?


As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning.

What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention?


PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.c o m wrote:

I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track
them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find
on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to
acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer".

Do you let your
students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those
ideas?

Thanks for sharing it.
Jean

Personally, I like the Eureka
Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students
say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with
another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications
to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6.
As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are
doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too.
> Va

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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. From sandy_goodman at worlded.org Wed Feb 28 11:02:50 2007 From: sandy_goodman at worlded.org (Sandy Goodman) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:02:50 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 695] Re: GED toPostsecondary Ed - Transitions Strand at COABE In-Reply-To: <8C928E68F987CBE-1DEC-93D6@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> References: <8C928E68F987CBE-1DEC-93D6@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <45E56159.C96D.0057.0@worlded.org> Hi all: Since COABE has come up I will take this opportunity to let you know about the great line-up of workshops NCTN has put togher for COABE. Below you'll find the schedule. We hope to see you there - Sandy NCTN Transition Strand at COABE 2007 [All sessions will be held in Salon 10] 1. College For A Day: Your ABE/ESOL Learners Can Transition to College! Presented by Janet Fischer, Northern Essex Community College Monday, March 26 10:30 a.m. ? 11:45 p.m. 2. Adult Education and One-Stops: Partners for Successful Transitioning (Panel Discussion) Presented by Ellen McDevitt (FourthRiver Associates), Mary Lou Friedline (ABLE), Rachel Zilcosky (ABLE), Peg Rood (Luzerne County Community College), Kimberlee Meinen (Westmoreland/Fayette), and Brian Williams (Pittsburgh/Allegheny) Monday, March 26 1:45 p.m. ? 3:00 p.m. 3. Preparing Adults for College Level Math Presented by Pam Meader, Portland Adult Education and Adult Numeracy Network Tuesday, March 27 10:15 a.m. ?11:30 a.m. 4. The GED Gap: Comparing the GED Exam and College Placement Tests Presented by Sandy Goodman, New England College Transition Project at World Education, Inc. Tuesday, March 27 1:45 p.m. ? 3:00 p.m. 5. It Takes the Whole Team to Transition an ABE Student Presented by Tom Kowalczyk and Jose Herrera, Rio Salado College Tuesday, March 27 4:15 p.m. ? 5:30 p.m. 6. Mapping the Financial Journey: Helping Adults Plan for College Presented by Cynthia Zafft and Priyanka Sharma, National College Transition Network at World Education, Inc. Wednesday, March 28 8:00 a.m. ? 9:15 a.m. 7. Forging Partnerships with Community Leaders Presented by Brenda Dann-Messier, Dorcas Place Adult & Family Literacy Center Wednesday, March 28 9:30 a.m. ? 10:45 a.m. 8. Don?t Take No for an Answer Presented by Cynthia Zafft and Andy Nash, National College Transition Network at World Education, Inc. Wednesday, March 28 11:00 a.m. ? 12:15 p.m. Please Join Us! >>> 2/27/2007 7:28 PM >>> Last year's Learning Disabilities Association conference, and indeed EVERY year's conference, has a wonderful assortment of presentations on these types of transitional programs that have had great success. I suggest anyone interested in such a program check out the LDA site (ldaamerica.org) for more on these at recent conferences. Also, I believe there will be such a session at the upcoming COABE in Philly. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: amuro5 at epcc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:54 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Agreed Hal, and that is the role that transitional programs should fulfill. They can serve as mediators between teachers and students in making teachers more sensitive and understanding of students' problems. They can also help students overcome problems that prevent them from attending classes, completing assignments, etc. I have found that transitional programs work in both ways. First, they help students overcome barriers and adapt to college life. They also help teachers become more aware about non-traditional student barriers and develop strategies to serve them. CCs, which are the places where many of our students go to, are serving more and more non-traditional students. They have an average first year drop out rate of over 50%. So, being all macho, and thinking that ABE approaches are warm and fuzzy is not helping them prepare those in need. So, if they are really concerned about serving the population they need to understand that the macho, "In my math class only 40% complete the semester" doesn't make teachers and CCs look good. Instead, they need to thin, "how do I increase my retention rate to 80%". Transition programs can help with this. Also, a lot of faculty development to teach "teachers" that they role is to make their best to teach, and that requires that they change their pedagogies. An analogy can be made with the health care system. The original AMA health literacy video had the president of the AMA saying something like, "These people need to increase their skills to our level". Ten years later, the AMA has recognized that doctors need to stop saying "hypertension" and say "high blood pressure" to their patients. The medical system is still screwed up, but we must try to help it rather than say that we shouldn't send people to the doctor because they don't know what hypertension is. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sgoodman at worlded.org. From b.garner4 at verizon.net Wed Feb 28 11:12:47 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 10:12:47 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 696] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 Message-ID: <27457858.496891172679167859.JavaMail.root@vms070.mailsrvcs.net> Sylvia, Thanks for sharing the process that occures at ACC Adult Collegiate. I'm curious as to what other influences they might be exposed to, in addition to the dual high school/college enrollment: orientations to college, for example, or posters on the wall, or former students stopping by to talk? Also, could you provide us with some demographic information: what's the age range of your students? Thanks, Barb Garner Focus on Basics, Massachusetts ===================== From: Sylvia Provenski Date: 2007/02/28 Wed AM 08:19:03 CST To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 691] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 I'm not surprised that GED students do not indicate that their goal is to go on to post-secondary. I am the Education Director of the ACC Adult Collegiate in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Our students are adults that are returning to this adult high school to complete their high school diplomas. When they first enroll when asked what their goal is the majority reply..."to get my grade 12". In the course of their studies our students take a blend of high school and dual credit College courses. Once they have completed the first term, we ask them again what their goal is. At this point the majority now indicate that their goal is to go on to post-secondary education. When you ask why their goal has changed the response is often, "I didn't think I was College material, but now that I have completed College (dual credit) courses I know I can do it." I believe that when they first enroll they don't dare to set their sights on a goal that, at that point does not seem to be attainable. Once they know what skills they have and are capable of they can realistically set their goal higher. Each year 30-40% of our graduates enroll in post-secondary programs immediately upon graduating. Some students need to wait a year or two because of a lack of finances or because the program has a wait list. Sylvia Provenski Education Director Assiniboine Community College Adult Collegiate Brandon, Manitoba, Canada ProvenSy at assiniboine.net -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov Sent: February 28, 2007 6:33 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to focusonbasics at nifl.gov To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov You can reach the person managing the list at focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." Today's Topics: 1. [FocusOnBasics 683] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) 2. [FocusOnBasics 684] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) 3. [FocusOnBasics 685] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! (Karen Johnson) 4. [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) 5. [FocusOnBasics 687] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:56:20 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 683] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E2036CF8E0-1DEC-91D4 at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Let's have a parade for Tom M!!! Well , well said! I can't even count the programs if have visited ( NOT in MA!!) where both teachers and learners only answer "GED" when asked what learner goals are......!!! An awful lot of research has shown time and again that low expectations equal low outcomes, no matter what level of educational instruction is involved. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: RMechem at doe.mass.edu To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; focusonbasics at nifl.gov; KHinson at almanid.com Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 9:09 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a step towards post-secondary education. Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? Barb Garner From: Katrina Hinson Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:01:42 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 684] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E2C34D1832-1DEC-924D at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Thank you to Jim, not only for these great questions and challenges, but also for identifying his program AND STATE. Can those answering these comments with information about state procedures etc. please be so kind as to identify your state somewhere in your message? Thank you. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: jschneider at eicc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 9:48 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 670] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Hi, Jim Schneider, Asst Dean, Scott Community College Career Assistance Center - downtown adult learner center in Davenport Iowa. 2006 GED Results - 584 passed of 587 who completed the battery. It seems to me that the comparision and questions being asked as reversed of what would make sense. If our concern is getting GED recipients to pursue PSE, wouldn't we want to explore the differences between those GED recipients who pursue pse v those who do not? (This is the question I want to explore in my dissertation.) Perhaps those GED recipients who pursue pse do have a lot in common with hs grads who pursue pse. Perhaps those who do not pursue pse have more of the at-risk factors at play in their lives. Adult Literacy programming has never been funded to do much more than help people get their GED. Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater perhaps a little more research and programming emphasis might be in order? I completely support the premise that to graduate with a high school diploma is preferable to earning a GED. However, the current high school system wasn't appealing to these individuals when it was age appropriate, there is little that can be done once they have decided to drop. In addition, the vast majority of the younger GED recipients that I work with have earned very little if any credits towards their high school diploma. I make a concerted effort to get those who could graduate back into school, but it isn't the answer for the majority. Jim S. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:36 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Hi Everyone, While Barb is still snowbound, I have at least found her opening message for this discussion. It is pasted below. For those who don't know, Barb Garner was the editor of all 31 issues of "Focus on Basics", and co-author with Sara Fass of "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future." Having studied statistics with researcher John Tyler, she enjoys working with him to make sure his research findings reach the adult basic education community. All the best, Julie ******************** >From Barb: It's pretty common knowledge these days that at least some college is necessary for economic success. Growing numbers of ABE programs are putting into place transition programs to help their learners enter and succeed in postsecondary school. And, many GED students cite entry into college as one of the reasons they're getting their GEDs. With all that motivation, one might think that GED holders would be enrolling in postsecondary schools in droves. Are they? Researchers John Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom examined the impact that earning a GED has on the postsecondary enrollment of high school dropouts, relative to what would have happened to dropouts had they stayed in school. Setting up the research question this way, they hoped to capture the role of the GED (vs. other factors) in postsecondary enrollment. Their study, using data from Texas, revealed that only 20 percent of Texas GED holders enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Texas within three years of getting a GED. In contrast, 38 percent of high school completers with profiles similar to the GED holders were enrolled in postsecondary education within 3 years. Other data show that GED holders were achieving Associate's degrees at lower rates than high school completers with similar profiles. Why are GED holders failing to enter college at the rates one might assume (and hope) they would? Tyler notes that the data they used was from 2001, and therefore wouldn't reflect growing attempts on the part of ABE programs to ensure that students enter and succeed in postsecondary. What do you know about the students who earn GEDs at your program? Are they entering college? If not, what's keeping them from doing so? What might help them? Since more high school completers with academic skills similar to those of GED holders enter college than do GED holders, a case could be made that more emphasis should be placed on re-enrolling high school leavers back into high school. Any thoughts on this? Barb Garner **************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:04:11 -0800 From: "Karen Johnson" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 685] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Barbara and all, This is a pilot program designed to offer students who would not otherwise be eligible for financial aid to have the same opportunity as others. It is funded by the state legislature. It does fund tuition, fees, childcare, books, materials, and living expenses. Each student's allocation is determined on need as with other need based grants. Many of these students are in I BEST (integrated basic skills) programs that combine ABE and GED or ESL with a professional technical program and have two teachers that work together with a cohort in the program, so a basic skills instructor and a prof. tech. instructor share the class. Regular college tuition is charged, so financial aid is necessary. Other students might be in adult high school completing credits for a high school diploma and paying a reduced tuition. They also receive living expenses, tuition, etc. based on need. It is an interesting project and puts funding in the hands of the neediest students who would not be eligible for a pell grant as they don't have a diploma or GED. It evens up the playing field. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:23:14 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? To: dezreen at excite.com, focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E5C5324DD0-1DEC-938D at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Richard Cooper's catalogue, at learningdifferences.com, is FULL of wonderful graphic organizers in pads and many other wonderful things to help learners learn in unusual ways. It is a treasure trove for any teacher of adult learners, no matter what their issues. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: dezreen at excite.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of printable examples. Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered in bunnies. Kathleen Telluride CO --- On Mon 02/26, Virginia Tardaewether < tarv at chemeketa.edu > wrote: From: Virginia Tardaewether [mailto: tarv at chemeketa.edu] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention?

Have you had any training with visual learning? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays.

Va

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Tim Lanari
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 6:12 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention?


As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning.

What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention?


PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.co m wrote:

I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track
them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find
on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to
acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer".

Do you let your
students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those
ideas?

Thanks for sharing it.
Jean

Personally, I like the Eureka
Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students
say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with
another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications
to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6.
As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are
doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too.
> Va

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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:28:53 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 687] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E68F987CBE-1DEC-93D6 at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Last year's Learning Disabilities Association conference, and indeed EVERY year's conference, has a wonderful assortment of presentations on these types of transitional programs that have had great success. I suggest anyone interested in such a program check out the LDA site (ldaamerica.org) for more on these at recent conferences. Also, I believe there will be such a session at the upcoming COABE in Philly. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: amuro5 at epcc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:54 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Agreed Hal, and that is the role that transitional programs should fulfill. They can serve as mediators between teachers and students in making teachers more sensitive and understanding of students' problems. They can also help students overcome problems that prevent them from attending classes, completing assignments, etc. I have found that transitional programs work in both ways. First, they help students overcome barriers and adapt to college life. They also help teachers become more aware about non-traditional student barriers and develop strategies to serve them. CCs, which are the places where many of our students go to, are serving more and more non-traditional students. They have an average first year drop out rate of over 50%. So, being all macho, and thinking that ABE approaches are warm and fuzzy is not helping them prepare those in need. So, if they are really concerned about serving the population they need to understand that the macho, "In my math class only 40% complete the semester" doesn't make teachers and CCs look good. Instead, they need to thin, "how do I increase my retention rate to 80%". Transition programs can help with this. Also, a lot of faculty development to teach "teachers" that they role is to make their best to teach, and that requires that they change their pedagogies. An analogy can be made with the health care system. The original AMA health literacy video had the president of the AMA saying something like, "These people need to increase their skills to our level". Ten years later, the AMA has recognized that doctors need to stop saying "hypertension" and say "high blood pressure" to their patients. The medical system is still screwed up, but we must try to help it rather than say that we shouldn't send people to the doctor because they don't know what hypertension is. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 ********************************************* ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From jstrawn at clasp.org Wed Feb 28 13:27:54 2007 From: jstrawn at clasp.org (Julie Strawn) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 13:27:54 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 697] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! References: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C1B3@ex01.sfcc.edu> Message-ID: <319C1E32908F254BB662F59E0BA057F0033046@srvmail.clasporg.local> I've been out of town so just now joining the discussion, which is terrific--thanks so much NCSALL for organizing it. Just wanted to follow up on previous exchange re WA state student aid pilot program. It is called Opportunity Grants and is aimed at expanding college access for low income adults. For those of you interested in more information on it, below is an article from the Dec 2006 newsletter of the WA community colleges system. Julie Strawn, Center for Law and Social Policy. Low-income students are delaying college and coming under-prepared The socioeconomic report suggests that younger students from lower income families are delaying coming to college and are showing up later on college campuses with lower basic skills. ?The fact that in the year 2000, children under 10 years old were much more likely to be in the lower income households than in 1990 makes this issue more compelling in its need for attention,? said SBCTC?s David Prince. ?Trends show we have increasingly more low-income people in our state. We need to find ways to make college more accessible to them in order to turn around the cycle of poverty.? In Washington, one out of every six adults lacks basic literacy skills, yet only five percent of adults needing these skills enrolled in adult basic education programs last year. Employers will be looking to these under-prepared adults as they try to fill the gap created by the wave of Baby Boomer retirements. ?In order for Washington?s economy to thrive, we must get every citizen at least one-year of college, plus a credential,? explained SBCTC?s Earl. ?We know students entering our system with a high school diploma or less show a substantial boost in their earnings if they reach this goal.? Credentials are evidence that a student earned a specific job skill, such as a certificate in welding, nursing or drafting. With this goal in mind, the Legislature funded 11 pilot Opportunity Grant programs on two-year college campuses to get low-income adults onto the path of education leading to employment. Opportunity Grants, which started this fall, assist students struggling to maintain work and family obligations by removing obstacles such as tuition, childcare, books and fees. The two-year college budget request for the next biennium includes investing $16 million to expand Opportunity Grants to all 34 community and technical colleges across Washington. In addition, the request includes $14.1 million to support adult basic education programs, including basic skills for English speaking adults, English as a Second Language and GED preparation to infuse the state?s workforce with more highly skilled people. Washington Learns also tries to increase access to workforce training for adults, especially those with low incomes, limited basic skills or limited proficiency with the English language, by recommending the expansion of I-BEST programs at two-year colleges. Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) programs provide funding for colleges to pair a basic skills instructor with a vocational instructor to develop and deliver instruction. ?Students in I-BEST programs are learning language skills directly related to the work world,? explained Earl. ?This knowledge is not only essential for them to acquire a living wage job and provide for their families, but necessary for us to grow our economy.? Julie Strawn Center for Law and Social Policy 2240 Forest Street Denver CO 80207 720-941-1665 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Karen Johnson Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 7:04 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 685] Re:GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Barbara and all, This is a pilot program designed to offer students who would not otherwise be eligible for financial aid to have the same opportunity as others. It is funded by the state legislature. It does fund tuition, fees, childcare, books, materials, and living expenses. Each student's allocation is determined on need as with other need based grants. Many of these students are in I BEST (integrated basic skills) programs that combine ABE and GED or ESL with a professional technical program and have two teachers that work together with a cohort in the program, so a basic skills instructor and a prof. tech. instructor share the class. Regular college tuition is charged, so financial aid is necessary. Other students might be in adult high school completing credits for a high school diploma and paying a reduced tuition. They also receive living expenses, tuition, etc. based on need. It is an interesting project and puts funding in the hands of the neediest students who would not be eligible for a pell grant as they don't have a diploma or GED. It evens up the playing field. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jstrawn at clasp.org. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 9914 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070228/bea15cbc/attachment.bin From jstrawn at clasp.org Wed Feb 28 13:35:49 2007 From: jstrawn at clasp.org (Julie Strawn) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 13:35:49 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--adult ed students and Pell grants References: <4CFDD6B88B634C409A76C0F44B3509BE04B6C1B3@ex01.sfcc.edu> Message-ID: <319C1E32908F254BB662F59E0BA057F0033049@srvmail.clasporg.local> One other follow up to Karen's email--I just wanted to clarify that adults without a high school diploma or GED are eligible for Pell grants, provided they can pass a so-called "Ability to Benefit" test (the actual tests and cut-off scores on each are on a list put out by the US Dept of Ed and then colleges choose which of the tests they will use as their Ability to Benefit test. Most of these tests, with the exception of the TABE, are not on the list of tests approved by US Dept of ED for adult ed national reporting system purposes). Students attending college less than half time are also eligible (e.g. low income working adults) and now qualify for more aid than in the past due to an expansion for this group that we got included in last year's Deficit Reduction Act. Julie Strawn Center for Law and Social Policy 2240 Forest Street Denver CO 80207 720-941-1665 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Karen Johnson Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 7:04 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 685] Re:GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Barbara and all, This is a pilot program designed to offer students who would not otherwise be eligible for financial aid to have the same opportunity as others. It is funded by the state legislature. It does fund tuition, fees, childcare, books, materials, and living expenses. Each student's allocation is determined on need as with other need based grants. Many of these students are in I BEST (integrated basic skills) programs that combine ABE and GED or ESL with a professional technical program and have two teachers that work together with a cohort in the program, so a basic skills instructor and a prof. tech. instructor share the class. Regular college tuition is charged, so financial aid is necessary. Other students might be in adult high school completing credits for a high school diploma and paying a reduced tuition. They also receive living expenses, tuition, etc. based on need. It is an interesting project and puts funding in the hands of the neediest students who would not be eligible for a pell grant as they don't have a diploma or GED. It evens up the playing field. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jstrawn at clasp.org. From cynthia_zafft at worlded.org Wed Feb 28 14:03:10 2007 From: cynthia_zafft at worlded.org (Cynthia Zafft) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:03:10 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Message-ID: <45E58B9D.60A9.0088.0@worlded.org> Hi All: On Tuesday, Bonnie commented on several issues related to college success and mentioned "soft skills." I was wondering how programs (both formal transition programs and informal ones) address soft skills. Bonnie's entry reminded me of a very flexible, metacognitive technique discussed in several NCSALL persistence studies and used by some transition programs. It's called Force Field Analysis. In this activity, students brainstorm what it takes for them to continue to pursue their educational goals...and what might hinder them. Each student is then asked to pick any two forces (they can be from the positive or negative list) that they would like to work on. Since, I have not done justice in this description, I'll give you an FOB link where it is described: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=327 It's a really a great strategy. I know that Pam Meader, the author of one of the NCTN Promising Practices on Preparing Students for College Level Math, uses this technique. See http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html What activities/strategies come to mind for you? Cynthia From Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us Wed Feb 28 14:52:05 2007 From: Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us (Brown, Charlene) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:52:05 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 699] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 In-Reply-To: <002901c75b43$66610800$6401a8c0@D4TWM391> Message-ID: Your observations point to the need to continually revisit the goal setting piece of instruction. Students evolve as they grow and their needs change. Charlene Brown, Coordinator, Adult Basic Education Jefferson County Public Schools Adult Basic Education Ahrens Resource Center 546 S. 1ST St. Suite 203 Louisville KY 40202-1816 Phone: 502-485-3797 Fax: 502-485-7812 Email: charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Sylvia Provenski Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 9:19 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 691] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 I'm not surprised that GED students do not indicate that their goal is to go on to post-secondary. I am the Education Director of the ACC Adult Collegiate in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Our students are adults that are returning to this adult high school to complete their high school diplomas. When they first enroll when asked what their goal is the majority reply..."to get my grade 12". In the course of their studies our students take a blend of high school and dual credit College courses. Once they have completed the first term, we ask them again what their goal is. At this point the majority now indicate that their goal is to go on to post-secondary education. When you ask why their goal has changed the response is often, "I didn't think I was College material, but now that I have completed College (dual credit) courses I know I can do it." I believe that when they first enroll they don't dare to set their sights on a goal that, at that point does not seem to be attainable. Once they know what skills they have and are capable of they can realistically set their goal higher. Each year 30-40% of our graduates enroll in post-secondary programs immediately upon graduating. Some students need to wait a year or two because of a lack of finances or because the program has a wait list. Sylvia Provenski Education Director Assiniboine Community College Adult Collegiate Brandon, Manitoba, Canada ProvenSy at assiniboine.net -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov Sent: February 28, 2007 6:33 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to focusonbasics at nifl.gov To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov You can reach the person managing the list at focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." Today's Topics: 1. [FocusOnBasics 683] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) 2. [FocusOnBasics 684] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) 3. [FocusOnBasics 685] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! (Karen Johnson) 4. [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) 5. [FocusOnBasics 687] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:56:20 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 683] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E2036CF8E0-1DEC-91D4 at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Let's have a parade for Tom M!!! Well , well said! I can't even count the programs if have visited ( NOT in MA!!) where both teachers and learners only answer "GED" when asked what learner goals are......!!! An awful lot of research has shown time and again that low expectations equal low outcomes, no matter what level of educational instruction is involved. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: RMechem at doe.mass.edu To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; focusonbasics at nifl.gov; KHinson at almanid.com Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 9:09 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a step towards post-secondary education. Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? Barb Garner From: Katrina Hinson Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:01:42 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 684] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E2C34D1832-1DEC-924D at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Thank you to Jim, not only for these great questions and challenges, but also for identifying his program AND STATE. Can those answering these comments with information about state procedures etc. please be so kind as to identify your state somewhere in your message? Thank you. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: jschneider at eicc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 9:48 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 670] Re: Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Hi, Jim Schneider, Asst Dean, Scott Community College Career Assistance Center - downtown adult learner center in Davenport Iowa. 2006 GED Results - 584 passed of 587 who completed the battery. It seems to me that the comparision and questions being asked as reversed of what would make sense. If our concern is getting GED recipients to pursue PSE, wouldn't we want to explore the differences between those GED recipients who pursue pse v those who do not? (This is the question I want to explore in my dissertation.) Perhaps those GED recipients who pursue pse do have a lot in common with hs grads who pursue pse. Perhaps those who do not pursue pse have more of the at-risk factors at play in their lives. Adult Literacy programming has never been funded to do much more than help people get their GED. Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater perhaps a little more research and programming emphasis might be in order? I completely support the premise that to graduate with a high school diploma is preferable to earning a GED. However, the current high school system wasn't appealing to these individuals when it was age appropriate, there is little that can be done once they have decided to drop. In addition, the vast majority of the younger GED recipients that I work with have earned very little if any credits towards their high school diploma. I make a concerted effort to get those who could graduate back into school, but it isn't the answer for the majority. Jim S. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 10:36 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 647] Transitions overview and questions from BarbGarner Hi Everyone, While Barb is still snowbound, I have at least found her opening message for this discussion. It is pasted below. For those who don't know, Barb Garner was the editor of all 31 issues of "Focus on Basics", and co-author with Sara Fass of "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future." Having studied statistics with researcher John Tyler, she enjoys working with him to make sure his research findings reach the adult basic education community. All the best, Julie ******************** >From Barb: It's pretty common knowledge these days that at least some college is necessary for economic success. Growing numbers of ABE programs are putting into place transition programs to help their learners enter and succeed in postsecondary school. And, many GED students cite entry into college as one of the reasons they're getting their GEDs. With all that motivation, one might think that GED holders would be enrolling in postsecondary schools in droves. Are they? Researchers John Tyler and Magnus Lofstrom examined the impact that earning a GED has on the postsecondary enrollment of high school dropouts, relative to what would have happened to dropouts had they stayed in school. Setting up the research question this way, they hoped to capture the role of the GED (vs. other factors) in postsecondary enrollment. Their study, using data from Texas, revealed that only 20 percent of Texas GED holders enrolled in a postsecondary institution in Texas within three years of getting a GED. In contrast, 38 percent of high school completers with profiles similar to the GED holders were enrolled in postsecondary education within 3 years. Other data show that GED holders were achieving Associate's degrees at lower rates than high school completers with similar profiles. Why are GED holders failing to enter college at the rates one might assume (and hope) they would? Tyler notes that the data they used was from 2001, and therefore wouldn't reflect growing attempts on the part of ABE programs to ensure that students enter and succeed in postsecondary. What do you know about the students who earn GEDs at your program? Are they entering college? If not, what's keeping them from doing so? What might help them? Since more high school completers with academic skills similar to those of GED holders enter college than do GED holders, a case could be made that more emphasis should be placed on re-enrolling high school leavers back into high school. Any thoughts on this? Barb Garner **************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:04:11 -0800 From: "Karen Johnson" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 685] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Barbara and all, This is a pilot program designed to offer students who would not otherwise be eligible for financial aid to have the same opportunity as others. It is funded by the state legislature. It does fund tuition, fees, childcare, books, materials, and living expenses. Each student's allocation is determined on need as with other need based grants. Many of these students are in I BEST (integrated basic skills) programs that combine ABE and GED or ESL with a professional technical program and have two teachers that work together with a cohort in the program, so a basic skills instructor and a prof. tech. instructor share the class. Regular college tuition is charged, so financial aid is necessary. Other students might be in adult high school completing credits for a high school diploma and paying a reduced tuition. They also receive living expenses, tuition, etc. based on need. It is an interesting project and puts funding in the hands of the neediest students who would not be eligible for a pell grant as they don't have a diploma or GED. It evens up the playing field. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 673] Re: GEDtoPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Re: Karen Johnson's email below -- your statement that " our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion" I am curious as to why financial aid might be needed to get the GED, other than the cost of taking the official test. Can the financial aid be used for living expenses? What does it pay for and what is the average amount? Great discussion. Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director at SFCC -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Karen Johnson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 671] Re: GED toPostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! Our state and our college have key indicators now, and one of them is quantifying the number of ABE/GED students who move on and complete one year of college. There is a major push on our campus to provide information to this population in an effort to get them into college. Just two weeks ago we held our second annual Next Steps: Making Connections conference for all of our ABE, GED and upper level ESL students and developmental education and adult high school students. We had a panel of students who had made the transition tell their stories and the audience was completely spell-bound. We had our associate dean tell his story, too , as it was a similar one. We had pull out sessions on specific professional technical programs and an area where students could connect with many of our college services. There were about 500 students in attendance (day and evening session) and many of them had assignments they had to do as part of the process from their classes that guided them through how to make the most of going to a conference and getting their questions answered. We will be looking at our participants in the coming weeks to see how many of them did any of these things: made an advising appointment, registered for the next quarter, applied for financial aid, etc. The best part is our state has opened the door through opportunity grants that students in financial need without a HS diploma or GED can apply for and receive financial aid for GED or HS completion and take a college program at the same time or directly after. It has allowed 72 students this year who would not have had aid, get it and stay in school. We will be monitoring this effort very closely. Karen Johnson, Dean of Developmental Education Edmonds Community College -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:13 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to PostsecondaryEducation Discussion--Greetings! I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering school beyond the GED now. I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 2:22 pm >>> We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have been done years ago. My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so we can win the literacy attainment race!" -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion--Greetings! I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students already enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for college credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Thank you. Barbara Arguedas ABE Director Santa Fe Community College Santa Fe, NM -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion --Greetings! Dear FOB Listers: Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and helpful in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to postsecondary education. The National College Transition Network is a relatively new organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to be said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer touring our websites: http://www.collegetransition.org http://www.collegeforadults.org Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they do go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your research show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they enter college? Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to kjohnson at edcc.edu. ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:23:14 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 686] Re: Ideas to increase retention? To: dezreen at excite.com, focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E5C5324DD0-1DEC-938D at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Richard Cooper's catalogue, at learningdifferences.com, is FULL of wonderful graphic organizers in pads and many other wonderful things to help learners learn in unusual ways. It is a treasure trove for any teacher of adult learners, no matter what their issues. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: dezreen at excite.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: Ideas to increase retention? Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of printable examples. Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered in bunnies. Kathleen Telluride CO --- On Mon 02/26, Virginia Tardaewether < tarv at chemeketa.edu > wrote: From: Virginia Tardaewether [mailto: tarv at chemeketa.edu] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:32 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 657] Re: Ideas to increase retention?

Have you had any training with visual learning? I found that these techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation help in sequencing essays.

Va

From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Tim Lanari
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 6:12 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 644] Ideas to increase retention?


As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. As instructors, we continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning.

What strategies, techiques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention?


PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.c o m wrote:

I love that! I call those light bulb moments, but what a great idea to track
them. Sometimes in training course I teach, I bring bells like you'd find
on an old hotel desk, and put one at each table and encourage students to
acknowledge their discoveries as "a real bell ringer".

Do you let your
students know about the Eureka factor and encourage them to express those
ideas?

Thanks for sharing it.
Jean

Personally, I like the Eureka
Tool. Have you experienced it? It's been around for centuries....when students
say Eureka! I know they learned something. When they share their Eureka with
another, they both learned. When they both share it with me and applications
to their lives-I learn something. The Eureka Coefficient for today was 6.
As an instructor you can graph your Eureka's and see visually how you are
doing. And trust me, those test scores will being going up too.
> Va

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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:28:53 -0500 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com Subject: [FocusOnBasics 687] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Message-ID: <8C928E68F987CBE-1DEC-93D6 at MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Last year's Learning Disabilities Association conference, and indeed EVERY year's conference, has a wonderful assortment of presentations on these types of transitional programs that have had great success. I suggest anyone interested in such a program check out the LDA site (ldaamerica.org) for more on these at recent conferences. Also, I believe there will be such a session at the upcoming COABE in Philly. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: amuro5 at epcc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:54 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Agreed Hal, and that is the role that transitional programs should fulfill. They can serve as mediators between teachers and students in making teachers more sensitive and understanding of students' problems. They can also help students overcome problems that prevent them from attending classes, completing assignments, etc. I have found that transitional programs work in both ways. First, they help students overcome barriers and adapt to college life. They also help teachers become more aware about non-traditional student barriers and develop strategies to serve them. CCs, which are the places where many of our students go to, are serving more and more non-traditional students. They have an average first year drop out rate of over 50%. So, being all macho, and thinking that ABE approaches are warm and fuzzy is not helping them prepare those in need. So, if they are really concerned about serving the population they need to understand that the macho, "In my math class only 40% complete the semester" doesn't make teachers and CCs look good. Instead, they need to thin, "how do I increase my retention rate to 80%". Transition programs can help with this. Also, a lot of faculty development to teach "teachers" that they role is to make their best to teach, and that requires that they change their pedagogies. An analogy can be made with the health care system. The original AMA health literacy video had the president of the AMA saying something like, "These people need to increase their skills to our level". Ten years later, the AMA has recognized that doctors need to stop saying "hypertension" and say "high blood pressure" to their patients. The medical system is still screwed up, but we must try to help it rather than say that we shouldn't send people to the doctor because they don't know what hypertension is. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 17, Issue 22 ********************************************* ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. From bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net Wed Feb 28 11:59:47 2007 From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net (Bonnita Solberg) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 08:59:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 700] GED/ESL to Post Secondary In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <20070228165947.93765.qmail@web83108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Good Morning from Cold California! Does anyone have a curriculum for ESL students in pre Cosmetology? One of my teachers has a student who plans to attend Community College in cosmetology in the future. This teacher custom builds lessons for her multi-level, open entry, open exit class; it would be incredible if she could find a curriculum and not have to re-invent the wheel. Thanks to all for a wonderful discussion group and great resources. This is as good as it gets! Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070228/8255c9a4/attachment.html From Mdr151 at aol.com Wed Feb 28 22:29:54 2007 From: Mdr151 at aol.com (Mdr151 at aol.com) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:29:54 EST Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Message-ID: Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well. In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses. I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course. The benefits of our program are lower costs for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking, learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and for math, more confidence. Pam Meader Presenter for NCTN President, Adult Numeracy Network


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AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070228/ec14ffda/attachment.html From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Wed Feb 28 22:36:45 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:36:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 702] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Message-ID: <775857.3787.qm@web83301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Thanks for reminding me of the force field analysis, and giving the references. In my freshman skills seminar this semester, i had them start with a S.W.O.T.. What's nice about that one is that the st,rengths and weaknesses come from the "inside," self-awareness, reflection, metacognition, the "soft" skills, if you will, and the opportunities and threats come from "outside," circumstances within or outside the person's control, but under threats students often mention negative characteristics or behaviors that could cause them not to succeed. Does anyone know of any research around this tool? We also do goal-setting exercises, and have them produce a "personal mission statement." And we always try to align behavior, intelligences and personality assessments with academic skills and career skills, and the Big 6 information strategies with real life as well (Sorry I've fogotten the reference for that). Since I'm new to this list, I'll also post a query I've sent to others: one of our faculty initiatives for action research is what they (I'm neither "really" faculty not "really" part-time staff---long and familiar story to many in our field) called the "polarized" classroom, the wde gap not just in skills but in attitude, motivation, behavior... and to whom does one teach? i think the question's posed badly but I want to support my contention with some research-based practices. Many thanks, Bonnie Odiorne, PhD Post University Waterbury, CT Adjunct Professor; Writing Center Director ----- Original Message ---- From: Cynthia Zafft To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 2:03:10 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Hi All: On Tuesday, Bonnie commented on several issues related to college success and mentioned "soft skills." I was wondering how programs (both formal transition programs and informal ones) address soft skills. Bonnie's entry reminded me of a very flexible, metacognitive technique discussed in several NCSALL persistence studies and used by some transition programs. It's called Force Field Analysis. In this activity, students brainstorm what it takes for them to continue to pursue their educational goals...and what might hinder them. Each student is then asked to pick any two forces (they can be from the positive or negative list) that they would like to work on. Since, I have not done justice in this description, I'll give you an FOB link where it is described: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=327 It's a really a great strategy. I know that Pam Meader, the author of one of the NCTN Promising Practices on Preparing Students for College Level Math, uses this technique. See http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html What activities/strategies come to mind for you? Cynthia ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070228/e5eed0d6/attachment.html From b.garner4 at verizon.net Thu Mar 1 08:04:48 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 07:04:48 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 703] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Message-ID: <13979800.1684351172754288513.JavaMail.root@vms226.mailsrvcs.net> Pam, Thanks for sharing the data about Maine. The lack of preparedness for college level work is not new information, but it's always disturbing. I'm still thinking hard about the "why"---why did young GED holders fail to enroll in post secondary at the same rates as did similar young high school completers? What strikes me about the Maine data is that the students are high school graduates, not GED holders. Nonetheless they have academic preparedness issues. This echoes Tyler/Loftus's work, which shows that academic preparedness is not the factor that explains the difference in postsecondary enrollment between young high school completers and GED holders. Barb Garner ==================== From: Mdr151 at aol.com Date: 2007/02/28 Wed PM 09:29:54 CST To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well.? In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school?students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses.?I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass? developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course.? The benefits of our program?are lower costs?for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking,?learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and?for math, more confidence.??Pam MeaderPresenter for NCTNPresident, Adult Numeracy Network AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From marilyn.gillespie at sri.com Thu Mar 1 08:35:56 2007 From: marilyn.gillespie at sri.com (Marilyn Gillespie) Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 08:35:56 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 704] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills In-Reply-To: <775857.3787.qm@web83301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <775857.3787.qm@web83301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <45E6D6BC.8040106@sri.com> Bonnee and all, Soft skills are indeed a concern. You might want to look at a curriculum we developed in Florida called Florida Works. It has many easy to use activities that address soft skills using cooperative learning, problem posing and case study techniques. Although it is designed for adults who are preparing for work many of the same soft skills are needed for postsecondary education work. In addition, you might want to look at the profile of employability skills developed for the EFF National Work Readiness credential. This 1 page profile lists skills and tasks that front line employers have identified as key to being ready for work. The list was developed through a two year process. First we culled through entry level skills standards from various industries to find commonalities. We then conducted an online "importance rating" process with 500 or so front line employers in several states. Next, we did focus groups in several states with entry level workers, front line supervisors and some human resource staff. Interestingly we found that listening and working cooperatively were among the skills found to be most important. If you go to the EFF portal and then to the Assessment Resource Collection you will find references to research on standards such as Work Cooperatively, Solve Problems and Make Decisions, and Listen Actively. They may point you to some research on "soft" skills, although there certainly has not been enough of this. There is, to some extent, a disconnect between employers, who recognize soft skills as so important and educators who focus on basic skills without connecting these to the soft skills. There is some sense in the Department of Labor for example, that these skills are something that should be learned at home rather than in the classroom I think also that a lot of teachers who would like to address soft skills don't know how to organize activities. Florida Works activities are designed to be very easy for teachers to use, with students taking charge of much of the "teaching". We used quotes from Florida entry level workers and employers as the basis for many of the activities but similar kinds of problem posing "codes" could be developed using quotes related to problems adults face in developmental education classes so that the topics are "generative" for the learners using them. Good luck! Marilyn Gillespie SRI International Bonnie Odiorne wrote: > Thanks for reminding me of the force field analysis, and giving the > references. In my freshman skills seminar this semester, i had them > start with a S.W.O.T.. What's nice about that one is that the > st,rengths and weaknesses come from the "inside," self-awareness, > reflection, metacognition, the "soft" skills, if you will, and the > opportunities and threats come from "outside," circumstances within or > outside the person's control, but under threats students often mention > negative characteristics or behaviors that could cause them not to > succeed. Does anyone know of any research around this tool? > We also do goal-setting exercises, and have them produce a "personal > mission statement." And we always try to align behavior, intelligences > and personality assessments with academic skills and career skills, > and the Big 6 information strategies with real life as well (Sorry > I've fogotten the reference for that). Since I'm new to this list, > I'll also post a query I've sent to others: one of our faculty > initiatives for action research is what they (I'm neither "really" > faculty not "really" part-time staff---long and familiar story to many > in our field) called the "polarized" classroom, the wde gap not just > in skills but in attitude, motivation, behavior... and to whom does > one teach? i think the question's posed badly but I want to support my > contention with some research-based practices. > Many thanks, > Bonnie Odiorne, PhD Post University Waterbury, CT > Adjunct Professor; Writing Center Director > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: Cynthia Zafft > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 2:03:10 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills > > Hi All: > > On Tuesday, Bonnie commented on several issues related to college > success and mentioned "soft skills." I was wondering how programs (both > formal transition programs and informal ones) address soft skills. > > Bonnie's entry reminded me of a very flexible, metacognitive technique > discussed in several NCSALL persistence studies and used by some > transition programs. It's called Force Field Analysis. In this > activity, students brainstorm what it takes for them to continue to > pursue their educational goals...and what might hinder them. Each > student is then asked to pick any two forces (they can be from the > positive or negative list) that they would like to work on. Since, I > have not done justice in this description, I'll give you an FOB link > where it is described: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=327 It's a really a > great strategy. I know that Pam Meader, the author of one of the NCTN > Promising Practices on Preparing Students for College Level Math, uses > this technique. See > http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html > > What activities/strategies come to mind for you? > > Cynthia > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to marilyn.gillespie at sri.com. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/f3c0a977/attachment.html From hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu Thu Mar 1 10:08:14 2007 From: hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu (Hal Beder) Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:08:14 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 705] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills In-Reply-To: <45E6D6BC.8040106@sri.com> References: <775857.3787.qm@web83301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <45E6D6BC.8040106@sri.com> Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20070301100509.02c11df8@rci.rutgers.edu> Soft skills are a major area of concern in Equipped for the Future's Workforce Readiness Credential. A curriculum has been developed by the Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tenn. and some of that material may be relevant to the soft skills needed for successful transitions. At 08:35 AM 3/1/2007, you wrote: >Bonnee and all, > >Soft skills are indeed a concern. You might want to look at a >curriculum we developed in Florida called Florida Works. It has many >easy to use activities that address soft skills using cooperative >learning, problem posing and case study techniques. Although it is >designed for adults who are preparing for work many of the same soft >skills are needed for postsecondary education work. In addition, you >might want to look at the profile of employability skills developed >for the EFF National Work Readiness credential. This 1 page profile >lists skills and tasks that front line employers have identified as >key to being ready for work. The list was developed through a two >year process. First we culled through entry level skills standards >from various industries to find commonalities. We then conducted an >online "importance rating" process with 500 or so front line >employers in several states. Next, we did focus groups in several >states with entry level workers, front line supervisors and some >human resource staff. Interestingly we found that listening and >working cooperatively were among the skills found to be most >important. If you go to the EFF portal and then to the Assessment >Resource Collection you will find references to research on >standards such as Work Cooperatively, Solve Problems and Make >Decisions, and Listen Actively. They may point you to some research >on "soft" skills, although there certainly has not been enough of >this. There is, to some extent, a disconnect between employers, who >recognize soft skills as so important and educators who focus on >basic skills without connecting these to the soft skills. There is >some sense in the Department of Labor for example, that these skills >are something that should be learned at home rather than in the >classroom I think also that a lot of teachers who would like to >address soft skills don't know how to organize activities. Florida >Works activities are designed to be very easy for teachers to use, >with students taking charge of much of the "teaching". We used >quotes from Florida entry level workers and employers as the basis >for many of the activities but similar kinds of problem posing >"codes" could be developed using quotes related to problems adults >face in developmental education classes so that the topics are >"generative" for the learners using them. > >Good luck! > >Marilyn Gillespie >SRI International > >Bonnie Odiorne wrote: >>Thanks for reminding me of the force field analysis, and giving the >>references. In my freshman skills seminar this semester, i had them >>start with a S.W.O.T.. What's nice about that one is that the >>st,rengths and weaknesses come from the "inside," self-awareness, >>reflection, metacognition, the "soft" skills, if you will, and the >>opportunities and threats come from "outside," circumstances within >>or outside the person's control, but under threats students often >>mention negative characteristics or behaviors that could cause them >>not to succeed. Does anyone know of any research around this tool? >>We also do goal-setting exercises, and have them produce a >>"personal mission statement." And we always try to align behavior, >>intelligences and personality assessments with academic skills and >>career skills, and the Big 6 information strategies with real life >>as well (Sorry I've fogotten the reference for that). Since I'm new >>to this list, I'll also post a query I've sent to others: one of >>our faculty initiatives for action research is what they (I'm >>neither "really" faculty not "really" part-time staff---long and >>familiar story to many in our field) called the "polarized" >>classroom, the wde gap not just in skills but in attitude, >>motivation, behavior... and to whom does one teach? i think the >>question's posed badly but I want to support my contention with >>some research-based practices. >>Many thanks, >>Bonnie Odiorne, PhD Post University Waterbury, CT >>Adjunct Professor; Writing Center Director >> >>----- Original Message ---- >>From: Cynthia Zafft >> >>To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >>Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 2:03:10 PM >>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills >> >>Hi All: >> >>On Tuesday, Bonnie commented on several issues related to college >>success and mentioned "soft skills." I was wondering how programs (both >>formal transition programs and informal ones) address soft skills. >> >>Bonnie's entry reminded me of a very flexible, metacognitive technique >>discussed in several NCSALL persistence studies and used by some >>transition programs. It's called Force Field Analysis. In this >>activity, students brainstorm what it takes for them to continue to >>pursue their educational goals...and what might hinder them. Each >>student is then asked to pick any two forces (they can be from the >>positive or negative list) that they would like to work on. Since, I >>have not done justice in this description, I'll give you an FOB link >>where it is >>described: >>http://www.ncsall.net/?id=327 It's a really a >>great strategy. I know that Pam Meader, the author of one of the NCTN >>Promising Practices on Preparing Students for College Level Math, uses >>this technique. See >>http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html >> >> >>What activities/strategies come to mind for you? >> >>Cynthia >> >> >> >> >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>Message sent to >>bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. >> >> >> >> >> >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>Message sent to marilyn.gillespie at sri.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 From jschneider at eicc.edu Thu Mar 1 10:48:07 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 09:48:07 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 706] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87086AC70C@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> A minimal passing score (450) clearly isn't enough to bypass developmental classes... I often wonder at want point the likelihood of needing development classes is minimized. We arbitrarily selected 550 as our recommended scores for students who want to go to college and avoid developmental education. We have yet to have a student actually delay their GED testing to improve their skills to this point. Commonsense would suggest that a 550 (~70pctl) would indicate stronger academic skills and increased likelihood of success, but still no guarantee thanks to the myriad of "life" issues that all too often get in their way. Incidentally, be aware that these questions have been asked about GED repicients in pse since the the inception of the GED. If you have not read the 1956 Conclusions and Recommendations on a Study of the General Educational Development Testing Program by the Committee on the Evaluation of the Tyler Fact-finding Study of the American Council on Education, find it. I've been involved with GED in several capacities since 1986, and made what I thought was a good effort at keeping up with the literature in the field. I only came across this 1956 report in the last year and despite any methodological limitations of the studies in this report, I am amazed at how little the questions have changed since 1956. One particular point from the 1956 report that seems especially appropriate to the point of higher scores. Eleven colleges provided data to evaluate "whether higher critical scores on the GED tests would have appreciably improved the success of the GED group. A grade record was found for 2,050 GED students of which 1,104, or 54 percent, had average grades below C. If an average GED test score of 55 had been required instead of the minimum of 45, 703 of the 1098 failures would have been eliminated, along with 249 of the successful students. In effect, a higher critical score on the GED tests would have eliminated 64% of all failures, while also eliminating 26% of all sucessful students. ... Further research is needed on the factors that cause differential achievement in college. ... The colleges must realize the necessity for securing as much data as possible about the individual student in any consideration of this learning ability. Emotional, health, and social factors should be weighted along with intellectual development. In this screening procedure, test results are inadequate." (p. 29-30). This study was addressing admissions at the four year colleges of the day, yet is seems that the discussion remains relevant even among open-entry community colleges. In regard to the GED, NCLB, etc., etc., etc. we have too much reliance on "objective" standardized tests and too little quality advising that considers the individual and all that is occuring in their lives. Jim Schneider jschneider at eicc.edu Davenport, IA ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mdr151 at aol.com Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 9:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well. In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses. I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course. The benefits of our program are lower costs for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking, learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and for math, more confidence. Pam Meader Presenter for NCTN President, Adult Numeracy Network ________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/9822bbbd/attachment.html From tarv at chemeketa.edu Thu Mar 1 10:51:34 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 07:51:34 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 707] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We're finding that if our students get 500 or higher on their GED test, they generally place out of developmental math. ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mdr151 at aol.com Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 7:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well. In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses. I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course. The benefits of our program are lower costs for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking, learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and for math, more confidence. Pam Meader Presenter for NCTN President, Adult Numeracy Network ________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/4af410ed/attachment.html From tarv at chemeketa.edu Thu Mar 1 10:54:36 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 07:54:36 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 708] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills In-Reply-To: <775857.3787.qm@web83301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <775857.3787.qm@web83301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Through time, I've come to look at those soft skills as job skills: working with others, good manners, cleanliness, timeliness, sticking to a task, setting goals, completion of goals, thinking ahead, planning. You might have a conversation with local employers and see what skills they need in their employees; check out how many of those skills you can embed into your daily curriculum. Va ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnie Odiorne Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 7:37 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 702] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks for reminding me of the force field analysis, and giving the references. In my freshman skills seminar this semester, i had them start with a S.W.O.T.. What's nice about that one is that the st,rengths and weaknesses come from the "inside," self-awareness, reflection, metacognition, the "soft" skills, if you will, and the opportunities and threats come from "outside," circumstances within or outside the person's control, but under threats students often mention negative characteristics or behaviors that could cause them not to succeed. Does anyone know of any research around this tool? We also do goal-setting exercises, and have them produce a "personal mission statement." And we always try to align behavior, intelligences and personality assessments with academic skills and career skills, and the Big 6 information strategies with real life as well (Sorry I've fogotten the reference for that). Since I'm new to this list, I'll also post a query I've sent to others: one of our faculty initiatives for action research is what they (I'm neither "really" faculty not "really" part-time staff---long and familiar story to many in our field) called the "polarized" classroom, the wde gap not just in skills but in attitude, motivation, behavior... and to whom does one teach? i think the question's posed badly but I want to support my contention with some research-based practices. Many thanks, Bonnie Odiorne, PhD Post University Waterbury, CT Adjunct Professor; Writing Center Director ----- Original Message ---- From: Cynthia Zafft To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 2:03:10 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Hi All: On Tuesday, Bonnie commented on several issues related to college success and mentioned "soft skills." I was wondering how programs (both formal transition programs and informal ones) address soft skills. Bonnie's entry reminded me of a very flexible, metacognitive technique discussed in several NCSALL persistence studies and used by some transition programs. It's called Force Field Analysis. In this activity, students brainstorm what it takes for them to continue to pursue their educational goals...and what might hinder them. Each student is then asked to pick any two forces (they can be from the positive or negative list) that they would like to work on. Since, I have not done justice in this description, I'll give you an FOB link where it is described: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=327 It's a really a great strategy. I know that Pam Meader, the author of one of the NCTN Promising Practices on Preparing Students for College Level Math, uses this technique. See http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html What activities/strategies come to mind for you? Cynthia ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/a3c13506/attachment.html From b.garner4 at verizon.net Thu Mar 1 11:25:43 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:25:43 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 708] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Message-ID: <29462719.1644531172766344137.JavaMail.root@vms246.mailsrvcs.net> Jim, Thank you for sharing the 1956 study. It is disheartening to think that we're still working on the same issue, 50 years later! Here's a question for folks working in transition programs: what do you look for in the students you select/recruit...? What's the balance in terms of the 1956 report: weighing emotional, health, and social factors along with intellectual development? Barb Garner ===================== From: "Schneider, Jim" Date: 2007/03/01 Thu AM 09:48:07 CST To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 706] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills ?A minimal passing score (450) clearly isn't enough to bypass developmental classes... I often wonder at want point the likelihood of needing development classes is minimized. We arbitrarily selected 550 as our recommended scores for students who want to go to college and avoid developmental education. We have yet to have a student actually delay their GED testing to improve their skills to this point. Commonsense would suggest that a 550 (~70pctl) would indicate stronger academic skills and increased likelihood of success, but still no guarantee thanks to the myriad of "life" issues that all too often get in their way. ?Incidentally, be aware that these questions have been asked about GED repicients in pse since the the inception of the GED. If you have not read the 1956 Conclusions and Recommendations on a Study of the General Educational Development Testing Program by the Committee on the Evaluation of the Tyler Fact-finding Study of the American Council on Education, find it. I've been involved with GED in several capacities since 1986, and made what I thought was a good effort at keeping up with the literature in the field. I only came across this 1956 report in the last year and despite any methodological limitations of the studies in this report, I am amazed at how little the questions have changed since 1956. ?One particular point from the 1956 report that seems especially appropriate to the point of higher scores. Eleven colleges provided data to evaluate "whether higher critical scores on the GED tests would have appreciably improved the success of the GED group. A grade record was found for 2,050 GED students of which 1,104, or 54 percent, had average grades below C. If an average GED test score of 55 had been required instead of the minimum of 45, 703 of the 1098 failures would have been eliminated, along with 249 of the successful students. In effect, a higher critical score on the GED tests would have eliminated 64% of all failures, while also eliminating 26% of all sucessful students. ...?Further research is needed on the?factors that cause differential achievement in college. ... The colleges must realize the necessity for securing as much data as possible about the individual student in any consideration of this learning ability. Emotional, health, and social factors should be weighted along with intellectual development. In this screening procedure, test results are inadequate." ?(p. 29-30). ?This study was addressing admissions at the four year colleges of the day,?yet is seems that the discussion remains relevant even among?open-entry community colleges.?In regard to the GED, NCLB, etc., etc., etc. we?have too much reliance on "objective" standardized tests and too little?quality advising that considers the individual and all that is occuring in their lives.?Jim Schneiderjschneider at eicc.eduDavenport, IA From:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mdr151 at aol.com Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 9:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well.? In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school?students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses.?I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass? developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course.? The benefits of our program?are lower costs?for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking,?learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and?for math, more confidence.??Pam MeaderPresenter for NCTNPresident, Adult Numeracy Network AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From jschneider at eicc.edu Thu Mar 1 12:42:07 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 11:42:07 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 709] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education --Soft Skills Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87086AC933@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Barb, I would contend that similar obviously isn't equal... Too often GED recipients are treated as a homogeneous group with little consideration of SES, ethnicity, parental education, GED scores etc. I'm all for doing all that can be done to keep youth in school until they graduate. However there will be those that the traditional route won't work... We need to do all we can do to improve our services and enhance the likelihood of those individual to pursue pse. Also, the value of comparing GED recipients with high school completers is a puzzlement. 50+ years of research has consistently shown that GED recipients have some similarities, but are different from high school graduates. Some are successful in pse, some are not. What hasn't been studied as thoroughly is what diffferentiates those GED recipients who pursue pse and those who do not pursue pse. This question is the foundation of what I want to explore in my dissertation. Are the at-risk factors that likely led to the drop-out status still at play? Is it SES? Would those who don't go be first generation college students? Does anyone have any recommendations on research survey instruments that would tap these issues? Jim Schneider jschneider at eicc.edu Eastern Iowa Community College District Davenport, IA -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 7:05 AM To: Mdr151 at aol.com; focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 703] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education --Soft Skills Pam, Thanks for sharing the data about Maine. The lack of preparedness for college level work is not new information, but it's always disturbing. I'm still thinking hard about the "why"---why did young GED holders fail to enroll in post secondary at the same rates as did similar young high school completers? What strikes me about the Maine data is that the students are high school graduates, not GED holders. Nonetheless they have academic preparedness issues. This echoes Tyler/Loftus's work, which shows that academic preparedness is not the factor that explains the difference in postsecondary enrollment between young high school completers and GED holders. Barb Garner ==================== From: Mdr151 at aol.com Date: 2007/02/28 Wed PM 09:29:54 CST To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well.? In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school?students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses.?I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass? developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course.? The benefits of our program?are lower costs?for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking,?learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and?for math, more confidence.??Pam MeaderPresenter for NCTNPresident, Adult Numeracy Network AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Mar 1 12:23:57 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:23:57 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 710] Transitional Programs--successful strategies? Message-ID: <45E6C5DD0200002D00001483@bostongwia.jsi.com> I also like how Andres adds the burden of preparedness to teachers and systems as well as students. This is one of many reasons that transitional programs seem like they would be so essential, because they can work with both sides. Cynthia, and Sandy--what do you think, and can you tell us about some successful strategies being done? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Muro, Andres" 02/27/07 3:54 PM >>> Agreed Hal, and that is the role that transitional programs should fulfill. They can serve as mediators between teachers and students in making teachers more sensitive and understanding of students' problems. They can also help students overcome problems that prevent them from attending classes, completing assignments, etc. I have found that transitional programs work in both ways. First, they help students overcome barriers and adapt to college life. They also help teachers become more aware about non-traditional student barriers and develop strategies to serve them. CCs, which are the places where many of our students go to, are serving more and more non-traditional students. They have an average first year drop out rate of over 50%. So, being all macho, and thinking that ABE approaches are warm and fuzzy is not helping them prepare those in need. So, if they are really concerned about serving the population they need to understand that the macho, "In my math class only 40% complete the semester" doesn't make teachers and CCs look good. Instead, they need to thin, "how do I increase my retention rate to 80%". Transition programs can help with this. Also, a lot of faculty development to teach "teachers" that they role is to make their best to teach, and that requires that they change their pedagogies. An analogy can be made with the health care system. The original AMA health literacy video had the president of the AMA saying something like, "These people need to increase their skills to our level". Ten years later, the AMA has recognized that doctors need to stop saying "hypertension" and say "high blood pressure" to their patients. The medical system is still screwed up, but we must try to help it rather than say that we shouldn't send people to the doctor because they don't know what hypertension is. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Mar 1 12:41:54 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:41:54 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 711] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- the "Why?" Message-ID: <45E6CA120200002D0000148F@bostongwia.jsi.com> To follow up on Barb's question: if academic preparedness is not the reason, why GED holders enroll in pse less than high school grads... As much as Tyler and Loftus compared similar cohorts, might there be other underlying issues that set high school non-completers apart somehow? Two things that come to mind are extreme life issues, as Andres pointed out, and learning issues that make people think of themselves as not "college material" (even though they may score similarly on tests as others.) I like the way Robin brings LD issues into all factors of adult learning. A child educator I know once said "everyone has special needs in their own way." I think this is true of adults, too. Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> Barbara Garner 03/01/07 8:04 AM >>> Pam, Thanks for sharing the data about Maine. The lack of preparedness for college level work is not new information, but it's always disturbing. I'm still thinking hard about the "why"---why did young GED holders fail to enroll in post secondary at the same rates as did similar young high school completers? What strikes me about the Maine data is that the students are high school graduates, not GED holders. Nonetheless they have academic preparedness issues. This echoes Tyler/Loftus's work, which shows that academic preparedness is not the factor that explains the difference in postsecondary enrollment between young high school completers and GED holders. Barb Garner ==================== From: Mdr151 at aol.com Date: 2007/02/28 Wed PM 09:29:54 CST To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well. In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses. I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course. The benefits of our program are lower costs for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking, learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and for math, more confidence. Pam MeaderPresenter for NCTNPresident, Adult Numeracy Network AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From RMechem at doe.mass.edu Thu Mar 1 15:01:43 2007 From: RMechem at doe.mass.edu (Mechem, Richard) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 15:01:43 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 712] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Message-ID: If I use the phrase "warm and fuzzy" in a pejorative sense it is to refer to programs and philosophies that see counseling and support as ends in and of themselves. Post-secondary education is so vital to the future of our students that we can leave no doubt that it is the one unalterable goal of every program and every student. I use the phrase "momentum of the culture." My daughter has said that it never would have occurred to her that she was not going to go to college. Right, because that was the momentum of her culture---nothing about it ever had to be said. But for most of our students the momentum of their culture, for all the reasons we know so well, mitigates against their earning a GED diploma and entering post-secondary education. We have to reverse that momentum with every fibre of our being and with all the tools at our disposal. Once that has been established, however, our relationships with the students have got to be warm and fuzzy---"I'm with you all the way." And this extends beyond just the personal interactions between teachers, counselors and staff and the students, which have to be totally ones of support and mutual respect, to policies, procedures, curriculum, teaching practices, etc. I have had many ultimately-successful GED students who went along fine in our classes for several months, then reached the limit of their endurance and had to stop out for awhile---our policy was, that's okay--- and when they came back, great, let's get back to work, I'm with you all the way. And beyond the momentum of their culture, many of our students are so insecure about their intellectual ability to go to college that the curriculum and the teaching methods need to be warm and fuzzy too. I don't know how many times I have thought or said, "I know how smart you are but you don't know how smart you are." But as a wise man once said, "Self-confidence is borne of demonstrated ability." It doesn't do any good to tell someone she is smart if she doesn't believe it. She has to demonstrate success to herself. It is a hard task to create a GED curriculum that on the one hand carries the students towards passing the GED tests with no wasted motion and on the other hand allows for each student to demonstrate to herself that she has the ability, but that is the job before us. We were so proud at my old program in Chelsea MA when we designed a GED math curriculum that on the first day had all the students feeling like they were headed for MIT, "I really learned some math today!" when all they had done was perform arithmetic tasks with single-digit whole numbers, but with a few parentheses thrown in, a couple of exponents, maybe even an x and a y, they felt they had really done some math, and we knew it was math that would help them on the GED test. Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:56 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 688] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Wouldn't an additional question to consider be why they don't or can't go an extra mile? I know some that do. Why do they and how do they do that? Even in ABE/GED there is more and more of a push to hold students accountable for not attending - which to me seems to fly in the face of working with Adults. The problem is that in some cases the population pool in some areas is getting younger than the some of the numbers I"ve seen floating on the list with regards to the "mean" or "median" age of GED students. As High school systems across the country face an increasing dropout rate the number of 16-18 or 18-20 year olds is rapidly edging out perhaps some of the older "traditional" GED students and as a result, the same issues from public school are beginning to filter into the ABE/GED rule. I can't not be warm and fuzzy with my students. Sometimes I know I'm the only one in their life who is. I also remind them often that when they move into curriculum they won't find that warm fuzzy because the expectation is different. Sometimes that warm fuzzy is why a student sticks with the program vs quitting when they would rather leave. Somehow there has to be a balance or place for the warm fuzzy and the rule. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> Hal Beder 2/27/2007 1:20:37 pm >>> Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.g ov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.g ov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.g ov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Thu Mar 1 15:46:52 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 12:46:52 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 713] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Tom has a good point, and one of the things that good family literacy programs address, picturing your family members in college, having college as a goal; these aren't things many of our students have done. va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mechem, Richard Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 12:02 PM To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' Subject: [FocusOnBasics 712] Re:GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! If I use the phrase "warm and fuzzy" in a pejorative sense it is to refer to programs and philosophies that see counseling and support as ends in and of themselves. Post-secondary education is so vital to the future of our students that we can leave no doubt that it is the one unalterable goal of every program and every student. I use the phrase "momentum of the culture." My daughter has said that it never would have occurred to her that she was not going to go to college. Right, because that was the momentum of her culture---nothing about it ever had to be said. But for most of our students the momentum of their culture, for all the reasons we know so well, mitigates against their earning a GED diploma and entering post-secondary education. We have to reverse that momentum with every fibre of our being and with all the tools at our disposal. Once that has been established, however, our relationships with the students have got to be warm and fuzzy---"I'm with you all the way." And this extends beyond just the personal interactions between teachers, counselors and staff and the students, which have to be totally ones of support and mutual respect, to policies, procedures, curriculum, teaching practices, etc. I have had many ultimately-successful GED students who went along fine in our classes for several months, then reached the limit of their endurance and had to stop out for awhile---our policy was, that's okay--- and when they came back, great, let's get back to work, I'm with you all the way. And beyond the momentum of their culture, many of our students are so insecure about their intellectual ability to go to college that the curriculum and the teaching methods need to be warm and fuzzy too. I don't know how many times I have thought or said, "I know how smart you are but you don't know how smart you are." But as a wise man once said, "Self-confidence is borne of demonstrated ability." It doesn't do any good to tell someone she is smart if she doesn't believe it. She has to demonstrate success to herself. It is a hard task to create a GED curriculum that on the one hand carries the students towards passing the GED tests with no wasted motion and on the other hand allows for each student to demonstrate to herself that she has the ability, but that is the job before us. We were so proud at my old program in Chelsea MA when we designed a GED math curriculum that on the first day had all the students feeling like they were headed for MIT, "I really learned some math today!" when all they had done was perform arithmetic tasks with single-digit whole numbers, but with a few parentheses thrown in, a couple of exponents, maybe even an x and a y, they felt they had really done some math, and we knew it was math that would help them on the GED test. Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 7:56 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 688] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Wouldn't an additional question to consider be why they don't or can't go an extra mile? I know some that do. Why do they and how do they do that? Even in ABE/GED there is more and more of a push to hold students accountable for not attending - which to me seems to fly in the face of working with Adults. The problem is that in some cases the population pool in some areas is getting younger than the some of the numbers I"ve seen floating on the list with regards to the "mean" or "median" age of GED students. As High school systems across the country face an increasing dropout rate the number of 16-18 or 18-20 year olds is rapidly edging out perhaps some of the older "traditional" GED students and as a result, the same issues from public school are beginning to filter into the ABE/GED rule. I can't not be warm and fuzzy with my students. Sometimes I know I'm the only one in their life who is. I also remind them often that when they move into curriculum they won't find that warm fuzzy because the expectation is different. Sometimes that warm fuzzy is why a student sticks with the program vs quitting when they would rather leave. Somehow there has to be a balance or place for the warm fuzzy and the rule. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> Hal Beder 2/27/2007 1:20:37 pm >>> Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.g ov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.g ov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.g ov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mai lman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From jstrawn at clasp.org Thu Mar 1 16:08:37 2007 From: jstrawn at clasp.org (Julie Strawn) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 16:08:37 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 714] Re: dual enrollment and counting students References: <45E2F71E0200008800002F5E@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <319C1E32908F254BB662F59E0BA057F0033063@srvmail.clasporg.local> I'm belatedly following up on Cynthia's question about the dual enrollment programs mentioned in the recent publication "Working Together." I'm really excited about this approach because dual enrollment shortens the timeframe for adults who want a postsecondary credential and it allows them to transition from adult education to postsecondary already invested in continuing on because they've already completed college coursework. The students do not have to have earned their GED before entering these dual enrollment programs. Some of these programs integrate remediation and job training and they tend to contextualize the adult education or ESL portion of the program. Others integrate adult education and college remediation (developmental ed) and tend not to be contextualized. Regardless of whether there is contextualization or not, the dual enrollment approach forces content alignment between adult education and the postsecondary programs the students want to enter as the exit criteria becomes the entry criteria for the next education step in the career pathway. Here are a couple examples: ? The Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training initiative (I-BEST) in Washington State pairs adult education/ESL instructors with vocational instructors to integrate contextualized remediation and English language services with occupational training. I-BEST students earned five times more college credits on average, and were 15 times more likely to complete workforce training than other ABE/ESL students. Further, ESL students in I-BEST classes made the same progress learning English language skills as other ESL students did. ? The Kentucky Community and Technical College System?s Transitions Pilots dual enrolled students in adult education and college remediation, enabling them to work toward their GED and complete college coursework at the same time. For example, in Jefferson County (Louisville), the adult education program and the community college have jointly enrolled over 5,000 students and enabled 88% of them to bypass at least one college developmental education course, saving them time and over $400,000 in tuition costs. The program retains an impressive 72% of its students. Students in these classes are counted in the adult education National Reporting System and also generate FTE for the college. In some cases the students are charged tuition (WA state I-BEST) and in other cases not (KY adult ed-dev ed model). Both KY and WA use federal adult education funding for these programs. Hope this is helpful and I'd be interested in hearing about other similar programs you're involved in, what you're learning about how best to carry out this approach, and what federal or state policy barriers you might have encountered as you do it. Thanks! Julie Julie Strawn Center for Law and Social Policy 2240 Forest Street Denver CO 80207 720-941-1665 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Mon 2/26/2007 3:05 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 653] about counting students Dear Julie and Barbara Going back to Barbara's earlier question about how programs count students...students enrolled for college credit classes who may also be enrolled in ABE. Barbara mentioned that... these students test below the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE and she would like to know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether they count these students in their ABE reports as ABE students (only for the time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state assessment policies). Julie, in the publication you recently co-authored ("Working Together: Aligning State Systems and Policies for Individual and Regional Prosperity") you mention dual enrollment and other "blended models." Would these be similar to what Barbara is doing and did you find that other programs shared her concern? How did they deal with this issue? To read "Working Together" go to the CLASP website at http://www.clasp.org/publications/wsc_working_together.pdf Cynthia Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jstrawn at clasp.org. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 4995 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/ff93566f/attachment.bin From sandy_goodman at worlded.org Thu Mar 1 14:19:42 2007 From: sandy_goodman at worlded.org (Sandy Goodman) Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2007 14:19:42 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 715] Re: Transitional Programs--successful strategies? In-Reply-To: <45E6C5DD0200002D00001483@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <45E6C5DD0200002D00001483@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <45E6E0FD.C96D.0057.0@worlded.org> I am hoping that some of the college transition program folks from the New England College Transition Project will jump in because they have a lot of rich experience to share. In the meantime, I'll give some general background into the program design features (not all of the programs share this, but most do): Twenty-five community-based and college-based adult ed programs were funded to provide a stand-alone college prep class. A class cycle is about 12-15 weeks long, with a total of 8-10 hours of instruction per week in reading, writing, math and computer basics. They offer additional individual counseling and group workshops on career and education planning, college survival and study skills, navigating college and enrollment and aid processes - oftentimes facilitated by staff from local community college. Some programs provide additional tutoring and mentoring. In addition to these topics counseling is also geared to problem-solving around all the other issues impacting adult learners that have been discussed earlier. At the core of the initiative's success has been the partnerships that the transition programs have developed with neighboring postsecondary institutions. Some have established quite deep institutional collaborations - some transition students are dual-enrolled in college and program and receive full access to college facilities, and may receive credit for some components of the college prep course. These supports have been extended to community as well as college based programs, and one community based program has been given office and classroom space on the campus to run the transition class.Those programs with less formal agreements are making inroads and host college staff at their sites to meet with students and give presentations on college enrollment and navigation, etc. A separate initiative, The Urban Corridors project in Connecticut, also funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, is piloting a new adult ed math curriculum that was developed out of a collaboration between adult ed and developmental ed instructors. Overall Outcomes (2000-2006): ? 70% of the students successfully completed the ABE-to-College Transition Project ? 73% of the students who completed the Project have applied to, been accepted to, are expected to, and/or have enrolled in postsecondary education. There's lots more to say, but I know the program people can say it best - Sandy >>> "Julie McKinney" 3/1/2007 12:23 PM >>> I also like how Andres adds the burden of preparedness to teachers and systems as well as students. This is one of many reasons that transitional programs seem like they would be so essential, because they can work with both sides. Cynthia, and Sandy--what do you think, and can you tell us about some successful strategies being done? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Muro, Andres" 02/27/07 3:54 PM >>> Agreed Hal, and that is the role that transitional programs should fulfill. They can serve as mediators between teachers and students in making teachers more sensitive and understanding of students' problems. They can also help students overcome problems that prevent them from attending classes, completing assignments, etc. I have found that transitional programs work in both ways. First, they help students overcome barriers and adapt to college life. They also help teachers become more aware about non-traditional student barriers and develop strategies to serve them. CCs, which are the places where many of our students go to, are serving more and more non-traditional students. They have an average first year drop out rate of over 50%. So, being all macho, and thinking that ABE approaches are warm and fuzzy is not helping them prepare those in need. So, if they are really concerned about serving the population they need to understand that the macho, "In my math class only 40% complete the semester" doesn't make teachers and CCs look good. Instead, they need to thin, "how do I increase my retention rate to 80%". Transition programs can help with this. Also, a lot of faculty development to teach "teachers" that they role is to make their best to teach, and that requires that they change their pedagogies. An analogy can be made with the health care system. The original AMA health literacy video had the president of the AMA saying something like, "These people need to increase their skills to our level". Ten years later, the AMA has recognized that doctors need to stop saying "hypertension" and say "high blood pressure" to their patients. The medical system is still screwed up, but we must try to help it rather than say that we shouldn't send people to the doctor because they don't know what hypertension is. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sgoodman at worlded.org. From ematthew at sdccd.edu Thu Mar 1 16:53:19 2007 From: ematthew at sdccd.edu (Esther Matthew) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 13:53:19 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 716] Re: GED/ESL to Post Secondary Message-ID: Hi all and Bonnita, I'm new to the group and have been a quiet observer of the dialogue. I'm responding to Bonnita's request for ESL curriculum. We have classes for vocational ESL students, which are pre-vocational courses (VESL). Our VESL instructor has provided the information below. I hope this helps. Esther Matthew Professor/Counselor San Diego Community College, Continuing Ed Educational Cultural Complex (619) 388-4901 From: Donna Price dprice at sdccd.edu Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 12:17 PM To: Gretchen Bitterlin Cc: Esther Matthew Subject: Pre-Cosmetology materials We offer VESL Cosmetology and we use the Phillip Roy (pre) cosmetology materials. We make language master cards to help with the vocabulary. Here is the ordering information: Website: www.philliproy.com e-mail: info at philliproy.com phone: 800-255-9085 We use the vocational skills books, "A Basic Vocational Curriculum" Cosmetology: Hair shaping Chemical Waving/Relaxing/coloring Bacteriology and Chemistry Dermatology and Trichology State Board Review 1 State Board Review 2 We have our bookstore order the books, which are $6 each. Phillip Roy makes the lowest level vocational materials I have ever seen. I'm attaching the checklists that we use with them. I hope this helps. Please forward to Bonnita for me and tell her she can contact me if she wants. Donna Price VESL Coordinator _____ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnita Solberg Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 9:00 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 700] GED/ESL to Post Secondary Good Morning from Cold California! Does anyone have a curriculum for ESL students in pre Cosmetology? One of my teachers has a student who plans to attend Community College in cosmetology in the future. This teacher custom builds lessons for her multi-level, open entry, open exit class; it would be incredible if she could find a curriculum and not have to re-invent the wheel. Thanks to all for a wonderful discussion group and great resources. This is as good as it gets! Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/39603742/attachment.html From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Thu Mar 1 18:41:08 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 15:41:08 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 717] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Message-ID: <996159.94132.qm@web83301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> We have had local employers tell us what they want, and they say that they take the student having the knowledge base for granted; what they see most is that they don't have precisely the "soft skills" you mentiion, and the employers want that. They want someone who can fit into their team, work well with others, make decisions and solve problems, not to mention timeliness, time management, and appropriate affect/behaviors. It's often the lack of "soft skills" that faculty perceive as being "the gap," I think: the inability to behave as expected in a classroom setting, taking responsibility for one's own learning, and being able to reflect on the process. Not even to mention that they often haven't a clue what's expected of them and what they're learning. It's a locus of control issue, but also a "cultural momentum" issue, as mentioned. Our students often are not aware of not just the skills gap, but the soft skills gap, and they see no reason to change unless they're up against a situation where they HAVE to succeed; I think of our college students, but also of TANF clients I've had in employent training programs. Thanks for your response, Virginia. Bonnie ----- Original Message ---- From: Virginia Tardaewether To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Thursday, March 1, 2007 10:54:36 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 708] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Through time, I?ve come to look at those soft skills as job skills: working with others, good manners, cleanliness, timeliness, sticking to a task, setting goals, completion of goals, thinking ahead, planning. You might have a conversation with local employers and see what skills they need in their employees; check out how many of those skills you can embed into your daily curriculum. Va From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnie Odiorne Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 7:37 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 702] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks for reminding me of the force field analysis, and giving the references. In my freshman skills seminar this semester, i had them start with a S.W.O.T.. What's nice about that one is that the st,rengths and weaknesses come from the "inside," self-awareness, reflection, metacognition, the "soft" skills, if you will, and the opportunities and threats come from "outside," circumstances within or outside the person's control, but under threats students often mention negative characteristics or behaviors that could cause them not to succeed. Does anyone know of any research around this tool? We also do goal-setting exercises, and have them produce a "personal mission statement." And we always try to align behavior, intelligences and personality assessments with academic skills and career skills, and the Big 6 information strategies with real life as well (Sorry I've fogotten the reference for that). Since I'm new to this list, I'll also post a query I've sent to others: one of our faculty initiatives for action research is what they (I'm neither "really" faculty not "really" part-time staff---long and familiar story to many in our field) called the "polarized" classroom, the wde gap not just in skills but in attitude, motivation, behavior... and to whom does one teach? i think the question's posed badly but I want to support my contention with some research-based practices. Many thanks, Bonnie Odiorne, PhD Post University Waterbury , CT Adjunct Professor; Writing Center Director ----- Original Message ---- From: Cynthia Zafft To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 2:03:10 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Hi All: On Tuesday, Bonnie commented on several issues related to college success and mentioned "soft skills." I was wondering how programs (both formal transition programs and informal ones) address soft skills. Bonnie's entry reminded me of a very flexible, metacognitive technique discussed in several NCSALL persistence studies and used by some transition programs. It's called Force Field Analysis. In this activity, students brainstorm what it takes for them to continue to pursue their educational goals...and what might hinder them. Each student is then asked to pick any two forces (they can be from the positive or negative list) that they would like to work on. Since, I have not done justice in this description, I'll give you an FOB link where it is described: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=327 It's a really a great strategy. I know that Pam Meader, the author of one of the NCTN Promising Practices on Preparing Students for College Level Math, uses this technique. See http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html What activities/strategies come to mind for you? Cynthia ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/5a50506a/attachment.html From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Thu Mar 1 19:08:25 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 16:08:25 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 718] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Message-ID: <562397.71649.qm@web83307.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Hal and Marilyn, Are there links or downloads for that material (At Tenn and FL), or would one need to google it? I've often used EFF frameworks even though they "really" are for "literacy level education," or so my colleagues believe. I believe (reall EFF experts can correct me if I'm wrong) that it can be adapted to any level of education and integration of roles in adult life; it may be a little less relevant for traditional students direct from high school, but the skills wheel is wonderful, and so are the community member and worker role maps. Thanks. Bonnie ----- Original Message ---- From: Hal Beder To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Thursday, March 1, 2007 10:08:14 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 705] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Soft skills are a major area of concern in Equipped for the Future's Workforce Readiness Credential. A curriculum has been developed by the Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tenn. and some of that material may be relevant to the soft skills needed for successful transitions. At 08:35 AM 3/1/2007, you wrote: >Bonnee and all, > >Soft skills are indeed a concern. You might want to look at a >curriculum we developed in Florida called Florida Works. It has many >easy to use activities that address soft skills using cooperative >learning, problem posing and case study techniques. Although it is >designed for adults who are preparing for work many of the same soft >skills are needed for postsecondary education work. In addition, you >might want to look at the profile of employability skills developed >for the EFF National Work Readiness credential. This 1 page profile >lists skills and tasks that front line employers have identified as >key to being ready for work. The list was developed through a two >year process. First we culled through entry level skills standards >from various industries to find commonalities. We then conducted an >online "importance rating" process with 500 or so front line >employers in several states. Next, we did focus groups in several >states with entry level workers, front line supervisors and some >human resource staff. Interestingly we found that listening and >working cooperatively were among the skills found to be most >important. If you go to the EFF portal and then to the Assessment >Resource Collection you will find references to research on >standards such as Work Cooperatively, Solve Problems and Make >Decisions, and Listen Actively. They may point you to some research >on "soft" skills, although there certainly has not been enough of >this. There is, to some extent, a disconnect between employers, who >recognize soft skills as so important and educators who focus on >basic skills without connecting these to the soft skills. There is >some sense in the Department of Labor for example, that these skills >are something that should be learned at home rather than in the >classroom I think also that a lot of teachers who would like to >address soft skills don't know how to organize activities. Florida >Works activities are designed to be very easy for teachers to use, >with students taking charge of much of the "teaching". We used >quotes from Florida entry level workers and employers as the basis >for many of the activities but similar kinds of problem posing >"codes" could be developed using quotes related to problems adults >face in developmental education classes so that the topics are >"generative" for the learners using them. > >Good luck! > >Marilyn Gillespie >SRI International > >Bonnie Odiorne wrote: >>Thanks for reminding me of the force field analysis, and giving the >>references. In my freshman skills seminar this semester, i had them >>start with a S.W.O.T.. What's nice about that one is that the >>st,rengths and weaknesses come from the "inside," self-awareness, >>reflection, metacognition, the "soft" skills, if you will, and the >>opportunities and threats come from "outside," circumstances within >>or outside the person's control, but under threats students often >>mention negative characteristics or behaviors that could cause them >>not to succeed. Does anyone know of any research around this tool? >>We also do goal-setting exercises, and have them produce a >>"personal mission statement." And we always try to align behavior, >>intelligences and personality assessments with academic skills and >>career skills, and the Big 6 information strategies with real life >>as well (Sorry I've fogotten the reference for that). Since I'm new >>to this list, I'll also post a query I've sent to others: one of >>our faculty initiatives for action research is what they (I'm >>neither "really" faculty not "really" part-time staff---long and >>familiar story to many in our field) called the "polarized" >>classroom, the wde gap not just in skills but in attitude, >>motivation, behavior... and to whom does one teach? i think the >>question's posed badly but I want to support my contention with >>some research-based practices. >>Many thanks, >>Bonnie Odiorne, PhD Post University Waterbury, CT >>Adjunct Professor; Writing Center Director >> >>----- Original Message ---- >>From: Cynthia Zafft >> >>To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >>Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 2:03:10 PM >>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills >> >>Hi All: >> >>On Tuesday, Bonnie commented on several issues related to college >>success and mentioned "soft skills." I was wondering how programs (both >>formal transition programs and informal ones) address soft skills. >> >>Bonnie's entry reminded me of a very flexible, metacognitive technique >>discussed in several NCSALL persistence studies and used by some >>transition programs. It's called Force Field Analysis. In this >>activity, students brainstorm what it takes for them to continue to >>pursue their educational goals...and what might hinder them. Each >>student is then asked to pick any two forces (they can be from the >>positive or negative list) that they would like to work on. Since, I >>have not done justice in this description, I'll give you an FOB link >>where it is >>described: >>http://www.ncsall.net/?id=327 It's a really a >>great strategy. I know that Pam Meader, the author of one of the NCTN >>Promising Practices on Preparing Students for College Level Math, uses >>this technique. See >>http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html >> >> >>What activities/strategies come to mind for you? >> >>Cynthia >> >> >> >> >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>Message sent to >>bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. >> >> >> >> >> >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>Message sent to marilyn.gillespie at sri.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/27bf3f61/attachment.html From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Thu Mar 1 19:14:20 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 16:14:20 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 719] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Message-ID: <20070302001420.89173.qmail@web83304.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> YAHOO sent inadvertently; my apologies. Marilyn, Duh, sorry for not reading carefully enough to get the resource. A lot of the DOL SCANS skills do include "soft skills", and I really believe that not only do they relate to employability, but to higher-order thinking skills and metacognition, as well as the metacompetencies that SCANS lists. That's why I love EFF: it's a slightly different way of mapping them on the skills wheel, but highly relevant nevertheless. Bonnie ----- Original Message ---- From: Marilyn Gillespie To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Thursday, March 1, 2007 8:35:56 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 704] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Bonnee and all, Soft skills are indeed a concern. You might want to look at a curriculum we developed in Florida called Florida Works. It has many easy to use activities that address soft skills using cooperative learning, problem posing and case study techniques. Although it is designed for adults who are preparing for work many of the same soft skills are needed for postsecondary education work. In addition, you might want to look at the profile of employability skills developed for the EFF National Work Readiness credential. This 1 page profile lists skills and tasks that front line employers have identified as key to being ready for work. The list was developed through a two year process. First we culled through entry level skills standards from various industries to find commonalities. We then conducted an online "importance rating" process with 500 or so front line employers in several states. Next, we did focus groups in several states with entry level workers, front line supervisors and some human resource staff. Interestingly we found that listening and working cooperatively were among the skills found to be most important. If you go to the EFF portal and then to the Assessment Resource Collection you will find references to research on standards such as Work Cooperatively, Solve Problems and Make Decisions, and Listen Actively. They may point you to some research on "soft" skills, although there certainly has not been enough of this. There is, to some extent, a disconnect between employers, who recognize soft skills as so important and educators who focus on basic skills without connecting these to the soft skills. There is some sense in the Department of Labor for example, that these skills are something that should be learned at home rather than in the classroom I think also that a lot of teachers who would like to address soft skills don't know how to organize activities. Florida Works activities are designed to be very easy for teachers to use, with students taking charge of much of the "teaching". We used quotes from Florida entry level workers and employers as the basis for many of the activities but similar kinds of problem posing "codes" could be developed using quotes related to problems adults face in developmental education classes so that the topics are "generative" for the learners using them. Good luck! Marilyn Gillespie SRI International Bonnie Odiorne wrote: Thanks for reminding me of the force field analysis, and giving the references. In my freshman skills seminar this semester, i had them start with a S.W.O.T.. What's nice about that one is that the st,rengths and weaknesses come from the "inside," self-awareness, reflection, metacognition, the "soft" skills, if you will, and the opportunities and threats come from "outside," circumstances within or outside the person's control, but under threats students often mention negative characteristics or behaviors that could cause them not to succeed. Does anyone know of any research around this tool? We also do goal-setting exercises, and have them produce a "personal mission statement." And we always try to align behavior, intelligences and personality assessments with academic skills and career skills, and the Big 6 information strategies with real life as well (Sorry I've fogotten the reference for that). Since I'm new to this list, I'll also post a query I've sent to others: one of our faculty initiatives for action research is what they (I'm neither "really" faculty not "really" part-time staff---long and familiar story to many in our field) called the "polarized" classroom, the wde gap not just in skills but in attitude, motivation, behavior... and to whom does one teach? i think the question's posed badly but I want to support my contention with some research-based practices. Many thanks, Bonnie Odiorne, PhD Post University Waterbury, CT Adjunct Professor; Writing Center Director ----- Original Message ---- From: Cynthia Zafft To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 2:03:10 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Hi All: On Tuesday, Bonnie commented on several issues related to college success and mentioned "soft skills." I was wondering how programs (both formal transition programs and informal ones) address soft skills. Bonnie's entry reminded me of a very flexible, metacognitive technique discussed in several NCSALL persistence studies and used by some transition programs. It's called Force Field Analysis. In this activity, students brainstorm what it takes for them to continue to pursue their educational goals...and what might hinder them. Each student is then asked to pick any two forces (they can be from the positive or negative list) that they would like to work on. Since, I have not done justice in this description, I'll give you an FOB link where it is described: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=327 It's a really a great strategy. I know that Pam Meader, the author of one of the NCTN Promising Practices on Preparing Students for College Level Math, uses this technique. See http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html What activities/strategies come to mind for you? Cynthia ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to marilyn.gillespie at sri.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/edeea326/attachment.html From bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net Thu Mar 1 20:27:29 2007 From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net (Bonnita Solberg) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 17:27:29 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 720] Re: GED/ESL to Post Secondary In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <997505.74635.qm@web83101.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I am sending all this information on the teacher who requested it. Just let me say, you are awesome! Bonnita Esther Matthew wrote: Hi all and Bonnita, I'm new to the group and have been a quiet observer of the dialogue. I'm responding to Bonnita's request for ESL curriculum. We have classes for vocational ESL students, which are pre-vocational courses (VESL). Our VESL instructor has provided the information below. I hope this helps. Esther Matthew Professor/Counselor San Diego Community College, Continuing Ed Educational Cultural Complex (619) 388-4901 From: Donna Price dprice at sdccd.edu Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 12:17 PM To: Gretchen Bitterlin Cc: Esther Matthew Subject: Pre-Cosmetology materials We offer VESL Cosmetology and we use the Phillip Roy (pre) cosmetology materials. We make language master cards to help with the vocabulary. Here is the ordering information: Website: www.philliproy.com e-mail: info at philliproy.com phone: 800-255-9085 We use the vocational skills books, ?A Basic Vocational Curriculum? Cosmetology: Hair shaping Chemical Waving/Relaxing/coloring Bacteriology and Chemistry Dermatology and Trichology State Board Review 1 State Board Review 2 We have our bookstore order the books, which are $6 each. Phillip Roy makes the lowest level vocational materials I have ever seen. I?m attaching the checklists that we use with them. I hope this helps. Please forward to Bonnita for me and tell her she can contact me if she wants. Donna Price VESL Coordinator --------------------------------- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnita Solberg Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 9:00 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 700] GED/ESL to Post Secondary Good Morning from Cold California! Does anyone have a curriculum for ESL students in pre Cosmetology? One of my teachers has a student who plans to attend Community College in cosmetology in the future. This teacher custom builds lessons for her multi-level, open entry, open exit class; it would be incredible if she could find a curriculum and not have to re-invent the wheel. Thanks to all for a wonderful discussion group and great resources. This is as good as it gets! Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070301/c08129af/attachment.html From KHinson at almanid.com Fri Mar 2 06:59:54 2007 From: KHinson at almanid.com (Katrina Hinson) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:59:54 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 721] Re: Transition Strand at COABE In-Reply-To: <45E56159.C96D.0057.0@worlded.org> References: <8C928E68F987CBE-1DEC-93D6@MBLK-R09.sysops.aol.com> <45E56159.C96D.0057.0@worlded.org> Message-ID: <45E7CB62.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> Is there any way that people attending these workshops who are on this list would be willing to share their information with those of us who are unable to attend this kind of conference? That would be nice information to add to the WiKi or even if the presenters would share with us in some way, especially in regards to #1 and #2. I"m trying to catch up on the conversation. I'm in the middle of administering final exams and so the last 2 days have been crazy. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Sandy Goodman" 2/28/2007 11:02 am >>> Hi all: Since COABE has come up I will take this opportunity to let you know about the great line-up of workshops NCTN has put togher for COABE. Below you'll find the schedule. We hope to see you there - Sandy NCTN Transition Strand at COABE 2007 [All sessions will be held in Salon 10] 1. College For A Day: Your ABE/ESOL Learners Can Transition to College! Presented by Janet Fischer, Northern Essex Community College Monday, March 26 10:30 a.m. ??? 11:45 p.m. 2. Adult Education and One-Stops: Partners for Successful Transitioning (Panel Discussion) Presented by Ellen McDevitt (FourthRiver Associates), Mary Lou Friedline (ABLE), Rachel Zilcosky (ABLE), Peg Rood (Luzerne County Community College), Kimberlee Meinen (Westmoreland/Fayette), and Brian Williams (Pittsburgh/Allegheny) Monday, March 26 1:45 p.m. ??? 3:00 p.m. 3. Preparing Adults for College Level Math Presented by Pam Meader, Portland Adult Education and Adult Numeracy Network Tuesday, March 27 10:15 a.m. ???11:30 a.m. 4. The GED Gap: Comparing the GED Exam and College Placement Tests Presented by Sandy Goodman, New England College Transition Project at World Education, Inc. Tuesday, March 27 1:45 p.m. ??? 3:00 p.m. 5. It Takes the Whole Team to Transition an ABE Student Presented by Tom Kowalczyk and Jose Herrera, Rio Salado College Tuesday, March 27 4:15 p.m. ??? 5:30 p.m. 6. Mapping the Financial Journey: Helping Adults Plan for College Presented by Cynthia Zafft and Priyanka Sharma, National College Transition Network at World Education, Inc. Wednesday, March 28 8:00 a.m. ??? 9:15 a.m. 7. Forging Partnerships with Community Leaders Presented by Brenda Dann-Messier, Dorcas Place Adult & Family Literacy Center Wednesday, March 28 9:30 a.m. ??? 10:45 a.m. 8. Don???t Take No for an Answer Presented by Cynthia Zafft and Andy Nash, National College Transition Network at World Education, Inc. Wednesday, March 28 11:00 a.m. ??? 12:15 p.m. Please Join Us! >>> 2/27/2007 7:28 PM >>> Last year's Learning Disabilities Association conference, and indeed EVERY year's conference, has a wonderful assortment of presentations on these types of transitional programs that have had great success. I suggest anyone interested in such a program check out the LDA site (ldaamerica.org) for more on these at recent conferences. Also, I believe there will be such a session at the upcoming COABE in Philly. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: amuro5 at epcc.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 2:54 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 681] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Agreed Hal, and that is the role that transitional programs should fulfill. They can serve as mediators between teachers and students in making teachers more sensitive and understanding of students' problems. They can also help students overcome problems that prevent them from attending classes, completing assignments, etc. I have found that transitional programs work in both ways. First, they help students overcome barriers and adapt to college life. They also help teachers become more aware about non-traditional student barriers and develop strategies to serve them. CCs, which are the places where many of our students go to, are serving more and more non-traditional students. They have an average first year drop out rate of over 50%. So, being all macho, and thinking that ABE approaches are warm and fuzzy is not helping them prepare those in need. So, if they are really concerned about serving the population they need to understand that the macho, "In my math class only 40% complete the semester" doesn't make teachers and CCs look good. Instead, they need to thin, "how do I increase my retention rate to 80%". Transition programs can help with this. Also, a lot of faculty development to teach "teachers" that they role is to make their best to teach, and that requires that they change their pedagogies. An analogy can be made with the health care system. The original AMA health literacy video had the president of the AMA saying something like, "These people need to increase their skills to our level". Ten years later, the AMA has recognized that doctors need to stop saying "hypertension" and say "high blood pressure" to their patients. The medical system is still screwed up, but we must try to help it rather than say that we shouldn't send people to the doctor because they don't know what hypertension is. Andres -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hal Beder Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:21 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 675] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education Discus sion--Greetings! Yes, Andres, but when they get into post secondary they are not likely to find someone like you who goes the extra 1000 miles. At 11:31 AM 2/27/2007, you wrote: >Content-class: urn:content-classes:message >Content-Type: multipart/alternative; > boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C75A8C.B873D9FB" > >Tom: > >This is great and I agree with you 100%. I wish that this was also >articulated in ABE policy. Instead, we have the WIA. ABE is tied to >WIA and the goal is to get students to employment as soon as >possible. It would be great if the role of ABE and even K-12 was to >prepare students for postsecondary and life long education. Also, it >would be great if part of the mandate of ABE was to incorporate the >necessary skills to transition into college which relate to access, >retention and economic support. These would include all the >knowledge, issues and skills that other posters mentioned. > >Some will argue that not all adults are college material and some >would fit in better into short term trainning or go into employment. >I have no argument against this. However, preparing all students for >higher ed would not detract form this. Those who want to work can >enroll in shorter training programs or go into employment with the >GED provided that there are jobs. so, preparing everybody for as >much education as they can achieve would not be contradictory to >WIA. However, it is the students that should chose how far they can >go. We should encourage them as much as possible. > >Regarding the fact that ABE programs are warm and fussy, I don't >think that Hal intended it to trivialize the efforts of adults, but, >to a great extent, the comment does. I've had students that couldn't >attend classes all the time and studied during their breaks at the >pisca (crop picking). I've had women that stayed in school even >while their husbands beat them up, threatened to leave them and to >call immigration on them. Many victims of domestic violence cannot >attend class all the time and have to study in hidding. I've had a >student who was a janitor at a school and after school she and her >kids would stay at the school and while she attended class her kids >would help clean the school. I've had students that walked miles to >get to class. I've had a student living in a car with her kids >while going to school. I have students living in abject poverty, >with no windows, electricity, or potable water. I have students that >cannot come to school when the sheriff goes into an anti-immigrant >crusade and start patrolling the community to turn undocumented >people into INS. I've had students attending school with all inds of >crippling or terminal illnesses. > >I can keep going but i think that you get the point. There is >nothing warm and fuzzy about our program. We make our best to help >everyone earn a GED certificate. Many of our students go to college >and become successful students. We also have to educate college >instructors that being more attentive to student issues is not being >warm and fuzzy. It is understanding that many adult students face >barriers that they have never imagined. > >Andres > > >---------- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Mechem, Richard >Sent: Tue 2/27/2007 8:09 AM >To: 'b.garner4 at verizon.net'; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'; >Katrina Hinson >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 669] Re: GED toPostsecondary Education >Discus sion--Greetings! > >Hal Beder says most GED prep programs are warm and fuzzy, but all ESOL and >ABE programs are. I'm all for "student goals," but really the only goals of >any of our programs, be they beginning ESOL programs or GED prep programs, >should be for the students to earn a high school credential and go on to >post-secondary education. Anything less is sentencing them to a lifetime of >poverty. These goals should be publicized, articulated, pontificated upon, >repeated ad infinitum, shouted to the skies, hammered away at, counseled to >within an inch of their lives, integrated into everything we say and do with >our programs, used to inform all curricula and teaching decisions---much >more so than K-12---because as Barbara has alluded to, most of our students >do not come in with these in mind. "I want to improve my English." - Yes, >but only as a step towards a credential and post-secondary education. "I >want to become a US citizen." - Yes, but only as a step towards a credential >and post-secondary education. "I want to get my GED." - Yes, but only as a >step towards post-secondary education. > >Tom Mechem >GED State Chief Examiner >Massachusetts Department of Education >781-338-6621 >"GED to Ph.D." > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov]On >Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:47 AM >To: Katrina Hinson; The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 668] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > > >Your experience raises a lot of questions, Katrina. ABE teachers' >professional wisdom as well as a number of ethnographies show that many ABE >students did not grow up envisioning themselves in college, nor do they >personally know many people who see college as a natural step in life. > >What are folks in ABE programs doing to help learners imagine college as >part of their futures? The transition programs are great, going full out to >introduce and enroll folks. Does this work need to start earlier? >Is it only economics that differentiates GED holders from their high school >completing equivalents, or is it the posters on the high school walls, the >meetings with counselors, the casual talk among students what makes the high >school completers more likely to go to college? What do you think? >Barb Garner > >From: Katrina Hinson >Date: 2007/02/26 Mon PM 08:12:35 CST >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 661] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I tend to agree with the others with regards to the reasons GED holders >are not enrolling in college classes or finishing once they start. I >just ran into an issue with two of students. I asked them what they >wanted to do when they completed the program. They are both 1 test away. >Their response was "No one ever asked me that before." I spent the rest >of the time I had with them that day, discussing what they liked, what >they disliked, what they were willing to do, and what they were not >willing to do in terms of moving, commuting etc. for a job. Again, the >response was that "no one ever asked me." For both of these women, they >saw work as their only option and even saw assembly work as the only >option. They'd never really given any thought to what other options >there might be. The GED was simply a means to secure a job. Since then, >those two students really have worked on identifying various avenues >including pursuing financial aid resources because they are considering >school beyond the GED now. > >I think too often GED holders do not get enough information to help >them beyond the ABE class. Then they place poorly when they enter - they >end up battling the same issues of self-esteem and feeling unsuccessful >that they end up giving up rather than pushing forward. > >I've been working and pushing for a transitional program at my school >for a year now and the biggest obstacle and the "competition" between >departments - everyone wants to know whose responsibility it is to >transition students. I loved the chant below because I think with more >and more transitional programs in place we'd go a long way to breaking >the cycle of illiteracy and helping all of our students find success. > > >Regards, >Katrina Hinson > > >>> "Brown, Charlene" 2/26/2007 >2:22 pm >>> >We have a similar arrangement with our local community college. We do >count them for the time they are with us and we do use or state adult >education approved assessments. This has helped so many lower level >students be able to truly benefit from college that it should have >been >done years ago. > >My personal belief is "I count 'em--you count 'em--we all count 'em so >we can win the literacy attainment race!" > > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Arguedas >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 11:05 AM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 648] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education >Discussion--Greetings! > >I am not sure if this would be considered a "transition" model, but at >our college ABE may provide supplemental instruction to students >already >enrolled in credit classes. For example, students enrolled for >college >credit classes may also be enrolled in ABE. These students test below >the NRS level 6 and therefore are eligible for ABE. I would like to >know if other ABE programs do this and, more importantly, whether you >count these students in your ABE reports as ABE students (only for the >time that ABE serves the student and also complying with state >assessment policies). >Thank you. > >Barbara Arguedas >ABE Director >Santa Fe Community College >Santa Fe, NM > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at ni fl.gov] >On Behalf Of Cynthia Zafft >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:59 AM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 646] GED to Postsecondary Education Discussion >--Greetings! > >Dear FOB Listers: > >Greetings from snowy Boston! I direct the National College Transition >Network (NCTN), which is located at World Education. For me, the work >of John Tyler and his colleagues has been extremely powerful and >helpful >in telling us why students need to move beyond the GED to >postsecondary >education. > >The National College Transition Network is a relatively new >organization. We began in 2003 and initially focused on promising >practices learned from 25 adult education transition programs >participating in a regional project, the New England ABE-to-College >Transition Project. Now, we bring together the work of practitioners, >administrators, policy-makers and researchers from around the country, >all are people interested in adult transition. There's a lot more to >be >said but, since a picture is worth a thousand words, you might prefer >touring our websites: >http://www.collegetransition.org >http://www.collegeforadults.org > >Back to John's work. In the FOB article, "Is the GED an Effective >Route >to Postsecondary Education?" you mention that GED holders, when they >do >go on to college, only accumulate 7.3 credits within three years >compared to 32.8 credits for all high school grads. Does your >research >show which courses students take or at what level they begin when they >enter college? > > > > > >Cynthia Zafft, Director >National College Transition Network (NCTN) >World Education, Inc. >44 Farnsworth Street >Boston, MA 02210 >(617) 482-9485 >www.collegetransition.org >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to barguedas at sfccnm.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to rmechem at doe.mass.edu. > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov /mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to HBEDER at rci.rutgers.edu. Rutgers University Graduate School of Education 10 seminary Pl. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732-932-7496 ext. 8213 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to ANDRESM at epcc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sgoodman at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. From KHinson at almanid.com Fri Mar 2 07:37:48 2007 From: KHinson at almanid.com (Katrina Hinson) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:37:48 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 722] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills In-Reply-To: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87086AC70C@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87086AC70C@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Message-ID: <45E7D449.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> This information is great. I think it's amazing that the questions from 50 years ago are still being addressed today. One would wonder what it will take to bring effective change. I tell my students all the time when they ask about the passing GED score - that 410 means they barely passed and 450 is average. I equate it with what they know in some cases - 410 would be like getting a 70 and 450 might be like getting an 80. I then point them in the direction of future jobs. Do you want a job that you barely get by with or a job that's just average. Would you want a doctor who barely passed on an average doctor. It usually gets them thinking and discussing back and forth. Even on rare occasions, I have had a student retake an exam they passed simply to improve their score but as you pointed out below - it is an exception to the rule. I spend a lot of time "talking" to my students in addition to teaching. I think goal setting is important and I think looking at your goals is important because they change as we grown and learn. I think or students need to not focus so much on passing a "standard" tests but on truly learning the information. The problem often comes from outside though - they're being pushed to "pass the test" by various agencies or life needs. It's not just the student who needs education but the general population at large. Recently a radio broadcast out of Chicago had a conversation about GED recipients and a caller called in to say that in a negative way how pointless a GED was because only people who were not "smart" got their GED. The announcer however came back and corrected him to say how much of a fallacy that was and pointed out that he himself had gotten his GED and gone on to college. The problem was the damage was done. The moment people hear GED and "not-smart" in the same vein they put the two together and we're all right back to fighting the same problem of self esteem issues and value issues and trying to educate people who you would think would see the value already and don't. The GED to PSE education question isn't easy to answer simply because there are so many factors that contribute to the problem. Even in trying to implement a transition program at my school...I find not open doors but closed ones because people are so worried about who is going to administer it and who is going to get credit/funding for it etc. Not only do the students face barriers in the GED to PSE education debate but instructors face barriers as well. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Schneider, Jim" 3/1/2007 10:48 am >>> A minimal passing score (450) clearly isn't enough to bypass developmental classes... I often wonder at want point the likelihood of needing development classes is minimized. We arbitrarily selected 550 as our recommended scores for students who want to go to college and avoid developmental education. We have yet to have a student actually delay their GED testing to improve their skills to this point. Commonsense would suggest that a 550 (~70pctl) would indicate stronger academic skills and increased likelihood of success, but still no guarantee thanks to the myriad of "life" issues that all too often get in their way. Incidentally, be aware that these questions have been asked about GED repicients in pse since the the inception of the GED. If you have not read the 1956 Conclusions and Recommendations on a Study of the General Educational Development Testing Program by the Committee on the Evaluation of the Tyler Fact-finding Study of the American Council on Education, find it. I've been involved with GED in several capacities since 1986, and made what I thought was a good effort at keeping up with the literature in the field. I only came across this 1956 report in the last year and despite any methodological limitations of the studies in this report, I am amazed at how little the questions have changed since 1956. One particular point from the 1956 report that seems especially appropriate to the point of higher scores. Eleven colleges provided data to evaluate "whether higher critical scores on the GED tests would have appreciably improved the success of the GED group. A grade record was found for 2,050 GED students of which 1,104, or 54 percent, had average grades below C. If an average GED test score of 55 had been required instead of the minimum of 45, 703 of the 1098 failures would have been eliminated, along with 249 of the successful students. In effect, a higher critical score on the GED tests would have eliminated 64% of all failures, while also eliminating 26% of all sucessful students. ... Further research is needed on the factors that cause differential achievement in college. ... The colleges must realize the necessity for securing as much data as possible about the individual student in any consideration of this learning ability. Emotional, health, and social factors should be weighted along with intellectual development. In this screening procedure, test results are inadequate." (p. 29-30). This study was addressing admissions at the four year colleges of the day, yet is seems that the discussion remains relevant even among open-entry community colleges. In regard to the GED, NCLB, etc., etc., etc. we have too much reliance on "objective" standardized tests and too little quality advising that considers the individual and all that is occuring in their lives. Jim Schneider jschneider at eicc.edu Davenport, IA ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mdr151 at aol.com Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 9:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well. In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses. I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course. The benefits of our program are lower costs for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking, learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and for math, more confidence. Pam Meader Presenter for NCTN President, Adult Numeracy Network ________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com . From KHinson at almanid.com Fri Mar 2 07:42:24 2007 From: KHinson at almanid.com (Katrina Hinson) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:42:24 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 723] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <45E7D55B.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> How does their practice test scores fit into this picture. For instance at my school we require that students have a 500 or better on the practice test in order to take the official test. We do make exceptions in some cases. However, they may do well on the practice tests but then not well on the official test, usually scoring between 480 and 450. It's about a 50/50 split. Some do worse - some do better - exceeding the 500 mark. I was just curious what the relationship was between the practice test you administer and their ending official score. Regards Katrina Hinson >>> "Virginia Tardaewether" 3/1/2007 10:51 am >>> We're finding that if our students get 500 or higher on their GED test, they generally place out of developmental math. ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mdr151 at aol.com Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 7:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well. In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses. I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course. The benefits of our program are lower costs for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking, learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and for math, more confidence. Pam Meader Presenter for NCTN President, Adult Numeracy Network ________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com . From cynthia_zafft at worlded.org Fri Mar 2 09:45:03 2007 From: cynthia_zafft at worlded.org (Cynthia Zafft) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 09:45:03 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 724] GED to Postsecondary -- COABE Strand Message-ID: <45E7F21E.60A9.0088.0@worlded.org> Dear Katrina: If you take a look at our website you will see the NCTN Transition Strand from the last two years. Just choose the year and you'll get the agenda and handouts from all presenters: http://www.collegetransition.org/profdev/strands/index.html Last year we even produced a short slide show. My one suggestion to everyone is to download the PowerPoints to your desktop and then open them. It takes a very long time to open them up directly from the site. We will be doing the same for this year for anyone who can't make it. This might be a good time to put in a pitch for the National College Transition Network's free individual membership. Members receive quarterly eNewsletter about additions to the website that include things like the COABE strand materials and promising practices. To join, just go to our homepage and "click" on the leaf that says JOIN. It will bring you to a page that describes the benefits of the free membership and takes you to a sign-up survey. The survey is short and lets us know what members are interested in. Cynthia From jschneider at eicc.edu Fri Mar 2 12:21:21 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 11:21:21 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 725] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills In-Reply-To: <45E7D55B.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87086AD2F5@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Katrina, We have a similar policy in regard to requiring a 500 on the practice tests... And similar results in that they typically score +/- 50 from the practice test score. After 13 years at this location I've found that there are 3 common reasons students who score less on the actual test. 1. Attention/focus issues that don't appear on a practice test with 25 questions/~35 minutes, but become an issue with the 50 question/~90 minute subject exams. 2. Test Anxiety/Self Confidence Issues - they hit a question or two that they don't understand and all the doubts and fears they've ever had about testing or that subject rears up and crushes their active brain cells so that all their mental energy is going into worrying about the test rather than processing the test and answering the questions 3. They get a test form that is harder or has a greater emphasis on topics they aren't as well versed in. For example, students have done very well on the PA Math which has very little geometry but then did poorly on the actual GED. As a result we often have students take both the PA and PB or provide a geometry review to ensure that they are well versed with angles and pythagorean relationship math. Jim Schneider Assistant Dean Scott Community College Career Assistance Center 627 W. Second Street Davenport, IA 52801 (563) 326-5319 phone -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 6:42 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 723] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills How does their practice test scores fit into this picture. For instance at my school we require that students have a 500 or better on the practice test in order to take the official test. We do make exceptions in some cases. However, they may do well on the practice tests but then not well on the official test, usually scoring between 480 and 450. It's about a 50/50 split. Some do worse - some do better - exceeding the 500 mark. I was just curious what the relationship was between the practice test you administer and their ending official score. Regards Katrina Hinson >>> "Virginia Tardaewether" 3/1/2007 10:51 am >>> We're finding that if our students get 500 or higher on their GED test, they generally place out of developmental math. ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mdr151 at aol.com Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 7:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well. In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses. I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course. The benefits of our program are lower costs for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking, learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and for math, more confidence. Pam Meader Presenter for NCTN President, Adult Numeracy Network ________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com . ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. From NilesA at lanecc.edu Fri Mar 2 13:18:08 2007 From: NilesA at lanecc.edu (Aliscia Niles) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 10:18:08 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Message-ID: <45E7F9E00200009F0004759F@mailhost.lanecc.edu> Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 From jstrawn at clasp.org Fri Mar 2 13:23:40 2007 From: jstrawn at clasp.org (Julie Strawn) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:23:40 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 727] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- Bridge programs References: <45E58B9D.60A9.0088.0@worlded.org> Message-ID: <319C1E32908F254BB662F59E0BA057F00304E5@srvmail.clasporg.local> I wondered if folks on this listserv knew about the adult education to postsecondary education and training "bridge" program guide put out in 2005 by Women Employed. I've found it a useful resource with a number of examples of different types of bridge programs and ways to go about creating them Here's the description of it and links to the report (top link takes you to entire report, links below take you to specific sections). Bridges to Careers for Low-Skilled Adults: A Program Development Guide (2005) http://www.womenemployed.org/docs/BridgeGuideFinal.pdf This 125-page guide provides concrete guidance on how to develop and implement "bridge programs," which help adult students improve their basic skills and succeed in college. The guide contains information and interactive worksheets that program developers and managers can use to help with program design, curriculum development, funding, implementation, and evaluation. Download the entire guide above or smaller sections below. >>Table of Contents and Overview of Bridge Programs http://www.womenemployed.org/docs/GuideSection1.pdf >>Program Design, Partnerships, and Employer Relationships http://www.womenemployed.org/docs/GuideSection2.pdf >>Developing Program Curriculum, Student Services and Placement http://www.womenemployed.org/docs/GuideSection3.pdf >>Funding, Implementation, Evaluation, and State Support http://www.womenemployed.org/docs/GuideSection4.pdf >>Eleven Program Profiles http://www.womenemployed.org/docs/GuideProgramProfiles.pdf >>Glossary and Endnotes http://www.womenemployed.org/docs/GuideGlossaryEndnotes.pdf Julie Strawn Center for Law and Social Policy 2240 Forest Street Denver CO 80207 720-941-1665 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Cynthia Zafft Sent: Wed 2/28/2007 2:03 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 698] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Soft Skills Hi All: On Tuesday, Bonnie commented on several issues related to college success and mentioned "soft skills." I was wondering how programs (both formal transition programs and informal ones) address soft skills. Bonnie's entry reminded me of a very flexible, metacognitive technique discussed in several NCSALL persistence studies and used by some transition programs. It's called Force Field Analysis. In this activity, students brainstorm what it takes for them to continue to pursue their educational goals...and what might hinder them. Each student is then asked to pick any two forces (they can be from the positive or negative list) that they would like to work on. Since, I have not done justice in this description, I'll give you an FOB link where it is described: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=327 It's a really a great strategy. I know that Pam Meader, the author of one of the NCTN Promising Practices on Preparing Students for College Level Math, uses this technique. See http://www.collegetransition.org/promising/practice4.html What activities/strategies come to mind for you? Cynthia ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jstrawn at clasp.org. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 10755 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070302/bf05f355/attachment.bin From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Mar 2 14:03:48 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:03:48 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 728] "Beyond the GED..." Message-ID: <45E82EC50200002D00001500@bostongwia.jsi.com> Barb, Can you tell us more about "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future.", which you wrote with Sara Fass? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From Stacey.Weaver at victoriacollege.edu Fri Mar 2 14:06:24 2007 From: Stacey.Weaver at victoriacollege.edu (WEAVER, Stacey) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <45E7F9E00200009F0004759F@mailhost.lanecc.edu> Message-ID: I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. From marilyn.gillespie at sri.com Fri Mar 2 14:10:09 2007 From: marilyn.gillespie at sri.com (Marilyn Gillespie) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:10:09 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 730] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <45E7F9E00200009F0004759F@mailhost.lanecc.edu> References: <45E7F9E00200009F0004759F@mailhost.lanecc.edu> Message-ID: <45E87691.10607@sri.com> The Florida Works curriculum (www.floridaworks.org) which I described in an earlier posting is translated into Spanish and should be available online. It teaches "soft skills" and does have a couple of long term goal seting related activities. Marilyn Gillespie Aliscia Niles wrote: >Greetings! > >We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? > >Aliscia Niles >TRiO Academic Advisor >Lane Community College >(541) 463-5054 > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to marilyn.gillespie at sri.com. > > From jstrawn at clasp.org Fri Mar 2 14:11:55 2007 From: jstrawn at clasp.org (Julie Strawn) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 14:11:55 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 731] Re: GED Spanish Materials References: Message-ID: <319C1E32908F254BB662F59E0BA057F0033077@srvmail.clasporg.local> Lane community college is in Eugene Oregon Julie Strawn Center for Law and Social Policy 2240 Forest Street Denver CO 80207 720-941-1665 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of WEAVER, Stacey Sent: Fri 3/2/2007 2:06 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jstrawn at clasp.org. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 3662 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070302/05799a60/attachment.bin From b.garner4 at verizon.net Fri Mar 2 14:21:53 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:21:53 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 732] Re: =?iso-8859-1?q?=A0=22Beyond_the_GED=2E=2E=2E=22?= Message-ID: <8414418.2998731172863313659.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net> In the late 1990s, NCSALL research was beginning to document that while the GED was a valuable goal in an adult learner's life, from an economic benefits point of view, it needed to be a stepping stone to further education. We wanted to bring this information to adult educators and to GED students in a way that would perhaps not just inform but motivate students to go on. The idea was that the teachers and students would learn together as they worked through the materials. I was familiar with the research; Sara Fass, a wonderful instructor and materials developer, had a class of students with whom she could test new materials. We created "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and your future," testing and modifying the materials based on her experiences with her class. A few years later, we asked Eileen Barry, another wonderful GED teacher and materials developer, to use and update the materials. By then, use of computers in ABE had become more widespread and Eileen brought the materials into the technological era. Has anyone on the list used the materials in their classes recently? If so, please share with us your experiences. Barb Garner ===================== From: Julie McKinney Date: 2007/03/02 Fri PM 01:03:48 CST To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Cc: b.garner4 at verizon.net Subject: [FocusOnBasics 728] "Beyond the GED..." Barb, Can you tell us more about "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future.", which you wrote with Sara Fass? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From sandyc at bigbend.edu Fri Mar 2 14:22:52 2007 From: sandyc at bigbend.edu (Cheek, Sandy) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 11:22:52 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 733] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: References: <45E7F9E00200009F0004759F@mailhost.lanecc.edu> Message-ID: <7905AF1D688C9F47B9C9E338C4FE315F02B579BB@MAIL.bigbend.edu> That is my understanding in Washington state as well. However, we have a HEP program that can and does provide instruction to folks in Spanish for the GED. It was my understanding that our basic skills grants focus on language acquisition, and hence teaching in Spanish for the purpose of obtaining a GED was not allowable activity. And I'd be hard pressed to figure out how to assess s's using our standardized instruments....Below is link to info on HEP http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Biennial/126.html Sandy Sandy Cheek Director of Basic Skills Big Bend Community College Moses Lake, WA 98837 509.793.2305 1.877.745.1212 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of WEAVER, Stacey Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 11:06 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyc at bigbend.edu. From NilesA at lanecc.edu Fri Mar 2 14:42:17 2007 From: NilesA at lanecc.edu (Aliscia Niles) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 11:42:17 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 734] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: References: <45E7F9E00200009F0004759F@mailhost.lanecc.edu> Message-ID: <45E80D990200009F000475D2@mailhost.lanecc.edu> Lane Community College is in Oregon. I've recently heard that 11 of our 17 community colleges are now offering Spanish GED classes. I'm not sure how the other schools are funding their programs but we are able to offer these classes in Spanish using a local funding source. Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 >>> "WEAVER, Stacey" 03/02/07 11:06 AM >>> I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to nilesa at lanecc.edu. From cynthia_zafft at worlded.org Fri Mar 2 14:46:18 2007 From: cynthia_zafft at worlded.org (Cynthia Zafft) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:46:18 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 735] GED to Postsecondary Education -- Collegetrans Listserv Message-ID: <45E838BA.60A9.0088.0@worlded.org> Dear FOB Members: The National College Transition Network has the Collegetrans list that I hope you will consider joining. The CollegeTrans Listserv, is designed to provide a forum for discussion about practices, policies, and research that supports effective transition programs for learners moving from adult education to postsecondary education. These programs may be formal or informal and located in schools, colleges, prisons, workplaces or community-based organizations. The CollegeTrans List is intended as a place to: (1) converse with colleagues about transition for adult learners and related themes (2) pose questions to your colleagues on transition policy and practice (3) share relevant experiences and resources (4) make available expertise on promising practices in the field of adult transition through discussions with guest moderators. To sign up, just go to http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/collegetrans All are welcome and I hope you will consider joining in on the discussion. Sincerely, Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network (NCTN) World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 (617) 482-9485 www.collegetransition.org From jschneider at eicc.edu Fri Mar 2 15:44:22 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 14:44:22 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 736] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <45E80D990200009F000475D2@mailhost.lanecc.edu> Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB8708721D40@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> We are funding a Spanish GED class here in Iowa using a Family Literacy Grant (via the state) with an emphasis for pre-employment. Given the doors that are opened with the GED vs dropout status they approved the use of the funds for the Spanish GED. Jim Schneider jschneider at eicc.edu -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 1:42 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 734] Re: GED Spanish Materials Lane Community College is in Oregon. I've recently heard that 11 of our 17 community colleges are now offering Spanish GED classes. I'm not sure how the other schools are funding their programs but we are able to offer these classes in Spanish using a local funding source. Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 >>> "WEAVER, Stacey" 03/02/07 11:06 >>> AM >>> I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to nilesa at lanecc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. From Anita.Prince at dce.virginia.gov Fri Mar 2 16:58:59 2007 From: Anita.Prince at dce.virginia.gov (Prince, Anita (DCE)) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 16:58:59 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 737] How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Message-ID: <45B7EC643773CA4CADFCA4D9E16B05D40142B0FA@MAIL.dce.state.va.us> I am a mid-level administrator in Virginia's central office of Correctional Education. We are a separate state agency from Corrections or Education. As a member of a class of correctional educators from across the country examining models of teaching, classroom instruction, and instructional resources, I am asking for input from other adult educators. In many regards, the only thing that separates our practice from the "civilian" adult educators' is the added context of a secure environment. Any thoughts on the topic, "our group's burning question," would be appreciated. Anita -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070302/f78a8292/attachment.html From mdennisa at edcc.edu Fri Mar 2 16:59:44 2007 From: mdennisa at edcc.edu (Mary-Pat Dennis-Andre) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:59:44 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 738] Re: =?iso-8859-1?q?=A0=22Beyond_the_GED=2E=2E=2E=22?= In-Reply-To: <8414418.2998731172863313659.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net> References: <8414418.2998731172863313659.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: Thanks for sharing this information Barbara. I too would be interested in seeing more about the material updates. At our college, we recently created "Your Next Step: College - Go Beyond GED, Adult High School Diploma for Better Skills, Better Jobs" brochure. This tri-fold brochure highlights college programs, campus resources/ support services, successful GED student profiles, financial aid information, and identifies benefits to going beyond the GED. On the back we list "Your Next Steps" and contact information with our email address as nextsteps at edcc.edu. This is only a first step in producing materials addressing this group of students, but it is a pretty good marketing tool. We will continue to make updates and also plan on creating a similar brochure for our ESL population. We use this brochure when we go into ABE/GED classes to do a "Next Steps" presentation. Our transition person and a former GED student visit classes and discuss obstacles/solutions to going beyond the GED. What amazes me in these sessions is that when asked, "If there were no obstacles, how many of you would want to go on to college?" There is usually a 90% to 100% positive response. This tells me that we are all on the right track by bringing the message to our students that college is possible. This discussion has been a wonderful opportunity to see the tremendous energy around helping GED students take those next steps. Mary Pat Dennis-Andre Director, Student Transition & Retention Edmonds Community College 20000 68th Avenue West Lynnwood, WA 98012 425-640-1041 mdennisa at edcc.edu -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 11:22 AM To: Julie McKinney; focusonbasics at nifl.gov Cc: b.garner4 at verizon.net Subject: [FocusOnBasics 732] Re: ?"Beyond the GED..." In the late 1990s, NCSALL research was beginning to document that while the GED was a valuable goal in an adult learner's life, from an economic benefits point of view, it needed to be a stepping stone to further education. We wanted to bring this information to adult educators and to GED students in a way that would perhaps not just inform but motivate students to go on. The idea was that the teachers and students would learn together as they worked through the materials. I was familiar with the research; Sara Fass, a wonderful instructor and materials developer, had a class of students with whom she could test new materials. We created "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and your future," testing and modifying the materials based on her experiences with her class. A few years later, we asked Eileen Barry, another wonderful GED teacher and materials developer, to use and update the materials. By then, use of computers in ABE had become more widespread and Eileen brought the materials into the technological era. Has anyone on the list used the materials in their classes recently? If so, please share with us your experiences. Barb Garner ===================== From: Julie McKinney Date: 2007/03/02 Fri PM 01:03:48 CST To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Cc: b.garner4 at verizon.net Subject: [FocusOnBasics 728] "Beyond the GED..." Barb, Can you tell us more about "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future.", which you wrote with Sara Fass? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to mdennisa at edcc.edu. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Mar 2 23:06:20 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2007 23:06:20 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 739] Thanks for a lively discussion! Message-ID: <45E8ADEE0200002D00001523@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Thank you all for sharing your information, questions, and insights about the transition from GED to postsecondary education. It seems like a topic that we should continue to discuss, and I hope that you all will. Thanks especially to Barb, Cynthia and Sandy for being our guests this week! Although the discussion formally ends today, I hope we can all continue to discuss questions and successes in this area and share resources. In the next 2 weeks I will get the discussion and a list of the resources posted on the NIFL website and also on the Transitions page of the ALE Wiki. Have a great weekend! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From glegeros at alltel.net Sat Mar 3 00:56:32 2007 From: glegeros at alltel.net (Geo LeGeros) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 23:56:32 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 740] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge References: <45E8ADEE0200002D00001523@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <017901c75d58$b1c74400$02fea8c0@geoypk02w4rcax> Sorry I'm a bit late to get in on the discussion but there was one point that I wanted to respond to that I hope will elicit more discussion. Katrina Hinson stated, "I think [our] students need to not focus so much on passing a "standard" tests but on truly learning the information. The problem often comes from outside though - they're being pushed to "pass the test" by various agencies or life needs." Yes, we would all hope they truly learn the information, because it's the knowledge that provides the foundation for post secondary education. But most of our students don't even have any interest in even reading unless there is some explicit reward - passing the GED test and getting their diploma. Unfortunately, utilizing knowledge in life isn't about passing pencil and paper tests. I teach in a GED program in a prison for incarcerated adults. Many of the students seem to lack that natural curiosity and love for learning but seem doggedly committed to passing the GED test and getting their diploma. They have so little genuine interest in knowledge and spend no time learning outside of class but prefer spending their time watching drama and action-type serials on television. Can anyone throw a little wisdom born of experience on this: What innovative instructional approaches might light that fire which will motivate, inspire, and engage our students to invest themselves in learning and encourage them to discover, for instance, the joy of reading. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Julie McKinney" To: Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 10:06 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 739] Thanks for a lively discussion! > Hi Everyone, > > Thank you all for sharing your information, questions, and insights about > the transition from GED to postsecondary education. It seems like a topic > that we should continue to discuss, and I hope that you all will. Thanks > especially to Barb, Cynthia and Sandy for being our guests this week! > > Although the discussion formally ends today, I hope we can all continue to > discuss questions and successes in this area and share resources. In the > next 2 weeks I will get the discussion and a list of the resources posted > on the NIFL website and also on the Transitions page of the ALE Wiki. > > Have a great weekend! > > All the best, > Julie > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to glegeros at alltel.net. > From sandyecook at hotmail.com Sat Mar 3 15:04:49 2007 From: sandyecook at hotmail.com (Sandra Cook) Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2007 14:04:49 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070303/7499bd33/attachment.html From Mdr151 at aol.com Sat Mar 3 15:55:33 2007 From: Mdr151 at aol.com (Mdr151 at aol.com) Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 15:55:33 EST Subject: [FocusOnBasics 742] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Message-ID: I have also used the practice Math GED test as an indicator more for high school algebra readiness than for college readiness. However, even students scoring in the high 500's still do not, for the most part, have a high enough score to pass the elementary algebra section of the Accuplacer. For example, the GED tests solving systems of equations basically by finding the intersection point of two lines with the graph provided. On the Accuplacer, students are asked to solve systems the more algebraic way. Plus the Accuplacer has many questions dealing with exponent rules, factoring, etc that are more algebraic than I have seen on the GED practice tests. However, students scoring above 500 on the pretest usually pass the Arithmetic portion of the Accuplacer. I don't know what your community colleges require for cut scores on the Accuplacer but in Maine students must score around 60 in Arithmetic and around 70 in Elementary Algebra to be placed in college level math classes. Pam Meader Presenter for NCTN President, Adult Numeracy Network Katrina, We have a similar policy in regard to requiring a 500 on the practice tests... And similar results in that they typically score +/- 50 from the practice test score. After 13 years at this location I've found that there are 3 common reasons students who score less on the actual test. 1. Attention/focus issues that don't appear on a practice test with 25 questions/~35 minutes, but become an issue with the 50 question/~90 minute subject exams. 2. Test Anxiety/Self Confidence Issues - they hit a question or two that they don't understand and all the doubts and fears they've ever had about testing or that subject rears up and crushes their active brain cells so that all their mental energy is going into worrying about the test rather than processing the test and answering the questions 3. They get a test form that is harder or has a greater emphasis on topics they aren't as well versed in. For example, students have done very well on the PA Math which has very little geometry but then did poorly on the actual GED. As a result we often have students take both the PA and PB or provide a geometry review to ensure that they are well versed with angles and pythagorean relationship math. Jim Schneider Assistant Dean Scott Community College Career Assistance Center 627 W. Second Street Davenport, IA 52801 (563) 326-5319 phone -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 6:42 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 723] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills How does their practice test scores fit into this picture. For instance at my school we require that students have a 500 or better on the practice test in order to take the official test. We do make exceptions in some cases. However, they may do well on the practice tests but then not well on the official test, usually scoring between 480 and 450. It's about a 50/50 split. Some do worse - some do better - exceeding the 500 mark. I was just curious what the relationship was between the practice test you administer and their ending official score. Regards Katrina Hinson >>> "Virginia Tardaewether" 3/1/2007 10:51 am >>> We're finding that if our students get 500 or higher on their GED test, they generally place out of developmental math. ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mdr151 at aol.com Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 7:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well. In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses. I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course. The benefits of our program are lower costs for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking, learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and for math, more confidence. Pam Meader Presenter for NCTN President, Adult Numeracy Network


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AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070303/142d6fca/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Mar 5 09:06:26 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2007 09:06:26 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 743] Some messages from last week Message-ID: <45EBDD960200002D00001545@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, There were some messages sent to the list last week that were not related to our guest discussion topic. Usually I send these through, but this time I didn't because I didn't want them to be overlooked in the midst of our busy discussion of GED to PSE. I am sending them through now, along with others that arrived over the weekend. Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From aalba1 at cox.net Mon Feb 26 21:42:27 2007 From: aalba1 at cox.net (AL) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:42:27 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 744] Maintaining Our Instructional Role Message-ID: Rationale For Question I am involved in a correctional educators' class examining models of teaching, classroom instruction, and instructional practices. Using computers and other types of instructional devices in a multi-level classroom can affect an instructor's role. Last year our Department was considering privatization of its entire teaching staff. Some measures that the administration considered were to replace teachers with videotaped instruction and/or computer aided instruction due to budget cuts. As a member of educated professionals we are wondering if you could provide a response to the following question: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Thanks In Advance For Your Response, Albert Alba, PhD. From aalba1 at cox.net Tue Feb 27 23:19:04 2007 From: aalba1 at cox.net (AL) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 23:19:04 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 745] Role Playing In The Correctional Setting Message-ID: Dear Educators and Correctional Professionals, I am interested in various methods to create vicarious real life experiences in the classroom through the use of role playing. Many students who are incarcerated do not know how to constructively debate or develop logical arguments for a specific cause. Therefore, I am wondering what type of media, film or DVD, instructional materials, reading books/magazines/periodicals that have been used that facilitate dialogue and debate that investigate moral and ethical issues. Peaceful Solutions is one such text that presents scenarios related to moral dilemmas many inmates may be involved with in their lives. The ability to have inmates discuss their views openly in class and to debate their positions in a classroom setting can enable students to recognize their faulty reasoning and also gain empathy by considering issues of individuals who have been abused. Therefore, if you could please present any material and instructional strategies that promotes dialogue and role playing in a correctional setting it would be appreciated. Sincerely, Dr. Albert Alba From PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Wed Feb 28 21:23:05 2007 From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com (PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com) Date: 1 Mar 2007 02:23:05 -0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 746] DAR and standardization? Message-ID: <1172715785.2954425687.5305.sendItem@bloglines.com> Does anyone out there know if the Diagnostic Assessment of Reading "counts" as a standardized test in measuring gains for reporting purposes? I checked on the ALE Wiki and the discussion wasn't ever concluded. I know it's used for children, but wasn't sure if there's any vailidity with our population. I understand it isn't one recognized by the NRS. Jean Marrapodi Providence Assembly of God Learning Center From PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Wed Feb 28 21:28:14 2007 From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com (PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com) Date: 1 Mar 2007 02:28:14 -0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 747] NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? Message-ID: <1172716094.774039201.24444.sendItem@bloglines.com> I was poking around on the NIFL site and came across a list of tests, some I've heard of, others I don't know. http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/MC_Test_Bank.htm Does anyone recognize any of these as being wonderful for the lowest basic learners? Jean Marrapodi From wrmuth at vcu.edu Fri Mar 2 20:08:52 2007 From: wrmuth at vcu.edu (William R Muth/FS/VCU) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 20:08:52 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 748] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: <45B7EC643773CA4CADFCA4D9E16B05D40142B0FA@MAIL.dce.state.va.us> Message-ID: Anita - Your question about the role of the teacher in a class of multi-level learners studying within an all-individualized format is important. I know many correctional teachers that create thriving classroom environments with lots of one-on-one discussion and interaction. But I've also seen prison classrooms with assembly-line type climates, where students work in their individualized GED-prep books and only interact with the teacher when they need something scored or a new textbook. It's wrong to exclusively blame the individualized instructional model for the lack of social interaction--of course the teacher plays a big part. But if teachers are directed to use individualized models, and are discouraged from using social learning strategies (by stated or unstated rules), there may be little chance for trusting/humanizing cultures to form, or, for that matter, for teachers to teach. Is this an issue in community-based literacy programs? - Bill Muth -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070302/d0ded2c7/attachment.html From mjjerdems at yahoo.com Sat Mar 3 08:31:16 2007 From: mjjerdems at yahoo.com (Mary Jane Jerde) Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 05:31:16 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 749] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: <45B7EC643773CA4CADFCA4D9E16B05D40142B0FA@MAIL.dce.state.va.us> Message-ID: <806282.38978.qm@web54007.mail.yahoo.com> I'm not sure what the exact question is. From my own experience with multi-level classes and technology, I can say that it is important for me to make sure the students discuss before and after using technology what they plan to do and to report on what they did. The discussion or write up about the work is the real profit from the experience. It helps cement the learning. I'm a strong advocate for cooperative learning. In a multi-level class the students very quickly learn their place in the hierarchy. That can be used to their benefit as they progress through the program. They can be the "teachers" or purveyors of skills and knowledge. It can also be a deterrent for all but the top or extroverts to be involved in activities. First, the instructor's job is to ensure there's a framework for activities, discussions, curriculum, a class culture. Second, the framework for smaller group work benefits from some formulaic questions that allow each person to take turns giving his or her thoughts on something and explaining why they think so _and also_ listening to others and explaining how or why each agrees or disagrees. This can be very artificial at first. Sadly, our culture doesn't promote this kind of thoughtful discussion. Just watch the election process. Once members of the class understand this as part of the class culture, it will free the instructor to managethe class more effectively. Small group work is very profitable as one tool when the class is prepared for it. Again, the students need to report back to you one way or another about the experience. Is this any help? Mary Jane Jerde ESL Instructor Howard Community College Columbia, MD "Prince, Anita (DCE)" wrote: st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) } I am a mid-level administrator in Virginia?s central office of Correctional Education. We are a separate state agency from Corrections or Education. As a member of a class of correctional educators from across the country examining models of teaching, classroom instruction, and instructional resources, I am asking for input from other adult educators. In many regards, the only thing that separates our practice from the ?civilian? adult educators? is the added context of a secure environment. Any thoughts on the topic, ?our group?s burning question,? would be appreciated. Anita ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to mjjerdems at yahoo.com. --------------------------------- Get your own web address. Have a HUGE year through Yahoo! Small Business. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070303/93c6b272/attachment.html From wrmuth at vcu.edu Sat Mar 3 11:42:56 2007 From: wrmuth at vcu.edu (William R Muth/FS/VCU) Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 11:42:56 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 750] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge In-Reply-To: <017901c75d58$b1c74400$02fea8c0@geoypk02w4rcax> Message-ID: Hi Geo -- Malcolm Knowles, in his early work on andragogy (study of adult learning), made the claim that adults are "self-directed" learners (a term introduced by Alan Tough in the early 1970's). Since then andragogy has received much criticism, particularly in the area of "readiness to learn." Can we assume that adults are self-directed learners? And even if they have their own purposes for learning, do they have the confidence to move in this direction? Given that our literacy learners probably represent learners with a range from little to great self-direction, and from little to great confidence, Gerald Grow developed a useful framework for thinking about the various roles we can take to match an appropriate teaching style to the readiness-to-learn of our students. You can access Grow's framework at http://www.longleaf.net/ggrow Implied in your question is the desire to 'move' our students towards embracing a self-directed love of learning, and I commend you for that. Hope this is helpful. Bill "Geo LeGeros" Sent by: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov 03/03/2007 12:56 AM Please respond to The Focus on Basics Discussion List To "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" cc Subject [FocusOnBasics 740] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge Sorry I'm a bit late to get in on the discussion but there was one point that I wanted to respond to that I hope will elicit more discussion. Katrina Hinson stated, "I think [our] students need to not focus so much on passing a "standard" tests but on truly learning the information. The problem often comes from outside though - they're being pushed to "pass the test" by various agencies or life needs." Yes, we would all hope they truly learn the information, because it's the knowledge that provides the foundation for post secondary education. But most of our students don't even have any interest in even reading unless there is some explicit reward - passing the GED test and getting their diploma. Unfortunately, utilizing knowledge in life isn't about passing pencil and paper tests. I teach in a GED program in a prison for incarcerated adults. Many of the students seem to lack that natural curiosity and love for learning but seem doggedly committed to passing the GED test and getting their diploma. They have so little genuine interest in knowledge and spend no time learning outside of class but prefer spending their time watching drama and action-type serials on television. Can anyone throw a little wisdom born of experience on this: What innovative instructional approaches might light that fire which will motivate, inspire, and engage our students to invest themselves in learning and encourage them to discover, for instance, the joy of reading. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Julie McKinney" To: Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 10:06 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 739] Thanks for a lively discussion! > Hi Everyone, > > Thank you all for sharing your information, questions, and insights about > the transition from GED to postsecondary education. It seems like a topic > that we should continue to discuss, and I hope that you all will. Thanks > especially to Barb, Cynthia and Sandy for being our guests this week! > > Although the discussion formally ends today, I hope we can all continue to > discuss questions and successes in this area and share resources. In the > next 2 weeks I will get the discussion and a list of the resources posted > on the NIFL website and also on the Transitions page of the ALE Wiki. > > Have a great weekend! > > All the best, > Julie > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to glegeros at alltel.net. > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to WRMUTH at vcu.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070303/de13172f/attachment.html From woodsnh at isp.com Sat Mar 3 14:30:28 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2007 14:30:28 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 751] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge In-Reply-To: <017901c75d58$b1c74400$02fea8c0@geoypk02w4rcax> References: <45E8ADEE0200002D00001523@bostongwia.jsi.com> <017901c75d58$b1c74400$02fea8c0@geoypk02w4rcax> Message-ID: <45E9CCD4.6090006@isp.com> Geo, you hit upon an important distinction between schooling and learning. Passing the test, covering the curriculum, getting the piece of paper, those are the things of schooling. Pursuing a hobby, mastering a task, studying a chosen phenomenon, coming to an understanding of the nature of things, those are the things of learning. A.S. Neill, the founder of Summerhill School in the UK found it necessary to wait out students' apparent disinterest, and allow students to do absolutely nothing until they were ready to take initiative for themselves. He referred to this as "curing children of the toxic effects of school." The Cherokee have a saying, one learns what one is ready to learn. Maybe if your students are not learning the intrinsic value of learning for its own sake it is because they are not ready to learn that, and they are busy learning something else. Maybe you need to wait them out, like Neill. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Geo LeGeros wrote: >Sorry I'm a bit late to get in on the discussion but there was one point >that I wanted to respond to that I hope will elicit more discussion. Katrina >Hinson stated, "I think [our] students need to not focus so much on passing >a "standard" tests but on truly learning the information. The problem often >comes from outside though - they're being pushed to "pass the test" by >various agencies or life needs." Yes, we would all hope they truly learn the >information, because it's the knowledge that provides the foundation for >post secondary education. But most of our students don't even have any >interest in even reading unless there is some explicit reward - passing the >GED test and getting their diploma. Unfortunately, utilizing knowledge in >life isn't about passing pencil and paper tests. > >I teach in a GED program in a prison for incarcerated adults. Many of the >students seem to lack that natural curiosity and love for learning but seem >doggedly committed to passing the GED test and getting their diploma. They >have so little genuine interest in knowledge and spend no time learning >outside of class but prefer spending their time watching drama and >action-type serials on television. > >Can anyone throw a little wisdom born of experience on this: What innovative >instructional approaches might light that fire which will motivate, inspire, >and engage our students to invest themselves in learning and encourage them >to discover, for instance, the joy of reading. > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Julie McKinney" >To: >Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 10:06 PM >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 739] Thanks for a lively discussion! > > > > >>Hi Everyone, >> >>Thank you all for sharing your information, questions, and insights about >>the transition from GED to postsecondary education. It seems like a topic >>that we should continue to discuss, and I hope that you all will. Thanks >>especially to Barb, Cynthia and Sandy for being our guests this week! >> >>Although the discussion formally ends today, I hope we can all continue to >>discuss questions and successes in this area and share resources. In the >>next 2 weeks I will get the discussion and a list of the resources posted >>on the NIFL website and also on the Transitions page of the ALE Wiki. >> >>Have a great weekend! >> >>All the best, >>Julie >> >>Julie McKinney >>Discussion List Moderator >>World Education/NCSALL >>jmckinney at worlded.org >> >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>Message sent to glegeros at alltel.net. >> >> >> > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > From nancy.mckeand at gmail.com Sat Mar 3 16:48:43 2007 From: nancy.mckeand at gmail.com (Nancy McKeand) Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 15:48:43 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 752] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2e8319bb0703031348x659ac19qcb2fdfbca1ff635c@mail.gmail.com> I am afraid I must disagree with Sandra. Spanish GED classes fill a real need for many people. Some need a high school diploma for employment reasons, but they will perform their work in Spanish. Most are learning English but are not yet fluent enough to be able to pass the GED in English. Why penalize them if we don't have to? Why make their lives more difficult by demanding that they learn English before they do anything else? I taught GED prep in Spanish to migrant farmworkers in Illinois several years ago, and it is the work I am most proud of. I'd do it again in a minute if I found a program that was looking for a teacher. Nancy McKeand ESL instructor St. Joseph Seminary College St. Benedict, LA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070303/7b4537c4/attachment.html From woodsnh at isp.com Sat Mar 3 17:08:24 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2007 17:08:24 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 753] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <45E9F1D8.70409@isp.com> A Spanish GED would be just as good as an English GED in my book. I think assisting individuals in their native tongue is a show of acceptance and respect for their language and heritage. In an interesting historical piece about assimilation and imigration in the US I was reading, a point was made that it is the second generation of every imigrant wave that becomes fully assimilated into our language, customs and culture. The first generation, the people who actually move, do not learn the language, or do so very poorly; they do not assimilate as successfully as their children. Maybe if we were more tolerant and accepting of non-English-speaking imigrants, they would assimilate more successfully. Tom Woods Sandra Cook wrote: > You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in > Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary > education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking > English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those > who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter > our classrooms? > > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language > speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language > speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, > no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect > to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > > My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > From: /"WEAVER, Stacey" / > Reply-To: /The Focus on Basics Discussion List > / > To: /"The Focus on Basics Discussion List" / > Subject: /[FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials/ > Date: /Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600/ > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is > okay, but > core materials and content are to be delivered in English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include career and > post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to > resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially > anything to prepare students for their next steps? > > Aliscia Niles > TRiO Academic Advisor > Lane Community College > (541) 463-5054 > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by > Experian. > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > From bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net Sat Mar 3 18:44:53 2007 From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net (Bonnita Solberg) Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 15:44:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <703707.87680.qm@web83104.mail.mud.yahoo.com> As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or vice versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, Spanish is the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American Indians were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in everyday use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may not immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job or to go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who choose to attain either educational goal. Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. --------------------------------- From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. --------------------------------- The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070303/85a44535/attachment.html From bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net Sat Mar 3 19:02:02 2007 From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net (Bonnita Solberg) Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 16:02:02 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 755] Re: Teacher Created Assessment in ESL Classroom In-Reply-To: <7905AF1D688C9F47B9C9E338C4FE315F02B579BB@MAIL.bigbend.edu> Message-ID: <594524.50946.qm@web83109.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I'd like to make another request for references or actual hands on material. In the Oakland ESL program, we are currently focusing our Professional Development on consistent non-standardized assessments by the teacher during the course of the day and week. These, of course, need not be paper and pencil tests. They could be self report of authentic material as Eric Jacobson et. al. reported in his NCSALL publication "Creating Authentic Materials and Activities for the Adult Literacy Classroom." What I do need is references that describe the variety of assessment tools a teacher can use in his/her classroom on a regular basis. For instance, drawing a graph of how many times a student speaks to their child's teacher is one that was illustrated in Eric's book. I am looking for printed material to inform our teachers of their choice in assessment tools and would also appreciate any assessments teachers have developed that can be shared via email. I have references for what is a good assessment from the State of California Standards; however, our teachers could benefit from hands on realia. I am under the gun. Wednesday next week is the day our committee will be making decisions on what to present to the staff. Your assistance is much appreciated. Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070303/962c3731/attachment.html From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu Sat Mar 3 20:18:31 2007 From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Isserlis, Janet) Date: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 20:18:31 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 756] Re: GED Spanish Materials References: Message-ID: <20EC1BB15C09F340A09A79FA1DBF9706019C2B2F@MAIL3.AD.Brown.Edu> Sandra and others I'm wondering if you're not aware of some of the research on native language literacy and the multiple ways in which adults come to learn and use language and literacy - their first language as well as other{s] they learn. This might be a useful first resource: Native Language Literacy and Adult ESL Learners, a NCLE/CAELA digest by Klaudia Rivera http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/natlit2.html Designing instruction to meet the needs of particular learners at particular points in their learning journeys seems to be a great service if programs are able to offer it. I don't think anyone in an adult ed program would say that s/he doesn't want to learn English; I think adults learn in multiple ways and for some, learning through their first language is one of those ways. I don't see tailoiring programs to meet learners needs being "special treatment." I see it as programs designing instruction as they're able to offer it to the students whose needs are being met, and whose strengths (their ability to function well in their first language) are utilized towards the accomplishment of their larger goals. While likely the most numerous, Spanish language literacy programs are not the only such programs, nor is Spanish the only language used, in approaching first language literacy. Janet Isserlis -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Sandra Cook Sent: Sat 3/3/2007 3:04 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. ________________________________ From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. ________________________________ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 4926 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070303/a3aef8a1/attachment.bin From donnaedp at cox.net Sun Mar 4 08:55:31 2007 From: donnaedp at cox.net (Donna Chambers) Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2007 08:55:31 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 757] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge References: <45E8ADEE0200002D00001523@bostongwia.jsi.com> <017901c75d58$b1c74400$02fea8c0@geoypk02w4rcax> Message-ID: <001801c75e64$c6e53880$f9d5ac46@DH89L251> Hi All, Sorry for being so late jumping in here, but I have been following the dialogue with great interest. I work with the National External Diploma Program that offers a traditional high school diploma based on the adult's ability to demonstrate 65 high school level competencies in an applied performance assessment. The NEDP candidate knows from the beginning that they are required to take responsibility for their own learning, but can self pace through the program and, while given guidance as to what they must learn, must find resources outside of the program to learn the needed skills. Unlike a standardized, multiple choice test, the candidate is asked to apply what is learned in the presence of a trained assessor and cannot check off the competency as demonstrated until the skill is validated by the NEDP assessor. The NEDP process encourages the candidates to be resourceful and independent in their learning and thinking through problems. >From the time that the adult enters the NEDP, they are told they must demonstrate their high school level skills by applying what they learn through projects completed outside the assessment appointment. The need for persistence is explained from the very beginning. The pathway is there, but it will be up to the student, with our guidance, to develop the tools needed to move along the pathway and be successful in post secondary education and life in general. In other words, developing the ability and appreciation for learning/thinking becomes part of the NEDP process. In RI, where I work, we have a strong Transitions to College Program and when a person comes in to inquire about "getting their GED" we council everyone that there are two options for completing high school, the GED and the NEDP. At the first appointment, we also explain the Transitions to College Program and tell everyone that, although they want to get a high school credential, if post secondary is their goal (and it is for many people today) then they may plan to enter our high school completion programs, but that this is just a step along the pathway to college, and so staying with us through Transitions is encouraged. We are finding great success by linking NEDP to Transitions to College. While NEDP begins the process of learning to learn, builds the high school level skills, and offers the diploma, the Transitions to College Program refines these learning skills and takes the adult closer to being successful in post secondary. The critical element to this success is to council the entering student from the very beginning that they are responsible for their own success and that the programs can only support the effort that they put in, both inside and outside the time spent with the staff. Early discussion of the need for persistence and the reality of what it will take to move forward is also key. Stopping out can be considered a part of the program for some, but staying in touch is mandatory. The pathway from ABE to College can be a long and arduous process for the adults in our program as well as the staff, but we are beginning to see very positive and encouraging results. Many students who never dreamed that college was possible for them are there and staying there. By not just focusing on the high school credential, but rather looking at a bigger picture, the staff and the students are encouraged that success is possible and we are beginning to prove it. Ten years ago, even five, we could say that our student population needed a high school credential as an end in itself. Today, we all know that the vision must go beyond this credential. It is up to us in adult education to create a safe, comfortable environment fot the adult student to develop the learning and thinking tools needed for success. Donna Chambers RI National External Diploma Program Coordinator Original Message ----- From: "Geo LeGeros" To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2007 12:56 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 740] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge > Sorry I'm a bit late to get in on the discussion but there was one point > that I wanted to respond to that I hope will elicit more discussion. > Katrina > Hinson stated, "I think [our] students need to not focus so much on > passing > a "standard" tests but on truly learning the information. The problem > often > comes from outside though - they're being pushed to "pass the test" by > various agencies or life needs." Yes, we would all hope they truly learn > the > information, because it's the knowledge that provides the foundation for > post secondary education. But most of our students don't even have any > interest in even reading unless there is some explicit reward - passing > the > GED test and getting their diploma. Unfortunately, utilizing knowledge in > life isn't about passing pencil and paper tests. > > I teach in a GED program in a prison for incarcerated adults. Many of the > students seem to lack that natural curiosity and love for learning but > seem > doggedly committed to passing the GED test and getting their diploma. They > have so little genuine interest in knowledge and spend no time learning > outside of class but prefer spending their time watching drama and > action-type serials on television. > > Can anyone throw a little wisdom born of experience on this: What > innovative > instructional approaches might light that fire which will motivate, > inspire, > and engage our students to invest themselves in learning and encourage > them > to discover, for instance, the joy of reading. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Julie McKinney" > To: > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 10:06 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 739] Thanks for a lively discussion! > > >> Hi Everyone, >> >> Thank you all for sharing your information, questions, and insights about >> the transition from GED to postsecondary education. It seems like a topic >> that we should continue to discuss, and I hope that you all will. Thanks >> especially to Barb, Cynthia and Sandy for being our guests this week! >> >> Although the discussion formally ends today, I hope we can all continue >> to >> discuss questions and successes in this area and share resources. In the >> next 2 weeks I will get the discussion and a list of the resources posted >> on the NIFL website and also on the Transitions page of the ALE Wiki. >> >> Have a great weekend! >> >> All the best, >> Julie >> >> Julie McKinney >> Discussion List Moderator >> World Education/NCSALL >> jmckinney at worlded.org >> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to glegeros at alltel.net. >> > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to donnaedp at cox.net. > From jschneider at eicc.edu Mon Mar 5 01:44:48 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 00:44:48 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 758] Re: GED Spanish Materials References: Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB876B577B@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I must respectfully disagree. In Iowa I do have a vastly different Spanish speaking population than Texas/Florida/California. The vast majority of those who take the Spanish test here speak English, but had the majority of their education in Spanish. To earn the GED in English might well take them years, whereas they can pass the Spanish version in a matter of months. We lay out the pros and cons of each option and let the learner decide what the best course of action for them will be. Those who want to go on to college often select the English GED... and are willing to invest the time (sometimes years) needed to improve their English to the level needed to pass the GED. Others who merely want the credential for employment select the Spanish version. It is a legal option. It merely certifies that they can score better than 40% of high school graduates. Jim Schneider jschneider at eicc.edu -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Sandra Cook Sent: Sat 3/3/2007 2:04 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. ________________________________ From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. ________________________________ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 4750 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070305/67451a28/attachment.bin From RMechem at doe.mass.edu Mon Mar 5 08:05:41 2007 From: RMechem at doe.mass.edu (Mechem, Richard) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 08:05:41 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 759] Re: GED Spanish Materials Message-ID: Sandra--- Two brief comments: (1) A high level of literacy is of great value in and of itself, regardless of what language it is in. We would certainly not denigrate the literacy level of a college professor in Brazil just because she reads and speaks Portuguese rather than English. (2) there's plenty of evidence to show that the higher a person's native language literacy level is, the easier it is to learn English, so for many non-English speakers the most efficient route to English fluency starts with raising their literacy level in their own language (Spanish or any other). Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Sandra Cook Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2007 3:05 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. _____ From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. _____ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. From jw at weallcanread.com Mon Mar 5 09:29:01 2007 From: jw at weallcanread.com (Jim Williams) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 09:29:01 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 760] Re: Maintaining Our Instructional Role In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1352AA16-919A-4AD2-9181-A5CC2A9F8B94@weallcanread.com> Dr. Alba, This does not directly respond to your question, but I thought this information might be of interest to you. I am the author of a remedial reading/phonics program called We All Can Read. The Georgia Department of Corrections uses our program at 13 prisons throughout the state. The program is also used in several Federal prisons as well. We publish our program on VHS video, VD CD, and now our program is published online as well. All 624 lessons from our core book are available in our online edition where we combine video, audio, and text; students are able to work at a computer and proceed independently through the entire program. The We All Can Read online edition is developed so that it may be used with no prior training by students, teachers, and tutors. The first 28 online lessons from a total of 624 online lessons are available to view and hear at no cost or obligation at http:// www.weallcanread.com. References, price information, and a great deal of additional information are also available on our web site. Please let me know if I can provide you with additional information, and I thank you for your time. Jim Williams Email address: jw at weallcanread.com Web address: www.weallcanread.com On Feb 26, 2007, at 9:42 PM, AL wrote: > Rationale For Question > > I am involved in a correctional educators' class examining models of > teaching, classroom instruction, and instructional practices. Using > computers and other types of instructional devices in a multi-level > classroom can affect an instructor's role. Last year our Department > was > considering privatization of its entire teaching staff. Some > measures that > the administration considered were to replace teachers with videotaped > instruction and/or computer aided instruction due to budget cuts. > > > As a member of educated professionals we are wondering if you could > provide > a response to the following question: > > How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level > classroom using > computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? > > Thanks In Advance For Your Response, Albert Alba, PhD. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070305/869f19b7/attachment.html From sandyc at bigbend.edu Mon Mar 5 09:30:14 2007 From: sandyc at bigbend.edu (Cheek, Sandy) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 06:30:14 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 761] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge References: <45E8ADEE0200002D00001523@bostongwia.jsi.com> <017901c75d58$b1c74400$02fea8c0@geoypk02w4rcax> Message-ID: <7905AF1D688C9F47B9C9E338C4FE315F022C4C40@MAIL.bigbend.edu> This is a good question that I"m sure many adult educators have struggled with. There seems to be two schools of thought on this, at the very least. One is that hopefully by helping the student with his personally established goals (getting the GED) we form a conduit, an opening, for them to realize they are capable of learning much, much more. I've seen this happen--students come in with very limited horizons and as they discover the power of their own learning capabilities, their horizons grow wider. It's a confidence thing. One interesting thing I've noticed is as they discover how much they can learn, they always want to attribute it to you--their teacher. You've somehow opened the door, taught them in a way they've never experienced, etc etc. As a young teacher I was quite gratified by this deluge of praise, and didn't question it much. However, as i noticed it more and more, I began realizing that this was another way my students sabatoged themselves----by attributing any success THEY had to someone else's effort. I began talking to them about the fact that THEY were responsible for their learning, and for whatever reason, at that time, THEY had decided they could learn.And that it was not dependent on teachers, or classes, or books--but on them. The other view is that we (adult educators) do our students a great disservice by teaching them a very, very different curriculum than those who are in the power class, for lack of a better word. That we make the choice for our students that they would not be interested in, nor have time for, really great writers, thinkers, and intellectuals. And in no small measure we are pressured by agencies and funding to do exactly that--teach "workplace skills", "life skills", --when was the last time you were asked to document how you helped students THINK? I've thought about this, and as a result, I've decided I'm doing my students a disservice if we don't have philosophical discussions, if we don't talk about good writing, big problems, and world views. And not surprisingly, for the most part, as long as you can tie it to that which they know, they engage in deep and thoughtful discussions that, I think, lead them to developing that intellectual curiousity we all hope to awaken. However I will admit that it doesn't show up as a documented level gain on a standardized test--but frankly, some things are more important. ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Geo LeGeros Sent: Fri 3/2/2007 9:56 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 740] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge Sorry I'm a bit late to get in on the discussion but there was one point that I wanted to respond to that I hope will elicit more discussion. Katrina Hinson stated, "I think [our] students need to not focus so much on passing a "standard" tests but on truly learning the information. The problem often comes from outside though - they're being pushed to "pass the test" by various agencies or life needs." Yes, we would all hope they truly learn the information, because it's the knowledge that provides the foundation for post secondary education. But most of our students don't even have any interest in even reading unless there is some explicit reward - passing the GED test and getting their diploma. Unfortunately, utilizing knowledge in life isn't about passing pencil and paper tests. I teach in a GED program in a prison for incarcerated adults. Many of the students seem to lack that natural curiosity and love for learning but seem doggedly committed to passing the GED test and getting their diploma. They have so little genuine interest in knowledge and spend no time learning outside of class but prefer spending their time watching drama and action-type serials on television. Can anyone throw a little wisdom born of experience on this: What innovative instructional approaches might light that fire which will motivate, inspire, and engage our students to invest themselves in learning and encourage them to discover, for instance, the joy of reading. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Julie McKinney" To: Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 10:06 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 739] Thanks for a lively discussion! > Hi Everyone, > > Thank you all for sharing your information, questions, and insights about > the transition from GED to postsecondary education. It seems like a topic > that we should continue to discuss, and I hope that you all will. Thanks > especially to Barb, Cynthia and Sandy for being our guests this week! > > Although the discussion formally ends today, I hope we can all continue to > discuss questions and successes in this area and share resources. In the > next 2 weeks I will get the discussion and a list of the resources posted > on the NIFL website and also on the Transitions page of the ALE Wiki. > > Have a great weekend! > > All the best, > Julie > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to glegeros at alltel.net. > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyc at bigbend.edu. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 7292 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070305/80489679/attachment.bin From marilyn.gillespie at sri.com Mon Mar 5 09:48:11 2007 From: marilyn.gillespie at sri.com (Marilyn Gillespie) Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2007 09:48:11 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 762] Re: Teacher Created Assessment in ESL Classroom In-Reply-To: <594524.50946.qm@web83109.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <594524.50946.qm@web83109.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <45EC2DAB.1070408@sri.com> Bonnita, If you go to the EFF Portal (just Google these words and it will get you there) and then go to the EFF Teaching and Learning Toolkit and look under Step 7 Tools you will find a number of easy to use worksheets such as teacher logs, student reflection guides and other tools that might be helpful. You can download all of these.You might also try: Stiggins, R.J. (2001). Student involved classroom assessment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Angelo & Cross Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers Good luck! Marilyn Gillespie Bonnita Solberg wrote: > > > I'd like to make another request for references or actual hands on > material. In the Oakland ESL program, we are currently focusing our > Professional Development on consistent non-standardized assessments by > the teacher during the course of the day and week. These, of course, > need not be paper and pencil tests. They could be self report of > authentic material as Eric Jacobson et. al. reported in his NCSALL > publication "Creating Authentic Materials and Activities for the Adult > Literacy Classroom." What I do need is references that describe the > variety of assessment tools a teacher can use in his/her classroom on > a regular basis. For instance, drawing a graph of how many times a > student speaks to their child's teacher is one that was illustrated in > Eric's book. I am looking for printed material to inform our teachers > of their choice in assessment tools and would also appreciate any > assessments teachers have developed that can be shared via email. I > have references for what is a good assessment from the State of > California Standards; however, our teachers could benefit from hands > on realia. > > I am under the gun. Wednesday next week is the day our committee will > be making decisions on what to present to the staff. Your assistance > is much appreciated. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to marilyn.gillespie at sri.com. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070305/3c6f5224/attachment.html From szach at hcpl.net Mon Mar 5 11:32:15 2007 From: szach at hcpl.net (Steve Zach) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 10:32:15 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 763] Re: NIFL Assessment list - are there any here thatwork well for our population? In-Reply-To: <1172716094.774039201.24444.sendItem@bloglines.com> References: <1172716094.774039201.24444.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: <00ad01c75f43$d5d174f0$8233a8c0@hcpl.net> We've been using the Diagnostic Assessment of Reading since last summer. It tests for word recognition, oral reading, comprehension, spelling as well as ability to read words with short vowels, long vowels etc. It also has the benefit of having two versions for pre and post testing. Steve Zach Harris County Public Library Houston, TX -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 8:28 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 747] NIFL Assessment list - are there any here thatwork well for our population? I was poking around on the NIFL site and came across a list of tests, some I've heard of, others I don't know. http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/MC_Test_Bank.htm Does anyone recognize any of these as being wonderful for the lowest basic learners? Jean Marrapodi ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to szach at hcpl.net. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Mar 5 12:36:36 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 09:36:36 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 764] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB876B577B@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB876B577B@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Message-ID: Jim That seems to be the secret, let the student decide which option fits their needs. Isn't it great that there are options? Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Schneider, Jim Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2007 10:45 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I must respectfully disagree. In Iowa I do have a vastly different Spanish speaking population than Texas/Florida/California. The vast majority of those who take the Spanish test here speak English, but had the majority of their education in Spanish. To earn the GED in English might well take them years, whereas they can pass the Spanish version in a matter of months. We lay out the pros and cons of each option and let the learner decide what the best course of action for them will be. Those who want to go on to college often select the English GED... and are willing to invest the time (sometimes years) needed to improve their English to the level needed to pass the GED. Others who merely want the credential for employment select the Spanish version. It is a legal option. It merely certifies that they can score better than 40% of high school graduates. Jim Schneider jschneider at eicc.edu -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Sandra Cook Sent: Sat 3/3/2007 2:04 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. ________________________________ From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. ________________________________ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Mar 5 12:41:47 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 09:41:47 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 765] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge In-Reply-To: References: <017901c75d58$b1c74400$02fea8c0@geoypk02w4rcax> Message-ID: I guess I'd ask the students why they are there because, unless someone has tied them up and dragged them into your classroom, they are there by choice. What made them make that choice? What do they hope to accomplish? va ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of William R Muth/FS/VCU Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2007 8:43 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 750] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge Hi Geo -- Malcolm Knowles, in his early work on andragogy (study of adult learning), made the claim that adults are "self-directed" learners (a term introduced by Alan Tough in the early 1970's). Since then andragogy has received much criticism, particularly in the area of "readiness to learn." Can we assume that adults are self-directed learners? And even if they have their own purposes for learning, do they have the confidence to move in this direction? Given that our literacy learners probably represent learners with a range from little to great self-direction, and from little to great confidence, Gerald Grow developed a useful framework for thinking about the various roles we can take to match an appropriate teaching style to the readiness-to-learn of our students. You can access Grow's framework at http://www.longleaf.net/ggrow Implied in your question is the desire to 'move' our students towards embracing a self-directed love of learning, and I commend you for that. Hope this is helpful. Bill "Geo LeGeros" Sent by: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov 03/03/2007 12:56 AM Please respond to The Focus on Basics Discussion List To "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" cc Subject [FocusOnBasics 740] Re: creating a thirst for knowledge Sorry I'm a bit late to get in on the discussion but there was one point that I wanted to respond to that I hope will elicit more discussion. Katrina Hinson stated, "I think [our] students need to not focus so much on passing a "standard" tests but on truly learning the information. The problem often comes from outside though - they're being pushed to "pass the test" by various agencies or life needs." Yes, we would all hope they truly learn the information, because it's the knowledge that provides the foundation for post secondary education. But most of our students don't even have any interest in even reading unless there is some explicit reward - passing the GED test and getting their diploma. Unfortunately, utilizing knowledge in life isn't about passing pencil and paper tests. I teach in a GED program in a prison for incarcerated adults. Many of the students seem to lack that natural curiosity and love for learning but seem doggedly committed to passing the GED test and getting their diploma. They have so little genuine interest in knowledge and spend no time learning outside of class but prefer spending their time watching drama and action-type serials on television. Can anyone throw a little wisdom born of experience on this: What innovative instructional approaches might light that fire which will motivate, inspire, and engage our students to invest themselves in learning and encourage them to discover, for instance, the joy of reading. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Julie McKinney" To: Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 10:06 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 739] Thanks for a lively discussion! > Hi Everyone, > > Thank you all for sharing your information, questions, and insights about > the transition from GED to postsecondary education. It seems like a topic > that we should continue to discuss, and I hope that you all will. Thanks > especially to Barb, Cynthia and Sandy for being our guests this week! > > Although the discussion formally ends today, I hope we can all continue to > discuss questions and successes in this area and share resources. In the > next 2 weeks I will get the discussion and a list of the resources posted > on the NIFL website and also on the Transitions page of the ALE Wiki. > > Have a great weekend! > > All the best, > Julie > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to glegeros at alltel.net. > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to WRMUTH at vcu.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070305/e2a11cb0/attachment.html From dezreen at excite.com Mon Mar 5 11:50:14 2007 From: dezreen at excite.com (kathleen morgan) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 11:50:14 -0500 (EST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 766] Re: Teacher Created Assessment in ESL Classroom Message-ID: <20070305165014.778A38A242@xprdmxin.myway.com> Another resource is Aurthentic Assessment for English Language Learners by O'Malley and Valdez Perez, 1996 from Longman/Addison Wesley. --- On Mon 03/05, Marilyn Gillespie < marilyn.gillespie at sri.com > wrote: From: Marilyn Gillespie [mailto: marilyn.gillespie at sri.com] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2007 09:48:11 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 762] Re: Teacher Created Assessment in ESL Classroom Bonnita,

If you go to the EFF Portal (just Google these words and it will get you there) and then go to the EFF Teaching and Learning Toolkit and look under Step 7 Tools you will find a number of easy to use worksheets such as teacher logs, student reflection guides and other tools that might be helpful. You can download all of these.You might also try:

Stiggins, R.J. (2001). Student involved classroom assessment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Angelo & Cross Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers

Good luck!

Marilyn Gillespie


Bonnita Solberg wrote:



I'd like to make another request for references or actual hands on material.? In the Oakland ESL program, we are currently focusing our Professional Development on consistent non-standardized assessments by the teacher during the course of the day and week.? These, of course, need not be paper and pencil tests.? They could be self report of authentic material as Eric Jacobson et. al. reported in his NCSALL publication "Creating Authentic Materials and Activities for the Adult Literacy Classroom."? What I do need is references that describe the variety of assessment tools a teacher can use in his/her classroom on a regular basis.? For instance, drawing a graph of how many times a student speaks to their child's teacher is one that was illustrated in Eric's book.? I am looking for printed material to inform our teachers of their choice in assessment tools and would also appreciate any assessments teachers have developed that can be shared via email.? I have references for what is a good assessment from the State of California Standards; however, our teachers could benefit from hands on realia.

I am under the gun.? Wednesday next week is the day our committee will be making decisions on what to present to the staff.? Your assistance is much appreciated.?

Bonnita Solberg,
Teacher on Special Assignment
Oakland Adult and Career Education
 

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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Mar 5 12:49:26 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 09:49:26 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 767] Re: Role Playing In The Correctional Setting In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dr Alba I found that after ground rules were established by the group, reading and performing, as much as was feasible, plays helped out in a correctional setting as a beginning of understanding roles. Students often had to play characters that they didn't agree with, or who were of the opposite sex, this lead to many discussions and dialogues about roles. We also practiced cooperative learning exercises in which student choose or were assigned roles for the day...practice, practice, practice and debrief the process....that's my suggestion. Often the student need practice just writing down a clear statement of their own beliefs, their own ethics, their own standards. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of AL Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 8:19 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 745] Role Playing In The Correctional Setting Dear Educators and Correctional Professionals, I am interested in various methods to create vicarious real life experiences in the classroom through the use of role playing. Many students who are incarcerated do not know how to constructively debate or develop logical arguments for a specific cause. Therefore, I am wondering what type of media, film or DVD, instructional materials, reading books/magazines/periodicals that have been used that facilitate dialogue and debate that investigate moral and ethical issues. Peaceful Solutions is one such text that presents scenarios related to moral dilemmas many inmates may be involved with in their lives. The ability to have inmates discuss their views openly in class and to debate their positions in a classroom setting can enable students to recognize their faulty reasoning and also gain empathy by considering issues of individuals who have been abused. Therefore, if you could please present any material and instructional strategies that promotes dialogue and role playing in a correctional setting it would be appreciated. Sincerely, Dr. Albert Alba ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Mar 5 12:53:28 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 09:53:28 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 768] Re: How do we maintain our instructional rolein a multi-level classroom usingcomputers/instructional materials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: References: <45B7EC643773CA4CADFCA4D9E16B05D40142B0FA@MAIL.dce.state.va.us> Message-ID: yes Bill, I agree ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of William R Muth/FS/VCU Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 5:09 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 748] Re: How do we maintain our instructional rolein a multi-level classroom usingcomputers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Anita - Your question about the role of the teacher in a class of multi-level learners studying within an all-individualized format is important. I know many correctional teachers that create thriving classroom environments with lots of one-on-one discussion and interaction. But I've also seen prison classrooms with assembly-line type climates, where students work in their individualized GED-prep books and only interact with the teacher when they need something scored or a new textbook. It's wrong to exclusively blame the individualized instructional model for the lack of social interaction--of course the teacher plays a big part. But if teachers are directed to use individualized models, and are discouraged from using social learning strategies (by stated or unstated rules), there may be little chance for trusting/humanizing cultures to form, or, for that matter, for teachers to teach. Is this an issue in community-based literacy programs? - Bill Muth -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070305/7f73edc7/attachment.html From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Mar 5 13:08:25 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 10:08:25 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 769] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in amulti-level classroom using computers/instructionalmaterials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: <45B7EC643773CA4CADFCA4D9E16B05D40142B0FA@MAIL.dce.state.va.us> References: <45B7EC643773CA4CADFCA4D9E16B05D40142B0FA@MAIL.dce.state.va.us> Message-ID: Anita The only thing I found that we couldn't do in prison was dress the students in costumes or put them in spaces separate from the group facilitator. I think in-prison instruction can be as creative as anywhere else. This might mean some schedule changes, such as time for small groups within the computer lab. Often computer labs are designated quiet places, which eliminate discussion around a software question or process. Overcoming these rules can be a challenge in any setting. va ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Prince, Anita (DCE) Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 1:59 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 737] How do we maintain our instructional role in amulti-level classroom using computers/instructionalmaterials/instructional practices? I am a mid-level administrator in Virginia's central office of Correctional Education. We are a separate state agency from Corrections or Education. As a member of a class of correctional educators from across the country examining models of teaching, classroom instruction, and instructional resources, I am asking for input from other adult educators. In many regards, the only thing that separates our practice from the "civilian" adult educators' is the added context of a secure environment. Any thoughts on the topic, "our group's burning question," would be appreciated. Anita -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070305/6a48f297/attachment.html From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Mar 5 13:11:43 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 10:11:43 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 770] Re: =?iso-8859-1?q?=A0=22Beyond_the_GED=2E=2E=2E=22?= In-Reply-To: <8414418.2998731172863313659.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net> References: <8414418.2998731172863313659.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: Barb As soon as my laptop and cameras arrive, my class will be playing with Breeze technology and developing PowerPoint's and short videos one program site to another. Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 11:22 AM To: Julie McKinney; focusonbasics at nifl.gov Cc: b.garner4 at verizon.net Subject: [FocusOnBasics 732] Re: ?"Beyond the GED..." In the late 1990s, NCSALL research was beginning to document that while the GED was a valuable goal in an adult learner's life, from an economic benefits point of view, it needed to be a stepping stone to further education. We wanted to bring this information to adult educators and to GED students in a way that would perhaps not just inform but motivate students to go on. The idea was that the teachers and students would learn together as they worked through the materials. I was familiar with the research; Sara Fass, a wonderful instructor and materials developer, had a class of students with whom she could test new materials. We created "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and your future," testing and modifying the materials based on her experiences with her class. A few years later, we asked Eileen Barry, another wonderful GED teacher and materials developer, to use and update the materials. By then, use of computers in ABE had become more widespread and Eileen brought the materials into the technological era. Has anyone on the list used the materials in their classes recently? If so, please share with us your experiences. Barb Garner ===================== From: Julie McKinney Date: 2007/03/02 Fri PM 01:03:48 CST To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Cc: b.garner4 at verizon.net Subject: [FocusOnBasics 728] "Beyond the GED..." Barb, Can you tell us more about "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices about the GED and Your Future.", which you wrote with Sara Fass? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From jschneider at eicc.edu Mon Mar 5 13:46:03 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 12:46:03 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 771] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87087225FE@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> I do not subscribe to adults having the right to fail... I strongly believe that it is my professional duty to do al I can do and make every possible effort to provide them with the support, assistance, referrals and information they need to make an informed decision. At the same time, I do not know how to deny adults the right to decide what fits for them in their life at this time. All too often they make decisions that I wouldn't make and don't understand. And all too often I wish I had provided a more compelling rational to do something different... but I have to realize that I don't walk in their shoes, I have not been where they have been, and I can't begin to really understand all they are currently experiencing. So, I give them all I can. They make their choices, and I hope that it works out, or at sometime in the future they are able/ready to revisit the decision and perhaps chose another path. This is how I expect to be treated as an adult, and in my way of thinking to treat our learners any differently is either arrogant or delusional. Jim S. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Virginia Tardaewether Sent: Monday, March 05, 2007 11:37 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 764] Re: GED Spanish Materials Jim That seems to be the secret, let the student decide which option fits their needs. Isn't it great that there are options? Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Schneider, Jim Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2007 10:45 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I must respectfully disagree. In Iowa I do have a vastly different Spanish speaking population than Texas/Florida/California. The vast majority of those who take the Spanish test here speak English, but had the majority of their education in Spanish. To earn the GED in English might well take them years, whereas they can pass the Spanish version in a matter of months. We lay out the pros and cons of each option and let the learner decide what the best course of action for them will be. Those who want to go on to college often select the English GED... and are willing to invest the time (sometimes years) needed to improve their English to the level needed to pass the GED. Others who merely want the credential for employment select the Spanish version. It is a legal option. It merely certifies that they can score better than 40% of high school graduates. Jim Schneider jschneider at eicc.edu -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Sandra Cook Sent: Sat 3/3/2007 2:04 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. ________________________________ From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. ________________________________ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Mar 5 14:40:20 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 11:40:20 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 772] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills In-Reply-To: <45E7D55B.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> References: <45E7D55B.121C.00A0.0@almanid.com> Message-ID: We have found the OPT to be a good indicator of a student's success on the official test. I'd agree about 40/60: those who do worse: to those who do better -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 4:42 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 723] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills How does their practice test scores fit into this picture. For instance at my school we require that students have a 500 or better on the practice test in order to take the official test. We do make exceptions in some cases. However, they may do well on the practice tests but then not well on the official test, usually scoring between 480 and 450. It's about a 50/50 split. Some do worse - some do better - exceeding the 500 mark. I was just curious what the relationship was between the practice test you administer and their ending official score. Regards Katrina Hinson >>> "Virginia Tardaewether" 3/1/2007 10:51 am >>> We're finding that if our students get 500 or higher on their GED test, they generally place out of developmental math. ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mdr151 at aol.com Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 7:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 701] Re: GED to Postsecondary Education -- SoftSkills Thanks, Cynthia for the plug. I just have found time to start reading the myriad of emails on college transitions and would like to offer some other barriers adults face transitioning to college. One big barrier is college readiness in math. This is true, not only for adult learners, but for high school graduates as well. In my state, Maine, a study was done by Lynne Miller of the University of Southern Maine on how many high school students were placed into developmental classes. The findings: over 700 graduating high school students were enrolled in developmental writing courses each fall but over 1500 students were enrolled in developmental math courses. Add adults to the list and the numbers are even higher. Compounded with that are the developmental courses cost $400+ , financial aid monies start getting used up before the student even begins to take college credited courses. I also believe for math, the GED is not enough to bypass developmental classes. Research has shown if a student takes 2 or more developmental courses, they usually do not stay in college to complete their degree. In our transitional program at Portland Adult Education, Portland, Maine, we have students that may need to take 3 math classes to be at the level to test out of the Accuplacer and directly into a college level math course. The benefits of our program are lower costs for classes ($40-$50) vs ($400+) at the Community college, a slower paced class using hands on activities where understanding of mathematical concepts can develop, and also a chance for the adult to learn "how" to be a student (study skills, note taking, learning to be an advocate for themselves, etc.) and for math, more confidence. Pam Meader Presenter for NCTN President, Adult Numeracy Network ________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com . ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Mar 6 12:28:35 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 12:28:35 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 773] FOB Article-of-the-Week: The Spanish GED Message-ID: <45ED5E740200002D0000158E@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, In light of our recent conversations, this week's FOB Article is about the Sanish GED. It is from Focus on Basics issue 2B, from 1998. As you read this and comment, think about how things haved changed since 1998. How different is the situation and the value of this approach, if at all? The Spanish GED The Door to Opportunity in Do?a Ana County by Anastasia K. Cotton and Bertha Cant?-Luj? Passing the GED in Spanish now rather than in English years from now makes sense to many Spanish speakers whose English language skills are limited. In southern New Mexico, the Do?a Ana Branch Community College Spanish General Educational Development (GED) program provides classes for just this purpose. Anastasia Cotton and Bertha Cant?-Luj? co-authored this story of their program. Ms.Cotton begins with a description of the region, the population, and the overall program. Ms.Cant?-Luj? describes her students and her approach. http://www.ncsall.net/?id=405 I look forward to hearing comments on this! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 6 14:54:58 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:54:58 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 774] Re: NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? In-Reply-To: <1172716094.774039201.24444.sendItem@bloglines.com> References: <1172716094.774039201.24444.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: <8C92E40741865E4-D44-777@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> I would caution listers that these tests are for native English speakers. If used with non-native speakers they will give a measure of that person's CALPS, or reading language levels, not a reading level per se as for native English speakers. That is a useful thing to know, but it is NOT a measure of how well that learner actually reads. Robin Lovrien Schwarz, Independent Consultant in Adult ESOL/ Education and Learning Difficulties -----Original Message----- From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 8:28 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 747] NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? I was poking around on the NIFL site and came across a list of tests, some I've heard of, others I don't know. http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/MC_Test_Bank.htm Does anyone recognize any of these as being wonderful for the lowest basic learners? Jean Marrapodi ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 6 14:59:19 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:59:19 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 775] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <8C92E41100328C2-D44-7B0@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> I agree heartily with Bill on this. I have seen similar classrooms in adult ed where students work hours alone in their GED books and do not interact. When I interviewed these students, they reported that they missed the social aspects of school when they worked this way. Individually suited learning does not have to mean isolated learning. In fact, adult learning literature suggest that project-based learning or small group or pair-learning is far more effective than individual, isolated learning. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: wrmuth at vcu.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 7:08 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 748] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Anita - Your question about the role of the teacher in a class of multi-level learners studying within an all-individualized format is important. I know many correctional teachers that create thriving classroom environments with lots of one-on-one discussion and interaction. But I've also seen prison classrooms with assembly-line type climates, where students work in their individualized GED-prep books and only interact with the teacher when they need something scored or a new textbook. It's wrong to exclusively blame the individualized instructional model for the lack of social interaction--of course the teacher plays a big part. But if teachers are directed to use individualized models, and are discouraged from using social learning strategies (by stated or unstated rules), there may be little chance for trusting/humanizing cultures to form, or, for that matter, for teachers to teach. Is this an issue in community-based literacy programs? - Bill Muth ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 6 15:10:43 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:10:43 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <703707.87680.qm@web83104.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8C92E42A75C1BCE-D44-863@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the GED people questions, I would challenge them to show how many non-native speakers of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the GED -- I am sure it is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED classes. I know a teacher in the Boston area who did an informal survey of programs who provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly 1% of those enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a pretty number. And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I think it is unfair and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone saves time and takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content to the English GED), that person does not function in English. Also, since educational research has shown time and again that being bilingual provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we should be cheering on those who are educated and speaking two languages, not dumping on them. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or vice versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, Spanish is the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American Indians were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in everyday use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may not immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job or to go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who choose to attain either educational goal. Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. -------- From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. -------- The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 6 15:17:53 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:17:53 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 777] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <20EC1BB15C09F340A09A79FA1DBF9706019C2B2F@MAIL3.AD.Brown.Edu> References: <20EC1BB15C09F340A09A79FA1DBF9706019C2B2F@MAIL3.AD.Brown.Edu> Message-ID: <8C92E43A812163F-D44-8D2@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> Thanks Janet, for these considered comments. I am aware of several programs that are attempting to provide pre-literacy phonological awareness training in other languages than Spanish. Early studies in other countries are showing that such explicit training makes the transfer to English and literacy much easier for low and non-literate adults. Some studies have been done on children in this country as well. There used to be a French GED as well as Spanish , but I believe the GED has discontinued that one. Bonnita's comments about the history and use of Spanish in this country are very much to the point. As with most things in this country the bottom line in producing tests and materials in other languages is often money and profit. If there isn't a demand, the publishers aren't interested. The GED testing service is one of those. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 7:18 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 756] Re: GED Spanish Materials Sandra and others I'm wondering if you're not aware of some of the research on native language literacy and the multiple ways in which adults come to learn and use language and literacy - their first language as well as other{s] they learn. This might be a useful first resource: Native Language Literacy and Adult ESL Learners, a NCLE/CAELA digest by Klaudia Rivera http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/natlit2.html Designing instruction to meet the needs of particular learners at particular points in their learning journeys seems to be a great service if programs are able to offer it. I don't think anyone in an adult ed program would say that s/he doesn't want to learn English; I think adults learn in multiple ways and for some, learning through their first language is one of those ways. I don't see tailoiring programs to meet learners needs being "special treatment." I see it as programs designing instruction as they're able to offer it to the students whose needs are being met, and whose strengths (their ability to function well in their first language) are utilized towards the accomplishment of their larger goals. While likely the most numerous, Spanish language literacy programs are not the only such programs, nor is Spanish the only language used, in approaching first language literacy. Janet Isserlis -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Sandra Cook Sent: Sat 3/3/2007 3:04 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. ________________________________ From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. ________________________________ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From kolson2 at columbus.rr.com Tue Mar 6 15:18:07 2007 From: kolson2 at columbus.rr.com (K Olson) Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 15:18:07 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 778] How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: <8C92E41100328C2-D44-7B0@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> References: <8C92E41100328C2-D44-7B0@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <000301c7602c$8dca6e70$459c1941@bessie> "In fact, adult learning literature suggest that project-based learning or small group or pair-learning is far more effective than individual, isolated learning." Robin Lovrien Schwarz Robin, can you direct me to some research that supports this, please? Kathy Olson From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 6 15:24:46 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:24:46 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 779] Re: Maintaining Our Instructional Role In-Reply-To: <1352AA16-919A-4AD2-9181-A5CC2A9F8B94@weallcanread.com> References: <1352AA16-919A-4AD2-9181-A5CC2A9F8B94@weallcanread.com> Message-ID: <8C92E449DB7BE3C-D44-927@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> Mr. Williams-- do you have any information on a) the number or percent of students who complete your program; b) learner's reactions to learning this way, c) teachers' /facilitators comments on working with learners who learn on your program? This sounds like quite an interesting program!! Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: jw at weallcanread.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 8:29 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 760] Re: Maintaining Our Instructional Role Dr. Alba, This does not directly respond to your question, but I thought this information might be of interest to you. I am the author of a remedial reading/phonics program called We All Can Read. The Georgia Department of Corrections uses our program at 13 prisons throughout the state. The program is also used in several Federal prisons as well. We publish our program on VHS video, VD CD, and now our program is published online as well. All 624 lessons from our core book are available in our online edition where we combine video, audio, and text; students are able to work at a computer and proceed independently through the entire program. The We All Can Read online edition is developed so that it may be used with no prior training by students, teachers, and tutors. The first 28 online lessons from a total of 624 online lessons are available to view and hear at no cost or obligation at http://www.weallcanread.com. References, price information, and a great deal of additional information are also available on our web site. Please let me know if I can provide you with additional information, and I thank you for your time. Jim Williams Email address: jw at weallcanread.com Web address: www.weallcanread.com On Feb 26, 2007, at 9:42 PM, AL wrote: Rationale For Question I am involved in a correctional educators' class examining models of teaching, classroom instruction, and instructional practices. Using computers and other types of instructional devices in a multi-level classroom can affect an instructor's role. Last year our Department was considering privatization of its entire teaching staff. Some measures that the administration considered were to replace teachers with videotaped instruction and/or computer aided instruction due to budget cuts. As a member of educated professionals we are wondering if you could provide a response to the following question: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Thanks In Advance For Your Response, Albert Alba, PhD. = ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From jschneider at eicc.edu Tue Mar 6 17:36:26 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 16:36:26 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 780] Re: FOB Article-of-the-Week: The Spanish GED In-Reply-To: <45ED5E740200002D0000158E@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870877955C@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> I am in full concurrence with the spirit of this article One major change is that the revised Spanish GED is exponentially more difficult than the version of the Spanish Test that was administered in 1998. The 1988 test was normed with Spanish speakers. The 2002 Spanish Test is the English test translated to Spanish and the scoring/norms are the same for the Spanish as the English forms. The article mentions individuals with a 6th grade education taking and passing the GED. We had similar experiences with the 1988 Spanish GED. However, our experience with the new Spanish GED (2002 version) is that if they had less than a 10th grade education in Spanish it is extremely difficult to pass. Jim -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 11:29 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 773] FOB Article-of-the-Week: The Spanish GED Hi Everyone, In light of our recent conversations, this week's FOB Article is about the Sanish GED. It is from Focus on Basics issue 2B, from 1998. As you read this and comment, think about how things haved changed since 1998. How different is the situation and the value of this approach, if at all? The Spanish GED The Door to Opportunity in Do?a Ana County by Anastasia K. Cotton and Bertha Cant?-Luj? Passing the GED in Spanish now rather than in English years from now makes sense to many Spanish speakers whose English language skills are limited. In southern New Mexico, the Do?a Ana Branch Community College Spanish General Educational Development (GED) program provides classes for just this purpose. Anastasia Cotton and Bertha Cant?-Luj? co-authored this story of their program. Ms.Cotton begins with a description of the region, the population, and the overall program. Ms.Cant?-Luj? describes her students and her approach. http://www.ncsall.net/?id=405 I look forward to hearing comments on this! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Tue Mar 6 21:50:21 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 18:50:21 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 781] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Message-ID: <277684.18990.qm@web83302.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks independently, speaking relatively fluently without an "accent" that impedes communication, for a bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the higher-level language in English that the GED requires would not serve them in a college transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, even with folks born and educated in the US, that first language interference surfaces the most in writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to back that up. But research has shown that if cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in childhood development, then some degree of cognitive impairment will surface. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, Adjunct Professor, Post University ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the GED people questions, I would challenge them to show how many non-native speakers of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the GED -- I am sure it is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED classes. I know a teacher in the Boston area who did an informal survey of programs who provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly 1% of those enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a pretty number. And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I think it is unfair and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone saves time and takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content to the English GED), that person does not function in English. Also, since educational research has shown time and again that being bilingual provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we should be cheering on those who are educated and speaking two languages, not dumping on them. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or vice versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, Spanish is the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American Indians were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in everyday use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may not immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job or to go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who choose to attain either educational goal. Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. -------- From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. -------- The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070306/52488d34/attachment.html From bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net Wed Mar 7 01:33:28 2007 From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net (Bonnita Solberg) Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2007 22:33:28 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 782] Re: NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? In-Reply-To: <8C92E40741865E4-D44-777@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <20070307063328.93508.qmail@web83105.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I want to thank everyone who responded to my call for assessments. I have investigated each of them and each has been valuable to inform the Professional Development Committee meeting tomorrow. Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education -----Original Message----- From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 8:28 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 747] NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? I was poking around on the NIFL site and came across a list of tests, some I've heard of, others I don't know. http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/MC_Test_Bank.htm Does anyone recognize any of these as being wonderful for the lowest basic learners? Jean Marrapodi ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070306/8ed811f3/attachment.html From jsaindon at uga.edu Wed Mar 7 08:43:15 2007 From: jsaindon at uga.edu (Jacqueline Saindon) Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 08:43:15 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 783] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <8C92E42A75C1BCE-D44-863@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> References: <8C92E42A75C1BCE-D44-863@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <32EFD4F9-F8D3-4393-8E8E-E103C26B3997@uga.edu> I have a question on the GED Spanish version. Can anybody tell me which states allow the GED Spanish version, and which states offer preparatory materials for the Spanish version of the test? Or if someone could direct me to a WEB site that gives that information, I would be grateful. Thanks, Jackie Saindon Athens Literacy Council On Mar 6, 2007, at 3:10 PM, robinschwarz1 at aol.com wrote: > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or > vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, > Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American > Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in > everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may > not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job > or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, > but > core materials and content are to be delivered in English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include career and > post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to > resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially > anything to prepare students for their next steps? > > Aliscia Niles > TRiO Academic Advisor > Lane Community College > (541) 463-5054 > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. > > > -------- > The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by > Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > __ > AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's > free > from AOL at AOL.com. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to jsaindon at uga.edu. From jayhawk76 at yahoo.com Wed Mar 7 09:03:10 2007 From: jayhawk76 at yahoo.com (Robb Scott) Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 06:03:10 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 784] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <277684.18990.qm@web83302.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <952147.24943.qm@web51601.mail.yahoo.com> The first step in making the transitions that are required of us as teachers is to recognize that "first language interference" is a loaded term. The research (Damico and Hamayan) supports a view that the further and higher an individual can develop intellectually in his or her first language pushes higher, also, the ceiling for him or her in a second and additional languages. In today's America and the world, multilingual skills are a real plus. Enabling adult learners to demonstrate cognitive abilities via a Spanish GED in order to help them clear one of the key hurdles to higher education is, it seems to me, a laudable effort. I am happy to see indications on this list and in this discussion that adult educators understand the value of an individual's first language and appreciate cultural and linguistic diversity. P.S. The BVAT by Riverside publishing is a useful test for evaluating verbal ability in both a first language and English and comparing these abilities to get an assessment of composite verbal ability. Sincerely, Robert Bruce Scott Doctoral student in special education Instructor, English Language Program Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas Past President, Kansas TESOL Vice President Elect, Kansas CEC Editor, Founder, ESL MiniConference Online http://www.eslminiconf.net/ed.html --- Bonnie Odiorne wrote: > While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of > functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks > independently, speaking relatively fluently without > an "accent" that impedes communication, for a > bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the > higher-level language in English that the GED > requires would not serve them in a college > transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, > even with folks born and educated in the US, that > first language interference surfaces the most in > writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order > thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to > back that up. But research has shown that if > cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in > childhood development, then some degree of cognitive > impairment will surface. > Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, > Adjunct Professor, Post University > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" > > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 > GED Spanish Materials > > > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the > GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many > non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the > GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED > classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal > survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly > 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a > pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I > think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone > saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content > to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. > Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that > being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we > should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two > languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED > Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language > should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters > disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the > exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish > into English or vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire > class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have > students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the > other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn > English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish > translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So > there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED > in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. > However, Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first > unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans > arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of > Native American Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across > what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival > English in everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED > in Spanish may not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means > to get a job or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer > students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a > benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational > achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of > English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED > students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who > get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives > of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are > not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How > are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or > training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why > are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a > vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students > need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no > matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish > language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other > language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native > tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in > respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the > problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish > Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community > College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does > not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some > translation is okay, but > core materials and content are to be delivered in > English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare > students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED > instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include > career and > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to rbscott at ksu.edu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 From mjjerdems at yahoo.com Wed Mar 7 09:12:00 2007 From: mjjerdems at yahoo.com (Mary Jane Jerde) Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 06:12:00 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 785] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: <000301c7602c$8dca6e70$459c1941@bessie> Message-ID: <54530.59829.qm@web54011.mail.yahoo.com> Hi, I googled adult education and cooperative learning and found plenty of references to current use and research. Of course, ERIC is a great source for the original research. Mary Jane Jerde K Olson wrote: "In fact, adult learning literature suggest that project-based learning or small group or pair-learning is far more effective than individual, isolated learning." Robin Lovrien Schwarz Robin, can you direct me to some research that supports this, please? Kathy Olson ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to mjjerdems at yahoo.com. --------------------------------- Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070307/49de0e77/attachment.html From jschneider at eicc.edu Wed Mar 7 09:45:38 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 08:45:38 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 786] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <277684.18990.qm@web83302.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87087797F4@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> I do not have any research supporting my view either... however, I would contend that with the Spanish GED in hand, these individuals are comparable to any other international student pursuing post secondary education. The ESL/TOEFL support the institution provides is likely a better investment of time and effort than that which would be expended to progress one's English skills to the point that they could pass the English GED. Jim S. jschneider at eicc.edu ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnie Odiorne Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 8:50 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 781] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks independently, speaking relatively fluently without an "accent" that impedes communication, for a bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the higher-level language in English that the GED requires would not serve them in a college transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, even with folks born and educated in the US, that first language interference surfaces the most in writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to back that up. But research has shown that if cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in childhood development, then some degree of cognitive impairment will surface. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, Adjunct Professor, Post University ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the GED people questions, I would challenge them to show how many non-native speakers of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the GED -- I am sure it is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED classes. I know a teacher in the Boston area who did an informal survey of programs who provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly 1% of those enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a pretty number. And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I think it is unfair and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone saves time and takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content to the English GED), that person does not function in English. Also, since educational research has shown time and again that being bilingual provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we should be cheering on those who are educated and speaking two languages, not dumping on them. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or vice versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, Spanish is the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American Indians were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in everyday use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may not immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job or to go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who choose to attain either educational goal. Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. -------- From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. -------- The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070307/54f82e25/attachment.html From Stacey.Weaver at victoriacollege.edu Wed Mar 7 12:20:19 2007 From: Stacey.Weaver at victoriacollege.edu (WEAVER, Stacey) Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 11:20:19 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 787] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <32EFD4F9-F8D3-4393-8E8E-E103C26B3997@uga.edu> Message-ID: I'm in Texas. From what I gather from the local testing center, offering the GED in Spanish is a local testing center decision. Ours chooses not to. As far as materials go, I suppose any group with local funding could purchase the material from publishers. Grant funded programs are not allowed to. sw Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Jacqueline Saindon Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 7:43 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 783] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials I have a question on the GED Spanish version. Can anybody tell me which states allow the GED Spanish version, and which states offer preparatory materials for the Spanish version of the test? Or if someone could direct me to a WEB site that gives that information, I would be grateful. Thanks, Jackie Saindon Athens Literacy Council From NilesA at lanecc.edu Wed Mar 7 13:20:47 2007 From: NilesA at lanecc.edu (Aliscia Niles) Date: Wed, 07 Mar 2007 10:20:47 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 788] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87087797F4@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> References: <277684.18990.qm@web83302.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87087797F4@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Message-ID: <45EE91FF0200009F00048257@mailhost.lanecc.edu> I do think that it is interesting that certain assumptions have come out about students taking the GED in Spanish, and, therefore, expressed bias, regarding my orignial request for Spanish materials. Rather than working with assumptions, here are the demographics of my class: The majority of students (70%) are bilingual (English-Spanish); about 20% are either in higher ESL levels or transitioning into college classes in conjunction with my class. A handful, and I'm talking 3 at the most, have little to no English skills but are on the waiting list for ELL/ELS classes beginning this spring. One of these students moved here with her family a month ago, against her will as she was supposed to graduate this June in Mexico. I'm happy we can provide her the option to complete the GED in Spanish and stay on track. She will enter English classes in the summer in preparation of college. The main goals students have indicated for taking this class include: improving English skills through L1 (first language) development, entering medical professional/technical programs that require a GED or high school diploma, follow up with employer request to complete GED within a specified time line, and assist children with academics in the home. Providing students the option to complete the GED in English or Spanish while also providing ESL and Transition classes, is a comprehensive way to help adults achieve their academic goals. For those that are concerned that this option is "part of the problem" as such, there is plenty of research and evidence (as offered already by some of the participants in this forum) that strong L1 academic skills transfer to second language acquisition. The world is globalizing whether we like it or not and to prepare a ALL students to be academically proficient in more than one language is not part of the problem, rather, it is in response to the realities of our economy's changing needs and expectations. Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor ABSE Instructor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 >>> "Schneider, Jim" 03/07/07 6:45 AM >>> I do not have any research supporting my view either... however, I would contend that with the Spanish GED in hand, these individuals are comparable to any other international student pursuing post secondary education. The ESL/TOEFL support the institution provides is likely a better investment of time and effort than that which would be expended to progress one's English skills to the point that they could pass the English GED. Jim S. jschneider at eicc.edu ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnie Odiorne Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 8:50 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 781] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks independently, speaking relatively fluently without an "accent" that impedes communication, for a bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the higher-level language in English that the GED requires would not serve them in a college transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, even with folks born and educated in the US, that first language interference surfaces the most in writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to back that up. But research has shown that if cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in childhood development, then some degree of cognitive impairment will surface. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, Adjunct Professor, Post University ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the GED people questions, I would challenge them to show how many non-native speakers of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the GED -- I am sure it is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED classes. I know a teacher in the Boston area who did an informal survey of programs who provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly 1% of those enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a pretty number. And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I think it is unfair and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone saves time and takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content to the English GED), that person does not function in English. Also, since educational research has shown time and again that being bilingual provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we should be cheering on those who are educated and speaking two languages, not dumping on them. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or vice versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, Spanish is the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American Indians were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in everyday use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may not immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job or to go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who choose to attain either educational goal. Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. -------- From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. -------- The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Wed Mar 7 13:26:45 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 10:26:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 789] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Message-ID: <532948.7610.qm@web83307.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Thanks, Rob, for the point of view, and the test reference. Of course higher-order thinking would occur in L1, and transfer to L2, but I have seen students struggle inordinately with writing to express ideas on an appropriate level. I'm not trying to limit cultural diversity: au contraire. When I speak with a student of any ethnicity, I suggest that "academic language" is like learning a foreign language; it may not be the language you speak at home or with your friends, but it's what's required in college, and, in the business world, I have read of the distress of bosses seeing employees using casual language, especially texting abbreviations, in a relatively formal business context. Whether it's about the "dominant culture" or not, there's not much we can do to change what's expected on a general level, and we're doing our students a disservice not to inform them of verbal levels as well as cognitive levels. They can then do with that information what they choose, and whatever outcomes follow. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Director, Writing Center, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Robb Scott To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 9:03:10 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 784] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials The first step in making the transitions that are required of us as teachers is to recognize that "first language interference" is a loaded term. The research (Damico and Hamayan) supports a view that the further and higher an individual can develop intellectually in his or her first language pushes higher, also, the ceiling for him or her in a second and additional languages. In today's America and the world, multilingual skills are a real plus. Enabling adult learners to demonstrate cognitive abilities via a Spanish GED in order to help them clear one of the key hurdles to higher education is, it seems to me, a laudable effort. I am happy to see indications on this list and in this discussion that adult educators understand the value of an individual's first language and appreciate cultural and linguistic diversity. P.S. The BVAT by Riverside publishing is a useful test for evaluating verbal ability in both a first language and English and comparing these abilities to get an assessment of composite verbal ability. Sincerely, Robert Bruce Scott Doctoral student in special education Instructor, English Language Program Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas Past President, Kansas TESOL Vice President Elect, Kansas CEC Editor, Founder, ESL MiniConference Online http://www.eslminiconf.net/ed.html --- Bonnie Odiorne wrote: > While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of > functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks > independently, speaking relatively fluently without > an "accent" that impedes communication, for a > bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the > higher-level language in English that the GED > requires would not serve them in a college > transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, > even with folks born and educated in the US, that > first language interference surfaces the most in > writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order > thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to > back that up. But research has shown that if > cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in > childhood development, then some degree of cognitive > impairment will surface. > Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, > Adjunct Professor, Post University > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" > > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 > GED Spanish Materials > > > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the > GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many > non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the > GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED > classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal > survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly > 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a > pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I > think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone > saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content > to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. > Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that > being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we > should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two > languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED > Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language > should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters > disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the > exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish > into English or vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire > class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have > students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the > other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn > English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish > translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So > there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED > in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. > However, Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first > unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans > arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of > Native American Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across > what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival > English in everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED > in Spanish may not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means > to get a job or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer > students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a > benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational > achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of > English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED > students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who > get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives > of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are > not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How > are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or > training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why > are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a > vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students > need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no > matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish > language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other > language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native > tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in > respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the > problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish > Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community > College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does > not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some > translation is okay, but > core materials and content are to be delivered in > English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare > students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED > instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include > career and > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to rbscott at ksu.edu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070307/87018297/attachment.html From PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com Wed Mar 7 13:56:08 2007 From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com (PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com) Date: 7 Mar 2007 18:56:08 -0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 790] Re: NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? Message-ID: <1173293768.2775766416.32689.sendItem@bloglines.com> Thanks for that insight Robin. Great point. What's CALPS? Jean --- The Focus on Basics Discussion List speakers. If used with non-native speakers they will give a measure of > that person's CALPS, or reading language levels, not a reading level > per se as for native English speakers. That is a useful thing to > know, but it is NOT a measure of how well that learner actually reads. > Robin Lovrien Schwarz, Independent Consultant in Adult ESOL/ Education > and Learning Difficulties >> From Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov Wed Mar 7 16:59:59 2007 From: Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov (Grant, Sandra) Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 14:59:59 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 791] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <32EFD4F9-F8D3-4393-8E8E-E103C26B3997@uga.edu> References: <8C92E42A75C1BCE-D44-863@WEBMAIL-MC04.sysops.aol.com> <32EFD4F9-F8D3-4393-8E8E-E103C26B3997@uga.edu> Message-ID: <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD00299001881F4C@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> Utah does both the Spanish GED and the preparatory materials taught by Spanish speaking teachers -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Jacqueline Saindon Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 6:43 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 783] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials I have a question on the GED Spanish version. Can anybody tell me which states allow the GED Spanish version, and which states offer preparatory materials for the Spanish version of the test? Or if someone could direct me to a WEB site that gives that information, I would be grateful. Thanks, Jackie Saindon Athens Literacy Council On Mar 6, 2007, at 3:10 PM, robinschwarz1 at aol.com wrote: > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or > vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, > Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American > Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in > everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may > not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job > or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, > but > core materials and content are to be delivered in English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include career and > post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to > resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially > anything to prepare students for their next steps? > > Aliscia Niles > TRiO Academic Advisor > Lane Community College > (541) 463-5054 > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. > > > -------- > The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by > Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > __ > AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's > free > from AOL at AOL.com. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to jsaindon at uga.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. From bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net Thu Mar 8 00:07:22 2007 From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net (Bonnita Solberg) Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 21:07:22 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 792] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <32EFD4F9-F8D3-4393-8E8E-E103C26B3997@uga.edu> Message-ID: <617059.26846.qm@web83112.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I am not sure if "the state" offers Spanish GED preparation materials, but in Oakland we offer Spanish GED prep as an Adult Ed course, and we give the Spanish GED test under full authority of the state of California. Are you looking for materials to prepare students for the Spanish GED Jacqueline? Jacqueline Saindon wrote: I have a question on the GED Spanish version. Can anybody tell me which states allow the GED Spanish version, and which states offer preparatory materials for the Spanish version of the test? Or if someone could direct me to a WEB site that gives that information, I would be grateful. Thanks, Jackie Saindon Athens Literacy Council On Mar 6, 2007, at 3:10 PM, robinschwarz1 at aol.com wrote: > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or > vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, > Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American > Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in > everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may > not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job > or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, > but > core materials and content are to be delivered in English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include career and > post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to > resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially > anything to prepare students for their next steps? > > Aliscia Niles > TRiO Academic Advisor > Lane Community College > (541) 463-5054 > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. > > > -------- > The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by > Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > __ > AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's > free > from AOL at AOL.com. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to jsaindon at uga.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070307/a77234e0/attachment.html From kay_mac2002 at yahoo.com Thu Mar 8 11:11:25 2007 From: kay_mac2002 at yahoo.com (Kay MacKenzie) Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2007 08:11:25 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 793] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <617059.26846.qm@web83112.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <310169.31892.qm@web33210.mail.mud.yahoo.com> As a program that recently added the GED in Spanish option, we are looking for materials to help prepare students. In particular, materials for those that are functioning below the 8th grade in Reading and Writing. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Kay MacKenzie --- Bonnita Solberg wrote: > I am not sure if "the state" offers Spanish GED > preparation materials, but in Oakland we offer > Spanish GED prep as an Adult Ed course, and we give > the Spanish GED test under full authority of the > state of California. Are you looking for materials > to prepare students for the Spanish GED Jacqueline? > > Jacqueline Saindon wrote: I have > a question on the GED Spanish version. Can anybody > tell me > which states allow the GED Spanish version, and > which states offer > preparatory materials for the Spanish version of the > test? > > Or if someone could direct me to a WEB site that > gives that > information, I would be grateful. > > Thanks, > > Jackie Saindon > Athens Literacy Council > > > On Mar 6, 2007, at 3:10 PM, robinschwarz1 at aol.com > wrote: > > > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the > GED people > > questions, I would challenge them to show how many > non-native speakers > > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the > GED -- I am sure it > > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED > classes. I know a > > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal > survey of programs who > > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that > roughly 1% of those > > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a > pretty number. > > > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, > I think it is unfair > > and inaccurate to conclude that just because > someone saves time and > > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in > content to the English > > GED), that person does not function in English. > Also, since > > educational research has shown time and again that > being bilingual > > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we > should be cheering > > on those who are educated and speaking two > languages, not dumping on > > them. > > > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 > GED Spanish Materials > > > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language > should be left at the > > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters > disrespect for other > > first languages when Spanish is used to the > exclusion of other L2. > > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish > into English or > > vice > > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire > class is Spanish > > speaking, as the research has shown. To have > students translate a list > > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the > other way around > > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn > English more > > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish > translated into English > > and actually slows their acquisition of English. > So there is no best > > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL > classroom. > > > > Having said that, in California we also offer a > GED in Spanish. This > > does, as you suggest, ignore other first > languages. However, > > Spanish is > > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first > unifying language of > > the citizens of this country long before Europeans > arrived, unifying > > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of > Native American > > Indians > > were unified by Spanish language and culture > across what is now Mexico > > and the southwest United States. It will soon > rival English in > > everyday > > use, especially in the border states. To offer a > GED in Spanish may > > not > > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable > means to get a job > > or to > > go on to higher education for example. It does > offer students a chance > > at mastery of their first language and that is a > benefit that should > > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational > achievement in L1 is, I > > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of > English. I wonder if > > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED > students transition > > to higher education in English only schools or who > get an English GED. > > > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the > lives of those who > > choose to attain either educational goal. > > > > Bonnita Solberg, > > Teacher on Special Assignment > > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your > > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. > How are they to > > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education > or training and > > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why > are these students > > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a > vast array of world > > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students > need to progress > > through that program before they tackle the GED, > no matter what > > language they speak. I don't understand why > Spanish language speakers > > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other > language speakers > > ignored. My students understand that their native > tongue, no matter > > what country, is left outside my classroom door in > respect to one > > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > > My opinion is that your program is part of the > problem, not the > > solution. > > > > > > > > -------- > > > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish > Materials > > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community > College is in. In > > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education > does not allow us to > > provide instruction in a native language. Some > translation is okay, > > but > > core materials and content are to be delivered in > English. > > > > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > > Victoria College Adult Education > > Victoria, TX 77901 > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf > Of Aliscia Niles > > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > > > Greetings! > > > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare > students to take the GED > > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED > instruction, === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to kay_mac2002 at yahoo.com. From NilesA at lanecc.edu Thu Mar 8 12:42:52 2007 From: NilesA at lanecc.edu (Aliscia Niles) Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 09:42:52 -0800 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 794] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <310169.31892.qm@web33210.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <617059.26846.qm@web83112.mail.mud.yahoo.com> <310169.31892.qm@web33210.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <45EFDA9C0200009F00048452@mailhost.lanecc.edu> INEA is a great place to look for materials that are pre-GED levels. Check out Portland Community College's website as a starting point. http://www.pcc.edu/resources/spanish-ged/ Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor ABSE Instructor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 >>> Kay MacKenzie 03/08/07 8:11 AM >>> As a program that recently added the GED in Spanish option, we are looking for materials to help prepare students. In particular, materials for those that are functioning below the 8th grade in Reading and Writing. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Kay MacKenzie --- Bonnita Solberg wrote: > I am not sure if "the state" offers Spanish GED > preparation materials, but in Oakland we offer > Spanish GED prep as an Adult Ed course, and we give > the Spanish GED test under full authority of the > state of California. Are you looking for materials > to prepare students for the Spanish GED Jacqueline? > > Jacqueline Saindon wrote: I have > a question on the GED Spanish version. Can anybody > tell me > which states allow the GED Spanish version, and > which states offer > preparatory materials for the Spanish version of the > test? > > Or if someone could direct me to a WEB site that > gives that > information, I would be grateful. > > Thanks, > > Jackie Saindon > Athens Literacy Council > > > On Mar 6, 2007, at 3:10 PM, robinschwarz1 at aol.com > wrote: > > > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the > GED people > > questions, I would challenge them to show how many > non-native speakers > > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the > GED -- I am sure it > > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED > classes. I know a > > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal > survey of programs who > > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that > roughly 1% of those > > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a > pretty number. > > > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, > I think it is unfair > > and inaccurate to conclude that just because > someone saves time and > > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in > content to the English > > GED), that person does not function in English. > Also, since > > educational research has shown time and again that > being bilingual > > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we > should be cheering > > on those who are educated and speaking two > languages, not dumping on > > them. > > > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 > GED Spanish Materials > > > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language > should be left at the > > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters > disrespect for other > > first languages when Spanish is used to the > exclusion of other L2. > > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish > into English or > > vice > > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire > class is Spanish > > speaking, as the research has shown. To have > students translate a list > > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the > other way around > > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn > English more > > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish > translated into English > > and actually slows their acquisition of English. > So there is no best > > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL > classroom. > > > > Having said that, in California we also offer a > GED in Spanish. This > > does, as you suggest, ignore other first > languages. However, > > Spanish is > > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first > unifying language of > > the citizens of this country long before Europeans > arrived, unifying > > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of > Native American > > Indians > > were unified by Spanish language and culture > across what is now Mexico > > and the southwest United States. It will soon > rival English in > > everyday > > use, especially in the border states. To offer a > GED in Spanish may > > not > > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable > means to get a job > > or to > > go on to higher education for example. It does > offer students a chance > > at mastery of their first language and that is a > benefit that should > > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational > achievement in L1 is, I > > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of > English. I wonder if > > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED > students transition > > to higher education in English only schools or who > get an English GED. > > > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the > lives of those who > > choose to attain either educational goal. > > > > Bonnita Solberg, > > Teacher on Special Assignment > > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your > > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. > How are they to > > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education > or training and > > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why > are these students > > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a > vast array of world > > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students > need to progress > > through that program before they tackle the GED, > no matter what > > language they speak. I don't understand why > Spanish language speakers > > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other > language speakers > > ignored. My students understand that their native > tongue, no matter > > what country, is left outside my classroom door in > respect to one > > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > > My opinion is that your program is part of the > problem, not the > > solution. > > > > > > > > -------- > > > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish > Materials > > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community > College is in. In > > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education > does not allow us to > > provide instruction in a native language. Some > translation is okay, > > but > > core materials and content are to be delivered in > English. > > > > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > > Victoria College Adult Education > > Victoria, TX 77901 > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf > Of Aliscia Niles > > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > > > Greetings! > > > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare > students to take the GED > > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED > instruction, === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to kay_mac2002 at yahoo.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to nilesa at lanecc.edu. From kabeall at comcast.net Thu Mar 8 14:37:42 2007 From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2007 14:37:42 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 795] New from NCSALL Message-ID: <00cf01c761b9$3f4578b0$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6> The Relationship of the Component Skills of Reading to IALS Performance: Tipping Points and Five Classes of Adult Literacy Learners By John Strucker, Kentaro Yamamoto, and Irwin Kirsch As its title indicates, this study's aim was to understand the relationship of the component skills of reading, such as word recognition, vocabulary, and spelling, to large-scale measures of literacy, such as the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) (Kirsch, Jungleblut, Jenkins, & Kolstad, 1993) and the closely related International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) (Tuijnman, 2001). To download the report, go to the NCSALL Web site: http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=29#29 **************** Kaye Beall World Education 4401 S. Madison St. Muncie, IN 47302 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070308/5b4259db/attachment.html From sandyecook at hotmail.com Thu Mar 8 16:50:20 2007 From: sandyecook at hotmail.com (Sandra Cook) Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 15:50:20 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 796] Re: GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070308/3b2fb322/attachment.html From Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us Fri Mar 9 08:20:39 2007 From: Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us (Brown, Charlene) Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 08:20:39 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 797] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <45EE91FF0200009F00048257@mailhost.lanecc.edu> Message-ID: I would think that even though a student is bilingual, it would be easier and more practical for them to take the GED test in their first language. That way you are testing their academic abilities only. If they take it in English and fail it, the big question is whether they failed it because they were not academically prepared or because their English was a little rusty or slow. It depends on what we want the test to measure. A personal philosophical view--only. Charlene Brown, Coordinator, Adult Basic Education Jefferson County Public Schools Adult Basic Education Ahrens Resource Center 546 S. 1ST St. Suite 203 Louisville KY 40202-1816 Phone: 502-485-3797 Fax: 502-485-7812 Email: charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 1:21 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 788] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials I do think that it is interesting that certain assumptions have come out about students taking the GED in Spanish, and, therefore, expressed bias, regarding my orignial request for Spanish materials. Rather than working with assumptions, here are the demographics of my class: The majority of students (70%) are bilingual (English-Spanish); about 20% are either in higher ESL levels or transitioning into college classes in conjunction with my class. A handful, and I'm talking 3 at the most, have little to no English skills but are on the waiting list for ELL/ELS classes beginning this spring. One of these students moved here with her family a month ago, against her will as she was supposed to graduate this June in Mexico. I'm happy we can provide her the option to complete the GED in Spanish and stay on track. She will enter English classes in the summer in preparation of college. The main goals students have indicated for taking this class include: improving English skills through L1 (first language) development, entering medical professional/technical programs that require a GED or high school diploma, follow up with employer request to complete GED within a specified time line, and assist children with academics in the home. Providing students the option to complete the GED in English or Spanish while also providing ESL and Transition classes, is a comprehensive way to help adults achieve their academic goals. For those that are concerned that this option is "part of the problem" as such, there is plenty of research and evidence (as offered already by some of the participants in this forum) that strong L1 academic skills transfer to second language acquisition. The world is globalizing whether we like it or not and to prepare a ALL students to be academically proficient in more than one language is not part of the problem, rather, it is in response to the realities of our economy's changing needs and expectations. Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor ABSE Instructor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 >>> "Schneider, Jim" 03/07/07 6:45 AM >>> I do not have any research supporting my view either... however, I would contend that with the Spanish GED in hand, these individuals are comparable to any other international student pursuing post secondary education. The ESL/TOEFL support the institution provides is likely a better investment of time and effort than that which would be expended to progress one's English skills to the point that they could pass the English GED. Jim S. jschneider at eicc.edu ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnie Odiorne Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 8:50 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 781] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks independently, speaking relatively fluently without an "accent" that impedes communication, for a bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the higher-level language in English that the GED requires would not serve them in a college transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, even with folks born and educated in the US, that first language interference surfaces the most in writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to back that up. But research has shown that if cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in childhood development, then some degree of cognitive impairment will surface. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, Adjunct Professor, Post University ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the GED people questions, I would challenge them to show how many non-native speakers of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the GED -- I am sure it is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED classes. I know a teacher in the Boston area who did an informal survey of programs who provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly 1% of those enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a pretty number. And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I think it is unfair and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone saves time and takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content to the English GED), that person does not function in English. Also, since educational research has shown time and again that being bilingual provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we should be cheering on those who are educated and speaking two languages, not dumping on them. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or vice versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, Spanish is the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American Indians were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in everyday use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may not immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job or to go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who choose to attain either educational goal. Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. -------- From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. -------- The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. From RMechem at doe.mass.edu Fri Mar 9 08:27:12 2007 From: RMechem at doe.mass.edu (Mechem, Richard) Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 08:27:12 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 798] Re: GED Spanish Materials Message-ID: I'm with you all the way. As we say where I live, down on the shores of Ipswich Bay, "There are many different ways to filet a halibut." Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Sandra Cook Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 4:50 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 796] Re: GED Spanish Materials That's a very good observation and I agree that reading and writing in any language increases knowledge. However, my experience has shown me that no matter how intelligent the student is or what language they communicate in, they will still need to learn to speak and write in English. If I live in Mexico or Istanbul, I need to communicate in the language of the people. While my speakers of other lanugage students succeed easily in math, reading, social studies and science, the highest hurdle they must vault is the LA-Writing test. It requires intensive grammar, mechanics and composition skills. I would rather work hard in the beginning with these students so that they don't abandon their GED goals....and their pursuit of the American Dream. _____ From: "Mechem, Richard" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' Subject: [FocusOnBasics 759] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 08:05:41 -0500 Sandra--- Two brief comments: (1) A high level of literacy is of great value in and of itself, regardless of what language it is in. We would certainly not denigrate the literacy level of a college professor in Brazil just because she reads and speaks Portuguese rather than English. (2) there's plenty of evidence to show that the higher a person's native language literacy level is, the easier it is to learn English, so for many non-English speakers the most efficient route to English fluency starts with raising their literacy level in their own language (Spanish or any other). Tom Mechem GED State Chief Examiner Massachusetts Department of Education 781-338-6621 "GED to Ph.D." -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Sandra Cook Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2007 3:05 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 741] Re: GED Spanish Materials You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. _____ From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. _____ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. _____ With tax season right around the corner, make sure to follow these few simple tips. From kabeall at comcast.net Fri Mar 9 10:50:33 2007 From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 10:50:33 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 799] New issue of the Change Agent--Caring for Our Children Message-ID: <00b601c76262$b24ff4d0$3171cd4b@your4105e587b6> The next issue of The Change Agent is hot off the press! It?s all about Caring for Our Children. Since so many adult learners are also parents this is sure to be an issue your students will want to read. The Change Agent is a 56-page journal that provides authentic texts and teaching materials for examining social issues in the classroom. Find out the answers to these questions and much more: ? What can you do when your child misbehaves? How do parents navigate the tricky waters of disciplining their kids? ? Are children of homosexuals worse off than children of heterosexuals? What do adult learners think? ? Should children learn two languages at the same time? ? Does TV make a good babysitter? ? Which two industrialized countries do not provide paid maternity leave for new moms? ? How can programs prepare parents to advocate and be active in their children?s education? ? How does talking to your young child help develop literacy skills? ? What is Beatriz Garcia?s secret to being a great parent? Don?t miss this exciting issue with over 15 articles written by students. Visit our Web site or call to get your copy: www.nelrc.org/changeagent 617-482-9485 x491 Please post to other relevant lists and help us spread the word! Angela Orlando Change Agent Editor World Education 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 tel: 617-482-9485 fax: 617-482-0617 email: aorlando at worlded.org Check out The Change Agent online at: www.nelrc.org/changeagent **************** Kaye Beall World Education 4401 S. Madison St. Muncie, IN 47302 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070309/84b020ca/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Mar 9 12:44:56 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 09 Mar 2007 12:44:56 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 800] Assesment: how to find more answers Message-ID: <45F156C80200002D000015FC@bostongwia.jsi.com> Jean and Bonnita, You have both recently asked questions about assessment, and I apologize for my delay in recommending that you pose these questions on the Assessment list as well. You will probably get some additional answers and resources. You can find the Assessment list, along with the other 10 topic lists at: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html I hope this helps! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> 03/07/07 1:56 PM >>> Thanks for that insight Robin. Great point. What's CALPS? Jean --- The Focus on Basics Discussion List speakers. If used with non-native speakers they will give a measure of > that person's CALPS, or reading language levels, not a reading level > per se as for native English speakers. That is a useful thing to > know, but it is NOT a measure of how well that learner actually reads. > Robin Lovrien Schwarz, Independent Consultant in Adult ESOL/ Education > and Learning Difficulties >> ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From anne.murr at DRAKE.EDU Mon Mar 12 14:59:14 2007 From: anne.murr at DRAKE.EDU (Anne Murr) Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:59:14 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 801] New Readers of Iowa Building Health Literacy Leaders Conference In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: New Readers of Iowa Coalition invite you to their 17th Annual Conference, April 13-15, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa. With the theme, Building Health Literacy Leaders, this unique conference brings together New Readers of Iowa, Iowa Health System professionals, reading researcher Margie Gillis, and adult literacy practitioners. Anyone with a concern about health and literacy is invited to attend. Funded jointly by Wellmark Foundation and the Iowa Dept. of Education with support from Pfizer, Inc., conference registration is free. See attached brochure. This is the 3rd New Readers Conference where health professionals and Iowa New Readers have come together on equal footing to address health literacy. As a result of this partnership, several New Readers have participated in regional and national health professional workgroups and committees. They have reviewed and critiqued written materials, have made clinical site "walk-throughs", and modeled patient involvement for other organizations. Keynote speaker, Margie Gillis, is a Senior Scientist at Haskins Laboratories, where groundbreaking research across the sciences brings new understandings of and reveals ways to improve reading and remediate reading disabilities. Margie is currently the Co-Principal Investigator of the Early Reading Success and Mastering Reading Instruction Projects. Friday noon speaker is Cindy Brach, Senior Health Policy Researcher at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Workshops include understanding myself as a New Reader, Ask Me 3 and Teach Back role playing, leadership training, and action plan preparation to empower New Readers to be leaders for health and literacy in their home communities. -- Anne Murr, M.S., Director Drake University Adult Literacy Center 1213 25th Street Des Moines, IA 50311 anne.murr at drake.edu Tel 515-271-3982 Fax 515-271-4185 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: New Readers Conf.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 198292 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070312/f9e7d321/attachment.obj From bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net Fri Mar 9 23:06:34 2007 From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net (Bonnita Solberg) Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 20:06:34 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 802] Re: Assesment: how to find more answers In-Reply-To: <45F156C80200002D000015FC@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <324929.49412.qm@web83103.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Thanks Julie for this lead. I have just signed up! Bonnita Julie McKinney wrote: Jean and Bonnita, You have both recently asked questions about assessment, and I apologize for my delay in recommending that you pose these questions on the Assessment list as well. You will probably get some additional answers and resources. You can find the Assessment list, along with the other 10 topic lists at: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html I hope this helps! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> 03/07/07 1:56 PM >>> Thanks for that insight Robin. Great point. What's CALPS? Jean --- The Focus on Basics Discussion List I would caution listers that these tests are for native English > speakers. If used with non-native speakers they will give a measure of > that person's CALPS, or reading language levels, not a reading level > per se as for native English speakers. That is a useful thing to > know, but it is NOT a measure of how well that learner actually reads. > Robin Lovrien Schwarz, Independent Consultant in Adult ESOL/ Education > and Learning Difficulties >> ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070309/3d15d5e1/attachment.html From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon Mar 12 15:57:58 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 12:57:58 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 803] Re: New Readers of Iowa Building Health LiteracyLeaders Conference In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Good luck. Good health and health care are certainly huge issues for our students. Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Anne Murr Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 11:59 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 801] New Readers of Iowa Building Health LiteracyLeaders Conference New Readers of Iowa Coalition invite you to their 17th Annual Conference, April 13-15, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa. With the theme, Building Health Literacy Leaders, this unique conference brings together New Readers of Iowa, Iowa Health System professionals, reading researcher Margie Gillis, and adult literacy practitioners. Anyone with a concern about health and literacy is invited to attend. Funded jointly by Wellmark Foundation and the Iowa Dept. of Education with support from Pfizer, Inc., conference registration is free. See attached brochure. This is the 3rd New Readers Conference where health professionals and Iowa New Readers have come together on equal footing to address health literacy. As a result of this partnership, several New Readers have participated in regional and national health professional workgroups and committees. They have reviewed and critiqued written materials, have made clinical site "walk-throughs", and modeled patient involvement for other organizations. Keynote speaker, Margie Gillis, is a Senior Scientist at Haskins Laboratories, where groundbreaking research across the sciences brings new understandings of and reveals ways to improve reading and remediate reading disabilities. Margie is currently the Co-Principal Investigator of the Early Reading Success and Mastering Reading Instruction Projects. Friday noon speaker is Cindy Brach, Senior Health Policy Researcher at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Workshops include understanding myself as a New Reader, Ask Me 3 and Teach Back role playing, leadership training, and action plan preparation to empower New Readers to be leaders for health and literacy in their home communities. -- Anne Murr, M.S., Director Drake University Adult Literacy Center 1213 25th Street Des Moines, IA 50311 anne.murr at drake.edu Tel 515-271-3982 Fax 515-271-4185 From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 13 01:18:59 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:18:59 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 804] Re: NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? In-Reply-To: <1173293768.2775766416.32689.sendItem@bloglines.com> References: <1173293768.2775766416.32689.sendItem@bloglines.com> Message-ID: <8C933463D488422-1080-1929@webmail-db06.sysops.aol.com> CALPS -- cognitive academic language proficiency skills, and BICS-- Basic interpersonal communication skills, or somewhat simplisticly, reading language versus speaking and listening language, are terms coined by Jim Cummins, a language acquisition researcher and writer, over 20 years ago. Mr Cummins maintained that the two languages develop somewhat separately --the oral language is highly contextualized language- -also known as survival language, while the reading language is often non-contextualized. It is the language of textbooks, tests, directions , etc. Virginia Collier of George Mason U. did a huge study on this some years ago---90,000 school children over a number of years --and found that when English was delivered under the best instructional circumstances, BICS develop in about 6 months (for children) to 3 years for older learners, while CALPS develop to the level that an ESOL learner could compete with a native English speaker who was an average learner in at least 5 and sometimes as long as 10 years. That is a rather LARGE difference and long time. Misinterpreting students' good oral skills for ability to manage native English text is one of the chief causes of misreferral of ESL learners in K-12 for reading difficulties. Catherine Snow of Harvard and others have a wonderful website , whyreadingishard.com, which illustrates the BICS/CALPS issues. It has video clips of middle school-aged ESL children who speak English quite well but are unable to understand any of the implied meaning or even surface meaning in some cases of literature they and their peers are reading in school. The site also has wonderful lessons and resources for those serious about knowing more about this issue. Evangeline Stefanakis, who is, I think , with Columbia Teacher's College now, has a great book on using portfolios for assessment of ESOL learners to avoid the conclusion that they have learning or reading problems when in fact they just haven't got the needed language yet. Anna Uhl Chamot, of Alexandria, VA has developed a wonderful teaching strategy for addressing the development of language in English language learners, and Alba Ortiz, of UT Austin has written frequently about this problem for ESL learners. Not so much has been written directly about adult ESL learners, but ESL as a field is fully aware of the issue, though to my knowledge it was not labeled that for quite a while ( I have been teaching ESL for over 40 years). At the college- affiliated ESL program I taught at in DC for many years, we used the Nelson-Denny reading test to measure students' reading language compared to that of English speakers so we would know what to address to get our learners ready to do college work with native English speakers. Though our students had to have at least a high school education and most had some college or were even graduate students, and most had had several years of English instruction prior to coming to the US, their CALPS on arrival, as measured by the Nelson-Denny, were at about 4th or 5th grade. That is, they could manage 4th or 5th grade reading material pretty comfortably. We had to bring them up to at least 8th grade or better for them to even begin to manage their college text books. We taught them how American text is organized, basic reading comprehension skills that Americans learn-- previewing, skimming, scanning, using text clues, etc. since these are very cultural behaviors. These students by and large had learned only to read what was assigned and learn it word for word. Analytical reading was not something their cultures generally taught or valued. We also taught a lot of morphology-- how the language is built-- so they could learn word families-- all words built on a root, for example, and how endings mark types of words and prefixes change meaning, etc. In other words, we did not do only direct teaching of vocabulary. We also did extensive teaching of dictionary skills, since that is a very complex set of skills in English. I hope this sheds a little more light on the topic. If you Google BICS and CALPS you will get LOTS of interesting reading. I place a heavy emphasis on paying attention to this when I train ESL teachers. As I said earlier, ignoring the CALPS continues to play a huge role in the mis-referral of ESL learners for LD testing and special education. This happens at any level, not just K-12. I may have mentioned on one of the discussion lists earlier that every time I note that insufficient CALPS are at the root of so many ESOL learners' failure to thrive in ABE when "transitioned" out of ESL, teachers gasp in recognition. The response to these learners' problems often is to suspect they have reading problems or LD, so getting the word out is of great concern to me. Robin Lovrien Schwarz, Independent Consultant in Adult ESL/ Education and Learning Difficulties -----Original Message----- From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:56 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 790] Re: NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? Thanks for that insight Robin. Great point. What's CALPS? Jean --- The Focus on Basics Discussion List speakers. If used with non-native speakers they will give a measure of > that person's CALPS, or reading language levels, not a reading level > per se as for native English speakers. That is a useful thing to > know, but it is NOT a measure of how well that learner actually reads. > Robin Lovrien Schwarz, Independent Consultant in Adult ESOL/ Education > and Learning Difficulties >> ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 13 01:23:58 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:23:58 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 805] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <532948.7610.qm@web83307.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <532948.7610.qm@web83307.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8C93346EFB6D6E1-1080-1937@webmail-db06.sysops.aol.com> And that, in a shorter version, is CALPS-- the deeper, more abstract language of academia that increases in abstractness with higher levels of education--it is a need for students coming out of GED training as well as for ESL learners. One wonderful young woman I knew in Boston ran classes for kids from the inner city who wanted to go to U Mass Boston and taught them the CALPS needed to make that transition much easier. Did any of you ever read that book ( I will find the title) written by a Wall Street Journal reporter about a boy from DC's worst high school who made it first to MIT to a summer math course and then to Brown for school? If you want to know what not having CALPS feels like from the other side, read that book. ( I WILL find the title!! sorry!)/. Robin Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 789] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Thanks, Rob, for the point of view, and the test reference. Of course higher-order thinking would occur in L1, and transfer to L2, but I have seen students struggle inordinately with writing to express ideas on an appropriate level. I'm not trying to limit cultural diversity: au contraire. When I speak with a student of any ethnicity, I suggest that "academic language" is like learning a foreign language; it may not be the language you speak at home or with your friends, but it's what's required in college, and, in the business world, I have read of the distress of bosses seeing employees using casual language, especially texting abbreviations, in a relatively formal business context. Whether it's about the "dominant culture" or not, there's not much we can do to change what's expected on a general level, and we're doing our students a disservice not to inform them of verbal levels as well as cognitive levels. They can then do with that information what they choose, and whatever outcomes follow. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Director, Writing Center, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Robb Scott To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 9:03:10 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 784] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials The first step in making the transitions that are required of us as teachers is to recognize that "first language interference" is a loaded term. The research (Damico and Hamayan) supports a view that the further and higher an individual can develop intellectually in his or her first language pushes higher, also, the ceiling for him or her in a second and additional languages. In today's America and the world, multilingual skills are a real plus. Enabling adult learners to demonstrate cognitive abilities via a Spanish GED in order to help them clear one of the key hurdles to higher education is, it seems to me, a laudable effort. I am happy to see indications on this list and in this discussion that adult educators understand the value of an individual's first language and appreciate cultural and linguistic diversity. P.S. The BVAT by Riverside publishing is a useful test for evaluating verbal ability in both a first language and English and comparing these abilities to get an assessment of composite verbal ability. Sincerely, Robert Bruce Scott Doctoral student in special education Instructor, English Language Program Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas Past President, Kansas TESOL Vice President Elect, Kansas CEC Editor, Founder, ESL MiniConference Online http://www.eslminiconf.net/ed.html --- Bonnie Odiorne wrote: > While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of > functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks > independently, speaking relatively fluently without > an "accent" that impedes communication, for a > bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the > higher-level language in English that the GED > requires would not serve them in a college > transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, > even with folks born and educated in the US, that > first language interference surfaces the most in > writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order > thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to > back that up. But research has shown that if > cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in > childhood development, then some degree of cognitive > impairment will surface. > Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, > Adjunct Professor, Post University > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" > > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 > GED Spanish Materials > > > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the > GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many > non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the > GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED > classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal > survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly > 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a > pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I > think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone > saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content > to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. > Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that > being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we > should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two > languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED > Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language > should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters > disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the > exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish > into English or vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire > class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have > students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the > other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn > English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish > translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So > there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED > in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. > However, Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first > unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans > arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of > Native American Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across > what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival > English in everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED > in Spanish may not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means > to get a job or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer > students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a > benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational > achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of > English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED > students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who > get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives > of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are > not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How > are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or > training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why > are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a > vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students > need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no > matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish > language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other > language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native > tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in > respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the > problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish > Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community > College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does > not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some > translation is okay, but > core materials and content are to be delivered in > English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare > students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED > instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include > career and > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to rbscott at ksu.edu. _________________________________________________________________________ ___________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 13 01:58:03 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:58:03 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 806] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <8C9334BB2C074FF-1080-198E@webmail-db06.sysops.aol.com> No, not a personal philosophical view-- this is the basis for linguistic bias in all testing. Tests in English for non-native English speakers are first and foremost tests of English (this is not my own thought-- I got this from someone writing in the first summit on English language learners and LD a few years ago--). Your observation is dead -on-- do we want to know what they know academically or do we want to know if they know enough English-- two very different goals. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 7:20 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 797] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials I would think that even though a student is bilingual, it would be easier and more practical for them to take the GED test in their first language. That way you are testing their academic abilities only. If they take it in English and fail it, the big question is whether they failed it because they were not academically prepared or because their English was a little rusty or slow. It depends on what we want the test to measure. A personal philosophical view--only. Charlene Brown, Coordinator, Adult Basic Education Jefferson County Public Schools Adult Basic Education Ahrens Resource Center 546 S. 1ST St. Suite 203 Louisville KY 40202-1816 Phone: 502-485-3797 Fax: 502-485-7812 Email: charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 1:21 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 788] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials I do think that it is interesting that certain assumptions have come out about students taking the GED in Spanish, and, therefore, expressed bias, regarding my orignial request for Spanish materials. Rather than working with assumptions, here are the demographics of my class: The majority of students (70%) are bilingual (English-Spanish); about 20% are either in higher ESL levels or transitioning into college classes in conjunction with my class. A handful, and I'm talking 3 at the most, have little to no English skills but are on the waiting list for ELL/ELS classes beginning this spring. One of these students moved here with her family a month ago, against her will as she was supposed to graduate this June in Mexico. I'm happy we can provide her the option to complete the GED in Spanish and stay on track. She will enter English classes in the summer in preparation of college. The main goals students have indicated for taking this class include: improving English skills through L1 (first language) development, entering medical professional/technical programs that require a GED or high school diploma, follow up with employer request to complete GED within a specified time line, and assist children with academics in the home. Providing students the option to complete the GED in English or Spanish while also providing ESL and Transition classes, is a comprehensive way to help adults achieve their academic goals. For those that are concerned that this option is "part of the problem" as such, there is plenty of research and evidence (as offered already by some of the participants in this forum) that strong L1 academic skills transfer to second language acquisition. The world is globalizing whether we like it or not and to prepare a ALL students to be academically proficient in more than one language is not part of the problem, rather, it is in response to the realities of our economy's changing needs and expectations. Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor ABSE Instructor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 >>> "Schneider, Jim" 03/07/07 6:45 AM >>> I do not have any research supporting my view either... however, I would contend that with the Spanish GED in hand, these individuals are comparable to any other international student pursuing post secondary education. The ESL/TOEFL support the institution provides is likely a better investment of time and effort than that which would be expended to progress one's English skills to the point that they could pass the English GED. Jim S. jschneider at eicc.edu ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnie Odiorne Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 8:50 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 781] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks independently, speaking relatively fluently without an "accent" that impedes communication, for a bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the higher-level language in English that the GED requires would not serve them in a college transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, even with folks born and educated in the US, that first language interference surfaces the most in writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to back that up. But research has shown that if cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in childhood development, then some degree of cognitive impairment will surface. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, Adjunct Professor, Post University ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the GED people questions, I would challenge them to show how many non-native speakers of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the GED -- I am sure it is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED classes. I know a teacher in the Boston area who did an informal survey of programs who provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly 1% of those enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a pretty number. And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I think it is unfair and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone saves time and takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content to the English GED), that person does not function in English. Also, since educational research has shown time and again that being bilingual provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we should be cheering on those who are educated and speaking two languages, not dumping on them. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials As an ESL teacher I agree that first language should be left at the portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters disrespect for other first languages when Spanish is used to the exclusion of other L2. Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish into English or vice versa is not a best practice, even if the entire class is Spanish speaking, as the research has shown. To have students translate a list of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the other way around does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn English more quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish translated into English and actually slows their acquisition of English. So there is no best practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. Having said that, in California we also offer a GED in Spanish. This does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. However, Spanish is the second language of the U.S.; it was the first unifying language of the citizens of this country long before Europeans arrived, unifying meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of Native American Indians were unified by Spanish language and culture across what is now Mexico and the southwest United States. It will soon rival English in everyday use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED in Spanish may not immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means to get a job or to go on to higher education for example. It does offer students a chance at mastery of their first language and that is a benefit that should not be downplayed. Having a solid educational achievement in L1 is, I think you will agree, the basis for mastery of English. I wonder if there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED students transition to higher education in English only schools or who get an English GED. So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives of those who choose to attain either educational goal. Bonnita Solberg, Teacher on Special Assignment Oakland Adult and Career Education Sandra Cook wrote: You are not doing your students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How are they to contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or training and succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why are these students NOT immersed in English like those who are from a vast array of world languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students need to progress through that program before they tackle the GED, no matter what language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish language speakers are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other language speakers ignored. My students understand that their native tongue, no matter what country, is left outside my classroom door in respect to one another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. My opinion is that your program is part of the problem, not the solution. -------- From: "WEAVER, Stacey" Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish Materials Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community College is in. In Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does not allow us to provide instruction in a native language. Some translation is okay, but core materials and content are to be delivered in English. Stacey L. Weaver, Director Victoria College Adult Education Victoria, TX 77901 -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aliscia Niles Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials Greetings! We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare students to take the GED tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED instruction, we're very interested in augmenting the program to include career and post-secondary education transition support. Can anyone refer us to resources in Spanish such as online career assessments, or essentially anything to prepare students for their next steps? Aliscia Niles TRiO Academic Advisor Lane Community College (541) 463-5054 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to stacey.weaver at victoriacollege.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandyecook at hotmail.com. -------- The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 13 02:25:24 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 02:25:24 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 807] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: <54530.59829.qm@web54011.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8C9334F8479D4FE-1080-19D1@webmail-db06.sysops.aol.com> Kathy-- Laura (Weisel) has TONS of materials on this-- ask her. Meantime, I saw a Robin Waterman at The Meeting of the Minds in Sacramento in December-- she presented a powerful research study on using project-based learning for adult ESOL learners. Her results were so off the charts everyone just sat with their mouths open. Her info may be at the MOTM website through NIFL or AIR. Also, Jane Vella, who has written so many wonderful books on adult learning makes it clear that cooperative or constructed learning is essential for adults. I will add more as I find the resources when I unpack my reference boxes and go through my bibliographies. I am still in just-moved mode. Robin Schwarz. -----Original Message----- From: mjjerdems at yahoo.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 8:12 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 785] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Hi, I googled adult education and cooperative learning and found plenty of references to current use and research. Of course, ERIC is a great source for the original research. Mary Jane Jerde K Olson wrote: "In fact, adult learning literature suggest that project-based learning or small group or pair-learning is far more effective than individual, isolated learning." Robin Lovrien Schwarz Robin, can you direct me to some research that supports this, please? Kathy Olson ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to mjjerdems at yahoo.com. -------- Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From mslaathaug at midco.net Tue Mar 13 10:29:39 2007 From: mslaathaug at midco.net (Missy Slaathaug) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 09:29:39 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 808] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: <8C9334F8479D4FE-1080-19D1@webmail-db06.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <000201c7657c$08b22070$050ac90a@explorit3> Robin, are you presenting on anything at TESOL this year? Missy Slaathaug Pierre, SD -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of robinschwarz1 at aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 1:25 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 807] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Kathy-- Laura (Weisel) has TONS of materials on this-- ask her. Meantime, I saw a Robin Waterman at The Meeting of the Minds in Sacramento in December-- she presented a powerful research study on using project-based learning for adult ESOL learners. Her results were so off the charts everyone just sat with their mouths open. Her info may be at the MOTM website through NIFL or AIR. Also, Jane Vella, who has written so many wonderful books on adult learning makes it clear that cooperative or constructed learning is essential for adults. I will add more as I find the resources when I unpack my reference boxes and go through my bibliographies. I am still in just-moved mode. Robin Schwarz. -----Original Message----- From: mjjerdems at yahoo.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 8:12 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 785] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Hi, I googled adult education and cooperative learning and found plenty of references to current use and research. Of course, ERIC is a great source for the original research. Mary Jane Jerde K Olson wrote: "In fact, adult learning literature suggest that project-based learning or small group or pair-learning is far more effective than individual, isolated learning." Robin Lovrien Schwarz Robin, can you direct me to some research that supports this, please? Kathy Olson ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to mjjerdems at yahoo.com. -------- Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to mslaathaug at midco.net. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Mar 13 10:53:45 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 10:53:45 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 809] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Project-Based Learning and the GED Message-ID: <45F682B90200002D0000169B@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, This week's FOB Article-of-the-Week speaks to several questions we have touched on lately: project-based learning, how to maintain an instructional role in individualized-style classes, how to help students actually learn the material (and the soft skills) instead of just trying to pass the test, and creating a thirst for knowledge. It is from issue 2B, which is all about the GED. Project-Based Learning and the GED by Anson M. Green http://www.ncsall.net/?id=408 This is an account of one teacher's journey using amibitious and effective student-based projects within his GED class. He was able to blend the GED skills work with these exciting projects, which inspired the students to gain confidence, motivation and workforce skills along with the test skills, and at the same time connect with their community in a meaningful way. There are resources listed at the end. I apologize for the typos in the online version. (Hint: often the "fi" in a word is missing, e.g. "nd"=find, and "ve"= five. Sorry!) Please read this and tell the list what you think. Has anyone else out there used the Project FORWARD life skills curriculum, or something similar? What experiences have others had with project-based learning in GED programs? All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Mar 13 11:12:11 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:12:11 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 810] Re: FOB Article-of-the-Week: one more thing! Message-ID: <45F6870B0200002D000016B2@bostongwia.jsi.com> I forgot to tell you: Click on the "Student Stories" link at the very bottom of the article for examples of the student presentations that were part of this project! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Julie McKinney" 03/13/07 10:53 AM >>> Hi Everyone, This week's FOB Article-of-the-Week speaks to several questions we have touched on lately: project-based learning, how to maintain an instructional role in individualized-style classes, how to help students actually learn the material (and the soft skills) instead of just trying to pass the test, and creating a thirst for knowledge. It is from issue 2B, which is all about the GED. Project-Based Learning and the GED by Anson M. Green http://www.ncsall.net/?id=408 This is an account of one teacher's journey using amibitious and effective student-based projects within his GED class. He was able to blend the GED skills work with these exciting projects, which inspired the students to gain confidence, motivation and workforce skills along with the test skills, and at the same time connect with their community in a meaningful way. There are resources listed at the end. I apologize for the typos in the online version. (Hint: often the "fi" in a word is missing, e.g. "nd"=find, and "ve"= five. Sorry!) Please read this and tell the list what you think. Has anyone else out there used the Project FORWARD life skills curriculum, or something similar? What experiences have others had with project-based learning in GED programs? All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Tue Mar 13 11:35:51 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:35:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 811] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Message-ID: <255588.10460.qm@web83306.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Robin, Thanks for the response. And, for the woefully ignorant who came through ABE/ESOL through a "back door," what's "CALPS?"And, yes, moving mode or not, you will find that title, for all of us undereducated practitioners who need it :-) Best, Bonnie ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 1:23:58 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 805] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials And that, in a shorter version, is CALPS-- the deeper, more abstract language of academia that increases in abstractness with higher levels of education--it is a need for students coming out of GED training as well as for ESL learners. One wonderful young woman I knew in Boston ran classes for kids from the inner city who wanted to go to U Mass Boston and taught them the CALPS needed to make that transition much easier. Did any of you ever read that book ( I will find the title) written by a Wall Street Journal reporter about a boy from DC's worst high school who made it first to MIT to a summer math course and then to Brown for school? If you want to know what not having CALPS feels like from the other side, read that book. ( I WILL find the title!! sorry!)/. Robin Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 789] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Thanks, Rob, for the point of view, and the test reference. Of course higher-order thinking would occur in L1, and transfer to L2, but I have seen students struggle inordinately with writing to express ideas on an appropriate level. I'm not trying to limit cultural diversity: au contraire. When I speak with a student of any ethnicity, I suggest that "academic language" is like learning a foreign language; it may not be the language you speak at home or with your friends, but it's what's required in college, and, in the business world, I have read of the distress of bosses seeing employees using casual language, especially texting abbreviations, in a relatively formal business context. Whether it's about the "dominant culture" or not, there's not much we can do to change what's expected on a general level, and we're doing our students a disservice not to inform them of verbal levels as well as cognitive levels. They can then do with that information what they choose, and whatever outcomes follow. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Director, Writing Center, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Robb Scott To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 9:03:10 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 784] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials The first step in making the transitions that are required of us as teachers is to recognize that "first language interference" is a loaded term. The research (Damico and Hamayan) supports a view that the further and higher an individual can develop intellectually in his or her first language pushes higher, also, the ceiling for him or her in a second and additional languages. In today's America and the world, multilingual skills are a real plus. Enabling adult learners to demonstrate cognitive abilities via a Spanish GED in order to help them clear one of the key hurdles to higher education is, it seems to me, a laudable effort. I am happy to see indications on this list and in this discussion that adult educators understand the value of an individual's first language and appreciate cultural and linguistic diversity. P.S. The BVAT by Riverside publishing is a useful test for evaluating verbal ability in both a first language and English and comparing these abilities to get an assessment of composite verbal ability. Sincerely, Robert Bruce Scott Doctoral student in special education Instructor, English Language Program Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas Past President, Kansas TESOL Vice President Elect, Kansas CEC Editor, Founder, ESL MiniConference Online http://www.eslminiconf.net/ed.html --- Bonnie Odiorne wrote: > While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of > functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks > independently, speaking relatively fluently without > an "accent" that impedes communication, for a > bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the > higher-level language in English that the GED > requires would not serve them in a college > transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, > even with folks born and educated in the US, that > first language interference surfaces the most in > writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order > thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to > back that up. But research has shown that if > cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in > childhood development, then some degree of cognitive > impairment will surface. > Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, > Adjunct Professor, Post University > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" > > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 > GED Spanish Materials > > > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the > GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many > non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the > GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED > classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal > survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly > 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a > pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I > think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone > saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content > to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. > Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that > being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we > should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two > languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED > Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language > should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters > disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the > exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish > into English or vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire > class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have > students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the > other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn > English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish > translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So > there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED > in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. > However, Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first > unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans > arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of > Native American Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across > what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival > English in everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED > in Spanish may not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means > to get a job or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer > students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a > benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational > achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of > English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED > students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who > get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives > of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are > not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How > are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or > training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why > are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a > vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students > need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no > matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish > language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other > language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native > tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in > respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the > problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish > Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community > College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does > not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some > translation is okay, but > core materials and content are to be delivered in > English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare > students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED > instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include > career and > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to rbscott at ksu.edu. _________________________________________________________________________ ___________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070313/ab19e5c4/attachment.html From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Tue Mar 13 12:26:46 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:26:46 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 812] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? In-Reply-To: <000201c7657c$08b22070$050ac90a@explorit3> Message-ID: <8C933A38780DEDF-BD0-2387@FWM-D03.sysops.aol.com> Missy-- I am not-- unfortunately TESOL conflicts with COABE this year- and I was asked by NAASLN (National Association of Adults with Special Learning Needs) to do a session for their strand at COABE. I am doing a whole afternoon at COABE on issues that cause adult ESOL learners to struggle in learning. If any of you from this discussion show up at COABE, please be sure to come find me and introduce yourselves-- I am presenting Tuesday afternoon. I look forward to hearing more about Miriam Burt's sessions and others that have been mentioned. Robin -----Original Message----- From: mslaathaug at midco.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 8:29 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 808] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Robin, are you presenting on anything at TESOL this year? Missy Slaathaug Pierre, SD -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of robinschwarz1 at aol.com Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 1:25 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 807] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Kathy-- Laura (Weisel) has TONS of materials on this-- ask her. Meantime, I saw a Robin Waterman at The Meeting of the Minds in Sacramento in December-- she presented a powerful research study on using project-based learning for adult ESOL learners. Her results were so off the charts everyone just sat with their mouths open. Her info may be at the MOTM website through NIFL or AIR. Also, Jane Vella, who has written so many wonderful books on adult learning makes it clear that cooperative or constructed learning is essential for adults. I will add more as I find the resources when I unpack my reference boxes and go through my bibliographies. I am still in just-moved mode. Robin Schwarz. -----Original Message----- From: mjjerdems at yahoo.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 8:12 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 785] Re: How do we maintain our instructional role in a multi-level classroom using computers/instructional materials/instructional practices? Hi, I googled adult education and cooperative learning and found plenty of references to current use and research. Of course, ERIC is a great source for the original research. Mary Jane Jerde K Olson wrote: "In fact, adult learning literature suggest that project-based learning or small group or pair-learning is far more effective than individual, isolated learning." Robin Lovrien Schwarz Robin, can you direct me to some research that supports this, please? Kathy Olson ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to mjjerdems at yahoo.com. -------- Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to mslaathaug at midco.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From dezreen at excite.com Tue Mar 13 18:01:55 2007 From: dezreen at excite.com (kathleen morgan) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 18:01:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 813] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Message-ID: <20070313220155.838BB8B310@xprdmxin.myway.com> CALPS = Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (acadmic lang. skills) BICS = Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (verbal lang. skills) --- On Tue 03/13, Bonnie Odiorne < bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net > wrote: From: Bonnie Odiorne [mailto: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net] To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:35:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 811] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials

Robin,
Thanks for the response. And, for the woefully ignorant who came through ABE/ESOL through a "back door," what's "CALPS?"And, yes, moving mode or not, you will find that title, for all of us undereducated practitioners who need it :-)
Best,
Bonnie

----- Original Message ----
From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com"
To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 1:23:58 AM
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 805] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials

And that, in a shorter version, is CALPS-- the deeper, more abstract
language of academia that increases in abstractness with higher levels
of education--it is a need for students coming out of GED training as
well as for ESL learners.??One wonderful young woman I knew in Boston
ran classes for kids from the inner city who wanted to go to U Mass
Boston and taught them the CALPS needed to make that transition much
easier.?? Did any of you ever read that book ( I will find the title)
written by a Wall Street Journal reporter about a boy from DC's worst
high school who made it first to MIT to a summer math course and then
to Brown for school???If you want to know what not having CALPS feels
like from the other side, read that book.??( I WILL find the title!!
sorry!)/.?? Robin Schwarz

-----Original Message-----
From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net
To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov
Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:26 PM
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 789] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials

?? Thanks, Rob, for the point of view, and the test reference. Of course
higher-order thinking would occur in L1, and transfer to L2, but I have
seen students struggle inordinately with writing to express ideas on an
appropriate level. I'm not trying to limit cultural diversity: au
contraire. When I speak with a student of any ethnicity, I suggest that
"academic language" is like learning a foreign language; it may not be
the language you speak at home or with your friends, but it's what's
required in college, and, in the business world, I have read of the
distress of bosses seeing employees using casual language, especially
texting abbreviations, in a relatively formal business context. Whether
it's about the "dominant culture" or not, there's not much we can do to
change what's expected on a general level, and we're doing our students
a disservice not to inform them of verbal levels as well as cognitive
levels. They can then do with that information what they choose, and
whatever outcomes follow.
??Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Director, Writing Center, Adjunct Professor,
Post University, Waterbury, CT


----- Original Message ----
From: Robb Scott
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 9:03:10 AM
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 784] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials

The first step in making the transitions
that are required of us as teachers is to
recognize that "first language interference"
is a loaded term. The research (Damico and
Hamayan) supports a view that the further
and higher an individual can develop
intellectually in his or her first language
pushes higher, also, the ceiling for him
or her in a second and additional languages.
In today's America and the world, multilingual
skills are a real plus. Enabling adult learners
to demonstrate cognitive abilities via a
Spanish GED in order to help them clear one
of the key hurdles to higher education is,
it seems to me, a laudable effort. I am
happy to see indications on this list and
in this discussion that adult educators
understand the value of an individual's
first language and appreciate cultural
and linguistic diversity. P.S. The BVAT
by Riverside publishing is a useful test
for evaluating verbal ability in both a
first language and English and comparing
these abilities to get an assessment of
composite verbal ability.
Sincerely,
Robert Bruce Scott
Doctoral student in special education
Instructor, English Language Program
Kansas State University
Manhattan, Kansas
Past President, Kansas TESOL
Vice President Elect, Kansas CEC
Editor, Founder, ESL MiniConference Online
http://www.eslminiconf.net/ed.html

--- Bonnie Odiorne wrote:

> While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of
> functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks
> independently, speaking relatively fluently without
> an "accent" that impedes communication, for a
> bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the
> higher-level language in English that the GED
> requires would not serve them in a college
> transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues,
> even with folks born and educated in the US, that
> first language interference surfaces the most in
> writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order
> thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to
> back that up. But research has shown that if
> cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in
> childhood development, then some degree of cognitive
> impairment will surface.
> Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director,
> Adjunct Professor, Post University
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com"
>
> To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov
> Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM
> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741
> GED Spanish Materials
>
>
> Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the
> GED people
> questions, I would challenge them to show how many
> non-native speakers
> of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the
> GED -- I am sure it
> is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED
> classes. I know a
> teacher in the Boston area who did an informal
> survey of programs who
> provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly
> 1% of those
> enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a
> pretty number.
>
> And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I
> think it is unfair
> and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone
> saves time and
> takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content
> to the English
> GED), that person does not function in English.
> Also, since
> educational research has shown time and again that
> being bilingual
> provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we
> should be cheering
> on those who are educated and speaking two
> languages, not dumping on
> them.
>
> Robin Lovrien Schwarz
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net
> To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov
> Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM
> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED
> Spanish Materials
>
> As an ESL teacher I agree that first language
> should be left at the
> portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters
> disrespect for other
> first languages when Spanish is used to the
> exclusion of other L2.
> Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish
> into English or vice
> versa is not a best practice, even if the entire
> class is Spanish
> speaking, as the research has shown. To have
> students translate a list
> of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the
> other way around
> does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn
> English more
> quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish
> translated into English
> and actually slows their acquisition of English. So
> there is no best
> practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom.
>
> Having said that, in California we also offer a GED
> in Spanish. This
> does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages.
> However, Spanish is
> the second language of the U.S.; it was the first
> unifying language of
> the citizens of this country long before Europeans
> arrived, unifying
> meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of
> Native American Indians
> were unified by Spanish language and culture across
> what is now Mexico
> and the southwest United States. It will soon rival
> English in everyday
> use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED
> in Spanish may not
> immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means
> to get a job or to
> go on to higher education for example. It does offer
> students a chance
> at mastery of their first language and that is a
> benefit that should
> not be downplayed. Having a solid educational
> achievement in L1 is, I
> think you will agree, the basis for mastery of
> English. I wonder if
> there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED
> students transition
> to higher education in English only schools or who
> get an English GED.
>
> So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives
> of those who
> choose to attain either educational goal.
>
> Bonnita Solberg,
> Teacher on Special Assignment
> Oakland Adult and Career Education
>
> Sandra Cook wrote: You are
> not doing your
> students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How
> are they to
> contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or
> training and
> succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why
> are these students
> NOT immersed in English like those who are from a
> vast array of world
> languages and cultures who enter our classrooms?
> I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students
> need to progress
> through that program before they tackle the GED, no
> matter what
> language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish
> language speakers
> are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other
> language speakers
> ignored. My students understand that their native
> tongue, no matter
> what country, is left outside my classroom door in
> respect to one
> another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no.
> My opinion is that your program is part of the
> problem, not the
> solution.
>
>
>
> --------
>
> From: "WEAVER, Stacey"
>
> Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
>
> To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List"
>
> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish
> Materials
> Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600
> I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community
> College is in. In
> Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does
> not allow us to
> provide instruction in a native language. Some
> translation is okay, but
> core materials and content are to be delivered in
> English.
>
>
> Stacey L. Weaver, Director
> Victoria College Adult Education
> Victoria, TX 77901
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
> Aliscia Niles
> Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM
> To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials
>
> Greetings!
>
> We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare
> students to take the GED
> tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED
> instruction, we're
> very interested in augmenting the program to include
> career and
>
=== message truncated ===>
----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
> please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
> Message sent to rbscott at ksu.edu.




_________________________________________________________________________
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Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight
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----------------------------------------------------
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?? ----------------------------------------------------
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Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com.


________________________________________________________________________
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----------------------------------------------------
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To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net.

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Message sent to DEZREEN at excite.com. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Wed Mar 14 14:09:47 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:09:47 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 814] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <255588.10460.qm@web83306.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <255588.10460.qm@web83306.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8C9347B15ED23C2-BD0-5B76@FWM-D03.sysops.aol.com> Sorry Bonnie-- I had just written a long explanation of CALPS and thought I posted it to this list. If not, I will find it and re-post it. I am answering three lists at once. Robin -----Original Message----- From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 9:35 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 811] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Robin, Thanks for the response. And, for the woefully ignorant who came through ABE/ESOL through a "back door," what's "CALPS?"And, yes, moving mode or not, you will find that title, for all of us undereducated practitioners who need it :-) Best, Bonnie ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 1:23:58 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 805] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials And that, in a shorter version, is CALPS-- the deeper, more abstract language of academia that increases in abstractness with higher levels of education--it is a need for students coming out of GED training as well as for ESL learners. One wonderful young woman I knew in Boston ran classes for kids from the inner city who wanted to go to U Mass Boston and taught them the CALPS needed to make that transition much easier. Did any of you ever read that book ( I will find the title) written by a Wall Street Journal reporter about a boy from DC's worst high school who made it first to MIT to a summer math course and then to Brown for school? If you want to know what not having CALPS feels like from the other side, read that book. ( I WILL find the title!! sorry!)/. Robin Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 789] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Thanks, Rob, for the point of view, and the test reference. Of course higher-order thinking would occur in L1, and transfer to L2, but I have seen students struggle inordinately with writing to express ideas on an appropriate level. I'm not trying to limit cultural diversity: au contraire. When I speak with a student of any ethnicity, I suggest that "academic language" is like learning a foreign language; it may not be the language you speak at home or with your friends, but it's what's required in college, and, in the business world, I have read of the distress of bosses seeing employees using casual language, especially texting abbreviations, in a relatively formal business context. Whether it's about the "dominant culture" or not, there's not much we can do to change what's expected on a general level, and we're doing our students a disservice not to inform them of verbal levels as well as cognitive levels. They can then do with that information what they choose, and whatever outcomes follow. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Director, Writing Center, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Robb Scott To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 9:03:10 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 784] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials The first step in making the transitions that are required of us as teachers is to recognize that "first language interference" is a loaded term. The research (Damico and Hamayan) supports a view that the further and higher an individual can develop intellectually in his or her first language pushes higher, also, the ceiling for him or her in a second and additional languages. In today's America and the world, multilingual skills are a real plus. Enabling adult learners to demonstrate cognitive abilities via a Spanish GED in order to help them clear one of the key hurdles to higher education is, it seems to me, a laudable effort. I am happy to see indications on this list and in this discussion that adult educators understand the value of an individual's first language and appreciate cultural and linguistic diversity. P.S. The BVAT by Riverside publishing is a useful test for evaluating verbal ability in both a first language and English and comparing these abilities to get an assessment of composite verbal ability. Sincerely, Robert Bruce Scott Doctoral student in special education Instructor, English Language Program Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas Past President, Kansas TESOL Vice President Elect, Kansas CEC Editor, Founder, ESL MiniConference Online http://www.eslminiconf.net/ed.html --- Bonnie Odiorne wrote: > While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of > functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks > independently, speaking relatively fluently without > an "accent" that impedes communication, for a > bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the > higher-level language in English that the GED > requires would not serve them in a college > transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, > even with folks born and educated in the US, that > first language interference surfaces the most in > writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order > thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to > back that up. But research has shown that if > cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in > childhood development, then some degree of cognitive > impairment will surface. > Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, > Adjunct Professor, Post University > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" > > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 > GED Spanish Materials > > > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the > GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many > non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the > GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED > classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal > survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly > 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a > pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I > think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone > saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content > to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. > Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that > being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we > should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two > languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED > Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language > should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters > disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the > exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish > into English or vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire > class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have > students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the > other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn > English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish > translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So > there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED > in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. > However, Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first > unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans > arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of > Native American Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across > what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival > English in everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED > in Spanish may not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means > to get a job or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer > students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a > benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational > achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of > English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED > students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who > get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives > of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are > not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How > are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or > training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why > are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a > vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students > need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no > matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish > language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other > language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native > tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in > respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the > problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish > Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community > College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does > not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some > translation is okay, but > core materials and content are to be delivered in > English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare > students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED > instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include > career and > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to rbscott at ksu.edu. _________________________________________________________________________ ___________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Wed Mar 14 14:14:39 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:14:39 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 815] Fwd: Explanation of CALPS/BICS re-posted In-Reply-To: <8C933463D488422-1080-1929@webmail-db06.sysops.aol.com> References: <1173293768.2775766416.32689.sendItem@bloglines.com> <8C933463D488422-1080-1929@webmail-db06.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8C9347BC3CAA64D-BD0-5BB1@FWM-D03.sysops.aol.com> Julie-- and Bonnie-- here is the explanation of CALPS-- I changed the subject so people will see what it is. Sorry to those who have labored through this already.....(-: Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:18 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 804] Re: NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? CALPS -- cognitive academic language proficiency skills, and BICS-- Basic interpersonal communication skills, or somewhat simplisticly, reading language versus speaking and listening language, are terms coined by Jim Cummins, a language acquisition researcher and writer, over 20 years ago. Mr Cummins maintained that the two languages develop somewhat separately --the oral language is highly contextualized language- -also known as survival language, while the reading language is often non-contextualized. It is the language of textbooks, tests, directions , etc. Virginia Collier of George Mason U. did a huge study on this some years ago---90,000 school children over a number of years --and found that when English was delivered under the best instructional circumstances, BICS develop in about 6 months (for children) to 3 years for older learners, while CALPS develop to the level that an ESOL learner could compete with a native English speaker who was an average learner in at least 5 and sometimes as long as 10 years. That is a rather LARGE difference and long time. Misinterpreting students' good oral skills for ability to manage native English text is one of the chief causes of misreferral of ESL learners in K-12 for reading difficulties. Catherine Snow of Harvard and others have a wonderful website , whyreadingishard.com, which illustrates the BICS/CALPS issues. It has video clips of middle school-aged ESL children who speak English quite well but are unable to understand any of the implied meaning or even surface meaning in some cases of literature they and their peers are reading in school. The site also has wonderful lessons and resources for those serious about knowing more about this issue. Evangeline Stefanakis, who is, I think , with Columbia Teacher's College now, has a great book on using portfolios for assessment of ESOL learners to avoid the conclusion that they have learning or reading problems when in fact they just haven't got the needed language yet. Anna Uhl Chamot, of Alexandria, VA has developed a wonderful teaching strategy for addressing the development of language in English language learners, and Alba Ortiz, of UT Austin has written frequently about this problem for ESL learners. Not so much has been written directly about adult ESL learners, but ESL as a field is fully aware of the issue, though to my knowledge it was not labeled that for quite a while ( I have been teaching ESL for over 40 years). At the college- affiliated ESL program I taught at in DC for many years, we used the Nelson-Denny reading test to measure students' reading language compared to that of English speakers so we would know what to address to get our learners ready to do college work with native English speakers. Though our students had to have at least a high school education and most had some college or were even graduate students, and most had had several years of English instruction prior to coming to the US, their CALPS on arrival, as measured by the Nelson-Denny, were at about 4th or 5th grade. That is, they could manage 4th or 5th grade reading material pretty comfortably. We had to bring them up to at least 8th grade or better for them to even begin to manage their college text books. We taught them how American text is organized, basic reading comprehension skills that Americans learn-- previewing, skimming, scanning, using text clues, etc. since these are very cultural behaviors. These students by and large had learned only to read what was assigned and learn it word for word. Analytical reading was not something their cultures generally taught or valued. We also taught a lot of morphology-- how the language is built-- so they could learn word families-- all words built on a root, for example, and how endings mark types of words and prefixes change meaning, etc. In other words, we did not do only direct teaching of vocabulary. We also did extensive teaching of dictionary skills, since that is a very complex set of skills in English. I hope this sheds a little more light on the topic. If you Google BICS and CALPS you will get LOTS of interesting reading. I place a heavy emphasis on paying attention to this when I train ESL teachers. As I said earlier, ignoring the CALPS continues to play a huge role in the mis-referral of ESL learners for LD testing and special education. This happens at any level, not just K-12. I may have mentioned on one of the discussion lists earlier that every time I note that insufficient CALPS are at the root of so many ESOL learners' failure to thrive in ABE when "transitioned" out of ESL, teachers gasp in recognition. The response to these learners' problems often is to suspect they have reading problems or LD, so getting the word out is of great concern to me. Robin Lovrien Schwarz, Independent Consultant in Adult ESL/ Education and Learning Difficulties -----Original Message----- From: PHCSJean.34425698 at bloglines.com To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:56 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 790] Re: NIFL Assessment list - are there any here that work well for our population? Thanks for that insight Robin. Great point. What's CALPS? Jean --- The Focus on Basics Discussion List speakers. If used with non-native speakers they will give a measure of > that person's CALPS, or reading language levels, not a reading level > per se as for native English speakers. That is a useful thing to > know, but it is NOT a measure of how well that learner actually reads. > Robin Lovrien Schwarz, Independent Consultant in Adult ESOL/ Education > and Learning Difficulties >> ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Wed Mar 14 14:33:58 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 11:33:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 816] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Message-ID: <304022.22432.qm@web83310.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Robin, It's ok. Someone already has defined it, and posted a site, hardtoread.com that gives wonderful examples of the passage from BICS to CALPS. I was talking transition college/high school but I expect the issues would be the same. I had an African American student come to the Writing Center for help with a paper on the symbolis of Whitman's "Patient Spider" poem for ENG 102, the second step in Composiiton and Literature, which can also throuh not officially be named "remedial" because some sections have a lab section. He just couldn't grasp it, even though I talked him through it, almost gave the answer, modeling the thinking. He said to me "I've never thought so hard in my life." If no one had ever taught him about figurative and non-figurative language etc., or contextualized it in a way that he couldn't even recognize it in a poem, let alone in a textbook, I think is anecdotal evidence enough to suggest that it's not just an ESL problem, but a systemic problem. You did post to this list on CALPS, but I think our e-mails crossed. I really did take an ESL theory and methodology course and it wasn't even mentioned... All the professor seemed interested in were commuication gap pictures and other exercises, and how International TAs tested... Needlesss to say, that was not what I was interested in, not even then, when I was still in adult education, and certainly not now when I'm in a college/developmental kind of environment, for both traditional and non-traditional students. Thanks for your expertise. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D., Writing Center Director, Adjunct professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 2:09:47 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 814] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Sorry Bonnie-- I had just written a long explanation of CALPS and thought I posted it to this list. If not, I will find it and re-post it. I am answering three lists at once. Robin -----Original Message----- From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 9:35 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 811] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Robin, Thanks for the response. And, for the woefully ignorant who came through ABE/ESOL through a "back door," what's "CALPS?"And, yes, moving mode or not, you will find that title, for all of us undereducated practitioners who need it :-) Best, Bonnie ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 1:23:58 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 805] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials And that, in a shorter version, is CALPS-- the deeper, more abstract language of academia that increases in abstractness with higher levels of education--it is a need for students coming out of GED training as well as for ESL learners. One wonderful young woman I knew in Boston ran classes for kids from the inner city who wanted to go to U Mass Boston and taught them the CALPS needed to make that transition much easier. Did any of you ever read that book ( I will find the title) written by a Wall Street Journal reporter about a boy from DC's worst high school who made it first to MIT to a summer math course and then to Brown for school? If you want to know what not having CALPS feels like from the other side, read that book. ( I WILL find the title!! sorry!)/. Robin Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 789] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Thanks, Rob, for the point of view, and the test reference. Of course higher-order thinking would occur in L1, and transfer to L2, but I have seen students struggle inordinately with writing to express ideas on an appropriate level. I'm not trying to limit cultural diversity: au contraire. When I speak with a student of any ethnicity, I suggest that "academic language" is like learning a foreign language; it may not be the language you speak at home or with your friends, but it's what's required in college, and, in the business world, I have read of the distress of bosses seeing employees using casual language, especially texting abbreviations, in a relatively formal business context. Whether it's about the "dominant culture" or not, there's not much we can do to change what's expected on a general level, and we're doing our students a disservice not to inform them of verbal levels as well as cognitive levels. They can then do with that information what they choose, and whatever outcomes follow. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Director, Writing Center, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Robb Scott To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 9:03:10 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 784] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials The first step in making the transitions that are required of us as teachers is to recognize that "first language interference" is a loaded term. The research (Damico and Hamayan) supports a view that the further and higher an individual can develop intellectually in his or her first language pushes higher, also, the ceiling for him or her in a second and additional languages. In today's America and the world, multilingual skills are a real plus. Enabling adult learners to demonstrate cognitive abilities via a Spanish GED in order to help them clear one of the key hurdles to higher education is, it seems to me, a laudable effort. I am happy to see indications on this list and in this discussion that adult educators understand the value of an individual's first language and appreciate cultural and linguistic diversity. P.S. The BVAT by Riverside publishing is a useful test for evaluating verbal ability in both a first language and English and comparing these abilities to get an assessment of composite verbal ability. Sincerely, Robert Bruce Scott Doctoral student in special education Instructor, English Language Program Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas Past President, Kansas TESOL Vice President Elect, Kansas CEC Editor, Founder, ESL MiniConference Online http://www.eslminiconf.net/ed.html --- Bonnie Odiorne wrote: > While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of > functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks > independently, speaking relatively fluently without > an "accent" that impedes communication, for a > bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the > higher-level language in English that the GED > requires would not serve them in a college > transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, > even with folks born and educated in the US, that > first language interference surfaces the most in > writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order > thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to > back that up. But research has shown that if > cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in > childhood development, then some degree of cognitive > impairment will surface. > Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, > Adjunct Professor, Post University > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" > > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 > GED Spanish Materials > > > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the > GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many > non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the > GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED > classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal > survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly > 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a > pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I > think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone > saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content > to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. > Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that > being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we > should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two > languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED > Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language > should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters > disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the > exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish > into English or vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire > class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have > students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the > other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn > English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish > translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So > there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED > in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. > However, Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first > unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans > arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of > Native American Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across > what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival > English in everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED > in Spanish may not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means > to get a job or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer > students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a > benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational > achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of > English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED > students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who > get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives > of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are > not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How > are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or > training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why > are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a > vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students > need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no > matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish > language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other > language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native > tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in > respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the > problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish > Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community > College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does > not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some > translation is okay, but > core materials and content are to be delivered in > English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare > students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED > instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include > career and > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to rbscott at ksu.edu. _________________________________________________________________________ ___________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070314/956f6bda/attachment.html From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Thu Mar 15 01:10:59 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2007 01:10:59 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 817] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials In-Reply-To: <304022.22432.qm@web83310.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> References: <304022.22432.qm@web83310.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <8C934D7740ED96B-BD0-74EB@FWM-D03.sysops.aol.com> Yes-- there it is in neon lights. What a great illustration. And yes, it IS systemic-- I am sure many in K-12 will say that teaching to the tests has reduced even more the emphasis on general thinking skills and analytical thinking etc. This is really a sad story when you think of it. When I have those moments as a tutor, I become overwhelmed thinking of all the information and skills the person should have gotten in school and did not and needs to progress. I find tutoring adults at remedial levels a terrific challenge for that reason. Where and how to start? Your sentiment about the ESL courses is what I hear wherever I speak and train-- " We never learned this in our ESOL training courses." BEing cetified in ESOL doesn;t mean one knows how to teach adult language learners with many different needs. I think most ESOL prep courses are aimed at K-12 ESOL. One of my most horrific stories about why learners fail to learn is a description of a real person I observed some months ago. This teacher was a certified, experienced ESOL teacher who had not the first clue about low or non-literacy, teaching adults, BICS and CALPS, multisensory instruction, cultural barriers to learning, health or vision problems of the students or any of the other things I have discovered through years of work are the real causes of so much struggle. At the end of 8 weeks--32 hours of class-- a) the students--who ranged from fully literate and educated to non-literate-- could not write the alphabet and days of the week correctly and b) the teacher still had no idea how much English they knew or did not know. On the last day, the teacher was stunned when the students did a simple activity involving giving words that began with one letter of the alphabet-- every student, even the most reticent all term, shouted out words until the 10 feet of white board were covered with words. The teacher confessed that the extent of the students' knowledge was a revelation. This teacher was touted as the best in the program--but the program also had resigned itself to one third of the beginning level students never moving out of that class. It was pretty easy to see why that happened--and it wasn't because the students could not or would not learn. But that is not CALPS-- I have strayed-- in the morning I will be more cheerful about the huge problem of not very good outcomes in so many adult ESOL settings. Glad you enjoyed that website ( that is the whyreadingishard.com site, right?) OH, And I found the article describing Anna Uhl Chamot's method of teaching to build CALPS: It is by Chamot and O'Malley, the title is " The cognitive academic language learning approach: a model for linguistically diverse classrooms" published in The Elementary School Journal in 1996-- Vol 96 #3---as I said in the longer message, though it is aimed at K-12, the principles are easily adaptable to adult ESOL or ABE and GED classrooms where non-native English speakers are present. Robin Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 1:33 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 816] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Robin, It's ok. Someone already has defined it, and posted a site, hardtoread.com that gives wonderful examples of the passage from BICS to CALPS. I was talking transition college/high school but I expect the issues would be the same. I had an African American student come to the Writing Center for help with a paper on the symbolis of Whitman's "Patient Spider" poem for ENG 102, the second step in Composiiton and Literature, which can also throuh not officially be named "remedial" because some sections have a lab section. He just couldn't grasp it, even though I talked him through it, almost gave the answer, modeling the thinking. He said to me "I've never thought so hard in my life." If no one had ever taught him about figurative and non-figurative language etc., or contextualized it in a way that he couldn't even recognize it in a poem, let alone in a textbook, I think is anecdotal evidence enough to suggest that it's not just an ESL problem, but a systemic problem. You did post to this list on CALPS, but I think our e-mails crossed. I really did take an ESL theory and methodology course and it wasn't even mentioned... All the professor seemed interested in were commuication gap pictures and other exercises, and how International TAs tested... Needlesss to say, that was not what I was interested in, not even then, when I was still in adult education, and certainly not now when I'm in a college/developmental kind of environment, for both traditional and non-traditional students. Thanks for your expertise. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D., Writing Center Director, Adjunct professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 2:09:47 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 814] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Sorry Bonnie-- I had just written a long explanation of CALPS and thought I posted it to this list. If not, I will find it and re-post it. I am answering three lists at once. Robin -----Original Message----- From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 9:35 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 811] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Robin, Thanks for the response. And, for the woefully ignorant who came through ABE/ESOL through a "back door," what's "CALPS?"And, yes, moving mode or not, you will find that title, for all of us undereducated practitioners who need it :-) Best, Bonnie ----- Original Message ---- From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 1:23:58 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 805] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials And that, in a shorter version, is CALPS-- the deeper, more abstract language of academia that increases in abstractness with higher levels of education--it is a need for students coming out of GED training as well as for ESL learners. One wonderful young woman I knew in Boston ran classes for kids from the inner city who wanted to go to U Mass Boston and taught them the CALPS needed to make that transition much easier. Did any of you ever read that book ( I will find the title) written by a Wall Street Journal reporter about a boy from DC's worst high school who made it first to MIT to a summer math course and then to Brown for school? If you want to know what not having CALPS feels like from the other side, read that book. ( I WILL find the title!! sorry!)/. Robin Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:26 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 789] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials Thanks, Rob, for the point of view, and the test reference. Of course higher-order thinking would occur in L1, and transfer to L2, but I have seen students struggle inordinately with writing to express ideas on an appropriate level. I'm not trying to limit cultural diversity: au contraire. When I speak with a student of any ethnicity, I suggest that "academic language" is like learning a foreign language; it may not be the language you speak at home or with your friends, but it's what's required in college, and, in the business world, I have read of the distress of bosses seeing employees using casual language, especially texting abbreviations, in a relatively formal business context. Whether it's about the "dominant culture" or not, there's not much we can do to change what's expected on a general level, and we're doing our students a disservice not to inform them of verbal levels as well as cognitive levels. They can then do with that information what they choose, and whatever outcomes follow. Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Director, Writing Center, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Robb Scott To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2007 9:03:10 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 784] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 GED Spanish Materials The first step in making the transitions that are required of us as teachers is to recognize that "first language interference" is a loaded term. The research (Damico and Hamayan) supports a view that the further and higher an individual can develop intellectually in his or her first language pushes higher, also, the ceiling for him or her in a second and additional languages. In today's America and the world, multilingual skills are a real plus. Enabling adult learners to demonstrate cognitive abilities via a Spanish GED in order to help them clear one of the key hurdles to higher education is, it seems to me, a laudable effort. I am happy to see indications on this list and in this discussion that adult educators understand the value of an individual's first language and appreciate cultural and linguistic diversity. P.S. The BVAT by Riverside publishing is a useful test for evaluating verbal ability in both a first language and English and comparing these abilities to get an assessment of composite verbal ability. Sincerely, Robert Bruce Scott Doctoral student in special education Instructor, English Language Program Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas Past President, Kansas TESOL Vice President Elect, Kansas CEC Editor, Founder, ESL MiniConference Online http://www.eslminiconf.net/ed.html --- Bonnie Odiorne wrote: > While I tend to agree with Robin in terms of > functioning, i.e. accomplishing most daily tasks > independently, speaking relatively fluently without > an "accent" that impedes communication, for a > bilingual student, I also feel that not learning the > higher-level language in English that the GED > requires would not serve them in a college > transitiion context. I find that most "ELL" issues, > even with folks born and educated in the US, that > first language interference surfaces the most in > writing, and, thus, to some extent, in higher-order > thinking skills. And, no, I don't have research to > back that up. But research has shown that if > cognitive skills are underdeveloped in L1 or L2, in > childhood development, then some degree of cognitive > impairment will surface. > Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, > Adjunct Professor, Post University > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: "robinschwarz1 at aol.com" > > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 3:10:43 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 776] Re: FocusOnBasics 741 > GED Spanish Materials > > > Good questions, Bonnita-- and if we are asking the > GED people > questions, I would challenge them to show how many > non-native speakers > of English/ non-Spanish actually take and pass the > GED -- I am sure it > is a tiny percentage of those actually in GED > classes. I know a > teacher in the Boston area who did an informal > survey of programs who > provided GED to ESOL classes-- he found that roughly > 1% of those > enrolled actually took and passed the GED-- not a > pretty number. > > And adding my two cents to the Spanish GED issue, I > think it is unfair > and inaccurate to conclude that just because someone > saves time and > takes the Spanish GED (which is identical in content > to the English > GED), that person does not function in English. > Also, since > educational research has shown time and again that > being bilingual > provides quite significant cognitive advantage, we > should be cheering > on those who are educated and speaking two > languages, not dumping on > them. > > Robin Lovrien Schwarz > > -----Original Message----- > From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Sent: Sat, 3 Mar 2007 5:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 754] FocusOnBasics 741 GED > Spanish Materials > > As an ESL teacher I agree that first language > should be left at the > portal of the ESL classroom. To not do so fosters > disrespect for other > first languages when Spanish is used to the > exclusion of other L2. > Beyond that, translating for students from Spanish > into English or vice > versa is not a best practice, even if the entire > class is Spanish > speaking, as the research has shown. To have > students translate a list > of new vocabulary from Spanish into English or the > other way around > does assist not Spanish speaking students to learn > English more > quickly, but does foster dependence on Spanish > translated into English > and actually slows their acquisition of English. So > there is no best > practice reason to use Spanish in the ESL classroom. > > Having said that, in California we also offer a GED > in Spanish. This > does, as you suggest, ignore other first languages. > However, Spanish is > the second language of the U.S.; it was the first > unifying language of > the citizens of this country long before Europeans > arrived, unifying > meaning to imply that small groups or tribes of > Native American Indians > were unified by Spanish language and culture across > what is now Mexico > and the southwest United States. It will soon rival > English in everyday > use, especially in the border states. To offer a GED > in Spanish may not > immediately appear to be valuable, if valuable means > to get a job or to > go on to higher education for example. It does offer > students a chance > at mastery of their first language and that is a > benefit that should > not be downplayed. Having a solid educational > achievement in L1 is, I > think you will agree, the basis for mastery of > English. I wonder if > there is research to indicate how many Spanish GED > students transition > to higher education in English only schools or who > get an English GED. > > So my opinion is that both are valuable in the lives > of those who > choose to attain either educational goal. > > Bonnita Solberg, > Teacher on Special Assignment > Oakland Adult and Career Education > > Sandra Cook wrote: You are > not doing your > students a service by teaching them in Spanish. How > are they to > contribute, live, pursue post-secondary education or > training and > succeed in the U.S. without speaking English? Why > are these students > NOT immersed in English like those who are from a > vast array of world > languages and cultures who enter our classrooms? > I agree....Texas has an ESL program and students > need to progress > through that program before they tackle the GED, no > matter what > language they speak. I don't understand why Spanish > language speakers > are treated uniquely, while the hundreds of other > language speakers > ignored. My students understand that their native > tongue, no matter > what country, is left outside my classroom door in > respect to one > another. Multicultural, yes. Special treatment no. > My opinion is that your program is part of the > problem, not the > solution. > > > > -------- > > From: "WEAVER, Stacey" > > Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 729] Re: GED Spanish > Materials > Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:06:24 -0600 > I'm just curious as to what state Lane Community > College is in. In > Texas, grant funding for Adult Basic Education does > not allow us to > provide instruction in a native language. Some > translation is okay, but > core materials and content are to be delivered in > English. > > > Stacey L. Weaver, Director > Victoria College Adult Education > Victoria, TX 77901 > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Aliscia Niles > Sent: Friday, March 02, 2007 12:18 PM > To: FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 726] GED Spanish Materials > > Greetings! > > We are offering classes in Spanish to prepare > students to take the GED > tests in Spanish. While we have materials for GED > instruction, we're > very interested in augmenting the program to include > career and > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to rbscott at ksu.edu. _________________________________________________________________________ ___________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From Holly.Dilatush-Guthrie at ccs.k12.va.us Thu Mar 15 17:50:15 2007 From: Holly.Dilatush-Guthrie at ccs.k12.va.us (Holly Dilatush-Guthrie) Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:50:15 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 818] Re: NCLB (and NDLB) Message-ID: <45F987570200006900000BF4@gwia.ccs.k12.va.us> Regarding NCLB (No Child Left Behind) has anyone/everyone read the interesting parody, "No DENTIST Left Behind" ??? here's a link. http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/no-dentist.html (was forwarded to me by another online discussion forum colleague) "No matter what our attempts to inform, it is our ability to inspire that will turn the tides." Holly Dilatush ESL distance learning, Dialogue Cafe, Volunteer coordinator Charlottesville City Schools Adult Learning Center 1000 Preston Ave., Suite D Charlottesville VA 22903 (434) 245.2815 office (434) 960.7177 cell/mobile http://theHsmile.org ['home' to several Moodle CMS (course management systems/virtual classrooms)] http://www.Charlottesville-ESL.org "Live with intention. Share inside~out smiles, inspire hope, seek awe and nurture in nature." From jschneider at eicc.edu Fri Mar 16 13:02:29 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:02:29 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 819] Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <45F987570200006900000BF4@gwia.ccs.k12.va.us> Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school attendance from 16 to 18. I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual effects/consequence of this law. Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on the effects of the law? Thanks, Jim Jim Schneider Assistant Dean Scott Community College Career Assistance Center 627 W. Second Street Davenport, IA 52801 (563) 326-5319 phone (563) 326-6039 fax Do not despise the small act. Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole universe. Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. Chan Khong From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Mar 19 11:01:44 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 11:01:44 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 820] Project-based learning in GED Message-ID: <45FE6D980200002D0000177D@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, In response to last week's FOB Article-of-the-Week, a list member recommended a good example of project-based work in a GED program, and I am passing on this description of the project from the teacher. You can also read about it in Volume 14 of "Field Notes" at the following link: Using Authentic Materials in an ABE Writing Class By David Stearns and Carey Reid http://www.sabes.org/resources/publications/fieldnotes/vol14/fn142.pdf All the best, Julie ******************** Here is an account of the project from teacher Carey Reid: "I've been asked to describe some project-based learning that David Stearns and I (Carey Reid) developed in a preGED writing class at the Adult Learning Program in Jamaica Plain (Boston), Massachusetts. David and I wanted to push as hard as we could with authentic materials--ie, using newspapers, journal articles, Webpages--in the classroom. We picked pieces of high student interest based on oral surveys with the class: Jack Johnson, how to discipline children, how to set up a living will. The Students would read aloud the pieces taking turns with paragraphs. We noticed that after three readings, two aloud and one more in small groups, just about every student "got it," even with the most challenging articles. With unfamiliar vocabulary, usually one student knew or could guess at the word; non-native English speakers were pretty good with roots too (e.g., a Greek-born student figured out that "virulent" had something to do with strength.) Normally, we asked students to summarize pieces down to one paragraph in small groups. Then, we'd class-edit for a "best composite summary." We often provided several choices of scaffolding sentences to stimulate the writing of a second paragraph (e.g., "I found this article interesting because...", or "I agree/do not agree with this article because..."). As we got more confident in students' (often underestimated) abilities, we pushed the envelope toward more challenging pieces. We even brought in the FOB article summarizing the learner persistence study, and they got that too. In fact, their second paragraph was to report if any of the study's four key supports for persistence applied to them. We used student sentences and paragraphs as "authentic" materials for all grammar, mechanics, and organization activities--e.g., sharing excerpts and asking peers to correct, sometimes in whole class format, and required that they supply grammar rules. As long as we didn't demand an academic style rule, we found that somewhere in the room someone knew the rule ("The sentences doesn't say the whole thing she meant.") The next logical step was project-based learning. Our most successful one unfolded this way. We read an article on a Boston city council election in which blacks and Latinos turned out in big numbers and elected minority candidates. The students wanted to know more about what a city councilor is and does. We provided a GED-like essay activity that began with a provided thesis statement scaffold: "The three most important duties of a Boston City Councilor are...." The students got excited about councilors in general and the new candidates in particular and decided to invite them to our class. We decided to write letters to the two Jamaica Plain councilors, so we did activities around formal letter formats. Students group-wrote the letters in two groups and we used a laptop and LCD projector to agree on a best composite draft. Councilor Maura Hennigan accepted our invitation. Now we needed questions to ask her, and that provided great activities for a couple of classes. Now, each student had a question to ask (and some were doozies: "Why are their potholes on my street and not in ------ where you live?") David and I contacted the JP Gazette and asked the editor, Sandy Storey, if the students could write a report on the visit. She agreed and sent a photographer the night of. Maura came and did a great job, totally honest ("There are no potholes on my street because I'm a squeaky wheel. Do you know that expression? Well, you need to be one to get your potholes filled.") The students forgot to take notes, so David and I did and gave them to them later. Eight learners took on the task of developing a draft; we group-edited it with the LCD projector; we made the Gazette deadline and the article was printed, with all the students' names as writers. Another project was for a summer-term 6-week class with nine learners. We surveyed and came up with a research topic, college financial aid. We set up a project that evolved into computer keyboarding, search engine use, narrowing searches, and note-taking from downloaded webpages. We thought we'd be gathering information only, but some students noticed that almost all the college sites emphasized coming in and talking to an admissions counselor. So, we stopped and made up Action Plans, including making appointments, finding directions, and taking notes. Two students had followed through by summer's end and made oral reports to the class. One enrolled in community college that fall, starting with their remediation classes. Moral of story #1: Assume you are underestimating the collective knowledge and skill in your classroom. Moral of story #2: Allow activities that "take off" to build into projects, and let the projects evolve naturally based on students' energy and interest. My best, Carey Reid SABES Staff Developer ************************ Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From b.garner4 at verizon.net Mon Mar 19 13:16:25 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 12:16:25 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 820] Re: =?iso-8859-1?q?=A0Project-based_learning_in_GED?= Message-ID: <1538453.1937011174324595967.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net> Carey, Thanks for sharing your experience. The projects sound fabulous. I'm curious about whether this approach translated into high attendance/retention than you normally expect. Barb Garner Focus on Basics ===================== From: Julie McKinney Date: 2007/03/19 Mon AM 10:01:44 CDT To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 820] Project-based learning in GED Hi Everyone, In response to last week's FOB Article-of-the-Week, a list member recommended a good example of project-based work in a GED program, and I am passing on this description of the project from the teacher. You can also read about it in Volume 14 of "Field Notes" at the following link: Using Authentic Materials in an ABE Writing Class By David Stearns and Carey Reid http://www.sabes.org/resources/publications/fieldnotes/vol14/fn142.pdf All the best, Julie ******************** Here is an account of the project from teacher Carey Reid: "I've been asked to describe some project-based learning that David Stearns and I (Carey Reid) developed in a preGED writing class at the Adult Learning Program in Jamaica Plain (Boston), Massachusetts. David and I wanted to push as hard as we could with authentic materials--ie, using newspapers, journal articles, Webpages--in the classroom. We picked pieces of high student interest based on oral surveys with the class: Jack Johnson, how to discipline children, how to set up a living will. The Students would read aloud the pieces taking turns with paragraphs. We noticed that after three readings, two aloud and one more in small groups, just about every student "got it," even with the most challenging articles. With unfamiliar vocabulary, usually one student knew or could guess at the word; non-native English speakers were pretty good with roots too (e.g., a Greek-born student figured out that "virulent" had something to do with strength.) Normally, we asked students to summarize pieces down to one paragraph in small groups. Then, we'd class-edit for a "best composite summary." We often provided several choices of scaffolding sentences to stimulate the writing of a second paragraph (e.g., "I found this article interesting because...", or "I agree/do not agree with this article because..."). As we got more confident in students' (often underestimated) abilities, we pushed the envelope toward more challenging pieces. We even brought in the FOB article summarizing the learner persistence study, and they got that too. In fact, their second paragraph was to report if any of the study's four key supports for persistence applied to them. We used student sentences and paragraphs as "authentic" materials for all grammar, mechanics, and organization activities--e.g., sharing excerpts and asking peers to correct, sometimes in whole class format, and required that they supply grammar rules. As long as we didn't dema nd an academic style rule, we found that somewhere in the room someone knew the rule ("The sentences doesn't say the whole thing she meant.") The next logical step was project-based learning. Our most successful one unfolded this way. We read an article on a Boston city council election in which blacks and Latinos turned out in big numbers and elected minority candidates. The students wanted to know more about what a city councilor is and does. We provided a GED-like essay activity that began with a provided thesis statement scaffold: "The three most important duties of a Boston City Councilor are...." The students got excited about councilors in general and the new candidates in particular and decided to invite them to our class. We decided to write letters to the two Jamaica Plain councilors, so we did activities around formal letter formats. Students group-wrote the letters in two groups and we used a laptop and LCD projector to agree on a best composite draft. Councilor Maura Hennigan accepted our invitation. Now we needed questions to ask her, and that provided great activities for a couple of classes. Now, each student had a question to ask (and some were doozies: "Why are their potholes on my street and not in ------ where you live?") David and I contacted the JP Gazette and asked the editor, Sandy Storey, if the students could write a report on the visit. She agreed and sent a photographer the night of. Maura came and did a great job, totally honest ("There are no potholes on my street because I'm a squeaky wheel. Do you know that expression? Well, you need to be one to get your potholes filled.") The students forgot to take notes, so David and I did and gave them to them later. Eight learners took on the task of developing a draft; we group-edited it with the LCD projector; we made the Gazette deadline and the article was printed, with all the students' names as writers. Another project was for a summer-term 6-week class with nine learners. We surveyed and came up with a research topic, college financial aid. We set up a project that evolved into computer keyboarding, search engine use, narrowing searches, and note-taking from downloaded webpages. We thought we'd be gathering information only, but some students noticed that almost all the college sites emphasized coming in and talking to an admissions counselor. So, we stopped and made up Action Plans, including making appointments, finding directions, and taking notes. Two students had followed through by summer's end and made oral reports to the class. One enrolled in community college that fall, starting with their remediation classes. Moral of story #1: Assume you are underestimating the collective knowledge and skill in your classroom. Moral of story #2: Allow activities that "take off" to build into projects, and let the projects evolve naturally based on students' energy and interest. My best, Carey Reid SABES Staff Developer ************************ Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Mon Mar 19 15:46:06 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:46:06 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 821] Re: Project-based learning in GED In-Reply-To: <45FE6D980200002D0000177D@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <45FE6D980200002D0000177D@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <8C938765EAF4469-19D8-201@MBLK-M28.sysops.aol.com> Thank you Julie for getting this from Carey-- it was an inspiring class to observe, let me tell you. EVERYONE involved up to their elbows in writing and thinking and learning. I particularly like his comment on figuring that we underestimate the talent and knowledge in the class. That was what I too learned with adult ESOL learners-- someone in the class always knew the answer or had the skill needed and could share. I only needed to prime the pump, as it were. There has been a discussion recently about how an instructor can still maintain a role if instruction is done with technology or long distance. It would be great for whoever does it to cross-post this message, as the project also had instructors as guides and facilitators, not directors. I can imagine that a similar project could be done with cameras and screens and students still involved with each other and the work and having the teacher as a resource to whom to ask questions. Robin Lovrien Schwarz -----Original Message----- From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Sent: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 10:01 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 820] Project-based learning in GED Hi Everyone, In response to last week's FOB Article-of-the-Week, a list member recommended a good example of project-based work in a GED program, and I am passing on this description of the project from the teacher. You can also read about it in Volume 14 of "Field Notes" at the following link: Using Authentic Materials in an ABE Writing Class By David Stearns and Carey Reid http://www.sabes.org/resources/publications/fieldnotes/vol14/fn142.pdf All the best, Julie ******************** Here is an account of the project from teacher Carey Reid: "I've been asked to describe some project-based learning that David Stearns and I (Carey Reid) developed in a preGED writing class at the Adult Learning Program in Jamaica Plain (Boston), Massachusetts. David and I wanted to push as hard as we could with authentic materials--ie, using newspapers, journal articles, Webpages--in the classroom. We picked pieces of high student interest based on oral surveys with the class: Jack Johnson, how to discipline children, how to set up a living will. The Students would read aloud the pieces taking turns with paragraphs. We noticed that after three readings, two aloud and one more in small groups, just about every student "got it," even with the most challenging articles. With unfamiliar vocabulary, usually one student knew or could guess at the word; non-native English speakers were pretty good with roots too (e.g., a Greek-born student figured out that "virulent" had something to do with strength.) Normally, we asked students to summarize pieces down to one paragraph in small groups. Then, we'd class-edit for a "best composite summary." We often provided several choices of scaffolding sentences to stimulate the writing of a second paragraph (e.g., "I found this article interesting because...", or "I agree/do not agree with this article because..."). As we got more confident in students' (often underestimated) abilities, we pushed the envelope toward more challenging pieces. We even brought in the FOB article summarizing the learner persistence study, and they got that too. In fact, their second paragraph was to report if any of the study's four key supports for persistence applied to them. We used student sentences and paragraphs as "authentic" materials for all grammar, mechanics, and organization activities--e.g., sharing excerpts and asking peers to correct, sometimes in whole class format, and required that they supply grammar rules. As long as we didn't dema nd an academic style rule, we found that somewhere in the room someone knew the rule ("The sentences doesn't say the whole thing she meant.") The next logical step was project-based learning. Our most successful one unfolded this way. We read an article on a Boston city council election in which blacks and Latinos turned out in big numbers and elected minority candidates. The students wanted to know more about what a city councilor is and does. We provided a GED-like essay activity that began with a provided thesis statement scaffold: "The three most important duties of a Boston City Councilor are...." The students got excited about councilors in general and the new candidates in particular and decided to invite them to our class. We decided to write letters to the two Jamaica Plain councilors, so we did activities around formal letter formats. Students group-wrote the letters in two groups and we used a laptop and LCD projector to agree on a best composite draft. Councilor Maura Hennigan accepted our invitation. Now we needed questions to ask her, and that provided great activities for a couple of classes. Now, each student had a question to ask (and some were doozies: "Why are their potholes on my street and not in ------ where you live?") David and I contacted the JP Gazette and asked the editor, Sandy Storey, if the students could write a report on the visit. She agreed and sent a photographer the night of. Maura came and did a great job, totally honest ("There are no potholes on my street because I'm a squeaky wheel. Do you know that expression? Well, you need to be one to get your potholes filled.") The students forgot to take notes, so David and I did and gave them to them later. Eight learners took on the task of developing a draft; we group-edited it with the LCD projector; we made the Gazette deadline and the article was printed, with all the students' names as writers. Another project was for a summer-term 6-week class with nine learners. We surveyed and came up with a research topic, college financial aid. We set up a project that evolved into computer keyboarding, search engine use, narrowing searches, and note-taking from downloaded webpages. We thought we'd be gathering information only, but some students noticed that almost all the college sites emphasized coming in and talking to an admissions counselor. So, we stopped and made up Action Plans, including making appointments, finding directions, and taking notes. Two students had followed through by summer's end and made oral reports to the class. One enrolled in community college that fall, starting with their remediation classes. Moral of story #1: Assume you are underestimating the collective knowledge and skill in your classroom. Moral of story #2: Allow activities that "take off" to build into projects, and let the projects evolve naturally based on students' energy and interest. My best, Carey Reid SABES Staff Developer ************************ Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com. ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. From woodsnh at isp.com Mon Mar 19 20:16:10 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:16:10 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Message-ID: <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com> I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > From aalba1 at cox.net Mon Mar 19 21:00:55 2007 From: aalba1 at cox.net (AL) Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 21:00:55 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 823] Re: Project-based learning in GED In-Reply-To: <45FE6D980200002D0000177D@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: Hi All, I am completing a Models Of Teaching course offered by the CEA. The course is the second course of a three course sequence. Upon completing the three courses you receive a Highly Qualified Educator's Certificate. Course 1, Operating in the Borderlands was instructed by Dr. Randall Wright. Course 2, Models of Teaching is instructed by Dr. Bill Muth. Both professors have done a fantastic job. The relevance of the information for Correctional Educators and Administrators is quintessential. The course has helped all who have been actively involved in the course. The following article was written for the course with respect to a problem based mathematics program I am using in my class. The curriculum is the EMPower Mathematics program and is available by Key Curriculum Press. The curriculum engages the students by having them work in groups to solve problems and learn problem solving strategies they can apply in their life. Also, as part of the Models of Teaching course the cohort I was involved in wrote a paper on how teachers can maintain their instructional role in the classroom. The report which was generated from feedback from various listservs (including this one) and will be posted at the CEA WIKI, correctional education, highly qualified educators' link. I hope you find the report as great a value as each of us who have participated in putting it together. Sincerely, Albert Alba, PhD I use the social constructivist approach to mathematics instruction. When using the social constructivist approach the teacher needs to create an instructional environment that fosters students to construct knowledge by assimilating new knowledge through social interactions Social constructivism recognizes that students can learn effectively when working in small groups. A teacher needs to be constantly in tune with the activities and learning of all the group members. The constructivist research also has found that students learn most effectively when they are actively involved in their learning. In addition, a teacher needs to present students' material that is at a suitable level of difficulty. Therefore, the material should be challenging but not overly challenging. Vygotsky classified instruction at the forgoing level at the zone of proximal development (Joyce, Weil, and Calhoon, 2004). The materials selected also need to present students with real life problems, not contrived. By students seeing real life problems the students can recognize the relevancy to learning the material presented. Through metacognition, students learn to reflect on their own thinking and self monitor their thinking. Therefore, teachers need to practice think aloud techniques which allow students to recognize how teachers are thinking and self-reflecting on their thinking. As a mathematics teacher I have been pilot testing for the State Of Rhode Island, the Extending Mathematical Power (EMPower) instructional textbook series. The series are designed to foster students' mathematical thinking by engaging students in active problem solving. Students are involved with independent and cooperative problem solving. The teacher's role using the EMPower series is primarily as a facilitator, although some direct instruction is also used. A teacher's resource book is also presented that allows teachers to examine how to present the material, how to create a classroom environment that promotes collaborative group work, and how to assess students' knowledge. The teacher's resource book provides guidance on how to make the lessons easier or more difficult based on students' backgrounds A detailed explanation of the EMPower series can be found at the following web site: http://adultnumeracy.terc.edu/EMPower_home.html. The teacher is encouraged to show solutions to a problem using numerical, graphical, pictorial, and written representations when feasible. Likewise, students are encouraged to solve a problem with multiple strategies. Students working in groups are also encouraged to display a summary of their group work on newsprint. (Newsprint is a large sheet of paper). The textbook series consists of whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percents, proportions, geometry and measurement, algebra, and data and graphs. In my class I will distribute a lesson packet to each student. I then break students up into groups of 4-5. The reason I do not use groups of 2 is that I want to make sure at least one student in each group is strong in mathematics. If I had to break students into groups of 2, and neither student enjoyed math nor are motivated to do math the results will be detrimental. I also try to break the groups up heterogeneously based on mathematics ability. The opening of the lesson is read aloud by a student. I would then present to the class the general concepts to the lesson. Students would then be either asked to do an activity as a group or independently depending on the nature of the lesson. I monitor the groups to make sure all students are participating. I will present open-ended questions as needed to facilitate students' thinking or to make students' rethink their thinking. If students were working independently, they would be asked to check their work with their group members. I would then randomly select a student from the group to explain the solution to the problem. If a student does not know how to explain his answer he would be asked to call on a lifeline, a member of his group for support. Students are encouraged to help each other if they need assistance, but they must explain how to solve the problem not just give an answer. Both the tutor and tutee benefit from this communication. The student who is doing the explanation must review his own thought processes when he is explaining to the tutee. I will monitor what the tutor is saying to ensure the instruction is correct. All students are asked to complete the unit exam independently. The class then reviews the exam collectively. When a student is called on he cannot just give me the answer he must explain how he came up with the answer. Students are also encouraged to show multiple strategies to solve a problem. Some questions require students to write out their responses and to justify their response. As a teacher I will also encourage dialogue on the math problems solved with respect to the relevancy of the problem to students' lives. My students have found this method of instruction of great value. The students enjoy working in groups in a non-threatening atmosphere. The students also enjoy working with data and problem tasks that are meaningful to them. By students using multiple modalities in solving problems students gain a connection between multiple representations. Through students' engagement in active problem solving students are assuming the roles of applying math skills to solve math problems as they would in real life. In conclusion, by students involved in collaborative group work on mathematical problems that are relevant to students' lives, students are motivated to learn mathematics and are developing critical thinking and communication skills needed throughout their lives. A lesson sampler of the Empower series can be obtained from the Key Curriculum Press web site: www.keypress.com/x5153.xml. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 11:02 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 820] Project-based learning in GED Hi Everyone, In response to last week's FOB Article-of-the-Week, a list member recommended a good example of project-based work in a GED program, and I am passing on this description of the project from the teacher. You can also read about it in Volume 14 of "Field Notes" at the following link: Using Authentic Materials in an ABE Writing Class By David Stearns and Carey Reid http://www.sabes.org/resources/publications/fieldnotes/vol14/fn142.pdf All the best, Julie ******************** Here is an account of the project from teacher Carey Reid: "I've been asked to describe some project-based learning that David Stearns and I (Carey Reid) developed in a preGED writing class at the Adult Learning Program in Jamaica Plain (Boston), Massachusetts. David and I wanted to push as hard as we could with authentic materials--ie, using newspapers, journal articles, Webpages--in the classroom. We picked pieces of high student interest based on oral surveys with the class: Jack Johnson, how to discipline children, how to set up a living will. The Students would read aloud the pieces taking turns with paragraphs. We noticed that after three readings, two aloud and one more in small groups, just about every student "got it," even with the most challenging articles. With unfamiliar vocabulary, usually one student knew or could guess at the word; non-native English speakers were pretty good with roots too (e.g., a Greek-born student figured out that "virulent" had something to do with strength.) Normally, we asked students to summarize pieces down to one paragraph in small groups. Then, we'd class-edit for a "best composite summary." We often provided several choices of scaffolding sentences to stimulate the writing of a second paragraph (e.g., "I found this article interesting because...", or "I agree/do not agree with this article because..."). As we got more confident in students' (often underestimated) abilities, we pushed the envelope toward more challenging pieces. We even brought in the FOB article summarizing the learner persistence study, and they got that too. In fact, their second paragraph was to report if any of the study's four key supports for persistence applied to them. We used student sentences and paragraphs as "authentic" materials for all grammar, mechanics, and organization activities--e.g., sharing excerpts and asking peers to correct, sometimes in whole class format, and required that they supply grammar rules. As long as we didn't dema nd an academic style rule, we found that somewhere in the room someone knew the rule ("The sentences doesn't say the whole thing she meant.") The next logical step was project-based learning. Our most successful one unfolded this way. We read an article on a Boston city council election in which blacks and Latinos turned out in big numbers and elected minority candidates. The students wanted to know more about what a city councilor is and does. We provided a GED-like essay activity that began with a provided thesis statement scaffold: "The three most important duties of a Boston City Councilor are...." The students got excited about councilors in general and the new candidates in particular and decided to invite them to our class. We decided to write letters to the two Jamaica Plain councilors, so we did activities around formal letter formats. Students group-wrote the letters in two groups and we used a laptop and LCD projector to agree on a best composite draft. Councilor Maura Hennigan accepted our invitation. Now we needed questions to ask her, and that provided great activities for a couple of classes. Now, each student had a question to ask (and some were doozies: "Why are their potholes on my street and not in ------ where you live?") David and I contacted the JP Gazette and asked the editor, Sandy Storey, if the students could write a report on the visit. She agreed and sent a photographer the night of. Maura came and did a great job, totally honest ("There are no potholes on my street because I'm a squeaky wheel. Do you know that expression? Well, you need to be one to get your potholes filled.") The students forgot to take notes, so David and I did and gave them to them later. Eight learners took on the task of developing a draft; we group-edited it with the LCD projector; we made the Gazette deadline and the article was printed, with all the students' names as writers. Another project was for a summer-term 6-week class with nine learners. We surveyed and came up with a research topic, college financial aid. We set up a project that evolved into computer keyboarding, search engine use, narrowing searches, and note-taking from downloaded webpages. We thought we'd be gathering information only, but some students noticed that almost all the college sites emphasized coming in and talking to an admissions counselor. So, we stopped and made up Action Plans, including making appointments, finding directions, and taking notes. Two students had followed through by summer's end and made oral reports to the class. One enrolled in community college that fall, starting with their remediation classes. Moral of story #1: Assume you are underestimating the collective knowledge and skill in your classroom. Moral of story #2: Allow activities that "take off" to build into projects, and let the projects evolve naturally based on students' energy and interest. My best, Carey Reid SABES Staff Developer ************************ Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to aalba1 at cox.net. From Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us Tue Mar 20 08:38:31 2007 From: Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us (Brown, Charlene) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 08:38:31 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 824] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com> Message-ID: What happens to the kids who graduate before they are 18? Would they be entitled to services until they are 18? Charlene Brown, Coordinator, Adult Basic Education Jefferson County Public Schools Adult Basic Education Ahrens Resource Center 546 S. 1ST St. Suite 203 Louisville KY 40202-1816 Phone: 502-485-3797 Fax: 502-485-7812 Email: charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 8:16 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. From smcshane at famlit.org Tue Mar 20 09:47:58 2007 From: smcshane at famlit.org (Susan McShane) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 09:47:58 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 825] Free reading training Message-ID: <8D8B65FFAE8EE34FB7CF3BFBFAE94DE4034D7B58@SYNNODE2> Greetings! I'm Susan McShane, and I work at the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). I'm writing to announce free training workshops for tutors/instructors that we will be conducting in April and May in three locations: Cleveland, OH; Fredericksburg, VA; and Eau Claire, WI. The dates and local contact information are listed below. This training is part of a NCFL project, funded by Verizon Foundation, involving private community-based literacy organizations. The two-day training on adult reading instruction is described in the attachment. If you are interested in participating in one of these workshops, please make contact with the local staff as soon as possible. Cleveland, Ohio April 12-13, 2007 Contact: Jessica Koppen Program Coordinator Cleveland Reads 216-436-2043 or jkoppen at uws.org Eau Claire, Wisconsin April 26-27, 2007 Contact: Heidi Fisher Executive Director Literacy Volunteers - Chippewa Valley 715-834-0222 or hfisher at lvcv.org Fredericksburg, Virginia May 2-3, 2007 Contact: Catherine Norrell Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center 800-237-0178 or norrellch at vcu.edu . Call or write soon, as space is limited. Susan McShane National Center for Family Literacy 325 West Main Street, Suite 300 Louisville, KY 40202-4237 Phone: 502-584-1133 x175 Fax: 502-584-0172 Email: smcshane at famlit.org Web: http://www.famlit.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070320/cbce5f58/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Verizon Reading training 2-day.doc Type: application/msword Size: 36352 bytes Desc: Verizon Reading training 2-day.doc Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070320/cbce5f58/attachment.doc From night-school at usa.net Tue Mar 20 10:50:42 2007 From: night-school at usa.net (Terri Stone) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:50:42 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 826] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Message-ID: <584LcToxQ5944S10.1174402242@cmsweb10.cms.usa.net> TOUGH CHOICES OR TOUGH TIMES, the report of the new commission on the skills of the American workforce, was released by the National Center on Education and the Economy in December 2006. This report indicates that we, as a country, have fallen behind drastically in our educational output and our global workforce development. It indicates that many of the countries that have surpassed the United States in both categories have done so by drastically changing their educational structure including keeping K-12 students in school longer. The report talks about the need for sweeping systematic changes which will need coordination and support if they are to be enacted effectively and efficiently. Terri Stone, Webster Adult Basic Education, Webster, MA ------ Original Message ------ Received: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:45:07 PM EDT From: Woods To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, > but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to > be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one > dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all > kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to > work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the > average cost per pupil. > > Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It > would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change > the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school > personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up > by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with > compulsary education. > Tom Woods > Community High School of Vermont > > Schneider, Jim wrote: > > >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school > >attendance from 16 to 18. > > > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual > >effects/consequence of this law. > > > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on > >the effects of the law? > > > >Thanks, > > > >Jim > > > > > > > > > >Jim Schneider > >Assistant Dean > >Scott Community College > >Career Assistance Center > >627 W. Second Street > >Davenport, IA 52801 > >(563) 326-5319 phone > >(563) 326-6039 fax > > > >Do not despise the small act. > > > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole > >universe. > > > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > > > >Chan Khong > >---------------------------------------------------- > >National Institute for Literacy > >Focus on Basics mailing list > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to night-school at usa.net. > From Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov Tue Mar 20 12:53:55 2007 From: Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov (Grant, Sandra) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:53:55 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 827] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <584LcToxQ5944S10.1174402242@cmsweb10.cms.usa.net> References: <584LcToxQ5944S10.1174402242@cmsweb10.cms.usa.net> Message-ID: <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196DE6C@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> Terri-- How can we see a copy of this report? Sandi Grant, Utah State Office of Education -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Terri Stone Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:51 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 826] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 TOUGH CHOICES OR TOUGH TIMES, the report of the new commission on the skills of the American workforce, was released by the National Center on Education and the Economy in December 2006. This report indicates that we, as a country, have fallen behind drastically in our educational output and our global workforce development. It indicates that many of the countries that have surpassed the United States in both categories have done so by drastically changing their educational structure including keeping K-12 students in school longer. The report talks about the need for sweeping systematic changes which will need coordination and support if they are to be enacted effectively and efficiently. Terri Stone, Webster Adult Basic Education, Webster, MA ------ Original Message ------ Received: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:45:07 PM EDT From: Woods To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, > but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to > be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one > dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all > kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to > work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the > average cost per pupil. > > Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It > would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change > the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school > personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up > by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with > compulsary education. > Tom Woods > Community High School of Vermont > > Schneider, Jim wrote: > > >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school > >attendance from 16 to 18. > > > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual > >effects/consequence of this law. > > > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on > >the effects of the law? > > > >Thanks, > > > >Jim > > > > > > > > > >Jim Schneider > >Assistant Dean > >Scott Community College > >Career Assistance Center > >627 W. Second Street > >Davenport, IA 52801 > >(563) 326-5319 phone > >(563) 326-6039 fax > > > >Do not despise the small act. > > > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole > >universe. > > > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > > > >Chan Khong > >---------------------------------------------------- > >National Institute for Literacy > >Focus on Basics mailing list > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to night-school at usa.net. > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070320/5a6742f0/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Mar 20 13:13:40 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:13:40 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 828] Re: Project-based learning in GED Message-ID: <45FFDE040200002D00001820@bostongwia.jsi.com> Barb and all, Here is Carey's response to your question: "I could say only anecdotally that it "felt" like these sorts of high-interest projects led to stronger attendance. I can say with certainty that they resulted in higher per-student contribution levels and intensity of effort. Interestingly, we had to be careful because some classes were more open to project-based or more ready for it than others. The next year after our Maura Hennigan success we had to scale back because so many of the students were severely shy and even needy, not ready for group work at all. We had to drop back to individualized instruction on a much higher level." Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> Barbara Garner 03/19/07 1:16 PM >>> Carey, Thanks for sharing your experience. The projects sound fabulous. I'm curious about whether this approach translated into high attendance/retention than you normally expect. Barb Garner Focus on Basics ===================== From: Julie McKinney Date: 2007/03/19 Mon AM 10:01:44 CDT To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 820] Project-based learning in GED Hi Everyone, In response to last week's FOB Article-of-the-Week, a list member recommended a good example of project-based work in a GED program, and I am passing on this description of the project from the teacher. You can also read about it in Volume 14 of "Field Notes" at the following link: Using Authentic Materials in an ABE Writing Class By David Stearns and Carey Reid http://www.sabes.org/resources/publications/fieldnotes/vol14/fn142.pdf All the best, Julie ******************** Here is an account of the project from teacher Carey Reid: "I've been asked to describe some project-based learning that David Stearns and I (Carey Reid) developed in a preGED writing class at the Adult Learning Program in Jamaica Plain (Boston), Massachusetts. David and I wanted to push as hard as we could with authentic materials--ie, using newspapers, journal articles, Webpages--in the classroom. We picked pieces of high student interest based on oral surveys with the class: Jack Johnson, how to discipline children, how to set up a living will. The Students would read aloud the pieces taking turns with paragraphs. We noticed that after three readings, two aloud and one more in small groups, just about every student "got it," even with the most challenging articles. With unfamiliar vocabulary, usually one student knew or could guess at the word; non-native English speakers were pretty good with roots too (e.g., a Greek-born student figured out that "virulent" had something to do with strength.) Normally, we asked students to summarize pieces down to one paragraph in small groups. Then, we'd class-edit for a "best composite summary." We often provided several choices of scaffolding sentences to stimulate the writing of a second paragraph (e.g., "I found this article interesting because...", or "I agree/do not agree with this article because..."). As we got more confident in students' (often underestimated) abilities, we pushed the envelope toward more challenging pieces. We even brought in the FOB article summarizing the learner persistence study, and they got that too. In fact, their second paragraph was to report if any of the study's four key supports for persistence applied to them. We used student sentences and paragraphs as "authentic" materials for all grammar, mechanics, and organization activities--e.g., sharing excerpts and asking peers to correct, sometimes in whole class format, and required that they supply grammar rules. As long as we didn't dema nd an academic style rule, we found that somewhere in the room someone knew the rule ("The sentences doesn't say the whole thing she meant.") The next logical step was project-based learning. Our most successful one unfolded this way. We read an article on a Boston city council election in which blacks and Latinos turned out in big numbers and elected minority candidates. The students wanted to know more about what a city councilor is and does. We provided a GED-like essay activity that began with a provided thesis statement scaffold: "The three most important duties of a Boston City Councilor are...." The students got excited about councilors in general and the new candidates in particular and decided to invite them to our class. We decided to write letters to the two Jamaica Plain councilors, so we did activities around formal letter formats. Students group-wrote the letters in two groups and we used a laptop and LCD projector to agree on a best composite draft. Councilor Maura Hennigan accepted our invitation. Now we needed questions to ask her, and that provided great activities for a couple of classes. Now, each student had a question to ask (and some were doozies: "Why are their potholes on my street and not in ------ where you live?") David and I contacted the JP Gazette and asked the editor, Sandy Storey, if the students could write a report on the visit. She agreed and sent a photographer the night of. Maura came and did a great job, totally honest ("There are no potholes on my street because I'm a squeaky wheel. Do you know that expression? Well, you need to be one to get your potholes filled.") The students forgot to take notes, so David and I did and gave them to them later. Eight learners took on the task of developing a draft; we group-edited it with the LCD projector; we made the Gazette deadline and the article was printed, with all the students' names as writers. Another project was for a summer-term 6-week class with nine learners. We surveyed and came up with a research topic, college financial aid. We set up a project that evolved into computer keyboarding, search engine use, narrowing searches, and note-taking from downloaded webpages. We thought we'd be gathering information only, but some students noticed that almost all the college sites emphasized coming in and talking to an admissions counselor. So, we stopped and made up Action Plans, including making appointments, finding directions, and taking notes. Two students had followed through by summer's end and made oral reports to the class. One enrolled in community college that fall, starting with their remediation classes. Moral of story #1: Assume you are underestimating the collective knowledge and skill in your classroom. Moral of story #2: Allow activities that "take off" to build into projects, and let the projects evolve naturally based on students' energy and interest. My best, Carey Reid SABES Staff Developer ************************ Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov Tue Mar 20 13:23:26 2007 From: Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov (Grant, Sandra) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 11:23:26 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 829] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com> Message-ID: <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196DEFC@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the states. Sandi Grant -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. From jschneider at eicc.edu Tue Mar 20 13:36:44 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:36:44 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 830] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <584LcToxQ5944S10.1174402242@cmsweb10.cms.usa.net> Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87088E8C3B@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Keeping them in school longer will address the issue of educational output amongst those who are in school and learning. While this is a relevant discussion, whether our system overall is keeping up or not is another debate entirely. The population I am focused on are those who have ended up in our Adult Ed. Classrooms pursuing their GED. I'll concede the point that a high school diploma is preferred to the GED... There remains those who are 16 or 17 and have only earned a few credits... What will the school do with them when they are 19 or 20 and still lacking a significant number of credits to graduate? The issue that remains to be answered is what is the effect of adding days or years to the compulsory attendance of those who are already not learning? This was a story on NPR this morning as well... I don't know the answer... But it appears that this compulsory attendance to 18 is more "feel good" legislation that does little to address the root problem. Jim -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Terri Stone Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 9:51 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 826] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 TOUGH CHOICES OR TOUGH TIMES, the report of the new commission on the skills of the American workforce, was released by the National Center on Education and the Economy in December 2006. This report indicates that we, as a country, have fallen behind drastically in our educational output and our global workforce development. It indicates that many of the countries that have surpassed the United States in both categories have done so by drastically changing their educational structure including keeping K-12 students in school longer. The report talks about the need for sweeping systematic changes which will need coordination and support if they are to be enacted effectively and efficiently. Terri Stone, Webster Adult Basic Education, Webster, MA ------ Original Message ------ Received: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:45:07 PM EDT From: Woods To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, > but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were > to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no > one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to > all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult > ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive > than the average cost per pupil. > > Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It > would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change > the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school > personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked > up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop > with compulsary education. > Tom Woods > Community High School of Vermont > > Schneider, Jim wrote: > > >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of > >school attendance from 16 to 18. > > > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual > >effects/consequence of this law. > > > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on > >the effects of the law? > > > >Thanks, > > > >Jim > > > > > > > > > >Jim Schneider > >Assistant Dean > >Scott Community College > >Career Assistance Center > >627 W. Second Street > >Davenport, IA 52801 > >(563) 326-5319 phone > >(563) 326-6039 fax > > > >Do not despise the small act. > > > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole > >universe. > > > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > > > >Chan Khong > >---------------------------------------------------- > >National Institute for Literacy > >Focus on Basics mailing list > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to night-school at usa.net. > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Mar 20 13:49:19 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:49:19 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 831] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Message-ID: <45FFE65F0200002D00001838@bostongwia.jsi.com> Sandi, Can you explain how it changes the face of education? What's the cost/benefit, as you see it? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Grant, Sandra" 03/20/07 1:23 PM >>> Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the states. Sandi Grant -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From night-school at usa.net Tue Mar 20 13:58:56 2007 From: night-school at usa.net (Terri Stone) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:58:56 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 832] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Message-ID: <005LcTR646706S09.1174413536@cmsweb09.cms.usa.net> Hello Sandra: The report can be found at www.skillscommission.org ------ Original Message ------ Received: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 01:17:17 PM EDT From: "Grant, Sandra" To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 827] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > Terri-- How can we see a copy of this report? Sandi Grant, Utah State > Office of Education > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Terri Stone > Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:51 AM > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 826] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > > > > TOUGH CHOICES OR TOUGH TIMES, the report of the new commission on the > skills > > of the American workforce, was released by the National Center on > Education > > and the Economy in December 2006. This report indicates that we, as a > > country, have fallen behind drastically in our educational output and > our > > global workforce development. It indicates that many of the countries > that > > have surpassed the United States in both categories have done so by > > drastically changing their educational structure including keeping K-12 > > students in school longer. The report talks about the need for sweeping > > systematic changes which will need coordination and support if they are > to be > > enacted effectively and efficiently. > > > > Terri Stone, Webster Adult Basic Education, Webster, MA > > > > ------ Original Message ------ > > Received: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:45:07 PM EDT > > From: Woods > > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > > > > > I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, > > > but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were > to > > > be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no > one > > > dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all > > > kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones > to > > > work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the > > > average cost per pupil. > > > > > > Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It > > > would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change > > > > the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school > > > personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked > up > > > by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with > > > compulsary education. > > > Tom Woods > > > Community High School of Vermont > > > > > > Schneider, Jim wrote: > > > > > > >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of > school > > > >attendance from 16 to 18. > > > > > > > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual > > > >effects/consequence of this law. > > > > > > > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on > > > >the effects of the law? > > > > > > > >Thanks, > > > > > > > >Jim > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Jim Schneider > > > >Assistant Dean > > > >Scott Community College > > > >Career Assistance Center > > > >627 W. Second Street > > > >Davenport, IA 52801 > > > >(563) 326-5319 phone > > > >(563) 326-6039 fax > > > > > > > >Do not despise the small act. > > > > > > > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole > > > >universe. > > > > > > > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > > > > > > > >Chan Khong > > > >---------------------------------------------------- > > > >National Institute for Literacy > > > >Focus on Basics mailing list > > > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > > > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > > > National Institute for Literacy > > > Focus on Basics mailing list > > > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > > > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > > Message sent to night-school at usa.net. > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > > National Institute for Literacy > > Focus on Basics mailing list > > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to night-school at usa.net. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Tue Mar 20 14:01:05 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 11:01:05 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 833] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <45FFE65F0200002D00001838@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <45FFE65F0200002D00001838@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: I don't see a big change with this law. Maybe the law will include language such as: or enrolled until 18 or until the student graduates. My daughter graduated at 17 from high school, as I'm sure others do. She was already at the university full time at 18. Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 10:49 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 831] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Sandi, Can you explain how it changes the face of education? What's the cost/benefit, as you see it? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Grant, Sandra" 03/20/07 1:23 PM >>> Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the states. Sandi Grant -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From threedog at cyberport.net Tue Mar 20 16:49:42 2007 From: threedog at cyberport.net (shirley burns) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:49:42 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 834] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <45FFE65F0200002D00001838@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <45FFE65F0200002D00001838@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <003301c76b31$496258a0$dc2709e0$@net> How does Utha's law change the face of adult education? Do you mean they have to be an adult before they can enter ABE. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11:49 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 831] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Sandi, Can you explain how it changes the face of education? What's the cost/benefit, as you see it? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Grant, Sandra" 03/20/07 1:23 PM >>> Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the states. Sandi Grant -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to threedog at cyberport.net. From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Tue Mar 20 18:03:37 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 15:03:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 835] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Message-ID: <993637.7347.qm@web83301.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> I don't know how it would change the face of Adult Education, but it's no news to anyone that ABE programs have become increasingly developmental high schools, to the sometime dismay of the "adults" who also attend, and don't feel terribly reached. We have the same dilemma with the under-preparedness of traditional students, and the familiar dilemmas of non-traditional students. Bonnie Odiorne ----- Original Message ---- From: shirley burns To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 4:49:42 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 834] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 How does Utha's law change the face of adult education? Do you mean they have to be an adult before they can enter ABE. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11:49 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 831] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Sandi, Can you explain how it changes the face of education? What's the cost/benefit, as you see it? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Grant, Sandra" 03/20/07 1:23 PM >>> Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the states. Sandi Grant -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to threedog at cyberport.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070320/0c56187a/attachment.html From Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov Tue Mar 20 18:11:29 2007 From: Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov (Grant, Sandra) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:11:29 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 836] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <45FFE65F0200002D00001838@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <45FFE65F0200002D00001838@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196E35E@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> This has been the rule since I was in high school and is not a new ruling. So, it would difficult for me to say what the cost/benefit I have only been at the state office for 10 years. I do know that there is an effort to keep students in school longer and money is allocated accordingly to the number of students that remain in the K-12 system. So, schools work hard to keep students in class through grade 12. But Utah is still one of the lowest $ spent on students per year. Sandi -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11:49 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 831] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Sandi, Can you explain how it changes the face of education? What's the cost/benefit, as you see it? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Grant, Sandra" 03/20/07 1:23 PM >>> Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the states. Sandi Grant -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. From Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov Tue Mar 20 18:25:41 2007 From: Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov (Grant, Sandra) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:25:41 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 837] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <003301c76b31$496258a0$dc2709e0$@net> References: <45FFE65F0200002D00001838@bostongwia.jsi.com> <003301c76b31$496258a0$dc2709e0$@net> Message-ID: <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196E383@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> Because of the law we accept those students that are 17 and older whose class has graduated. We can accept dropouts if they have a letter from the school's superintendent stated that he/she is no longer in the K-12 system and a similar letter from the parent or guardian. As a result we do not give GED tests to 16 year olds. And if their class has not graduated they must also have letters from the superintendent and parents before they can take a GED test. Sandi -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of shirley burns Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 2:50 PM To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' Subject: [FocusOnBasics 834] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 How does Utha's law change the face of adult education? Do you mean they have to be an adult before they can enter ABE. -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11:49 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 831] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Sandi, Can you explain how it changes the face of education? What's the cost/benefit, as you see it? Thanks, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Grant, Sandra" 03/20/07 1:23 PM >>> Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the states. Sandi Grant -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to threedog at cyberport.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. From Khinson at almanid.com Tue Mar 20 20:18:39 2007 From: Khinson at almanid.com (Katrina Hinson) Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:18:39 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 838] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87088E8C3B@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> References: <584LcToxQ5944S10.1174402242@cmsweb10.cms.usa.net> <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB87088E8C3B@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Message-ID: <46004193.121D.00A0.0@almanid.com> I agree. I don't think the real issues are being or will be addressed. I see my population in Adult Ed - and I teach both a GED class from 8-12 and then AHS American and British Literature - both classes show students getting younger. I see students coming in with little to no credits and opting for AHS over the GED. I see people who've dropped out of school and "bought" a diploma online only to find out it wasn't accredited and basically is useless in any program on campus and they still end up with us - upon viewing their transcripts I see students who failed remedial classes in high school more than once. I see students not making progress up - but spiralling downard - failing more classes than they pass. Something is wrong somewhere. Talk about increasing output is really meaningless if our student population and future workforce can't carry on intelligent conversation - if they can't think beyond the obvious - see beyond the current moment. The diploma whether it is a GED or AHSD is not very valued or valuable if the person can't use the education they have obtained or if the education they have obtained is substandard and under par. We've created standards in our program over the last year - and as we've implemented we've encounted strong resistance from the younger students who truly thought it would be "easy" to get their AHSD in our program. The concept of still having to work, or even do homework or take notes or participate in a discussion gets flashes of anger, rage and even hostility. Is this really the workforce we want for tomorrow. The issue of compulsory education isn't going to change the underlying issue of whether or not the current model of education truly works for all students. Perhaps part of the problem is having all educational programs in the public school system look exactly alike. One of my own personal pet peeves is the move to a 4 x 4 block schedule at every high school in my state. If a student is already struggling mathematically or even with reading etc, in 8th grade, and then they are dumped into a 4 x 4 schedule where they now have 18 weeks rather than 36 to learn material - tell me that makes sense? I see all too often those struggling students just simply quit because they can't learn it at that pace. Sometimes it looks as if we've moved to a one size fits all approach in public education in the K-12 system - a system that doesn't always or perhaps isn't equipped for multiple learning styles. Sometimes I wonder if a better working relationship between K-12 and Adult Education programs might see better results that what sometimes seems to be a competition between the two systems. Regards, Katrina Hinson >>> "Schneider, Jim" 3/20/2007 1:36 pm >>> Keeping them in school longer will address the issue of educational output amongst those who are in school and learning. While this is a relevant discussion, whether our system overall is keeping up or not is another debate entirely. The population I am focused on are those who have ended up in our Adult Ed. Classrooms pursuing their GED. I'll concede the point that a high school diploma is preferred to the GED... There remains those who are 16 or 17 and have only earned a few credits... What will the school do with them when they are 19 or 20 and still lacking a significant number of credits to graduate? The issue that remains to be answered is what is the effect of adding days or years to the compulsory attendance of those who are already not learning? This was a story on NPR this morning as well... I don't know the answer... But it appears that this compulsory attendance to 18 is more "feel good" legislation that does little to address the root problem. Jim -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Terri Stone Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 9:51 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 826] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 TOUGH CHOICES OR TOUGH TIMES, the report of the new commission on the skills of the American workforce, was released by the National Center on Education and the Economy in December 2006. This report indicates that we, as a country, have fallen behind drastically in our educational output and our global workforce development. It indicates that many of the countries that have surpassed the United States in both categories have done so by drastically changing their educational structure including keeping K-12 students in school longer. The report talks about the need for sweeping systematic changes which will need coordination and support if they are to be enacted effectively and efficiently. Terri Stone, Webster Adult Basic Education, Webster, MA ------ Original Message ------ Received: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:45:07 PM EDT From: Woods To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, > but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were > to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no > one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to > all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult > ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive > than the average cost per pupil. > > Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It > would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change > the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school > personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked > up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop > with compulsary education. > Tom Woods > Community High School of Vermont > > Schneider, Jim wrote: > > >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of > >school attendance from 16 to 18. > > > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual > >effects/consequence of this law. > > > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on > >the effects of the law? > > > >Thanks, > > > >Jim > > > > > > > > > >Jim Schneider > >Assistant Dean > >Scott Community College > >Career Assistance Center > >627 W. Second Street > >Davenport, IA 52801 > >(563) 326-5319 phone > >(563) 326-6039 fax > > > >Do not despise the small act. > > > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole > >universe. > > > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > > > >Chan Khong > >---------------------------------------------------- > >National Institute for Literacy > >Focus on Basics mailing list > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to night-school at usa.net. > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to khinson at almanid.com. From woodsnh at isp.com Tue Mar 20 22:05:11 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:05:11 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 839] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196DEFC@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com> <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196DEFC@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> Message-ID: <460092D7.4030909@isp.com> I'm curious, Sandi, about your remark that compulsary education doesn''t stop dropouts. That doesn't make sense to me. If it's compulsary, how can there be dropouts? What am I missing? Does it delay their dropping out to age 18? Tom Woods Grant, Sandra wrote: >Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. >It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that >much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the >states. >Sandi Grant > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > >I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, >but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to >be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one >dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all >kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to > >work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the >average cost per pupil. > >Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It >would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change >the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school >personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up >by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with >compulsary education. >Tom Woods >Community High School of Vermont > >Schneider, Jim wrote: > > > >>A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >>attendance from 16 to 18. >> >>I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >>effects/consequence of this law. >> >>Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >>the effects of the law? >> >>Thanks, >> >>Jim >> >> >> >> >>Jim Schneider >>Assistant Dean >>Scott Community College >>Career Assistance Center >>627 W. Second Street >>Davenport, IA 52801 >>(563) 326-5319 phone >>(563) 326-6039 fax >> >>Do not despise the small act. >> >>Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >>universe. >> >>Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. >> >>Chan Khong >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> >> >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > >>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> >> >> >> >> >> >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > From ropteacher at gmail.com Tue Mar 20 22:09:45 2007 From: ropteacher at gmail.com (Gloria Fuentes) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:09:45 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 840] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com> Message-ID: <38914de00703201909i1814e765xe24ef1f3e6ab3d7f@mail.gmail.com> I am teach an ROP/GED-Preparation class in California. They are supposed to stay in school until the age of 18 in California.For some reason they can attend my school and not be in trouble with the law. I teach 16 to 21 year olds. But--the minors under the age of 18 cannot get a work permit unless they are in a regular high school. They also cannot take the actual GED test until they are 60 days from turning 18 years of age. Some of my students are very hard to reach, some of them are only there so that the parent can continue receiving their section 8 or whatever other public assistance they are getting. But--not all of them, some of them truly want to get an education and get their GEDs to go on to college. Then there are some that I am sad to say are just never going to make it through the GED because they don't put their all into learning. They get easily frustrated no matter what I try with them, but they continue coming back for some reason. Sometimes I think our classroom is maybe a safe place for them to come during the day. I work with at risk students so it can really be a challenge some days. Some days I want to pull my hair out but then there are the other days when a kid makes a break through or catches on to something that he/she just wasn't getting. Okay I am rambling. Just had to share though. On 3/19/07, Woods wrote: > > I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, > but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to > be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one > dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all > kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to > work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the > average cost per pupil. > > Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It > would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change > the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school > personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up > by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with > compulsary education. > Tom Woods > Community High School of Vermont > > Schneider, Jim wrote: > > >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school > >attendance from 16 to 18. > > > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual > >effects/consequence of this law. > > > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on > >the effects of the law? > > > >Thanks, > > > >Jim > > > > > > > > > >Jim Schneider > >Assistant Dean > >Scott Community College > >Career Assistance Center > >627 W. Second Street > >Davenport, IA 52801 > >(563) 326-5319 phone > >(563) 326-6039 fax > > > >Do not despise the small act. > > > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole > >universe. > > > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > > > >Chan Khong > >---------------------------------------------------- > >National Institute for Literacy > >Focus on Basics mailing list > >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to ropteacher at gmail.com. > -- Gloria Fuentes -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070320/787f2448/attachment.html From aalba1 at cox.net Tue Mar 20 22:33:34 2007 From: aalba1 at cox.net (AL) Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 22:33:34 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 841] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I work at the RI Department of Corrections. Compulsory education is not required. In fact many of our students who would like to attend class at the Minimum Security facility where I work can not since there is the requirement that the facility is a working building. You may ask what does a working building mandate? Good question. I have questioned the educational administration and correctional administration why many students can not attend class instead of working menial jobs? I am told this building is a working building. Therefore it is first priority to have all inmates work in this facility. A young man today in an IEP asked, Why do I have to pick up litter if I need to attend class to get my GED? I thought this was a great question. I congratulated the man for asking such a great question. The chairman of the IEP said he would try to get the young man pulled from his job so he can attend class. I then mentioned a policy should be in place to allow all students to attend class who want to obtain their GED instead of working if they so desire. The coordinator said this was not the time to discuss such issues. I added as an educator it saddens me to see young men who want to attend class and who are forced to work menial jobs such as pick up trash or work at a landfill. I previously investigated if there were any correctional programs that mandate GED classes for students who are capable of getting their GED. I did find that New York's Department of Corrections mandates education for all its inmates who do not have their GED. Also, the New York Department of Education has a curricula in vocational education. The vocational Program lead to licensed trades such as plumbing and electrical work. I asked our Educational Department, "Could our faculty visit New York's Department of Corrections Educational Program ? I was told, your job is to teach GED. We were also told there is no money available for out of state travel. For the last year and one half none of our teachers have been allowed out of state travel for conferences or professional development. I have recently been invited to serve on a panel at the International Correctional Association's upcoming conference and have been denied by the administration due to what I was told state budget cuts. I was told there is no state funding for out of state travel. Yet, our administrators have been able to attend conferences outside the state. In fact one of our administrators is being sent to the CAE International Conference. I would be even willing to share a room with him. I guess the state feels they are justified in spending money to send administrators on conferences and professional meetings outside the state, but for whatever reason they do not feel there is money that can be justly spent for its teachers. Dr. Albert Alba Academic Instructor RI Department of Corrections -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Brown, Charlene Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:39 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 824] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 What happens to the kids who graduate before they are 18? Would they be entitled to services until they are 18? Charlene Brown, Coordinator, Adult Basic Education Jefferson County Public Schools Adult Basic Education Ahrens Resource Center 546 S. 1ST St. Suite 203 Louisville KY 40202-1816 Phone: 502-485-3797 Fax: 502-485-7812 Email: charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 8:16 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the average cost per pupil. Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with compulsary education. Tom Woods Community High School of Vermont Schneider, Jim wrote: >A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >attendance from 16 to 18. > >I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >effects/consequence of this law. > >Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >the effects of the law? > >Thanks, > >Jim > > > > >Jim Schneider >Assistant Dean >Scott Community College >Career Assistance Center >627 W. Second Street >Davenport, IA 52801 >(563) 326-5319 phone >(563) 326-6039 fax > >Do not despise the small act. > >Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >universe. > >Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. > >Chan Khong >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to aalba1 at cox.net. From jataylor at utk.edu Wed Mar 21 10:58:00 2007 From: jataylor at utk.edu (Taylor, Jackie) Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:58:00 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 842] Register now for ProLiteracy's Northwest Regional Institute! Message-ID: Dear List Colleagues: The following message is posted on behalf of Kathy St. John, Regional Institute Coordinator for ProLiteracy America. I thought you would be interested to know that the deadline to apply to participate in the Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability Project has been extended to March 31,2007. Looks like they have some exciting workshops lined up for project participants that should be of interest to a broad audience. Have a great day! Best wishes, Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator, jataylor at utk.edu ========================================================== Register now for ProLiteracy's Northwest Regional Institute! May 10-11, 2007 University Place, Portland, Oregon (http://www.pdx.edu/cegs/uplace.html) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Featuring two 9-hour, intensive, hands-on workshops: The ABCs of Adult Student Engagement: Active Learning, Building Community, and Contextualized Instruction Performance Accountability Initiative: Data Collection and Management The Performance Accountability Initiative is funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Please note: The Performance Accountability Initiative training is part of the Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability Project. Programs must be accepted as project participants in order to attend. Contact Melanie Daniels (mdaniels at proliteracy.org) for special application materials. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Please visit ProLiteracy's website at www.proliteracy.org/news/index.asp?aid=229 to register and download the Northwest Regional Institute brochure containing detailed information about the Institute. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The deadline to apply to participate in the Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability Project has been extended to March 31,2007. The deadline to register for the ABCs of Adult Student Engagement is May 1, 2007. The deadline to register for the discounted hotel room rate is April 27,2007. Space is limited so be sure to register early! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This professional development opportunity is supported by: Dollar General Literacy Foundation Anchorage Literacy Project Literacy Network of Washington Kathy St. John Regional Institute Coordinator ProLiteracy America -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070321/65ba311b/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Mar 21 11:33:02 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:33:02 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 843] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Youth Cultural Competence Message-ID: <460117EF0200002D00001879@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, It has been interesting to share thoughts from around the country about the prospect of compulsory education to age 18. This discussion, along with some of what we discussed on transitioning from GED to PSE, highlights the need and also the challenges of reaching young adults effectively to encourage further education and skills training. In order to further explore this issue, this week's FOB Article-of-the-Week is about using lessons from the past, and best practices in efforts to achieve better outcomes with youth. It is from issue 7A, which is dedicated to exploring ABE issues for youth. Youth Cultural Competence: A Pathway for Achieving Outcomes with Youth by Josh Weber http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=126 As the adult basic education (ABE) system serves increasing numbers of young adult learners, the ABE community should learn from the mistakes of past programmatic efforts to serve this population. In this article, Josh reviews the challenges experienced by the youth employment and training field likely to be relevant for the ABE community and discuss an innovative programmatic framework ? Youth Cultural Competence ? for addressing these concerns. Please read the article and share comments as we continue discussing strategies for youth and transitions. All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov Wed Mar 21 16:21:02 2007 From: Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov (Grant, Sandra) Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:21:02 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 844] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <460092D7.4030909@isp.com> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com><5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196DEFC@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> <460092D7.4030909@isp.com> Message-ID: <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD002990019ABCF1@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> Unfortunately no-- there are many who for one reason or another drop out of school- some because of problems at home and they need to stay at home to help or work. The unemployment rate is very low in Utah right now and almost anyone who turns 16 and wants a job can get one. Most of the job they are getting to not require a high school diploma or GED, also many are asked to leave school for a variety of reasons. It's hard to say exactly what the drop out rate is because most of the numbers are taken from 11th to 12th grade. We are finding that in adult education many of these students dropped out of school in the 9th or 10th grade to go to work or for other reasons. The school boards are not keep track of these students. Sandi -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:05 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 839] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I'm curious, Sandi, about your remark that compulsary education doesn''t stop dropouts. That doesn't make sense to me. If it's compulsary, how can there be dropouts? What am I missing? Does it delay their dropping out to age 18? Tom Woods Grant, Sandra wrote: >Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. >It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that >much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the >states. >Sandi Grant > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > >I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, >but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to >be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one >dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all >kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to > >work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the >average cost per pupil. > >Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It >would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change >the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school >personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up >by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with >compulsary education. >Tom Woods >Community High School of Vermont > >Schneider, Jim wrote: > > > >>A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >>attendance from 16 to 18. >> >>I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >>effects/consequence of this law. >> >>Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >>the effects of the law? >> >>Thanks, >> >>Jim >> >> >> >> >>Jim Schneider >>Assistant Dean >>Scott Community College >>Career Assistance Center >>627 W. Second Street >>Davenport, IA 52801 >>(563) 326-5319 phone >>(563) 326-6039 fax >> >>Do not despise the small act. >> >>Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >>universe. >> >>Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. >> >>Chan Khong >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> >> >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > >>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> >> >> >> >> >> >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. From tarv at chemeketa.edu Wed Mar 21 21:09:22 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:09:22 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 845] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD002990019ABCF1@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com><5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196DEFC@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us><460092D7.4030909@isp.com> <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD002990019ABCF1@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> Message-ID: I don't understand the comment about if we have compulsory ed why would we have drop outs...don't we have compulsory ed now AND about 25% drop out rate? Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Grant, Sandra Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 1:21 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 844] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Unfortunately no-- there are many who for one reason or another drop out of school- some because of problems at home and they need to stay at home to help or work. The unemployment rate is very low in Utah right now and almost anyone who turns 16 and wants a job can get one. Most of the job they are getting to not require a high school diploma or GED, also many are asked to leave school for a variety of reasons. It's hard to say exactly what the drop out rate is because most of the numbers are taken from 11th to 12th grade. We are finding that in adult education many of these students dropped out of school in the 9th or 10th grade to go to work or for other reasons. The school boards are not keep track of these students. Sandi -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:05 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 839] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I'm curious, Sandi, about your remark that compulsary education doesn''t stop dropouts. That doesn't make sense to me. If it's compulsary, how can there be dropouts? What am I missing? Does it delay their dropping out to age 18? Tom Woods Grant, Sandra wrote: >Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. >It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that >much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the >states. >Sandi Grant > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > >I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, >but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to >be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one >dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all >kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to > >work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the >average cost per pupil. > >Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It >would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change >the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school >personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up >by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with >compulsary education. >Tom Woods >Community High School of Vermont > >Schneider, Jim wrote: > > > >>A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >>attendance from 16 to 18. >> >>I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >>effects/consequence of this law. >> >>Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >>the effects of the law? >> >>Thanks, >> >>Jim >> >> >> >> >>Jim Schneider >>Assistant Dean >>Scott Community College >>Career Assistance Center >>627 W. Second Street >>Davenport, IA 52801 >>(563) 326-5319 phone >>(563) 326-6039 fax >> >>Do not despise the small act. >> >>Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >>universe. >> >>Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. >> >>Chan Khong >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> >> >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > >>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> >> >> >> >> >> >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us Thu Mar 22 13:05:15 2007 From: Charlene.Brown at Jefferson.kyschools.us (Brown, Charlene) Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 13:05:15 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 846] Re: Free reading training In-Reply-To: <8D8B65FFAE8EE34FB7CF3BFBFAE94DE4034D7B58@SYNNODE2> Message-ID: Susan, I want to do a literacy/reading training for my volunteer tutors here in Jefferson County. Any chance that we could work together to develop a one day training based on your research? Charlene Brown, Coordinator, Adult Basic Education Jefferson County Public Schools Adult Basic Education Ahrens Resource Center 546 S. 1ST St. Suite 203 Louisville KY 40202-1816 Phone: 502-485-3797 Fax: 502-485-7812 Email: charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Susan McShane Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 9:48 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 825] Free reading training Greetings! I'm Susan McShane, and I work at the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). I'm writing to announce free training workshops for tutors/instructors that we will be conducting in April and May in three locations: Cleveland, OH; Fredericksburg, VA; and Eau Claire, WI. The dates and local contact information are listed below. This training is part of a NCFL project, funded by Verizon Foundation, involving private community-based literacy organizations. The two-day training on adult reading instruction is described in the attachment. If you are interested in participating in one of these workshops, please make contact with the local staff as soon as possible. Cleveland, Ohio April 12-13, 2007 Contact: Jessica Koppen Program Coordinator Cleveland Reads 216-436-2043 or jkoppen at uws.org Eau Claire, Wisconsin April 26-27, 2007 Contact: Heidi Fisher Executive Director Literacy Volunteers - Chippewa Valley 715-834-0222 or hfisher at lvcv.org Fredericksburg, Virginia May 2-3, 2007 Contact: Catherine Norrell Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center 800-237-0178 or norrellch at vcu.edu . Call or write soon, as space is limited. Susan McShane National Center for Family Literacy 325 West Main Street, Suite 300 Louisville, KY 40202-4237 Phone: 502-584-1133 x175 Fax: 502-584-0172 Email: smcshane at famlit.org Web: http://www.famlit.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070322/391fba07/attachment.html From mjjerdems at yahoo.com Fri Mar 23 09:34:36 2007 From: mjjerdems at yahoo.com (Mary Jane Jerde) Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 06:34:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 847] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <339291.30706.qm@web54008.mail.yahoo.com> The problem is enforcing the laws, as far as those who disappear before they are 16. They simply stop attending school. Those who leave school between 16 and graduation are also dropouts. Mary Jane Jerde Virginia Tardaewether wrote: I don't understand the comment about if we have compulsory ed why would we have drop outs...don't we have compulsory ed now AND about 25% drop out rate? Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Grant, Sandra Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 1:21 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 844] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 Unfortunately no-- there are many who for one reason or another drop out of school- some because of problems at home and they need to stay at home to help or work. The unemployment rate is very low in Utah right now and almost anyone who turns 16 and wants a job can get one. Most of the job they are getting to not require a high school diploma or GED, also many are asked to leave school for a variety of reasons. It's hard to say exactly what the drop out rate is because most of the numbers are taken from 11th to 12th grade. We are finding that in adult education many of these students dropped out of school in the 9th or 10th grade to go to work or for other reasons. The school boards are not keep track of these students. Sandi -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:05 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 839] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 I'm curious, Sandi, about your remark that compulsary education doesn''t stop dropouts. That doesn't make sense to me. If it's compulsary, how can there be dropouts? What am I missing? Does it delay their dropping out to age 18? Tom Woods Grant, Sandra wrote: >Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. >It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed that >much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the >states. >Sandi Grant > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > >I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, >but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to >be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one >dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all >kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones to > >work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the >average cost per pupil. > >Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It >would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change >the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school >personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up >by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with >compulsary education. >Tom Woods >Community High School of Vermont > >Schneider, Jim wrote: > > > >>A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >>attendance from 16 to 18. >> >>I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >>effects/consequence of this law. >> >>Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >>the effects of the law? >> >>Thanks, >> >>Jim >> >> >> >> >>Jim Schneider >>Assistant Dean >>Scott Community College >>Career Assistance Center >>627 W. Second Street >>Davenport, IA 52801 >>(563) 326-5319 phone >>(563) 326-6039 fax >> >>Do not despise the small act. >> >>Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >>universe. >> >>Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. >> >>Chan Khong >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> >> >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > >>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> >> >> >> >> >> >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to mjjerdems at yahoo.com. --------------------------------- The fish are biting. Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070323/62e47fdf/attachment.html From woodsnh at isp.com Fri Mar 23 20:59:16 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:59:16 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 848] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com><5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196DEFC@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us><460092D7.4030909@isp.com> <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD002990019ABCF1@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> Message-ID: <460477E4.3070600@isp.com> My entire student body is composed of former dropouts who have re-engaged because of compulsary education until the age of 22 while in the state prison system. I can't think of a single one who dropped out before turning 16, the age when education was no longer compulsary for them in the free world. So I guess what I was thinking when I last wrote was that school is not compulsary for the vast majority of those who drop out. Compulsary education, therefore, is pretty effective in keeping kids in school. By raising the age to 18 many more should stay in school until they graduate, or until they turn 18 and then they drop out. If they're dropping out before they reach the designated age, then somebody should be going out and dragging them back in to school, enforcing the law, or repealing it. Tom Woods Virginia Tardaewether wrote: >I don't understand the comment about if we have compulsory ed why would >we have drop outs...don't we have compulsory ed now AND about 25% drop >out rate? >Va > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Grant, Sandra >Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 1:21 PM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 844] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > >Unfortunately no-- there are many who for one reason or another drop out >of school- some because of problems at home and they need to stay at >home to help or work. The unemployment rate is very low in Utah right >now and almost anyone who turns 16 and wants a job can get one. Most of >the job they are getting to not require a high school diploma or GED, >also many are asked to leave school for a variety of reasons. It's hard >to say exactly what the drop out rate is because most of the numbers are >taken from 11th to 12th grade. We are finding that in adult education >many of these students dropped out of school in the 9th or 10th grade to >go to work or for other reasons. The school boards are not keep track of >these students. Sandi > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:05 PM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 839] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > >I'm curious, Sandi, about your remark that compulsary education doesn''t > >stop dropouts. That doesn't make sense to me. If it's compulsary, how >can there be dropouts? What am I missing? Does it delay their dropping >out to age 18? >Tom Woods > > >Grant, Sandra wrote: > > > >>Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. >>It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed >> >> >that > > >>much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the >>states. >>Sandi Grant >> >>-----Original Message----- >>From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >>[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >>Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM >>To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 >> >>I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, >>but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to >> >> > > > >>be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one >> >> > > > >>dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all >>kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones >> >> >to > > >>work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the >>average cost per pupil. >> >>Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It >>would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change >>the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school >>personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up >> >> > > > >>by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with >>compulsary education. >>Tom Woods >>Community High School of Vermont >> >>Schneider, Jim wrote: >> >> >> >> >> >>>A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >>>attendance from 16 to 18. >>> >>>I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >>>effects/consequence of this law. >>> >>>Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >>>the effects of the law? >>> >>>Thanks, >>> >>>Jim >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>Jim Schneider >>>Assistant Dean >>>Scott Community College >>>Career Assistance Center >>>627 W. Second Street >>>Davenport, IA 52801 >>>(563) 326-5319 phone >>>(563) 326-6039 fax >>> >>>Do not despise the small act. >>> >>>Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >>>universe. >>> >>>Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. >>> >>>Chan Khong >>>---------------------------------------------------- >>>National Institute for Literacy >>>Focus on Basics mailing list >>>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>> >>> >>> >>> >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> >> >> >> >>>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> >> >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > >>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> >> >> >> >> >> >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > From varshna at grandecom.net Sat Mar 24 14:31:49 2007 From: varshna at grandecom.net (Varshna Narumanchi-Jackson) Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:31:49 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 849] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <460477E4.3070600@isp.com> Message-ID: Thanks for the good discussion and greetings on this glorious Saturday in Austin, Texas! Isn't there some aspect of compulsory education until the age of 18 that fails to recognize that these are young adults who are fully capable of making their own decisions, informed or otherwise? Compulsory education in a juvenile correctional system or criminal correctional system seems fine since there are limited choices to make in that environment, but -- as noted -- in the free world, one is free to do, frankly, whatever one decides. By insisting that these young adults "stay in school", do we fail to recognize that, for some, "staying in school" is not a goal? It's a neat-sounding slogan but it may be (and is, in my opinion) a barrier to obtaining the final artifact of a K-12 education: an entry-level credential (diploma or its equivalent) for employment or further education. Graduating early, however, is a different spin. If one could get the HS diploma or its equivalent by the time one turned 17 (or 16), one may feel different about why one "stays in school." on 3/23/07 7:59 PM, Woods at woodsnh at isp.com wrote: > My entire student body is composed of former dropouts who have > re-engaged because of compulsary education until the age of 22 while in > the state prison system. I can't think of a single one who dropped out > before turning 16, the age when education was no longer compulsary for > them in the free world. So I guess what I was thinking when I last wrote > was that school is not compulsary for the vast majority of those who > drop out. Compulsary education, therefore, is pretty effective in > keeping kids in school. By raising the age to 18 many more should stay > in school until they graduate, or until they turn 18 and then they drop > out. If they're dropping out before they reach the designated age, then > somebody should be going out and dragging them back in to school, > enforcing the law, or repealing it. > Tom Woods > > Virginia Tardaewether wrote: > >> I don't understand the comment about if we have compulsory ed why would >> we have drop outs...don't we have compulsory ed now AND about 25% drop >> out rate? >> Va >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Grant, Sandra >> Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 1:21 PM >> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 844] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 >> >> Unfortunately no-- there are many who for one reason or another drop out >> of school- some because of problems at home and they need to stay at >> home to help or work. The unemployment rate is very low in Utah right >> now and almost anyone who turns 16 and wants a job can get one. Most of >> the job they are getting to not require a high school diploma or GED, >> also many are asked to leave school for a variety of reasons. It's hard >> to say exactly what the drop out rate is because most of the numbers are >> taken from 11th to 12th grade. We are finding that in adult education >> many of these students dropped out of school in the 9th or 10th grade to >> go to work or for other reasons. The school boards are not keep track of >> these students. Sandi >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:05 PM >> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 839] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 >> >> I'm curious, Sandi, about your remark that compulsary education doesn''t >> >> stop dropouts. That doesn't make sense to me. If it's compulsary, how >> can there be dropouts? What am I missing? Does it delay their dropping >> out to age 18? >> Tom Woods >> >> >> Grant, Sandra wrote: >> >> >> >>> Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. >>> It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed >>> >>> >> that >> >> >>> much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the >>> states. >>> Sandi Grant >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >>> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >>> Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM >>> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >>> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 >>> >>> I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, >>> but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to >>> >>> >> >> >> >>> be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one >>> >>> >> >> >> >>> dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all >>> kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones >>> >>> >> to >> >> >>> work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the >>> average cost per pupil. >>> >>> Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It >>> would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change >>> the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school >>> personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up >>> >>> >> >> >> >>> by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with >>> compulsary education. >>> Tom Woods >>> Community High School of Vermont >>> >>> Schneider, Jim wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>> A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >>>> attendance from 16 to 18. >>>> >>>> I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >>>> effects/consequence of this law. >>>> >>>> Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >>>> the effects of the law? >>>> >>>> Thanks, >>>> >>>> Jim >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Jim Schneider >>>> Assistant Dean >>>> Scott Community College >>>> Career Assistance Center >>>> 627 W. Second Street >>>> Davenport, IA 52801 >>>> (563) 326-5319 phone >>>> (563) 326-6039 fax >>>> >>>> Do not despise the small act. >>>> >>>> Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >>>> universe. >>>> >>>> Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. >>>> >>>> Chan Khong >>>> ---------------------------------------------------- >>>> National Institute for Literacy >>>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>> Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> ---------------------------------------------------- >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >>> ---------------------------------------------------- >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>> >>> >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> >> >>> Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> >> >> >> > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to VARSHNA at grandecom.net. > > From jschneider at eicc.edu Sat Mar 24 23:30:37 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 22:30:37 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 850] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com><5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196DEFC@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us><460092D7.4030909@isp.com> <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD002990019ABCF1@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> <460477E4.3070600@isp.com> Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB876B577F@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Whether schools are enforcing the compulsory attendance likely varies by district and state. And there is little denying that a designated age keeps them in school at least until then. I've yet to see anyone answer my original question - Does raising the compulsory age to 18 have positive effects for enough students to make it worthwhile? My experience in Davenport Iowa is that for the majority of our students it won't... they are behind credits and have been a problem for the school and another 2 years of manditory attendance isn't likely to change them... My fear is that to many will manage to get into more trouble - with school and the courts, create more children that won't be adequately cared for, etc., etc., etc.... Jim S. Scott Community College Davenport IA -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Woods Sent: Fri 3/23/2007 7:59 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 848] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 My entire student body is composed of former dropouts who have re-engaged because of compulsary education until the age of 22 while in the state prison system. I can't think of a single one who dropped out before turning 16, the age when education was no longer compulsary for them in the free world. So I guess what I was thinking when I last wrote was that school is not compulsary for the vast majority of those who drop out. Compulsary education, therefore, is pretty effective in keeping kids in school. By raising the age to 18 many more should stay in school until they graduate, or until they turn 18 and then they drop out. If they're dropping out before they reach the designated age, then somebody should be going out and dragging them back in to school, enforcing the law, or repealing it. Tom Woods Virginia Tardaewether wrote: >I don't understand the comment about if we have compulsory ed why would >we have drop outs...don't we have compulsory ed now AND about 25% drop >out rate? >Va > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Grant, Sandra >Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 1:21 PM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 844] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > >Unfortunately no-- there are many who for one reason or another drop out >of school- some because of problems at home and they need to stay at >home to help or work. The unemployment rate is very low in Utah right >now and almost anyone who turns 16 and wants a job can get one. Most of >the job they are getting to not require a high school diploma or GED, >also many are asked to leave school for a variety of reasons. It's hard >to say exactly what the drop out rate is because most of the numbers are >taken from 11th to 12th grade. We are finding that in adult education >many of these students dropped out of school in the 9th or 10th grade to >go to work or for other reasons. The school boards are not keep track of >these students. Sandi > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:05 PM >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 839] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 > >I'm curious, Sandi, about your remark that compulsary education doesn''t > >stop dropouts. That doesn't make sense to me. If it's compulsary, how >can there be dropouts? What am I missing? Does it delay their dropping >out to age 18? >Tom Woods > > >Grant, Sandra wrote: > > > >>Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs. >>It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed >> >> >that > > >>much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the >>states. >>Sandi Grant >> >>-----Original Message----- >>From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >>[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods >>Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM >>To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 >> >>I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18, >>but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to >> >> > > > >>be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one >> >> > > > >>dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all >>kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones >> >> >to > > >>work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the >>average cost per pupil. >> >>Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It >>would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change >>the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school >>personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up >> >> > > > >>by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with >>compulsary education. >>Tom Woods >>Community High School of Vermont >> >>Schneider, Jim wrote: >> >> >> >> >> >>>A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school >>>attendance from 16 to 18. >>> >>>I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual >>>effects/consequence of this law. >>> >>>Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on >>>the effects of the law? >>> >>>Thanks, >>> >>>Jim >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>Jim Schneider >>>Assistant Dean >>>Scott Community College >>>Career Assistance Center >>>627 W. Second Street >>>Davenport, IA 52801 >>>(563) 326-5319 phone >>>(563) 326-6039 fax >>> >>>Do not despise the small act. >>> >>>Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole >>>universe. >>> >>>Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world. >>> >>>Chan Khong >>>---------------------------------------------------- >>>National Institute for Literacy >>>Focus on Basics mailing list >>>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>> >>> >>> >>> >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> >> >> >> >>>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >>---------------------------------------------------- >>National Institute for Literacy >>Focus on Basics mailing list >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> >> >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > >>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> >> >> >> >> >> >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. Compulsary education, therefore, is pretty effective in keeping kids in school. By raising the age to 18 many more should stay in school until they graduate, or until they turn 18 and then they drop out. If they're dropping out before they reach the designated age, then somebody should be going out and dragging them back in to school, enforcing the law, or repealing it. Tom Woods -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 6732 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070324/f8d8c179/attachment.bin From jataylor at utk.edu Wed Mar 21 10:58:00 2007 From: jataylor at utk.edu (Taylor, Jackie) Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:58:00 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 851] [Assessment 692] Register now for ProLiteracy's Northwest RegionalInstitute! Message-ID: Dear List Colleagues: The following message is posted on behalf of Kathy St. John, Regional Institute Coordinator for ProLiteracy America. I thought you would be interested to know that the deadline to apply to participate in the Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability Project has been extended to March 31,2007. Looks like they have some exciting workshops lined up for project participants that should be of interest to a broad audience. Have a great day! Best wishes, Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator, jataylor at utk.edu ========================================================== Register now for ProLiteracy's Northwest Regional Institute! May 10-11, 2007 University Place, Portland, Oregon (http://www.pdx.edu/cegs/uplace.html) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Featuring two 9-hour, intensive, hands-on workshops: The ABCs of Adult Student Engagement: Active Learning, Building Community, and Contextualized Instruction Performance Accountability Initiative: Data Collection and Management The Performance Accountability Initiative is funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Please note: The Performance Accountability Initiative training is part of the Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability Project. Programs must be accepted as project participants in order to attend. Contact Melanie Daniels (mdaniels at proliteracy.org) for special application materials. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Please visit ProLiteracy's website at www.proliteracy.org/news/index.asp?aid=229 to register and download the Northwest Regional Institute brochure containing detailed information about the Institute. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The deadline to apply to participate in the Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability Project has been extended to March 31,2007. The deadline to register for the ABCs of Adult Student Engagement is May 1, 2007. The deadline to register for the discounted hotel room rate is April 27,2007. Space is limited so be sure to register early! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This professional development opportunity is supported by: Dollar General Literacy Foundation Anchorage Literacy Project Literacy Network of Washington Kathy St. John Regional Institute Coordinator ProLiteracy America -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070321/65ba311b/attachment-0001.html -------------- next part -------------- ------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Assessment mailing list Assessment at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Mar 27 09:35:01 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:35:01 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 852] Distance Education Online Idea Exchange Message-ID: <4608E5450200002D0000199C@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am passing on the following announcement on behalf of Tim Ponder regarding a new online community forum on Distance Education. We have recently discussed self-study, so I think this might be interesting to many. All the best, Julie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Adult Education Professional (AEPRO), a joint project between The Center for Literacy Studies and the Ohio Literacy Resource Center is pleased to announce the Online Idea Exchange. Developed in response to feedback and requests from developers, participants, facilitators and others in the field, The Idea Exchange is a free forum where adult educators interested in Distance Education can share their experience, ideas, questions and knowledge. This forum is designed to be developed by the adult education field. The structure and framework is in place, along with several resources and initial posts to help get the discussion started. Additional content with a focus on how the Adult Education field can utilize Distance Education will be generated by the exchange of ideas; growing as questions are asked, experiences shared, topics created and resources are identified. The platform can easily integrate additional communication tools (wiki, polls, blogs etc). Please share thoughts and ideas you may have on how other tools can be integrated to provide additional services . Please help us develop this community by visiting http://www.aeprofessional.org/community/. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for the resources or opportunities listed at the site please contact DECommunity at literacy.kent.edu. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Mar 27 18:15:00 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:15:00 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 853] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Program Standards Message-ID: <46095F250200002D000019E2@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, A list member recently wrote in and wanted to discuss Standards of Academic Progress. She says: "My college is in the process of revising its SOAP policy and procedures for Adult Education. The current statement is so vague it's useless. We are interested in learning what SOAP policies and procedures Adult Education programs around the country have in place. How do they handle chronic repeaters? What happens to students who are simply not making any progress?" This week's FOB Article, from issue 3C can serve as a beginning to discuss this. A User's Guide to Standards-Based Educational Reform: From Theory to Practice by Regie Stites http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=352 Please share your ideas! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From smcshane at famlit.org Tue Mar 27 16:47:44 2007 From: smcshane at famlit.org (Susan McShane) Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:47:44 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 854] Re: Free reading training References: Message-ID: <8D8B65FFAE8EE34FB7CF3BFBFAE94DE4024E0B5D@SYNNODE2> I would love to do that!. Our Verizon grant will end in May, but let's stay in touch about this. I'm at COABE, but I'll try to remember to ask about this when I get back. ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Brown, Charlene Sent: Thu 3/22/2007 1:05 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 846] Re: Free reading training Susan, I want to do a literacy/reading training for my volunteer tutors here in Jefferson County. Any chance that we could work together to develop a one day training based on your research? Charlene Brown, Coordinator, Adult Basic Education Jefferson County Public Schools Adult Basic Education Ahrens Resource Center 546 S. 1ST St. Suite 203 Louisville KY 40202-1816 Phone: 502-485-3797 Fax: 502-485-7812 Email: charlene.brown at jefferson.kyschools.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Susan McShane Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 9:48 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 825] Free reading training Greetings! I'm Susan McShane, and I work at the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL). I'm writing to announce free training workshops for tutors/instructors that we will be conducting in April and May in three locations: Cleveland, OH; Fredericksburg, VA; and Eau Claire, WI. The dates and local contact information are listed below. This training is part of a NCFL project, funded by Verizon Foundation, involving private community-based literacy organizations. The two-day training on adult reading instruction is described in the attachment. If you are interested in participating in one of these workshops, please make contact with the local staff as soon as possible. Cleveland, Ohio April 12-13, 2007 Contact: Jessica Koppen Program Coordinator Cleveland Reads 216-436-2043 or jkoppen at uws.org Eau Claire, Wisconsin April 26-27, 2007 Contact: Heidi Fisher Executive Director Literacy Volunteers - Chippewa Valley 715-834-0222 or hfisher at lvcv.org Fredericksburg, Virginia May 2-3, 2007 Contact: Catherine Norrell Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center 800-237-0178 or norrellch at vcu.edu . Call or write soon, as space is limited. Susan McShane National Center for Family Literacy 325 West Main Street, Suite 300 Louisville, KY 40202-4237 Phone: 502-584-1133 x175 Fax: 502-584-0172 Email: smcshane at famlit.org Web: http://www.famlit.org -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 14474 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070327/4791c461/attachment.bin From mathewssb at earthlink.net Tue Mar 27 18:36:04 2007 From: mathewssb at earthlink.net (mathewssb at earthlink.net) Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:36:04 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 855] Re: FOB Article-of-the-Week: Program Standards Message-ID: <8555333.1175034964693.JavaMail.root@elwamui-ovcar.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Thank you, Julie! Looking forward to the discussion. Sunny -----Original Message----- >From: Julie McKinney >Sent: Mar 27, 2007 6:15 PM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 853] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Program Standards > >Hi Everyone, > >A list member recently wrote in and wanted to discuss Standards of Academic Progress. > >She says: "My college is in the process of revising its SOAP policy and procedures for Adult Education. The current statement is so vague it's useless. We are interested in learning what SOAP policies and procedures Adult Education programs around the country have in place. How do they handle chronic repeaters? What happens to students who are simply not >making any progress?" > >This week's FOB Article, from issue 3C can serve as a beginning to discuss this. > >A User's Guide to Standards-Based Educational Reform: From Theory to Practice >by Regie Stites >http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=352 > >Please share your ideas! > >All the best, >Julie > > > > > >Julie McKinney >Discussion List Moderator >World Education/NCSALL >jmckinney at worlded.org > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to mathewssb at earthlink.net. From ansongreen at gmail.com Tue Mar 27 22:31:17 2007 From: ansongreen at gmail.com (Anson Green) Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:31:17 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 856] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Project-Based Learning and the GED Message-ID: Hi folks: Sorry it took so long for me to get into this discussion. I was glad to see this article get pulled out of the archives. The project I wrote about was just the start of several projects I was fortunate enough to facilitate with a very special group of learners. I have posted an old article below about this work and would be happy to share more information with the group. Anson ___________________________________________ ENGAGING LEARNERS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING Anson Green, 2000 Well, I haven't had a steady job. But I have worked. My work experience was working in a warehouse. My job was to drill holes. And I have also worked in the fields. I've had a lot going on in my life? Yes! I am ready to have a JOB job! Mary Helen Culebra Road ABE Class ENGAGING LEARNERS IN TOPICS RELEVANT TO THEM What do women say they need to meet their educational and employment goals? What curriculum topics will engage women in the classroom and provide the learning they need to meet these goals? Between 1999 and 2000, I worked with learners in two welfare-to-work Adult Basic Education classes in San Antonio, Texas who asked themselves these questions as part of a project based-learning project. This "project" actually consisted of several interrelated projects that learners participated in over the course of a year and a half. Classes were open-entry/open-exit enrollment and met 25 hours a week. Participating learners changed over time, though a consistent core worked across the projects, either as students while they were in class or as part of a project focus group after they had completed the class. Learners ranged from low-intermediate basic education level to GED completers. Using an action research approach, learners in both the Culebra Road Adult Basic Education and Northwest Vista College Computer Readiness classes participated in research that examined the various challenges women sometimes face in their transition to work. ACTION RESEARCH Action research takes many shapes and forms. It often refers to a professional development process for educators, but the principles are equally adaptable to learner-directed projects. Because the action research process positions learners themselves to examine issues that affect their lives (rather than outside observers or researchers) action research often provides viewpoints, voices, and perspectives on issues that often go unheard. Early on in the project, students voiced that they wanted to make sure the advice, strategies, and solutions they were finding could be used by others. This insistence on sharing their findings with others stemmed directly from the empowering experience this group of learners had recently gained through delivering a series of presentations to middle school students in San Antonio on the importance of staying in school and staying out of gangs (Green, 1998). We made the decision to use their work and findings to develop curriculum activities we could use in class. Later we decided it would be great if we could share these activities with other teachers and classes could use as part of a project-based activity. To successfully pursue the project and meet the expectations both the learners and I wanted to deliver on, we knew we needed extra funds to purchase a computer, printer, scanner as well as have funds available to support related focus groups that would help learners gather greater input. A special project grant for teachers funded by the Texas Education Agency supported our initial work. The research learner's did resulted in rich themes and scenarios related to various barriers women sometimes face when working to meet their education and employment goals. While learners reported receiving sufficient employment assistance through job-search, r?sum? development, and interviewing skills from workshops at their one-stop center, when asked what additional assistance would help them meet their employment goals in their adult education class, they identified topics related to finding quality childcare, juggling home and work priorities, dealing with sexual harassment on the job, and managing the often extreme challenges presented by interpersonal violence. Learners said that it was often these issues that kept them from reaching their employment and career goals. PROJECT-BASED LEARNING Project-based learning is an instructional method that allows learners to build meaning and community through the creation of a product (a brochure, presentation, poster, booklet, etc.) that has immediate relevance to their lives. Project-based learning was an instructional approach that we had previous used in class to create an orientation guide for new students, deliver the aforementioned presentations, and create a class webpage [ http://members.aol.com/CulebraMom/mujer.html]. Our initial work on this project resulted in a collection of activities we named *La Cocina de Vida* (The Kitchen of Life). We later built on our experience with *La Cocina de Vida *to successfully compete for a Literacy Leader Fellowship from the National Institute for Literacy. This fellowship allowed us to expand our work, support a larger project development team made up of learners in other classes and practitioners from around the country, and pay learners and practitioners for their work. We were also able to present the project at several national adult basic education conferences. The project resulted in a rich collection of activities that cover a variety of themes aimed at assisting women in seeking greater independence, equity, and self-sufficiency through education, training, and employment. Students and practitioners worked with me to edit the activities into what eventually became the *Ready for Work*! curriculum. [This curriculum is now available through Grass Roots Press, www.literacyservices.com ]. SO WHAT DID STUDENTS LEARN? The mission of our class was to assist learners in developing skills that would help them find employment. Like previous projects, this work provided a strong context for students to develop employment-related skills. The creation of projects can be a rich vehicle to facilitate the development of both "hard" academic skills and "soft" employability skills. In terms of academic skills, learners critically engaged in researching, developing, and evaluating topics. They wrote and peer-edited activities, experience stories, poetry, and dialogs for inclusion in the curriculum. I worked with students to shape these activities within an instructional model that engages prior knowledge, develops reading and writing skills, and reinforces skills through the application of new learning. Our curriculum development work also helped learners develop many of the employability skills valued by businesses: "Taking the lead," commitment to being a productive collaborator, creating and refining a product, being accountable for "their part," and collaborating to prepare a product for publication all demand a wide variety of both interpersonal and quality review characteristics. These are qualities that businesses value and that are difficult to teach using traditional curricula. Because project-based learning is a multi-dimensional approach, projects encourage many different learning styles and afford more opportunities and avenues for learners to demonstrate performance. Throughout the development of these units, learners and practitioners had a voice in deciding whether activities authentically represented a topic or not. As a male facilitator, I consistently made clear my limitations in being able to fully understand, or possibly misread, situations or responses found in the activities related to the challenges women faced in transitioning to work. Learners, focus group members, and other participating programs helped keep our writing authentic, letting us know when topics were unclear or veered too far from their experiences. Perhaps not surprisingly, what learners identified as important issues in San Antonio were similar to what partnering programs in California, Oklahoma, and Massachusetts were saying. CONCLUSION Developing a curriculum with learners is probably *not* the best example of a classroom project that other teachers can easily replicate, but there are critical elements in this project that practitioners should consider. The most important of these would be finding ways to include learners and their voice into written materials they want to share with others. I worked hard to retain what I believed to be core elements of a project-based learning activity: Learners drove the original idea to develop learning activities for other classes. They researched, negotiated, and selected subject matter. They wrote content, developed drawings for activities, and reviewed draft after draft of the materials. Curriculum development is an often tedious and drawn out process. To bring the final draft of this curriculum to print eventually took an enormous amount of work from me, and thus this slowly evolved from less of a learner project to more of *my* project, especially as many of the key student contributors left my class and went on to work or continued training. As we reached final drafts though, learners were able to benefit from participating in the type of in-depth review, field-testing, and numerous edits that curriculum development requires. Engaging learners in research relevant to their goals using a project-based learning method can result in multiple learning outcomes that more traditional teaching methods may be more challenged to develop. Businesses are very interested in leadership, teamwork, inquiry, quality management, and creativity in workers. Involving learners in curriculum development can provide opportunities for learners to develop these skills as well as provide valuable examples for r?sum?s and to discuss in job interviews. In addition, learner-leadership can answer the need in adult education programs for individuals who are knowledgeable about the program and can relate to the needs of other learners. Clear advantages we had in successfully facilitating this work included having 25 hours of instructional time a week with learners, locating and securing additional funding, and having the support of program administration. From the perspective of the "project manager," I believe the success of this project lay in the priority we had in involving learners in positions where they could find room to actively participate and lead. Listening to what women were saying and incorporating this into the materials we developed provided not only a high-quality learning experience for learners, but allowed them to share their expertise and experiences with women in other programs who faced similar challenges. REFERENCES Green, A. (1998). Project-based Learning and the GED. Focus on Basics (Vol. 2, Issue B). Cambridge, MA: The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. Retrieved June 19, 2000, from the World Wide Web: http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/fob/1998/anson.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070327/d22196ab/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Mar 28 12:01:57 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:01:57 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 857] Re: FOB Article-of-the-Week: Project-Based Learning and the GED Message-ID: <460A59350200002D00001A0A@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Anson, Thanks so much for joining in our discussion of your article! It is always richer when the author is involved. Pulling from the archives is what we have been working on because, as this shows, there is so much good stuff in there! (By the way, my apologies to you and others for delayed message delivery. The list had a brief server issue that is now resloved.) The article you included described more inspiring work. I have three questions: 1. In the past couple weeks we have been discussing transitions from getting a GED to college and jobs, and talked about how to include the "soft skills" in the process. How did you address soft skills through project-based work? 2. You mention that program support was instrumental in the success of these projects. What kind of support did your program provide, and how did they feel about the value of that support by the end of the project? (How justified did it seem to them?) 3. What kinds of jobs did your students move on to? Thanks again, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Anson Green" 03/27/07 10:31 PM >>> Hi folks: Sorry it took so long for me to get into this discussion. I was glad to see this article get pulled out of the archives. The project I wrote about was just the start of several projects I was fortunate enough to facilitate with a very special group of learners. I have posted an old article below about this work and would be happy to share more information with the group. Anson ___________________________________________ ENGAGING LEARNERS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING Anson Green, 2000 Well, I haven't had a steady job. But I have worked. My work experience was working in a warehouse. My job was to drill holes. And I have also worked in the fields. I've had a lot going on in my life? Yes! I am ready to have a JOB job! Mary Helen Culebra Road ABE Class ENGAGING LEARNERS IN TOPICS RELEVANT TO THEM What do women say they need to meet their educational and employment goals? What curriculum topics will engage women in the classroom and provide the learning they need to meet these goals? Between 1999 and 2000, I worked with learners in two welfare-to-work Adult Basic Education classes in San Antonio, Texas who asked themselves these questions as part of a project based-learning project. This "project" actually consisted of several interrelated projects that learners participated in over the course of a year and a half. Classes were open-entry/open-exit enrollment and met 25 hours a week. Participating learners changed over time, though a consistent core worked across the projects, either as students while they were in class or as part of a project focus group after they had completed the class. Learners ranged from low-intermediate basic education level to GED completers. Using an action research approach, learners in both the Culebra Road Adult Basic Education and Northwest Vista College Computer Readiness classes participated in research that examined the various challenges women sometimes face in their transition to work. ACTION RESEARCH Action research takes many shapes and forms. It often refers to a professional development process for educators, but the principles are equally adaptable to learner-directed projects. Because the action research process positions learners themselves to examine issues that affect their lives (rather than outside observers or researchers) action research often provides viewpoints, voices, and perspectives on issues that often go unheard. Early on in the project, students voiced that they wanted to make sure the advice, strategies, and solutions they were finding could be used by others. This insistence on sharing their findings with others stemmed directly from the empowering experience this group of learners had recently gained through dAntonio on the importance of staying in school and staying out of gangs (Green, 1998). We made the decision to use their work and findings to develop curriculum activities we could use in class. Later we decided it would be great if we could share these activities with other teachers and classes could use as part of a project-based activity. To successfully pursue the project and meet the expectations both the learners and I wanted to deliver on, we knew we needed extra funds to purchase a computer, printer, scanner as well as have funds available to support related focus groups that would help learners gather greater input. A special project grant for teachers funded by the Texas Education Agency supported our initial work. The research learner's did resulted in rich themes and scenarios related to various barriers women sometimes face when working to meet their education and employment goals. While learners reported receiving sufficient employment assistance through job-search, r?sum? development, and interviewing skills from workshops at their one-stop center, when asked what additional assistance would help them meet their employment goals in their adult education class, they identified topics related to finding quality childcare, juggling home and work priorities, dealing with sexual harassment on the job, and managing the often extreme challenges presented by interpersonal violence. Learners said that it was often these issues that kept them from reaching their employment and career goals. PROJECT-BASED LEARNING Project-based learning is an instructional method that allows learners to build meaning and community through the creation of a product (a brochure, presentation, poster, booklet, etc.) that has immediate relevance to their lives. Project-based learning was an instructional approach that we had previous used in class to create an orientation guide for new students, deliver the aforementioned presentations, and create a class webpage [ http://members.aol.com/CulebraMom/mujer.html]. Our initial work on this project resulted in a collection of activities we named *La Cocina de Vida* (The Kitchen of Life). We later built on our experience with *La Cocina de Vida *to successfully compete for a Literacy Leader Fellowship from the National Institute for Literacy. This fellowship allowed us to expand our work, support a larger project development team made up of learners in other classes and practitioners from around the country, and pay learners and practitioners for their work. We were also able to present the project at several national adult basic education conferences. The project resulted in a rich collection of activities that cover a variety of themes aimed at assisting women in seeking greater independence, equity, and self-sufficiency through education, training, and employment. Students and practitioners worked with me to edit the activities into what eventually became the *Ready for Work*! curriculum. [This curriculum is now available through Grass Roots Press, www.literacyservices.com ]. SO WHAT DID STUDENTS LEARN? The mission of our class was to assist learners in developing skills that would help them find employment. Like previous projects, this work provided a strong context for students to develop employment-related skills. The creation of projects can be a rich vehicle to facilitate the development of both "hard" academic skills and "soft" employability skills. In terms of academic skills, learners critically engaged in researching, developing, and evaluating topics. They wrote and peer-edited activities, experience stories, poetry, and dialogs for inclusion in the curriculum. I worked with students to shape these activities within an instructional model that engages prior knowledge, develops reading and writing skills, and reinforces skills through the application of new learning. Our curriculum development work also helped learners develop manybeing a productive collaborator, creating and refining a product, being accountable for "their part," and collaborating to prepare a product for publication all demand a wide variety of both interpersonal and quality review characteristics. These are qualities that businesses value and that are difficult to teach using traditional curricula. Because project-based learning is a multi-dimensional approach, projects encourage many different learning styles and afford more opportunities and avenues for learners to demonstrate performance. Throughout the development of these units, learners and practitioners had a voice in deciding whether activities authentically represented a topic or not. As a male facilitator, I consistently made clear my limitations in being able to fully understand, or possibly misread, situations or responses found in the activities related to the challenges women faced in transitioning to work. Learners, focus group members, and other participating programs helped keep our writing authentic, letting us know when topics were unclear or veered too far from their experiences. Perhaps not surprisingly, what learners identified as important issues in San Antonio were similar to what partnering programs in California, Oklahoma, and Massachusetts were saying. CONCLUSION Developing a curriculum with learners is probably *not* the best example of a classroom project that other teachers can easily replicate, but there are critical elements in this project that practitioners should consider. The most important of these would be finding ways to include learners and their voice into written materials they want to share with others. I worked hard to retain what I believed to be core elements of a project-based learning activity: Learners drove the original idea to develop learning activities for other classes. They researched, negotiated, and selected subject matter. They wrote content, developed drawings for activities, and reviewed draft after draft of the materials. Curriculum development is an often tedious and drawn out process. To bring the final draft of this curriculum to print eventually took an enormous amount of work from me, and thus this slowly evolved from less of a learner project to more of *my* project, especially as many of the key student contributors left my class and went on to work or continued training. As we reached final drafts though, learners were able to benefit from participating in the type of in-depth review, field-testing, and numerous edits that curriculum development requires. Engaging learners in research relevant to their goals using a project-based learning method can result in multiple learning outcomes that more traditional teaching methods may be more challenged to develop. Businesses are very interested in leadership, teamwork, inquiry, quality management, and creativity in workers. Involving learners in curriculum development can provide opportunities for learners to develop these skills as well as provide valuable examples for r?sum?s and to discuss in job interviews. In addition, learner-leadership can answer the need in adult education programs for individuals who are knowledgeable about the program and can relate to the needs of other learners. Clear advantages we had in successfully facilitating this work included having 25 hours of instructional time a week with learners, locating and securing additional funding, and having the support of program administration. From the perspective of the "project manager," I believe the success of this project lay in the priority we had in involving learners in positions where they could find room to actively participate and lead. Listening to what women were saying and incorporating this into the materials we developed provided not only a high-quality learning experience for learners, but allowed them to share their expertise and experiences with women in other programs who faced similar challenges. REFERENCES Green, A. (1998). Project-based LearniLearning and Literacy. Retrieved June 19, 2000, from the World Wide Web: http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/fob/1998/anson.htm From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Mar 28 13:34:57 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:34:57 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 858] Discussing both: project-based learning and SOAP! Message-ID: <460A6F020200002D00001A32@bostongwia.jsi.com> Sorry for any confusion about FOB Article-of-the-Week. Anson was responding to last week's article about project-based learning, but we also just put out this week's article (and question) about standards of academic progress (SOAP) and how programs use them. We welcome comments and feedback about both! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Julie McKinney" 03/27/07 6:15 PM >>> Hi Everyone, A list member recently wrote in and wanted to discuss Standards of Academic Progress. She says: "My college is in the process of revising its SOAP policy and procedures for Adult Education. The current statement is so vague it's useless. We are interested in learning what SOAP policies and procedures Adult Education programs around the country have in place. How do they handle chronic repeaters? What happens to students who are simply not making any progress?" This week's FOB Article, from issue 3C can serve as a beginning to discuss this. A User's Guide to Standards-Based Educational Reform: From Theory to Practice by Regie Stites http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=352 Please share your ideas! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From robinschwarz1 at aol.com Wed Mar 28 20:56:34 2007 From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com (robinschwarz1 at aol.com) Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:56:34 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 859] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18 In-Reply-To: <8C93E33FF1991D5-1654-45FD@WEBMAIL-DF16.sysops.aol.com> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870889F9A1@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> <45FF27CA.4020107@isp.com><5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD0029900196DEFC@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us><460092D7.4030909@isp.com> <5DC1D700D91DEF44B143669FCD002990019ABCF1@Dellirium.usoe.k12.ut.us> <460477E4.3070600@isp.com> <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB876B577F@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> <8C93E33FF1991D5-1654-45FD@WEBMAIL-DF16.sysops.aol.com> Message-ID: <8C93FB43B1ABDB2-1E24-288B@MBLK-M38.sysops.aol.com> As a person who has worked with many teachers and programs who have made a huge difference in the lives of those who dropped out of school because it just wasn't working for them, I just have to object to the notion of "they...have been a problem for the school." The opposite is far more likely to be true: school has been a problem for them for many years.? ? There was a research project done in corrections institutions in Missouri and Ohio some years ago in which offenders were interviewed about their educational histories. In almost every case, when asked when they first knew they learned differently or something wasn't going right, they said it was in 2nd or 3rd grade, and all of those had horrific stories about some teacher or teachers who had humiliated them, made fun of them, punished them or done something else that made them ashamed and unhappy and hate school from then on. I know from my own 35+ years of tutoring adults with learning difficulties who are NOT in prisons this is also true.? ? Ruby Payne, of Texas, has written eloquently about what happens when one is raised in survival mode and in poverty and cannot develop frontal lobes and judgment the way others not in such strife-ridden situations can.? ? If anyone thinks that making laws to keep these persons in school even longer is going to solve their disconnect with school, I'd like to see evidence of that.? ? Robin Lovrien Schwarz? ? -----Original Message-----? From: jschneider at eicc.edu? To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov; focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov? Sent: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:30 PM? Subject: [FocusOnBasics 850] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18? ? ? ? Whether schools are enforcing the compulsory attendance likely varies by? district and state. And there is little denying that a designated age keeps them? in school at least until then.? ? I've yet to see anyone answer my original question - Does raising the compulsory? age to 18 have positive effects for enough students to make it worthwhile?? ? My experience in Davenport Iowa is that for the majority of our students it? won't... they are behind credits and have been a problem for the school and? another 2 years of manditory attendance isn't likely to change them... My fear? is that to many will manage to get into more trouble - with school and the? courts, create more children that won't be adequately cared for, etc., etc.,? etc....? ? Jim S.? ? Scott Community College? Davenport IA? ? -----Original Message-----? From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Woods? Sent: Fri 3/23/2007 7:59 PM? To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List? Subject: [FocusOnBasics 848] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18? ? My entire student body is composed of former dropouts who have? re-engaged because of compulsary education until the age of 22 while in? the state prison system. I can't think of a single one who dropped out? before turning 16, the age when education was no longer compulsary for? them in the free world. So I guess what I was thinking when I last wrote? was that school is not compulsary for the vast majority of those who? drop out. Compulsary education, therefore, is pretty effective in? keeping kids in school. By raising the age to 18 many more should stay? in school until they graduate, or until they turn 18 and then they drop? out. If they're dropping out before they reach the designated age, then? somebody should be going out and dragging them back in to school,? enforcing the law, or repealing it.? Tom Woods? ? Virginia Tardaewether wrote:? ? >I don't understand the comment about if we have compulsory ed why would? >we have drop outs...don't we have compulsory ed now AND about 25% drop? >out rate?? >Va? >? >-----Original Message-----? >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov? >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Grant, Sandra? >Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 1:21 PM? >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List? >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 844] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18? >? >Unfortunately no-- there are many who for one reason or another drop out? >of school- some because of problems at home and they need to stay at? >home to help or work. The unemployment rate is very low in Utah right? >now and almost anyone who turns 16 and wants a job can get one. Most of? >the job they are getting to not require a high school diploma or GED,? >also many are asked to leave school for a variety of reasons. It's hard? >to say exactly what the drop out rate is because most of the numbers are? >taken from 11th to 12th grade. We are finding that in adult education? >many of these students dropped out of school in the 9th or 10th grade to? >go to work or for other reasons. The school boards are not keep track of? >these students. Sandi? >? >-----Original Message-----? >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov? >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods? >Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 8:05 PM? >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List? >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 839] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18? >? >I'm curious, Sandi, about your remark that compulsary education doesn''t? >? >stop dropouts. That doesn't make sense to me. If it's compulsary, how? >can there be dropouts? What am I missing? Does it delay their dropping? >out to age 18?? >Tom Woods? >? >? >Grant, Sandra wrote:? >? >? >? >>Utah has compulsory education to age 18 and it doesn't stop drop-outs.? >>It changes the face of adult education, but the cost hasn't changed? >>? >>? >that? >? >? >>much. Utah still spends less money on K-12 education then most of the? >>states.? >>Sandi Grant? >>? >>-----Original Message-----? >>From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov? >>[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Woods? >>Sent: Monday, March 19, 2007 6:16 PM? >>To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List? >>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 822] Re: Compulsory Attendance to Age 18? >>? >>I am not in one of the states with compulsary education until age 18,? >>but I think it would have several unexpected consequences if it were to? >>? >>? >? >? >? >>be enacted. It would raise the cost of secondary education. With no one? >>? >>? >? >? >? >>dropping out, schools would have to provide a free education to all? >>kids. The kids who normally drop out are also the more difficult ones? >>? >>? >to? >? >? >>work with, so the added load would likely be more expensive than the? >>average cost per pupil.? >>? >>Compulsary education would not just be compulsary for the youth. It? >>would also be a responsibility of the providers, and this might change? >>the way secondary schools interact with youth. I know now some school? >>personnel will encourage certain kids to drop out and then be picked up? >>? >>? >? >? >? >>by an alternative education program such as ABE. This would stop with? >>compulsary education.? >>Tom Woods? >>Community High School of Vermont? >>? >>Schneider, Jim wrote:? >>? >>? >>? >>? >>? >>>A bill is currently on the floor to raise the compulsory age of school? >>>attendance from 16 to 18.? >>>? >>>I agree with the idea, but have severe reservations as to the actual? >>>effects/consequence of this law.? >>>? >>>Can those who live in one of the 17 states with such a law comment on? >>>the effects of the law?? >>>? >>>Thanks,? >>>? >>>Jim? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>>Jim Schneider? >>>Assistant Dean? >>>Scott Community College? >>>Career Assistance Center? >>>627 W. Second Street? >>>Davenport, IA 52801? >>>(563) 326-5319 phone? >>>(563) 326-6039 fax? >>>? >>>Do not despise the small act.? >>>? >>>Every small act, if you do it deeply, profoundly, can touch the whole? >>>universe.? >>>? >>>Millions of small acts will build a wonderful world.? >>>? >>>Chan Khong? >>>----------------------------------------------------? >>>National Institute for Literacy? >>>Focus on Basics mailing list? >>>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov? >>>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics? >>? >>? >>? >>? >>>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com.? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>>? >>----------------------------------------------------? >>National Institute for Literacy? >>Focus on Basics mailing list? >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov? >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to? >>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics? >>Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov.? >>----------------------------------------------------? >>National Institute for Literacy? >>Focus on Basics mailing list? >>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov? >>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to? >>? >>? >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics? >? >? >>Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com.? >>? >>? >>? >>? >>? >>? >----------------------------------------------------? >National Institute for Literacy? >Focus on Basics mailing list? >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov? >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to? >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics? >Message sent to sandra.grant at schools.utah.gov.? >----------------------------------------------------? >National Institute for Literacy? >Focus on Basics mailing list? >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov? >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to? >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics? >Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu.? >----------------------------------------------------? >National Institute for Literacy? >Focus on Basics mailing list? >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov? >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to? http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics? >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com.? >? >? >? >? ----------------------------------------------------? National Institute for Literacy? Focus on Basics mailing list? FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov? To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to? http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics? Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu.? ? Compulsary education, therefore, is pretty effective in? keeping kids in school. By raising the age to 18 many more should stay? in school until they graduate, or until they turn 18 and then they drop? out. If they're dropping out before they reach the designated age, then? somebody should be going out and dragging them back in to school,? enforcing the law, or repealing it.? Tom Woods? ----------------------------------------------------? National Institute for Literacy? Focus on Basics mailing list? FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov? To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to? http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics? Message sent to robinschwarz1 at aol.com.? ? ________________________________________________________________________? AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.? ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. =0 From BothaCJS at tut.ac.za Thu Mar 29 08:43:43 2007 From: BothaCJS at tut.ac.za (Nelis Botha) Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:43:43 +0200 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 860] Invitation to Conference (IFLA Pre-Conference 2007) Message-ID: <5969890DCCBB1040A55ED2FF4755A50E01710350@oak.tut.ac.za> International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Section on Library Services to Multicultural Populations, Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section and Reading Section present an international conference in Pretoria, South Africa from 15-17 August 2007 Theme "Multicultural library Innovative services for all, with special reference to literacy, learning and linguistic diversity" Who should attend? * Librarians * Professionals involved in literacy, learning and linguistics * Archives and Museum workers * Publishers and booksellers * Community workers * Everyone interested in multicultural issues What will be discussed? * Innovative services to multicultural populations * Service delivery in a multicultural environment * Knowledge development for community transformation * Intergenerational services; examples of success programmes * Literacy; what it means in your community * Reading: innovative programmes for target groups * Storytelling * Oral traditions and their impact on library services * Driving forces for literacy and learning * Life long learning opportunities: new strategies, new services, new media * Libraries promoting adult education and learning * Media and literature reflecting everyday life * The impact of linguistic diversity on library services * Fostering linguistic diversity * Collecting and preservation of materials in local languages * Publishing, disseminating and promoting materials in local languages For more information or to register for this conference visit: http://lib.tut.ac.za/ifla ------------------------------------------------------------------ Tshwane University of Technology ------------------------------------------------------------------ This email is sent and received in terms of the Electronic Communications Policy of Tshwane University of Technology. In line with this policy, this email is private, priviledged and confidential. The full text of the Electronic Mail Disclaimer can be seen on the TUT web site at http://www.tut.ac.za/goto/emaildisclaimer or obtained by phoning (012) 382-5911 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070329/e1aff665/attachment.html From ansongreen at gmail.com Mon Apr 2 21:33:51 2007 From: ansongreen at gmail.com (Anson Green) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 20:33:51 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 861] Re: FOB Article-of-the-Week: Project-Based Learning and the GED In-Reply-To: <460A59350200002D00001A0A@bostongwia.jsi.com> References: <460A59350200002D00001A0A@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: Julie: Thanks for your questions. I've answered them below within the questions. 1. In the past couple weeks we have been discussing transitions from getting a GED to college and jobs, and talked about how to include the "soft skills" in the process. How did you address soft skills through project-based work? I believe that the greatest aspect of project-based work, in terms of outcomes for learners, is that projects can be a natural vehicle for developing the wide variety interpersonal and behavioral skills required for success in post-secondary education and on the job. Project work requires high degrees of personal responsibility, ownership (this is my part of the project), scheduling (coordinating work with others), collaboration, creativity (how can we convey our message?), etc. Most projects replicate a work environment in terms of developing a "product" for an outside "audience" (not just the instructor). This creates a whole new level of expectations. Interpersonal skills development is perhaps the most important area, and this is often difficult to develop with standard classroom work. In many ways project-based learning shares strengths with approaches like Functional Context Education, where basic skills are developed directly in a context where they are applied (the project). 2. You mention that program support was instrumental in the success of these projects. What kind of support did your program provide, and how did they feel about the value of that support by the end of the project? (How justified did it seem to them?) Quite simply we had a director who, early on, was supportive of project-based learning as a method. She supported my initial efforts and recommended me as a candidate for a couple of master teacher initiatives that focused on project-based learning and action research for teachers. Through these initiatives I was able to work with other practitioners and experts in the field, most notably Heide Spruck Wrigley. We shared progress on our classroom projects with each other and received guidance and feedback. My director also encouraged me to apply for additional funds to better facilitate the project work. My director also promoted our class work throughout our program, to her colleagues across the state, and to our state department of education (Our La Cocina de Vida project was cited in Texas' first WIA II state plan sent to the US Department of Education). 3. What kinds of jobs did your students move on to? The class I did much of this work with was a customized training project for students to enter jobs in the tele-service industry with companies like Aetna, QVC, La Quinta Hotels, CitiCorp and Sears. Anson On 3/28/07, Julie McKinney wrote: > Hi Anson, > > Thanks so much for joining in our discussion of your article! It is > always richer when the author is involved. Pulling from the archives is > what we have been working on because, as this shows, there is so much > good stuff in there! (By the way, my apologies to you and others for > delayed message delivery. The list had a brief server issue that is now > resloved.) > > The article you included described more inspiring work. I have three > questions: > > 1. In the past couple weeks we have been discussing transitions from > getting a GED to college and jobs, and talked about how to include the > "soft skills" in the process. How did you address soft skills through > project-based work? > > 2. You mention that program support was instrumental in the success of > these projects. What kind of support did your program provide, and how > did they feel about the value of that support by the end of the project? > (How justified did it seem to them?) > > 3. What kinds of jobs did your students move on to? > > Thanks again, > > Julie > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > >>> "Anson Green" 03/27/07 10:31 PM >>> > Hi folks: > Sorry it took so long for me to get into this discussion. I was glad > to > see this article get pulled out of the archives. The project I wrote > about > was just the start of several projects I was fortunate enough to > facilitate > with a very special group of learners. I have posted an old article > below > about this work and would be happy to share more information with the > group. > Anson > > ___________________________________________ > > ENGAGING LEARNERS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PROJECT-BASED > LEARNING > > Anson Green, 2000 > > Well, I haven't had a steady job. > > But I have worked. > > My work experience was working in a warehouse. > > My job was to drill holes. > > And I have also worked in the fields. > > I've had a lot going on in my life? > > Yes! I am ready to have a JOB job! > > Mary Helen > > Culebra Road ABE Class > > > > ENGAGING LEARNERS IN TOPICS RELEVANT TO THEM > > What do women say they need to meet their educational and employment > goals? > What curriculum topics will engage women in the classroom and provide > the > learning they need to meet these goals? > > > > Between 1999 and 2000, I worked with learners in two welfare-to-work > Adult > Basic Education classes in San Antonio, Texas who asked themselves these > questions as part of a project based-learning project. > > > > This "project" actually consisted of several interrelated projects that > learners participated in over the course of a year and a half. Classes > were > open-entry/open-exit enrollment and met 25 hours a week. Participating > learners changed over time, though a consistent core worked across the > projects, either as students while they were in class or as part of a > project focus group after they had completed the class. Learners ranged > from low-intermediate basic education level to GED completers. > > > > Using an action research approach, learners in both the Culebra Road > Adult > Basic Education and Northwest Vista College Computer Readiness classes > participated in research that examined the various challenges women > sometimes face in their transition to work. > > > > ACTION RESEARCH > > Action research takes many shapes and forms. It often refers to a > professional development process for educators, but the principles are > equally adaptable to learner-directed projects. Because the action > research > process positions learners themselves to examine issues that affect > their > lives (rather than outside observers or researchers) action research > often > provides viewpoints, voices, and perspectives on issues that often go > unheard. > > > > Early on in the project, students voiced that they wanted to make sure > the > advice, strategies, and solutions they were finding could be used by > others. > This insistence on sharing their findings with others stemmed directly > from > the empowering experience this group of learners had recently gained > through > dAntonio on the importance of staying in school and staying out of gangs > (Green, 1998). We made the decision to use their work and findings to > develop curriculum activities we could use in class. Later we decided it > would be great if we could share these activities with other teachers > and > classes could use as part of a project-based activity. > > > > To successfully pursue the project and meet the expectations both the > learners and I wanted to deliver on, we knew we needed extra funds to > purchase a computer, printer, scanner as well as have funds available to > support related focus groups that would help learners gather greater > input. > A special project grant for teachers funded by the Texas Education > Agency > supported our initial work. > > > > The research learner's did resulted in rich themes and scenarios related > to > various barriers women sometimes face when working to meet their > education > and employment goals. While learners reported receiving sufficient > employment assistance through job-search, r?sum? development, and > interviewing skills from workshops at their one-stop center, when asked > what > additional assistance would help them meet their employment goals in > their > adult education class, they identified topics related to finding quality > childcare, juggling home and work priorities, dealing with sexual > harassment > on the job, and managing the often extreme challenges presented by > interpersonal violence. Learners said that it was often these issues > that > kept them from reaching their employment and career goals. > > > > PROJECT-BASED LEARNING > > Project-based learning is an instructional method that allows learners > to > build meaning and community through the creation of a product (a > brochure, > presentation, poster, booklet, etc.) that has immediate relevance to > their > lives. Project-based learning was an instructional approach that we had > previous used in class to create an orientation guide for new students, > deliver the aforementioned presentations, and create a class webpage [ > http://members.aol.com/CulebraMom/mujer.html]. > > > > Our initial work on this project resulted in a collection of activities > we > named *La Cocina de Vida* (The Kitchen of Life). We later built on our > experience with *La Cocina de Vida *to successfully compete for a > Literacy > Leader Fellowship from the National Institute for Literacy. This > fellowship > allowed us to expand our work, support a larger project development team > made up of learners in other classes and practitioners from around the > country, and pay learners and practitioners for their work. We were > also > able to present the project at several national adult basic education > conferences. > > > > The project resulted in a rich collection of activities that cover a > variety > of themes aimed at assisting women in seeking greater independence, > equity, > and self-sufficiency through education, training, and employment. > Students > and practitioners worked with me to edit the activities into what > eventually > became the *Ready for Work*! curriculum. [This curriculum is now > available > through Grass Roots Press, www.literacyservices.com ]. > > > > > > SO WHAT DID STUDENTS LEARN? > > The mission of our class was to assist learners in developing skills > that > would help them find employment. Like previous projects, this work > provided > a strong context for students to develop employment-related skills. The > creation of projects can be a rich vehicle to facilitate the development > of > both "hard" academic skills and "soft" employability skills. > > > > In terms of academic skills, learners critically engaged in researching, > developing, and evaluating topics. They wrote and peer-edited > activities, > experience stories, poetry, and dialogs for inclusion in the curriculum. > I > worked with students to shape these activities within an instructional > model > that engages prior knowledge, develops reading and writing skills, and > reinforces skills through the application of new learning. > > > > Our curriculum development work also helped learners develop manybeing a productive collaborator, creating and refining a product, being > accountable for "their part," and collaborating to prepare a product for > publication all demand a wide variety of both interpersonal and quality > review characteristics. These are qualities that businesses value and > that > are difficult to teach using traditional curricula. Because > project-based > learning is a multi-dimensional approach, projects encourage many > different > learning styles and afford more opportunities and avenues for learners > to > demonstrate performance. > > > > Throughout the development of these units, learners and practitioners > had a > voice in deciding whether activities authentically represented a topic > or > not. As a male facilitator, I consistently made clear my limitations in > being able to fully understand, or possibly misread, situations or > responses > found in the activities related to the challenges women faced in > transitioning to work. Learners, focus group members, and other > participating programs helped keep our writing authentic, letting us > know > when topics were unclear or veered too far from their experiences. > Perhaps > not surprisingly, what learners identified as important issues in San > Antonio were similar to what partnering programs in California, > Oklahoma, > and Massachusetts were saying. > > > > > > CONCLUSION > > Developing a curriculum with learners is probably *not* the best example > of > a classroom project that other teachers can easily replicate, but there > are > critical elements in this project that practitioners should consider. > The > most important of these would be finding ways to include learners and > their > voice into written materials they want to share with others. I worked > hard > to retain what I believed to be core elements of a project-based > learning > activity: Learners drove the original idea to develop learning > activities > for other classes. They researched, negotiated, and selected subject > matter. > They wrote content, developed drawings for activities, and reviewed > draft > after draft of the materials. > > > > Curriculum development is an often tedious and drawn out process. To > bring > the final draft of this curriculum to print eventually took an enormous > amount of work from me, and thus this slowly evolved from less of a > learner > project to more of *my* project, especially as many of the key student > contributors left my class and went on to work or continued training. > As we > reached final drafts though, learners were able to benefit from > participating in the type of in-depth review, field-testing, and > numerous > edits that curriculum development requires. > > > > Engaging learners in research relevant to their goals using a > project-based > learning method can result in multiple learning outcomes that more > traditional teaching methods may be more challenged to develop. > Businesses > are very interested in leadership, teamwork, inquiry, quality > management, > and creativity in workers. Involving learners in curriculum development > can > provide opportunities for learners to develop these skills as well as > provide valuable examples for r?sum?s and to discuss in job interviews. > In > addition, learner-leadership can answer the need in adult education > programs > for individuals who are knowledgeable about the program and can relate > to > the needs of other learners. > > > > Clear advantages we had in successfully facilitating this work included > having 25 hours of instructional time a week with learners, locating and > securing additional funding, and having the support of program > administration. From the perspective of the "project manager," I > believe > the success of this project lay in the priority we had in involving > learners > in positions where they could find room to actively participate and > lead. Listening > to what women were saying and incorporating this into the materials we > developed provided not only a high-quality learning experience for > learners, > but allowed them to share their expertise and experiences with women in > other programs who faced similar challenges. > > > > > > REFERENCES > > Green, A. (1998). Project-based LearniLearning and Literacy. Retrieved June 19, 2000, from the World Wide > Web: > http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/fob/1998/anson.htm > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to ansongreen at gmail.com. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Apr 3 12:17:56 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:17:56 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 862] Re: FOB Article-of-the-Week: Project-Based Learning and the GED Message-ID: <461245F40200002D00001B4A@bostongwia.jsi.com> Thanks, Anson, for taking the time to answer these questions! I like the way your director promoted this work throughout the state and to the state dept. of education. It helped to facilitate something that we also hope to achieve on the discussion lists, which is to recognize good work and share it with other programs, teachers and administrators. All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Anson Green" 04/02/07 9:33 PM >>> Julie: Thanks for your questions. I've answered them below within the questions. 1. In the past couple weeks we have been discussing transitions from getting a GED to college and jobs, and talked about how to include the "soft skills" in the process. How did you address soft skills through project-based work? I believe that the greatest aspect of project-based work, in terms of outcomes for learners, is that projects can be a natural vehicle for developing the wide variety interpersonal and behavioral skills required for success in post-secondary education and on the job. Project work requires high degrees of personal responsibility, ownership (this is my part of the project), scheduling (coordinating work with others), collaboration, creativity (how can we convey our message?), etc. Most projects replicate a work environment in terms of developing a "product" for an outside "audience" (not just the instructor). This creates a whole new level of expectations. Interpersonal skills development is perhaps the most important area, and this is often difficult to develop with standard classroom work. In many ways project-based learning shares strengths with approaches like Functional Context Education, where basic skills are developed directly in a context where they are applied (the project). 2. You mention that program support was instrumental in the success of these projects. What kind of support did your program provide, and how did they feel about the value of that support by the end of the project? (How justified did it seem to them?) Quite simply we had a director who, early on, was supportive of project-based learning as a method. She supported my initial efforts and recommended me as a candidate for a couple of master teacher initiatives that focused on project-based learning and action research for teachers. Through these initiatives I was able to work with other practitioners and experts in the field, most notably Heide Spruck Wrigley. We shared progress on our classroom projects with each other and received guidance and feedback. My director also encouraged me to apply for additional funds to better facilitate the project work. My director also promoted our class work throughout our program, to her colleagues across the state, and to our state department of education (Our La Cocina de Vida project was cited in Texas' first WIA II state plan sent to the US Department of Education). 3. What kinds of jobs did your students move on to? The class I did much of this work with was a customized training project for students to enter jobs in the tele-service industry with companies like Aetna, QVC, La Quinta Hotels, CitiCorp and Sears. Anson On 3/28/07, Julie McKinney wrote: > Hi Anson, > > Thanks so much for joining in our discussion of your article! It is > always richer when the author is involved. Pulling from the archives is > what we have been working on because, as this shows, there is so much > good stuff in there! (By the way, my apologies to you and others for > delayed message delivery. The list had a brief server issue that is now > resloved.) > > The article you included described more inspiring work. I have three > questions: > > 1. In the past couple weeks we have been discussing transitions from > getting a GED to college and jobs, and talked about how to include the > "soft skills" in the process. How did you address soft skills through > project-based wo> these projects. What kind of support did your program provide, and how > did they feel about the value of that support by the end of the project? > (How justified did it seem to them?) > > 3. What kinds of jobs did your students move on to? > > Thanks again, > > Julie > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > >>> "Anson Green" 03/27/07 10:31 PM >>> > Hi folks: > Sorry it took so long for me to get into this discussion. I was glad > to > see this article get pulled out of the archives. The project I wrote > about > was just the start of several projects I was fortunate enough to > facilitate > with a very special group of learners. I have posted an old article > below > about this work and would be happy to share more information with the > group. > Anson > > ___________________________________________ > > ENGAGING LEARNERS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH PROJECT-BASED > LEARNING > > Anson Green, 2000 > > Well, I haven't had a steady job. > > But I have worked. > > My work experience was working in a warehouse. > > My job was to drill holes. > > And I have also worked in the fields. > > I've had a lot going on in my life? > > Yes! I am ready to have a JOB job! > > Mary Helen > > Culebra Road ABE Class > > > > ENGAGING LEARNERS IN TOPICS RELEVANT TO THEM > > What do women say they need to meet their educational and employment > goals? > What curriculum topics will engage women in the classroom and provide > the > learning they need to meet these goals? > > > > Between 1999 and 2000, I worked with learners in two welfare-to-work > Adult > Basic Education classes in San Antonio, Texas who asked themselves these > questions as part of a project based-learning project. > > > > This "project" actually consisted of several interrelated projects that > learners participated in over the course of a year and a half. Classes > were > open-entry/open-exit enrollment and met 25 hours a week. Participating > learners changed over time, though a consistent core worked across the > projects, either as students while they were in class or as part of a > project focus group after they had completed the class. Learners ranged > from low-intermediate basic education level to GED completers. > > > > Using an action research approach, learners in both the Culebra Road > Adult > Basic Education and Northwest Vista College Computer Readiness classes > participated in research that examined the various challenges women > sometimes face in their transition to work. > > > > ACTION RESEARCH > > Action research takes many shapes and forms. It often refers to a > professional development process for educators, but the principles are > equally adaptable to learner-directed projects. Because the action > research > process positions learners themselves to examine issues that affect > their > lives (rather than outside observers or researchers) action research > often > provides viewpoints, voices, and perspectives on issues that often go > unheard. > > > > Early on in the project, students voiced that they wanted to make sure > the > advice, strategies, and solutions they were finding could be used by > others. > This insistence on sharing their findings with others stemmed directly > from > the empowering experience this group of learners had recently gained > through > dAntonio on the importance of staying in school and staying out of gangs > (Green, 1998). We made the decision to use their work and findings to > develop curriculum activities we could use in class. Later we decided it > would be great if we could share these activities with other teachers > and > classes could use as part of a project-based activity. > > > > To successfully pursue the project and meet the expectations both the > learners and I wanted to deliver on, we knew we needed extra funds to > purchase a computer, printer, scanner as well as have fund> A special project grant for teachers funded by the Texas Education > Agency > supported our initial work. > > > > The research learner's did resulted in rich themes and scenarios related > to > various barriers women sometimes face when working to meet their > education > and employment goals. While learners reported receiving sufficient > employment assistance through job-search, r?sum? development, and > interviewing skills from workshops at their one-stop center, when asked > what > additional assistance would help them meet their employment goals in > their > adult education class, they identified topics related to finding quality > childcare, juggling home and work priorities, dealing with sexual > harassment > on the job, and managing the often extreme challenges presented by > interpersonal violence. Learners said that it was often these issues > that > kept them from reaching their employment and career goals. > > > > PROJECT-BASED LEARNING > > Project-based learning is an instructional method that allows learners > to > build meaning and community through the creation of a product (a > brochure, > presentation, poster, booklet, etc.) that has immediate relevance to > their > lives. Project-based learning was an instructional approach that we had > previous used in class to create an orientation guide for new students, > deliver the aforementioned presentations, and create a class webpage [ > http://members.aol.com/CulebraMom/mujer.html]. > > > > Our initial work on this project resulted in a collection of activities > we > named *La Cocina de Vida* (The Kitchen of Life). We later built on our > experience with *La Cocina de Vida *to successfully compete for a > Literacy > Leader Fellowship from the National Institute for Literacy. This > fellowship > allowed us to expand our work, support a larger project development team > made up of learners in other classes and practitioners from around the > country, and pay learners and practitioners for their work. We were > also > able to present the project at several national adult basic education > conferences. > > > > The project resulted in a rich collection of activities that cover a > variety > of themes aimed at assisting women in seeking greater independence, > equity, > and self-sufficiency through education, training, and employment. > Students > and practitioners worked with me to edit the activities into what > eventually > became the *Ready for Work*! curriculum. [This curriculum is now > available > through Grass Roots Press, www.literacyservices.com ]. > > > > > > SO WHAT DID STUDENTS LEARN? > > The mission of our class was to assist learners in developing skills > that > would help them find employment. Like previous projects, this work > provided > a strong context for students to develop employment-related skills. The > creation of projects can be a rich vehicle to facilitate the development > of > both "hard" academic skills and "soft" employability skills. > > > > In terms of academic skills, learners critically engaged in researching, > developing, and evaluating topics. They wrote and peer-edited > activities, > experience stories, poetry, and dialogs for inclusion in the curriculum. > I > worked with students to shape these activities within an instructional > model > that engages prior knowledge, develops reading and writing skills, and > reinforces skills through the application of new learning. > > > > Our curriculum development work also helped learners develop manybeing a productive collaborator, creating and refining a product, being > accountable for "their part," and collaborating to prepare a product for > publication all demand a wide variety of both interpersonal and quality > review characteristics. These are qualities that businesses value and > that > are difficult to teach using traditional curricula. Because > project-based > learning is a multi-dimensional approach, projects encourage many > diffe> Throughout the development of these units, learners and practitioners > had a > voice in deciding whether activities authentically represented a topic > or > not. As a male facilitator, I consistently made clear my limitations in > being able to fully understand, or possibly misread, situations or > responses > found in the activities related to the challenges women faced in > transitioning to work. Learners, focus group members, and other > participating programs helped keep our writing authentic, letting us > know > when topics were unclear or veered too far from their experiences. > Perhaps > not surprisingly, what learners identified as important issues in San > Antonio were similar to what partnering programs in California, > Oklahoma, > and Massachusetts were saying. > > > > > > CONCLUSION > > Developing a curriculum with learners is probably *not* the best example > of > a classroom project that other teachers can easily replicate, but there > are > critical elements in this project that practitioners should consider. > The > most important of these would be finding ways to include learners and > their > voice into written materials they want to share with others. I worked > hard > to retain what I believed to be core elements of a project-based > learning > activity: Learners drove the original idea to develop learning > activities > for other classes. They researched, negotiated, and selected subject > matter. > They wrote content, developed drawings for activities, and reviewed > draft > after draft of the materials. > > > > Curriculum development is an often tedious and drawn out process. To > bring > the final draft of this curriculum to print eventually took an enormous > amount of work from me, and thus this slowly evolved from less of a > learner > project to more of *my* project, especially as many of the key student > contributors left my class and went on to work or continued training. > As we > reached final drafts though, learners were able to benefit from > participating in the type of in-depth review, field-testing, and > numerous > edits that curriculum development requires. > > > > Engaging learners in research relevant to their goals using a > project-based > learning method can result in multiple learning outcomes that more > traditional teaching methods may be more challenged to develop. > Businesses > are very interested in leadership, teamwork, inquiry, quality > management, > and creativity in workers. Involving learners in curriculum development > can > provide opportunities for learners to develop these skills as well as > provide valuable examples for r?sum?s and to discuss in job interviews. > In > addition, learner-leadership can answer the need in adult education > programs > for individuals who are knowledgeable about the program and can relate > to > the needs of other learners. > > > > Clear advantages we had in successfully facilitating this work included > having 25 hours of instructional time a week with learners, locating and > securing additional funding, and having the support of program > administration. From the perspective of the "project manager," I > believe > the success of this project lay in the priority we had in involving > learners > in positions where they could find room to actively participate and > lead. Listening > to what women were saying and incorporating this into the materials we > developed provided not only a high-quality learning experience for > learners, > but allowed them to share their expertise and experiences with women in > other programs who faced similar challenges. > > > > > > REFERENCES > > Green, A. (1998). Project-based LearniLearning and Literacy. Retrieved June 19, 2000, from the World Wide > Web: > http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/fob/1998/anson.htm > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Bhttp://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to ansongreen at gmail.com. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Apr 3 12:20:56 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:20:56 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 863] Fwd: What Works for Adult ESL Students? A Special Topics Discussion Message-ID: <461246A90200002D00001B4F@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am forwarding an announcement from David Rosen about a guest speaker discussion on the Special Topics Discussion List next week (April 9-13). Usually I cut and paste the text, but he has some attachments, so I'm trying to forward the whole thing. (Let me or David know directly if you can't open the attachments.) Enjoy! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: David Rosen Subject: [Moderators 1536] What Works for Adult ESL Students? A Special Topics Discussion Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 14:47:26 -0400 Size: 2494437 Url: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070403/5562fb6c/attachment.mht From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Apr 3 13:51:51 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2007 13:51:51 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 864] FOB Article-of-the-Week: What works for ESOL students? Message-ID: <46125BF80200002D00001B6C@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Two cosmic forces came together to help me decide on this week's FOB article. 1. I just passed on an announcement of a discussion on the Special Topics List next week (April 8-13), about a study which is summed up by an FOB article. 2. Anson just mentioned working with Heide Spruck Wrigley, who will be one of the guest speakers for the discussion next week, and is interviewed in the FOB article. So this week's FOB Article-of-the-Week can start to prepare us for next week's discussion: "What works for adult ESL students?" It is from issue 6C. ___________________________ A Conversation with FOB: What Works for Adult ESL Students http://www.ncsall.net/?id=189 Heide Spruck Wrigley was the content specialist on "What Works for Adult ESL Literacy Students," a study funded by the US Department of Education and carried out jointly by the American Institutes for Research and Aguirre International. The two principal researchers on the study were Larry Condelli (AIR) and Heide Wrigley (Aguirre International). In this article, Heide discussed the study, its findings, and their implications for curriculum with Focus on Basics. ___________________________ By the way, the Special Topics discussion list is one of the 11 discussion lists from the National Institute for Literacy. (This list is another.) It is active only during scheduled discussions such as the one next week, and hosts topics that are important to the field but may not fit in with the focus of the other lists. For more information, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Apr 6 11:49:53 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:49:53 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 865] Seminar on using the NAAL Data Message-ID: <461633E10200002D00001C14@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, As we all know, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) data show compelling reasons to support our work in adult literacy, and can also help guide our focus. Below is an announcement of a seminar on using this data. Please read on if you are interested and send this on to colleagues who might be interested. All the best, Julie ************************************* Using the National Assessment of Adult Literacy Data file and Tools For Research, Secondary Analyses and Policy Development (NAAL Data Set Training) Description: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), will sponsor a 3-day advanced studies seminar on the use of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) data files and tools for research and policy analyses. The 2003 NAAL measured the English literacy of America's adults living in households and prisons. Results are reported in terms of scale score averages on three literacy scales: prose, document, and quantitative, as well as literacy levels that are described as Below Basic, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient. Type: Workshop/Training & Technical Assistance Audience: This seminar is open to institutional researchers and planners, education practitioners, policymakers, and association members, as well as faculty and advanced graduate students from colleges and universities nationwide. Location: Academy for Educational Development (AED) 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009-5721 (202) 884-8583 Dates: August 6-8, 2007 Organization: National Center for Education Statistics More Information: NAAL Data Set Training Seminar Announcement Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Apr 6 11:57:06 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:57:06 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 866] Discussion on Workplace list next week: Work readiness credentials Message-ID: <461635920200002D00001C18@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, >From our recent discussion on GED to postsecondary education, I know that many of you have a keen interest in workplace readiness. I am passing on information about a guest speaker discussion next week on the Workplace Discussion List about work readiness credentials. It's easy to join another list for a discussion and then unsubscribe afterwards. Read on for more information! All the best, Julie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So you've heard of the Work Readiness Credential. Or is it called the National Work Readiness Credential? Wait! Maybe that was the Career Readiness Credential you were thinking of. Or the Career Readiness Certification? Workforce Skills Certification? If this is all just too confusing, but you really need to know, join in the discussion next week on the Workplace Literacy Discussion List. Several guests have agreed to share their expertise and answer questions, and there's a great new resource out online that identifies and then compares and contrasts the various work readiness certificates that are out there. The resource, the work of Norma Rey-Alicea and Geri Scott, is "A Survey of Selected Work Readiness Certificates" and you can download it from http://www.jff.org/Documents/WorkReadiness.pdf . Norma and Geri, the authors, are two of the guests who have agreed to answer questions in helping us understand the purposes and issues surrounding work readiness certificates. Other guests have first-hand experience with and knowledge about the three most widely recognized work readiness certificates: Louis Soares, Executive Director of the National Work Readiness Council Lansing Davis (Lanse), Senior Policy Analyst with the NJ State Employment and Training Commission, the State WIB. Judith Titzel, Adult Education Specialist, RI Adult Education Professional Development Center Jane Eguez, Director of Program Planning, CASAS Melissa Dayton, Workforce Program Specialist, CASAS Traci Lepicki, Project Coordinator, Ohio's Career Readiness Credential, The Ohio State University Center on Education and Training for Employment Adrienne Glandon, Ohio's Career Readiness Credential, The Ohio State University Center on Education and Training for Employment Look for additional information and resources on the Workplace Discussion List soon to give you additional background information and resources. If you want to join us for this discussion, subscribe to the list at http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Workplace/ . If you want to unsubscribe after the discussion, go back to that same page (but we hope you will want to stay with us!) Donna Brian, Moderator Workplace Literacy Discussion List Center for Literacy at The University of Tennessee djgbrian at utk.edu ********************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Apr 10 13:25:42 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:25:42 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 866] Announcement: Report on the NAAL Data Message-ID: <461B90570200002D00001CB6@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am passing on an announcement about a new report about the recent NAAL data, and how the American adult literacy profile has changed since the 1992 study. Please read on for more information. Best, Julie ************************************** The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) just released Literacy in Everyday Life, the most recent publication of the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). This report provides extensive information on the literacy of American adults age 16 and older and changes in their performance since 1992. Furthermore, it examines the relationship between literacy and several demographic variables including education, occupation, and income. Findings include the following: * Women have closed the gap with men in Quantitative literacy. They are doing better than men in Document and Prose literacy. * Younger and older adults have lower literacy than adults in other age groups. * Median weekly earnings increased with each level of literacy. * At each higher level of Prose literacy, more adults were employed full time. * Approximately 51 percent of adults with Below Basic Document literacy and 43 percent with Below Basic Quantitative literacy believed their job opportunities were limited a lot by their lack of computer skills. * The percentage of parents who never helped their school-age child with homework declined at each higher Prose literacy level. * Approximately half of US citizens of voting age with Below Basic Prose and Document literacy reported voting in the presidential election of 2000 compared with 84 percent of citizens with Proficient Prose and Document literacy. To download, view and print the publication as a PDF file, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007480 Jaleh Behroozi Soroui Education Statistics Services Institute American Institutes for Research 1990 K Street, NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20006 Phone: 202/403-6958 email: jsoroui at air.org ************************************ Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Apr 12 17:22:52 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 17:22:52 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 867] FOB Article-of-the Week: Content-Based Instruction in ESOL Message-ID: <461E6AEC0200002D00001D1D@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Sorry I'm late with this, but this week's FOB Article-of-the-Week is about content-based adult education and ESOL. It is from volume 1D (10 years ago), and I wonder how much more has been studied on this subject since. The Impact of Content-Based Instruction: Three Studies by Barbara A. McDonald http://www.ncsall.net/?id=429 How well does this type of instruction work for ESOL learners in your programs? All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Apr 16 21:45:23 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 21:45:23 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 868] Upcoming Discussion: 4/30 - Effective Research Dissemination Message-ID: <4623EE740200002D00001D80@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I want to give you a heads-up on a very special discussion coming up on the FOB list in a couple weeks. April 30 - May 4, 2007 Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL This discussion will be geared toward professional development practitioners and discuss the lessons learned during the course of NCSALL's journey in disseminating and enhancing the usefulness of adult education research. Cris Smith, who authored the article of the same name in FOB 8C, will lead this discussion. She is the former director of NCSALL. I will give you more information next week, but I just wanted to let you know ahead of time. All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Apr 17 08:56:37 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 08:56:37 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 869] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Connecting Research to Practice Message-ID: <46248BC50200002D00001D8B@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Today's FOB article, from issue 4D, is about connecting research to practice, and what NCSALL had done up to that point in order to achive that connection. This can start to prepare us for the guest discussion with Cris Smith about disseminating research, starting on April 30. Connecting Research and Practice: A look at what is known about research utilization and what NCSALL does in that regard by Barbara Garner, Beth Bingman, John Comings, Karen Rowe, & Cristine Smith http://www.ncsall.net/?id=290 This is from 2001, and we can see later on during the discussion how NCSALL's strategy worked and evolved over the years. Please read this and share any comments you have! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From alcdgg at langate.gsu.edu Tue Apr 17 09:29:28 2007 From: alcdgg at langate.gsu.edu (Daphne Greenberg) Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 09:29:28 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 871] New Adult Literacy Journal: Cross Post Message-ID: <46249378020000310001E758@mailsrv4.gsu.edu> List colleagues, If you are a subscriber to multiple NIFL lists, please excuse the cross posting of this message. On behalf of Don Harting, the editor of the Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal, I would like to announce the following: New Literacy Journal Launched The first issue of the Adult Basic Education and Literacy Journal, copublished by the Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE) and ProLiteracy America, was launched in March. The journal?s predecessor, Adult Basic Education, was started by COABE in 1977. The new journal will continue to carry research articles that are peer reviewed using a double blind protocol that conceals reviewers? identities from authors, and vice versa. The journal will also include the following shorter features written especially for practitioners: ? Practitioner Perspective offers first-person narratives by people who?ve solved problems that instructors or program directors often encounter. The emphasis is on learnings that can be used by other practitioners. ? Web Scan, edited by David Rosen, offers a roundup of the most useful instructional and management resources found on the Internet. ? Research Digest, edited by Cristine Smith, offers a quick recap of published and ongoing research projects around the country, with contact information so interested readers can find out more. ? Resource Reviews, edited by Daphne Greenberg, help practitioners and researchers stay abreast of the latest offerings from educational publishers. ? Occasional essays, called Viewpoint, that analyze trends and forces at work in the field. The March issue carries an essay on health literacy by Rima Rudd. The July issue will carry an essay on the national research agenda by John Comings. The journal is published three times per year. To subscribe, or to view author guidelines, visit www.coabe.org. For more information, send an e-mail to journaleditor at literacyprogram.org. Daphne Greenberg Georgia State University From kathryn.james at lancaster.ac.uk Fri Apr 20 09:13:09 2007 From: kathryn.james at lancaster.ac.uk (James, Kathryn) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 14:13:09 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 872] Lancaster University Literacy Research Centre, England, UK - Summer School: 16 - 20 July 2007 Message-ID: <1153EF3638B2644DBB43B9B13A92DE97F8E2DF@exchange-be4.lancs.local> Please circulate to your lists and post on. Apologies for cross-posting. Lancaster University Literacy Research Centre, England UK Summer School: 16 - 20 July 2007 Linking Learning to Literacies: A Social Practice View What do you know about learning, adult learners, and literacies? Join us for an exciting week-long Summer School to explore the puzzle of adult learning and its relation to literacy issues in many contexts. We will explore the following topics: * Learning and the Adult Learner * Literacy Learning Provision * Mapping Learning Theories onto Literacy Theories * Literacy Learning Practices - Methods in Contexts * Learning Theories, Literacy Policies and Research The summer school will be of interest to practitioners, managers, researchers and those interested in adult learning. It will provide an opportunity to meet people working in a similar field, develop a new network of colleagues and friends and provide an opportunity to deepen your knowledge of adult pedagogy. Contributors will include Sondra Cuban, Mary Hamilton, Yvon Appleby, David Barton, Roz Ivani?, and Anita Wilson. Details and application forms attached, full information can be found on our website. www.literacy.lancs.ac.uk Your questions are welcome; please contact Kathryn James at Lancaster University Literacy Research Centre Tel: +44 (0) 1524 510 828 Fax: +44 (0) 1524 592 914 Email: Kathryn.james at lancaster.ac.uk Lancaster is an historic city in the North West of England, one hour from Manchester Airport and an hour's drive from the heart of the Lake District. Kathryn James Literacy Research Centre Institute for Advanced Studies Lancaster University Lancaster LA1 4YD Tel: 01524 510 828 Fax: 01524 592 914 E-mail: kathryn.james at lancaster.ac.uk Website: http://literacy.lancs.ac.uk From kabeall at comcast.net Fri Apr 20 12:33:42 2007 From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:33:42 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 873] Effective Transitions in Adult Education Message-ID: <004201c78369$aa5d6280$ab8a11ac@your4105e587b6> Join us for two days of workshops on Effective Transitions in Adult Education, November 8-9, 2007 in Providence, RI. Our keynote speaker, Dr. JoAnn Crandall, will kick off the event with a discussion of transition for English language learners. For more details, SEE http://www.collegetransition.org/novconference.html Cynthia Zafft, Director National College Transition Network at World Education nctn at worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070420/cd997917/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Apr 23 13:22:29 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 13:22:29 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 874] Discussion next week - Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL Message-ID: <462CB3150200002D00001E6B@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I want to announce a guest discussion next week on the FOB list. We are very excited to have Cris Smith join us to pass on lessons learned from NCSALL in their efforts over the past 10 years to ensure that adult education research is accessible and useful to practitioners in the field. Please join us for this discussion, and pass on this announcement to any colleagues who may be interested. All the best, Julie ************************************* Topic: Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL Where held: The Focus on Basics Discussion List When: April 30 - May 4, 2007 To participate, subscribe: www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics List Moderator: Julie Mckinney, jmckinney at worlded.org Guest Speaker: Cris Smith, former deputy director of NCSALL Discussion Announcement: Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL This discussion will be geared toward professional development practitioners and discuss the lessons learned during the course of NCSALL's journey in disseminating adult education research, connecting it to practice and and enhancing its usefulness. Cris Smith, who authored the article of the same name in FOB 8C, will lead this discussion. She is the former deputy director of NCSALL. About the guest speaker: Cristine Smith was NCSALL's deputy director and was the research director for the NCSALL Professional Development Study. She also served as the national coordinator of dissemination research and development initiatives over NCSALL's 10 years (the Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network (PDRN) and Connecting Practice, Policy and Research (CPPR) initiatives), designed to help practitioners access, understand, judge and use research. She holds an Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts, and she is currently an Assistant Professor at the Center for International Education at UMass Amherst. Recommended reading: Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL by Cristine Smith, Mary Beth Bingman, & Kaye Beall http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1157 The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) has conducted and shared its research with the goal of having an impact on the quality of instruction and service to adult learners. Over the past 10 years, NCSALL has tried a variety of approaches to disseminating their research in ways that will help to reach this goal. This article revisits this journey and shares some lessons that were learned along the way. Connecting Research and Practice: A look at what is known about research utilization and what NCSALL does in that regard by Barbara Garner, Beth Bingman, John Comings, Karen Rowe, & Cristine Smith http://www.ncsall.net/?id=290 This article, from 2001, describes NCSALL's efforts so far to connect research to practice. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Apr 24 15:54:04 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 15:54:04 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 875] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Effective Research Dissemination Message-ID: <462E281C0200002D00001F16@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, In order to prepare for next week's discussion with Cris Smith, this week's FOB Article is the one which we will discuss at that time. We are really hoping to get some input from professional development folks about what they find to be effective ways to convey research, and how they know it's effective. We also hope to hear from teachers about ways in which they have accessed research and what has helped them to use it to improve instructional practices. ************************************************* Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL by Cristine Smith, Mary Beth Bingman, & Kaye Beall http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1157 The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) has conducted and shared its research with the goal of having an impact on the quality of instruction and service to adult learners. Over the past 10 years, NCSALL has tried a variety of approaches to disseminating their research in ways that will help to reach this goal. This article revisits this journey and shares some lessons that were learned along the way. ***************************************************** Please read this and be ready with some comments and questions for next week! See below for the information about the discussion. All the best, Julie ************************************* Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL When: April 30 - May 4, 2007 To participate, subscribe: www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics List Moderator: Julie Mckinney, jmckinney at worlded.org Guest Speaker: Cris Smith, former deputy director of NCSALL This discussion will be geared toward professional development practitioners and discuss the lessons learned during the course of NCSALL's journey in disseminating adult education research, connecting it to practice and and enhancing its usefulness. Cris Smith, who authored the article of the same name in FOB 8C, will lead this discussion. She is the former deputy director of NCSALL. About the guest speaker: Cristine Smith was NCSALL's deputy director and was the research director for the NCSALL Professional Development Study. She also served as the national coordinator of dissemination research and development initiatives over NCSALL's 10 years (the Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network (PDRN) and Connecting Practice, Policy and Research (CPPR) initiatives), designed to help practitioners access, understand, judge and use research. She holds an Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts, and she is currently an Assistant Professor at the Center for International Education at UMass Amherst. Recommended reading: Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL by Cristine Smith, Mary Beth Bingman, & Kaye Beall http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1157 The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) has conducted and shared its research with the goal of having an impact on the quality of instruction and service to adult learners. Over the past 10 years, NCSALL has tried a variety of approaches to disseminating their research in ways that will help to reach this goal. This article revisits this journey and shares some lessons that were learned along the way. Connecting Research and Practice: A look at what is known about research utilization and what NCSALL does in that regard by Barbara Garner, Beth Bingman, John Comings, Karen Rowe, & Cristine Smith http://www.ncsall.net/?id=290 This article, from 2001, describes NCSALL's efforts so far to connect research to practice. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Apr 30 09:37:34 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:37:34 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 875] Welcome to our discussion - Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL! Message-ID: <4635B8DE0200002D00002027@mail.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Welcome to our discussion about effective research dissemination, and welcome to Cris Smith, the former deputy director of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL)! NCSALL has been a leader in adult literacy education research, and particularly in the dissemination of this research. Focus on Basics was created as a tool for this dissemination and has been connecting research to practice for ten years. Cris will discuss what NCSALL has learned about this process over the years. You can find information about NCSALL, as well as their publications, on their website: www.ncsall.net Please see below for more information about our discussion, and the link to Cris' article from the last issue of FOB. We now open the discussion: please send on any questions or comments. All the best, Julie ************************************* Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL This discussion will be geared toward professional development practitioners and discuss the lessons learned during the course of NCSALL's journey in disseminating adult education research, connecting it to practice and and enhancing its usefulness. Cris Smith, who authored the article of the same name in FOB 8C, will lead this discussion. She is the former deputy director of NCSALL. About the guest speaker: Cristine Smith was NCSALL's deputy director and was the research director for the NCSALL Professional Development Study. She also served as the national coordinator of dissemination research and development initiatives over NCSALL's 10 years (the Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network (PDRN) and Connecting Practice, Policy and Research (CPPR) initiatives), designed to help practitioners access, understand, judge and use research. She holds an Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts, and she is currently an Assistant Professor at the Center for International Education at UMass Amherst. Recommended reading: Effective Research Dissemination: Lessons from NCSALL by Cristine Smith, Mary Beth Bingman, & Kaye Beall http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1157 The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) has conducted and shared its research with the goal of having an impact on the quality of instruction and service to adult learners. Over the past 10 years, NCSALL has tried a variety of approaches to disseminating their research in ways that will help to reach this goal. This article revisits this journey and shares some lessons that were learned along the way. Connecting Research and Practice: A look at what is known about research utilization and what NCSALL does in that regard by Barbara Garner, Beth Bingman, John Comings, Karen Rowe, & Cristine Smith http://www.ncsall.net/?id=290 This article, from 2001, describes NCSALL's efforts so far to connect research to practice. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From cristinesmith at comcast.net Mon Apr 30 12:30:04 2007 From: cristinesmith at comcast.net (Cristine Smith) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:30:04 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 876] starting our discussion of effective research dissemination Message-ID: <003901c78b44$cf325dd0$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070430/a6c3b98c/attachment.html From LWright at weta.com Mon Apr 30 12:55:47 2007 From: LWright at weta.com (Layla Wright-Contreras) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:55:47 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 877] Re: =?iso-8859-1?q?starting_our_discussion_of_effective_research_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=09disseminati?= In-Reply-To: <003901c78b44$cf325dd0$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> References: <003901c78b44$cf325dd0$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> Message-ID: The Focus on Basics Discussion List on Monday, April 30, 2007 at 12:30 PM -0500 wrote: >1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an >understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start >by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by >being interested in research in general. I'd be interested in knowing what you've learned in terms of how practitioners view research. What formats do they prefer? Regards, Layla ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Layla Wright-Contreras Manager, ?Color?n Colorado! WETA Public Broadcasting - Learning Media 2775 S. Quincy St. | Arlington, VA 22206 lwright at weta.com | 703-998-2218 www.ColorinColorado.org -- Helping English language learners read... and succeed! * See your new and improved bilingual site. * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070430/68aab5ba/attachment.html From cristinesmith at comcast.net Mon Apr 30 13:51:25 2007 From: cristinesmith at comcast.net (Cristine Smith) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 13:51:25 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 878] Re: what format for learning about research do practitioners prefer? In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <008c01c78b50$2c6f6190$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> What formats for research do practitioners prefer? As always, with the great diversity in our field, it depends. Some practitioners aren?t interested in research at all, feeling it is too divorced from the realities of the field. Some practitioners want research to challenge their thinking and assumptions and add to their theories of teaching and learning. But many practitioners want research to directly suggest activities, techniques, strategies, or approaches that they can use in their classrooms immediately. If you talk to researchers, they?ll generally say, ?but that?s not what research can do. Research looks at big picture questions of ?what?s going on?? and how successful certain teaching interventions might be. Any strategy would have to be adapted for a specific population of learners or particular context.? Nevertheless, many teachers feel they do not have the time or the background to read articles that are ?research-y?. We found that Focus on Basics is a great format for teachers, particularly because it?s online, they can search by subject on the ncsall.net website, and they don?t have to read it cover to cover. We also found that many teachers prefer to participate in professional development that focuses on a specific area of research (learner persistence, adult development, etc.) That?s why we developed all of the study circle and short seminar activities and put them on our website. But what doesn?t necessary work as well is to attract practitioners to read about or come to workshops that are about ?what is research?. The motivation to look for information or attend a professional development activity usually comes from (and I think should come from) a specific problem that teachers are facing in their classrooms or work. Then, they are motivated to find an answer, and if that answer comes from research, and the research gives some practical advice, that seems to suit their needs. Best Cris _____ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Layla Wright-Contreras Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:56 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 877] Re:starting our discussion of effective research disseminati The Focus on Basics Discussion List on Monday, April 30, 2007 at 12:30 PM -0500 wrote: 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. I'd be interested in knowing what you've learned in terms of how practitioners view research. What formats do they prefer? Regards, Layla ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Layla Wright-Contreras Manager, ?Color?n Colorado! WETA Public Broadcasting - Learning Media 2775 S. Quincy St. | Arlington, VA 22206 lwright at weta.com | 703-998-2218 www.ColorinColorado.org -- Helping English language learners read... and succeed! * See your new and improved bilingual site. * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070430/0506ae83/attachment.html From bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net Mon Apr 30 14:48:05 2007 From: bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net (Bonnie Odiorne) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:48:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 879] Re: starting our discussion of effective research disseminati Message-ID: <725425.49881.qm@web83311.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Just to expand on this previous question: why has educational research at all instructional levels (e.g. K-12 and adult ed) seemingly become so relentlessly quantitative; or at least, that's my impression: that is to say, why has educational research appear to have been or be based more on a scientific than on a, for lack of a better term, "humanities" model? Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Layla Wright-Contreras To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:55:47 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 877] Re: starting our discussion of effective research disseminati The Focus on Basics Discussion List on Monday, April 30, 2007 at 12:30 PM -0500 wrote: 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. I'd be interested in knowing what you've learned in terms of how practitioners view research. What formats do they prefer? Regards, Layla ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Layla Wright-Contreras Manager, ?Color?n Colorado! WETA Public Broadcasting - Learning Media 2775 S. Quincy St. | Arlington, VA 22206 lwright at weta.com | 703-998-2218 www.ColorinColorado.org -- Helping English language learners read... and succeed! * See your new and improved bilingual site. * ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070430/951ca76c/attachment.html From gmwase at jff.org Mon Apr 30 14:50:08 2007 From: gmwase at jff.org (Gloria Mwase) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:50:08 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 880] Re: discussion of effective research dissemination Message-ID: Hello, Christine wrote on 4/30/07: 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. Your finding seems to suggest that without these long-term systemic changes, evidence-based approaches will not be embraced. This seems to present a daunting challenge for teachers and program administrators trying to improve the process and outcomes of the work they do. Please share some examples of how research has lead to changes in practice without these systemic changes. Also, please share examples of how these longer-term system changes have been brought about to support research-based changes in practice. Thanks, Gloria Gloria Cross Mwase Senior Project Manager Jobs for the Future 88 Broad Street Boston, MA 02110 617-728-4446, ext. 166 From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu Mon Apr 30 15:29:56 2007 From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Janet Isserlis) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:29:56 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 881] Re: starting our discussion of effective research disseminati In-Reply-To: <725425.49881.qm@web83311.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: which leads us back, in many ways, to the perpetual question of what is research, anyway? I say this with respect and with an awareness that while not a direct focus of this discussion, our (I'm guessing) multiple understandings of what research is, isn't , does and doesn't do, will likely color our responses to many of the prompts and questions before us. Janet Isserlis From: Bonnie Odiorne Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:48:05 -0700 (PDT) To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 879] Re: starting our discussion of effective research disseminati Just to expand on this previous question: why has educational research at all instructional levels (e.g. K-12 and adult ed) seemingly become so relentlessly quantitative; or at least, that's my impression: that is to say, why has educational research appear to have been or be based more on a scientific than on a, for lack of a better term, "humanities" model? Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Layla Wright-Contreras To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:55:47 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 877] Re: starting our discussion of effective research disseminati The Focus on Basics Discussion List on Monday, April 30, 2007 at 12:30 PM -0500 wrote: 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. I'd be interested in knowing what you've learned in terms of how practitioners view research. What formats do they prefer? Regards, Layla ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Layla Wright-Contreras Manager, ?Color?n Colorado! WETA Public Broadcasting - Learning Media 2775 S. Quincy St. | Arlington, VA 22206 lwright at weta.com | 703-998-2218 www.ColorinColorado.org -- Helping English language learners read... and succeed! * See your new and improved bilingual site. * ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to JANET_ISSERLIS at brown.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070430/3f168506/attachment.html From cristinesmith at comcast.net Mon Apr 30 15:44:21 2007 From: cristinesmith at comcast.net (Cristine Smith) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:44:21 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 882] Re: discussion of effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <00e201c78b5f$f2f58880$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> Examples of how research has led to changes in practice without systemic changes: There are many examples of teachers changing the practice within their own classrooms, as a result of learning about research, but that is hit or miss on an individual class basis. Take, for example, the teacher who attended a workshop on how to improve adult student persistence, and found that research indicates that supportive family or friends are an important part of persistence. This GED teacher then tried an experiment in his classroom where he interviewed each new student who came into the class (rather than just have them drop in one day as part of open-entry, open-exit). In this interview, he asked each new student who supported them in their lives to come back to school. He got the name and phone number of the supportive friend or family member (sometimes called a "sponsor"), and if the adult student stopped coming to class, he would call the sponsor and ask them where the student was. He would also ask the sponsor what she or he was doing to encourage the student to keep coming to class. This GED teacher found that persistence went up dramatically in his classes when he was able to interview new students before they came into his class. He went to his administrator and actually showed the administrator the data about persistence before and after, and the administrator said, basically, "Sorry, we are just here to get them to pass their GEDs. If they're motivated, they'll come. We have to have open entry, open exit to meet our NRS goals and there isn't time to have you interview everyone." Since the GED teacher did not get support from his administrator to change the program system to allow him to interview, there was nothing he could do, and he went back to just having students drop in and out of his class. What if the administrator had said, "huh, maybe that's something to think about", had talked to the other instructors and maybe tried to change the intake process on an experimental level in all classes, and then asked the teachers which worked better. If taking time to interview students and follow up with sponsors was found by the program to be useful in increasing persistence, perhaps the administrator might have taken this data to the state and asked for the ability to change program structure to allow for interviewing, for managed enrollment, or some other strategy, and the state agreed to support that program-based strategy, that would be an example of a longer-term system change bringing about research-based changes in practice. Hope this helps. Best...Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Gloria Mwase Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 2:50 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 880] Re: discussion of effective research dissemination Hello, Christine wrote on 4/30/07: 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. Your finding seems to suggest that without these long-term systemic changes, evidence-based approaches will not be embraced. This seems to present a daunting challenge for teachers and program administrators trying to improve the process and outcomes of the work they do. Please share some examples of how research has lead to changes in practice without these systemic changes. Also, please share examples of how these longer-term system changes have been brought about to support research-based changes in practice. Thanks, Gloria Gloria Cross Mwase Senior Project Manager Jobs for the Future 88 Broad Street Boston, MA 02110 617-728-4446, ext. 166 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to cristinesmith at comcast.net. From cristinesmith at comcast.net Mon Apr 30 15:48:10 2007 From: cristinesmith at comcast.net (Cristine Smith) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:48:10 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 883] Re: starting our discussion of effectiveresearch disseminati In-Reply-To: <725425.49881.qm@web83311.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <00e301c78b60$7bccd050$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> The short answer to why research seems to be much more quantitative these days is that the No Child Left Behind act pushed K-12 to use experimental research (with control groups and experimental interventions) to demonstrate ?what works?. Experimental research uses quantitative data. The administration wanted education to be based more on a rigorous, scientifically-based research, so that practice is based on evidence and not on fad or trial-and-error. Best Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu _____ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnie Odiorne Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 2:48 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 879] Re: starting our discussion of effectiveresearch disseminati Just to expand on this previous question: why has educational research at all instructional levels (e.g. K-12 and adult ed) seemingly become so relentlessly quantitative; or at least, that's my impression: that is to say, why has educational research appear to have been or be based more on a scientific than on a, for lack of a better term, "humanities" model? Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Layla Wright-Contreras To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:55:47 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 877] Re: starting our discussion of effective research disseminati The Focus on Basics Discussion List on Monday, April 30, 2007 at 12:30 PM -0500 wrote: 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. I'd be interested in knowing what you've learned in terms of how practitioners view research. What formats do they prefer? Regards, Layla ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Layla Wright-Contreras Manager, ?Color?n Colorado! WETA Public Broadcasting - Learning Media 2775 S. Quincy St. | Arlington, VA 22206 lwright at weta.com | 703-998-2218 www.ColorinColorado.org -- Helping English language learners read... and succeed! * See your new and improved bilingual site. * ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070430/f303fa3c/attachment.html From john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz Mon Apr 30 17:00:44 2007 From: john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz (John Benseman) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 09:00:44 +1200 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our discussion of effectiveresearch disseminati In-Reply-To: <725425.49881.qm@web83311.mail.sp1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1> Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the debate about NCLB and the push by the Bush administration for ?definitive evidence? from researchers about practice, I would like to argue that there is a strong argument for quantitative research (I need to identify myself as a qualitative researcher at this point) in the push to understand our work as literacy teachers. I am currently reviewing all of the research done in New Zealand over the past 5 years on adult literacy, language and numeracy (LLN). The purpose of this review is to provide evidence for the Minister of Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding decision about future provision later this year. In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any statistics and most of those are pretty light both in terms of their samples and analyses. I can already see that my report is not going to have much weight with key government agencies such as the Prime Minister?s Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) say that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? In other words, we have been doing predominantly qualitative research at the expense of quantitative research. There are many reasons for this, which is a whole debate in itself. The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of research if we are to understand what we do better. Both types of research provide useful perspectives and complement each other. The problem is that we tend to oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? driven not only by politicians, but also by those of us who work in the field. John John Benseman Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ (based at Department of Labour) * john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz * 0064 9 627 4415 7 0064 9 627 4418 Cell 027 454 0683 _____ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bonnie Odiorne Sent: Tuesday, 1 May 2007 6:48 a.m. To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 879] Re: starting our discussion of effectiveresearch disseminati Just to expand on this previous question: why has educational research at all instructional levels (e.g. K-12 and adult ed) seemingly become so relentlessly quantitative; or at least, that's my impression: that is to say, why has educational research appear to have been or be based more on a scientific than on a, for lack of a better term, "humanities" model? Bonnie Odiorne, Ph.D. Writing Center Director, Adjunct Professor, Post University, Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ---- From: Layla Wright-Contreras To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:55:47 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 877] Re: starting our discussion of effective research disseminati The Focus on Basics Discussion List on Monday, April 30, 2007 at 12:30 PM -0500 wrote: 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. I'd be interested in knowing what you've learned in terms of how practitioners view research. What formats do they prefer? Regards, Layla ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Layla Wright-Contreras Manager, ?Color?n Colorado! WETA Public Broadcasting - Learning Media 2775 S. Quincy St. | Arlington, VA 22206 lwright at weta.com | 703-998-2218 www.ColorinColorado.org -- Helping English language learners read... and succeed! * See your new and improved bilingual site. * ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070501/68d0382e/attachment.html From john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz Mon Apr 30 17:29:03 2007 From: john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz (John Benseman) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 09:29:03 +1200 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 885] Re: what format for learning about research dopractitioners prefer? In-Reply-To: <008c01c78b50$2c6f6190$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> Message-ID: <005901c78b6e$9337f590$0b00a8c0@critical1> One other point I forgot to add to my previous message: I recently visited LLN teachers in three states and was very impressed with their awareness of research findings and more importantly, how they were either endeavouring to apply the research in their teaching or were carrying out their own action research projects. And what' more, the teachers were excited about doing this and said that they had made a real impact on their teaching. John John Benseman Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ (based at Department of Labour) * john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz * 0064 9 627 4415 7 0064 9 627 4418 Cell 027 454 0683 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070501/b93971db/attachment.html From Deborah.Schwartz at umb.edu Tue May 1 07:53:55 2007 From: Deborah.Schwartz at umb.edu (Deborah C. Schwartz) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 07:53:55 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 886] Re: starting our discussion of effective researchdissemination In-Reply-To: <003901c78b44$cf325dd0$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> Message-ID: <5ACB5AED488C2F44A5B4B8FEA0B0F122D06B7B@ebe3.umassb.net> Hi Chris, I was wondering if you could share if and how NCSALL has explored and implemented "practitioner research-" where teachers are doing their own research on their own practice using their own questions, yet in a facilitated manner-and whether that is one possible way to address the #1 finding below. Best, Deborah Schwartz Adult Literacy Resource Institute System for Adult Basic Education (SABES) http://www.sabes.org ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cristine Smith Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 876] starting our discussion of effective researchdissemination Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070501/6971f862/attachment.html From jn at cloudworld.co.uk Tue May 1 09:12:52 2007 From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 14:12:52 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 887] Re: effective research dissemination References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1> Message-ID: <006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Hi all, As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners view the science, and (3) the policy support needed, you may be interested to know what is happening over here in England concerning the teaching of reading. I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, not an educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge University, I was trained to recognise the application of good scientific methods. And there are countless examples in the history of science where it has taken time for the "conventional view" of something to be overturned by good evidence coming from careful observation and logical argument. The science of reading falls into several areas: (a) how fluent readers read; (b) what is going on in the brain; (c) how best to train the brain; (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. There has been controversy in all these areas, which has held back the acceptance of "good science". (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional view) is that rapid reading involves whole word recognition, and not being slowed down by the decoding and sounding out of words in one's "mind's ear". However research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are capable of mentally sounding out words at great speed, just as we can listen to somebody talking rapidly. (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent readers use one part of the brain for the visual processing, and then another part of the brain is activated as for listening. This supports the research of (a). However this research has been clouded by the interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather than a product of training the brain to use the wrong pathways. (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of how best to train the brain of a young child, and how to deal with older children who can't read fluently. To my knowledge, there has been little or no research on the brain to answer these questions directly. However the most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and "sound out" words is developed from the start. And for older children, one has to go back to basics, to get this brain process trained up and exercised. (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works well for all children, and works better than rival approaches. In synthetic phonics, children are taught to decode starting from single letter-sound correspondences, and build up the sound of the word. Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et al) have questioned the soundness of the research, their criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane McGuinness. So how do practitioners view the research? The experience in England is that practitioners are generally unaware of the research (a) and (b). Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research on dyslexia and the brain. But they are most likely to know about research on what works (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide coverage on the media. And one television channel ran a series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy results) that was adopting synthetic phonics from scratch, with dramatic results (everybody reading). What policy has been adopted? The government has officially accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying that synthetic phonics should be mandated by September that year. However, when it comes to putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, the government has delegated responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little activity since then. There has been no sign of teachers being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no authoritative books on the subject giving practical help to primary school teachers. So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as speedy and effective as one would like. The educational establishment by and large continues to support the old "mix and match" methods. Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they can't easily take new methods on board. Thus we will continue to see one in five children failing to read by the end of primary school. This is a human tragedy. BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years and more ago we were taught phonics from the start. So one could say that the research is taking us "back to the future". Cheers from Chiswick, John John Nissen, MA (Cantab) Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: John Benseman To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the debate about NCLB and the push by the Bush administration for 'definitive evidence' from researchers about practice, I would like to argue that there is a strong argument for quantitative research (I need to identify myself as a qualitative researcher at this point) in the push to understand our work as literacy teachers. I am currently reviewing all of the research done in New Zealand over the past 5 years on adult literacy, language and numeracy (LLN). The purpose of this review is to provide evidence for the Minister of Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding decision about future provision later this year. In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any statistics and most of those are pretty light both in terms of their samples and analyses. I can already see that my report is not going to have much weight with key government agencies such as the Prime Minister's Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) say that "we don't want yet another good news story." In other words, we have been doing predominantly qualitative research at the expense of quantitative research. There are many reasons for this, which is a whole debate in itself. The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of research if we are to understand what we do better. Both types of research provide useful perspectives and complement each other. The problem is that we tend to oscillate between swings of the pendulum - driven not only by politicians, but also by those of us who work in the field. John John Benseman Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ (based at Department of Labour) * john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz ( 0064 9 627 4415 7 0064 9 627 4418 Cell 027 454 0683 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070501/d899c063/attachment.html From andreawilder at comcast.net Tue May 1 21:51:18 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 21:51:18 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1> <006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Message-ID: <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading activates different parts of the brain than does phoneme-grapheme training. There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at the back of the head. This seems to be where the two representations, visual and auditory, are put together. Children can improve their reading by work in both areas, it is the TEACHER who makes the difference directing the child's attention . Andrea On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: > > ? > Hi all, > ? > As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners view the > science, and (3) the policy support needed, you may be interested to > know what is happening over here in England concerning the teaching of > reading. > ? > I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, not an > educator.??As a?science?graduate from?Cambridge University, I?was > trained to recognise the application of good scientific methods.? And > there are countless examples in the history of science where it has > taken time for the "conventional view" of something to be overturned > by good evidence coming from careful observation and logical argument. > ? > The science of reading falls into several areas:? > (a) how fluent readers read; > (b) what is going on in the brain; > (c) how best to train the brain; > (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. > ? > There has been controversy in all these areas, which has held back the > acceptance of "good science".? > ? > (a)? A widely held view (one could say the conventional view)?is > that?rapid reading involves whole word recognition, and not being > slowed down by the decoding and sounding out of words in one's "mind's > ear".? However research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is > mistaken.? We decode?a majority of words,?and we are capable of > mentally sounding out words at great speed, just as we can listen to > somebody talking rapidly. > ? > (b)?The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent readers use one > part of the brain for the visual processing, and then another part of > the brain is activated as for listening.? This supports the research > of (a).? However this research has been clouded by the interpretation > of?dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather than a product of training > the brain to use the wrong pathways. > ? > (c)?In view of the above research, there are questions of how best to > train the brain of a young child, and how to deal with older children > who can't read fluently.? To my knowledge, there has been little or no > research on the brain to answer these questions directly.? However the > most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the principles of > decoding and how to decode from an early an age as possible, so that > an ability to rapidly decode and "sound out" words is developed from > the start.? And for older children, one has to go back to basics, to > get this brain process trained up and exercised. > ? > (d)?Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience elsewhere, has shown > that?synthetic phonics works well for all children, and works better > than rival approaches.? In synthetic phonics, children are taught to > decode starting from single letter-sound correspondences, and build up > the sound of the word.? Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et al)?have > questioned the soundness of the research, their criticisms have been > thoroughly dismissed by Diane McGuinness. > ? > So how do practitioners view the research?? The experience in England > is that practitioners are generally unaware of the research (a) and > (b).? Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research on dyslexia > and the brain.? But they are most likely to know about research on > what works (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, > because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select Committee on > Education and Skills, which endorsed synthetic phonics.? The Rose > Report was given wide coverage on the media.? And one television > channel ran a series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy > results) that was adopting synthetic phonics from scratch, with > dramatic results (everybody reading). > ? > What policy has been adopted?? The government has officially accepted > the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying that synthetic phonics should > be mandated by September that year.? However, when it comes to putting > synthetic phonics into mainstream, the government has delegated > responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum > Authority), and we have seen very little activity since then.? There > has been no sign of teachers being trained in synthetic phonics,?and > there are no authoritative books on the subject giving practical help > to primary school teachers. > ? > So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as speedy and > effective as one would like.? The educational establishment?by and > large continues to support the old "mix and match" methods.? Teachers > are so weighed down by paperwork that they can't easily take new > methods on board.? Thus we will continue to see one in five children > failing to read by the end of primary school.? This is a human > tragedy. > ? > BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years and more ago > we were taught phonics from the start.? So one could say that the > research is taking us "back to the future". > ? > Cheers from Chiswick, > ? > John > ? > John Nissen, MA (Cantab) > Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk > maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. > Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: > http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm > Tel: +44 208 742 3170? Fax: +44 208 742 0202 > Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk > ? > > ? >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: John Benseman >> To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our discussion >> ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >> >> Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the debate about NCLB >> and the push by the Bush administration for ?definitive evidence? >> from researchers about practice, I would like to argue that there is >> a strong argument for quantitative research (I need to identify >> myself as a qualitative researcher at this point) in the push to >> understand our work as literacy teachers. >> ? >> I am currently reviewing all of the research done in New Zealand over >> the past 5 years on adult literacy, language and numeracy (LLN). The >> purpose of this review is to provide evidence for the Minister of >> Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding decision about >> future provision later this year. >> ? >> In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any statistics and >> most of those are pretty light both in terms of their samples and >> analyses. I can already see that my report is not going to have much >> weight with key government agencies such as the Prime Minister?s Dept >> and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) say that ?we don?t >> want yet another good news story.? In other words, we have been doing >> predominantly qualitative research at the expense of quantitative >> research. There are many reasons for this, which is a whole debate in >> itself. >> ? >> The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of research if we >> are to understand what we do better. Both types of research provide >> useful perspectives and complement each other. The problem is that we >> tend to oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? driven not only by >> politicians, but also by those of us who work in the field. >> ? >> John >> ? >> John Benseman >> ? >> Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ >> (based at Department of Labour) >> ? >> *?? john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz >> (?? 0064 9 627 4415 >> 7 0064 9 627 4418 >> Cell ?027 454 0683 >> > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 12933 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070501/124d10ef/attachment.bin From jn at cloudworld.co.uk Wed May 2 10:24:04 2007 From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 15:24:04 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 889] Re: effective research dissemination References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1><006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> Message-ID: <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Hi Andrea, I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I know there are lot of "whole language" advocates on this list. Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics with whole language approach, putting the "visual and auditory" together. This was the approach used in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the approach used in most schools over the past few decades. Despite the introduction of the literacy hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading satisfactorily by end of primary school. The Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed approach. Synthetic phonics was by far the best. It was not to do with the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught enthusiastically with the old methods find that synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the method, and knows many other teachers who have used it. The experience of teaching is backing up the science. Cheers from Chiswick, John ----- Original Message ----- From: Andrea Wilder To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research dissemination Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading activates different parts of the brain than does phoneme-grapheme training. There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at the back of the head. This seems to be where the two representations, visual and auditory, are put together. Children can improve their reading by work in both areas, it is the TEACHER who makes the difference directing the child's attention . Andrea On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: Hi all, As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners view the science, and (3) the policy support needed, you may be interested to know what is happening over here in England concerning the teaching of reading. I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, not an educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge University, I was trained to recognise the application of good scientific methods. And there are countless examples in the history of science where it has taken time for the "conventional view" of something to be overturned by good evidence coming from careful observation and logical argument. The science of reading falls into several areas: (a) how fluent readers read; (b) what is going on in the brain; (c) how best to train the brain; (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. There has been controversy in all these areas, which has held back the acceptance of "good science". (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional view) is that rapid reading involves whole word recognition, and not being slowed down by the decoding and sounding out of words in one's "mind's ear". However research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are capable of mentally sounding out words at great speed, just as we can listen to somebody talking rapidly. (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent readers use one part of the brain for the visual processing, and then another part of the brain is activated as for listening. This supports the research of (a). However this research has been clouded by the interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather than a product of training the brain to use the wrong pathways. (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of how best to train the brain of a young child, and how to deal with older children who can't read fluently. To my knowledge, there has been little or no research on the brain to answer these questions directly. However the most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and "sound out" words is developed from the start. And for older children, one has to go back to basics, to get this brain process trained up and exercised. (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works well for all children, and works better than rival approaches. In synthetic phonics, children are taught to decode starting from single letter-sound correspondences, and build up the sound of the word. Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et al) have questioned the soundness of the research, their criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane McGuinness. So how do practitioners view the research? The experience in England is that practitioners are generally unaware of the research (a) and (b). Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research on dyslexia and the brain. But they are most likely to know about research on what works (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide coverage on the media. And one television channel ran a series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy results) that was adopting synthetic phonics from scratch, with dramatic results (everybody reading). What policy has been adopted? The government has officially accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying that synthetic phonics should be mandated by September that year. However, when it comes to putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, the government has delegated responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little activity since then. There has been no sign of teachers being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no authoritative books on the subject giving practical help to primary school teachers. So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as speedy and effective as one would like. The educational establishment by and large continues to support the old "mix and match" methods. Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they can't easily take new methods on board. Thus we will continue to see one in five children failing to read by the end of primary school. This is a human tragedy. BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years and more ago we were taught phonics from the start. So one could say that the research is taking us "back to the future". Cheers from Chiswick, John John Nissen, MA (Cantab) Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: John Benseman To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the debate about NCLB and the push by the Bush administration for ?definitive evidence? from researchers about practice, I would like to argue that there is a strong argument for quantitative research (I need to identify myself as a qualitative researcher at this point) in the push to understand our work as literacy teachers. I am currently reviewing all of the research done in New Zealand over the past 5 years on adult literacy, language and numeracy (LLN). The purpose of this review is to provide evidence for the Minister of Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding decision about future provision later this year. In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any statistics and most of those are pretty light both in terms of their samples and analyses. I can already see that my report is not going to have much weight with key government agencies such as the Prime Minister?s Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) say that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? In other words, we have been doing predominantly qualitative research at the expense of quantitative research. There are many reasons for this, which is a whole debate in itself. The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of research if we are to understand what we do better. Both types of research provide useful perspectives and complement each other. The problem is that we tend to oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? driven not only by politicians, but also by those of us who work in the field. John John Benseman Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ (based at Department of Labour) * john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz ( 0064 9 627 4415 7 0064 9 627 4418 Cell 027 454 0683 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to JN at cloudworld.co.uk. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070502/5ab81857/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed May 2 11:38:35 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 11:38:35 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 890] FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination and PD tools Message-ID: <4638783A0200002D000020FD@mail.jsi.com> Hi Cris and others, Thanks for outlining this so clearly! In #2, you say: "Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research." These tools include the publication Focus on Basics (FOB) as well as this discussion list to share ideas from FOB. I would love to hear your thoughts on how FOB has worked as a dissemination tool, and how this list has worked to reinforce it. I would also like to hear from others how FOB and the list have been used by professional development staff to "help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research". How effective is this model? How can it be included in PD activities? Thanks! Julie P.S. Last year, we had a discussion on this list with Barb Garner about he FOB Evaluation Report, which you find at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report27.pdf You can read the discussion on the archives at: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/date.html (Scroll down to April 10) ******************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Cristine Smith" 04/30/07 12:30 PM >>> Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu From andreawilder at comcast.net Wed May 2 13:25:41 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 13:25:41 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 891] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1><006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Message-ID: <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> Hi John, I had another experience at the Learning and the Brain Conference I went to. In a lesson on skill development we were given the task of measuring how high a ball would bounce when dropped from different heights, when measured by a yard stick. Turns out the variability in scores from different teams is related to the SKILL of the different people doing the measuring. From this I learned that what matters is the SKILL of the teacher. I have been in education long enough to see the swing from teacher proof curriculum to teacher-as-Piaget curriculum. Teachers need to have knowledge and experience, This will only occur when teachers are paid better. No shortcuts. Andrea On May 2, 2007, at 10:24 AM, John Nissen wrote: > ? > Hi Andrea, > ? > I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I know there are lot > of "whole language" advocates on this list. > ? > Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics with whole language > approach, putting the "visual and auditory" together.? This was the > approach used in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the approach > used in most schools over the past few decades.? Despite the > introduction of the literacy hour in all schools some years ago, the > literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading satisfactorily by > end of primary school.? The Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic > phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed approach.? Synthetic phonics > was by far the best.? It was not to do with the teachers.? Dedicated > teachers who have taught enthusiastically with the old methods find > that synthetic phonics works better.? But I'm not a teacher myself, so > you need to ask somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught > children by the method, and knows many other teachers who have used > it. > ? > The experience of teaching?is backing up the science. > ? > Cheers from Chiswick, > ? > John > ? > ? >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Andrea Wilder >> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research dissemination >> >> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading activates >> different parts of the brain than does phoneme-grapheme training. >> >> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the auditory >> cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at the back of the >> head. This seems to be where the two representations, visual and >> auditory, are put together. Children can improve their reading by >> work in both areas, it is the TEACHER who makes the difference >> directing the child's attention . >> >> Andrea >> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >>> >>> ? >>> Hi all, >>> ? >>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners view the >>> science, and (3) the policy support needed, you may be interested to >>> know what is happening over here in England concerning the teaching >>> of reading. >>> ? >>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, not an >>> educator.??As a?science?graduate from?Cambridge University, I?was >>> trained to recognise the application of good scientific methods.? >>> And there are countless examples in the history of science where it >>> has taken time for the "conventional view" of something to be >>> overturned by good evidence coming from careful observation and >>> logical argument. >>> ? >>> The science of reading falls into several areas:? >>> (a) how fluent readers read; >>> (b) what is going on in the brain; >>> (c) how best to train the brain; >>> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >>> ? >>> There has been controversy in all these areas, which has held back >>> the acceptance of "good science".? >>> ? >>> (a)? A widely held view (one could say the conventional view)?is >>> that?rapid reading involves whole word recognition, and not being >>> slowed down by the decoding and sounding out of words in one's >>> "mind's ear".? However research in neurolinguistics shows that this >>> view is mistaken.? We decode?a majority of words,?and we are capable >>> of mentally sounding out words at great speed, just as we can listen >>> to somebody talking rapidly. >>> ? >>> (b)?The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent readers use one >>> part of the brain for the visual processing, and then another part >>> of the brain is activated as for listening.? This supports the >>> research of (a).? However this research has been clouded by the >>> interpretation of?dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather than a >>> product of training the brain to use the wrong pathways. >>> ? >>> (c)?In view of the above research, there are questions of how best >>> to train the brain of a young child, and how to deal with older >>> children who can't read fluently.? To my knowledge, there has been >>> little or no research on the brain to answer these questions >>> directly.? However the most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to >>> teach the principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an >>> age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and "sound >>> out" words is developed from the start.? And for older children, one >>> has to go back to basics, to get this brain process trained up and >>> exercised. >>> ? >>> (d)?Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience elsewhere, has >>> shown that?synthetic phonics works well for all children, and works >>> better than rival approaches.? In synthetic phonics, children are >>> taught to decode starting from single letter-sound correspondences, >>> and build up the sound of the word.? Although some (Brooks, >>> Torgerson, et al)?have questioned the soundness of the research, >>> their criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane McGuinness. >>> ? >>> So how do practitioners view the research?? The experience in >>> England is that practitioners are generally unaware of the research >>> (a) and (b).? Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research >>> on dyslexia and the brain.? But they are most likely to know about >>> research on what works (d), and in particular the research in >>> Clackmannanshire, because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the >>> Select Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed synthetic >>> phonics.? The Rose Report was given wide coverage on the media.? And >>> one television channel ran a series of programmes about a school >>> (with poor literacy results) that was adopting synthetic phonics >>> from scratch, with dramatic results (everybody reading). >>> ? >>> What policy has been adopted?? The government has officially >>> accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying that synthetic >>> phonics should be mandated by September that year.? However, when it >>> comes to putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, the government >>> has delegated responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications >>> and Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little activity >>> since then.? There has been no sign of teachers being trained in >>> synthetic phonics,?and there are no authoritative books on the >>> subject giving practical help to primary school teachers. >>> ? >>> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as speedy and >>> effective as one would like.? The educational establishment?by and >>> large continues to support the old "mix and match" methods.? >>> Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they can't easily >>> take new methods on board.? Thus we will continue to see one in five >>> children failing to read by the end of primary school.? This is a >>> human tragedy. >>> ? >>> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years and more ago >>> we were taught phonics from the start.? So one could say that the >>> research is taking us "back to the future". >>> ? >>> Cheers from Chiswick, >>> ? >>> John >>> ? >>> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >>> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >>> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >>> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >>> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >>> Tel: +44 208 742 3170? Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >>> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk >>> ? >>> >>> ? >>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>> From: John Benseman >>>> To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >>>> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >>>> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our discussion >>>> ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >>>> >>>> Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the debate about >>>> NCLB and the push by the Bush administration for ?definitive >>>> evidence? from researchers about practice, I would like to argue >>>> that there is a strong argument for quantitative research (I need >>>> to identify myself as a qualitative researcher at this point) in >>>> the push to understand our work as literacy teachers. >>>> ? >>>> I am currently reviewing all of the research done in New Zealand >>>> over the past 5 years on adult literacy, language and numeracy >>>> (LLN). The purpose of this review is to provide evidence for the >>>> Minister of Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding >>>> decision about future provision later this year. >>>> ? >>>> In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any statistics and >>>> most of those are pretty light both in terms of their samples and >>>> analyses. I can already see that my report is not going to have >>>> much weight with key government agencies such as the Prime >>>> Minister?s Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) say >>>> that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? In other words, >>>> we have been doing predominantly qualitative research at the >>>> expense of quantitative research. There are many reasons for this, >>>> which is a whole debate in itself. >>>> ? >>>> The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of research if >>>> we are to understand what we do better. Both types of research >>>> provide useful perspectives and complement each other. The problem >>>> is that we tend to oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? >>>> driven not only by politicians, but also by those of us who work in >>>> the field. >>>> ? >>>> John >>>> ? >>>> John Benseman >>>> ? >>>> Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ >>>> (based at Department of Labour) >>>> ? >>>> *?? john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz >>>> (?? 0064 9 627 4415 >>>> 7 0064 9 627 4418 >>>> Cell ?027 454 0683 >>>> >>> ---------------------------------------------------- >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to >>> andreawilder at comcast.net.-------------------------------------------- >>> -------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to >> JN at cloudworld.co.uk.-------------------------------------------------- >> -- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 12120 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070502/44f7b65e/attachment.bin From lalumineuse at yahoo.com Wed May 2 13:57:48 2007 From: lalumineuse at yahoo.com (Ujwala Samant) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 10:57:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 892] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Message-ID: <97695.96936.qm@web55112.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Hi Andrea and John, This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 years of teaching special ed, adults, children, Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole host of other things, I've seen studies come and go. I work in the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire study. Now I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's study and in a few years we will have another study which will say something else. Forgive me if I sound sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature vs nurture debate. We will always have advocates for both sides. An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake Oil. An either/or approach is simply tiresome. Besides, let's first agree on a universal system of phonics for the English language. Then, let's see how best to train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how well it works in the classroom. Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I will not get into this debate the next time it pops up. Cheers, Ujwala --- John Nissen wrote: > > Hi Andrea, > > I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I > know there are lot of "whole language" advocates on > this list. > > Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics > with whole language approach, putting the "visual > and auditory" together. This was the approach used > in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the > approach used in most schools over the past few > decades. Despite the introduction of the literacy > hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy > rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading > satisfactorily by end of primary school. The > Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic phonics, > analytic phonics and the mixed approach. Synthetic > phonics was by far the best. It was not to do with > the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught > enthusiastically with the old methods find that > synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a > teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like > Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the > method, and knows many other teachers who have used > it. > > The experience of teaching is backing up the > science. > > Cheers from Chiswick, > > John > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Andrea Wilder > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective > research dissemination > > > Just to get back in the fray....Whole language > reading activates different parts of the brain than > does phoneme-grapheme training. > > There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between > the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the > visual cortex at the back of the head. This seems to > be where the two representations, visual and > auditory, are put together. Children can improve > their reading by work in both areas, it is the > TEACHER who makes the difference directing the > child's attention . > > Andrea > On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: > > > > > Hi all, > > As regards Cristine's point (1) about how > practitioners view the science, and (3) the policy > support needed, you may be interested to know what > is happening over here in England concerning the > teaching of reading. > > I declare my interest here - I am trained as a > scientist, not an educator. As a science graduate > from Cambridge University, I was trained to > recognise the application of good scientific > methods. And there are countless examples in the > history of science where it has taken time for the > "conventional view" of something to be overturned by > good evidence coming from careful observation and > logical argument. > > The science of reading falls into several areas: > > (a) how fluent readers read; > (b) what is going on in the brain; > (c) how best to train the brain; > (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. > > There has been controversy in all these areas, > which has held back the acceptance of "good > science". > > (a) A widely held view (one could say the > conventional view) is that rapid reading involves > whole word recognition, and not being slowed down by > the decoding and sounding out of words in one's > "mind's ear". However research in neurolinguistics > shows that this view is mistaken. We decode a > majority of words, and we are capable of mentally > sounding out words at great speed, just as we can > listen to somebody talking rapidly. > > (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that > fluent readers use one part of the brain for the > visual processing, and then another part of the > brain is activated as for listening. This supports > the research of (a). However this research has been > clouded by the interpretation of dyslexia as a brain > malfunction, rather than a product of training the > brain to use the wrong pathways. > > (c) In view of the above research, there are > questions of how best to train the brain of a young > child, and how to deal with older children who can't > read fluently. To my knowledge, there has been > little or no research on the brain to answer these > questions directly. However the most obvious > deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the > principles of decoding and how to decode from an > early an age as possible, so that an ability to > rapidly decode and "sound out" words is developed > from the start. And for older children, one has to > go back to basics, to get this brain process trained > up and exercised. > > (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience > elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works > well for all children, and works better than rival > approaches. In synthetic phonics, children are > taught to decode starting from single letter-sound > correspondences, and build up the sound of the word. > Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et al) have > questioned the soundness of the research, their > criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane > McGuinness. > > So how do practitioners view the research? The > experience in England is that practitioners are > generally unaware of the research (a) and (b). > Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research > on dyslexia and the brain. But they are most likely > to know about research on what works (d), and in > particular the research in Clackmannanshire, because > of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select > Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed > synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide > coverage on the media. And one television channel > ran a series of programmes about a school (with poor > literacy results) that was adopting synthetic > phonics from scratch, with dramatic results > (everybody reading). > > What policy has been adopted? The government > has officially accepted the Rose Report, in March > 2006, saying that synthetic phonics should be > mandated by September that year. However, when it > comes to putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, > the government has delegated responsibility to the > old-guard QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum > Authority), and we have seen very little activity > since then. There has been no sign of teachers > being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no > authoritative books on the subject giving practical > help to primary school teachers. > > So, in conclusion, research dissemination has > not been as speedy and effective as one would like. > The educational establishment by and large continues > to support the old "mix and match" methods. > Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they > can't easily take new methods on board. Thus we > will continue to see one in five children failing to > read by the end of primary school. This is a human > tragedy. > > BTW, there's a twist in this story, because > forty years and more ago we were taught phonics from > the start. So one could say that the research is > taking us "back to the future". > > Cheers from Chiswick, > > John > > John Nissen, MA (Cantab) > Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk > maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. > Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: > > http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm > Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 > Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: John Benseman > To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' > Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our > discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to LALUMINEUSE at yahoo.com. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From b.garner4 at verizon.net Wed May 2 15:27:58 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 14:27:58 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 893] Re: More issues of FOB planned Message-ID: <10017967.463861178134078442.JavaMail.root@vms170.mailsrvcs.net> This is a little bit off topic, but I hope the journal as dissemination tool is an effective model, because we're going to be able to publish two more issue of "Focus on Basics". Thanks to World Education, home of NCSALL's dissemination team, for supporting its longer life. I'm working on choosing themes and would love suggestions---I'm also looking for research that needs to find its audience. If you want to contact me off list, use b.garner4 at verizon.net I'll post more information soon. Barb Garner Editor, "Focus on Basics" ===================== From: Julie McKinney Date: 2007/05/02 Wed AM 10:38:35 CDT To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 890] FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination and PD tools Hi Cris and others, Thanks for outlining this so clearly! In #2, you say: "Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research." These tools include the publication Focus on Basics (FOB) as well as this discussion list to share ideas from FOB. I would love to hear your thoughts on how FOB has worked as a dissemination tool, and how this list has worked to reinforce it. I would also like to hear from others how FOB and the list have been used by professional development staff to "help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research". How effective is this model? How can it be included in PD activities? Thanks! Julie P.S. Last year, we had a discussion on this list with Barb Garner about he FOB Evaluation Report, which you find at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report27.pdf You can read the discussion on the archives at: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/date.html (Scroll down to April 10) ******************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Cristine Smith" 04/30/07 12:30 PM >>> Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From woodsnh at isp.com Wed May 2 18:16:57 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Wed, 02 May 2007 18:16:57 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 894] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1><006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> Message-ID: <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> Andrea, Would you please elaborate on your terms, teacher-proof-curriculum, and teacher-as-Piaget-curriculum. Thanks, Tom Woods Andrea Wilder wrote: > Hi John, > > I had another experience at the Learning and the Brain Conference I > went to. In a lesson on skill development we were given the task of > measuring how high a ball would bounce when dropped from different > heights, when measured by a yard stick. Turns out the variability in > scores from different teams is related to the SKILL of the different > people doing the measuring. From this I learned that what matters is > the SKILL of the teacher. I have been in education long enough to see > the swing from teacher proof curriculum to teacher-as-Piaget > curriculum. Teachers need to have knowledge and experience, This will > only occur when teachers are paid better. No shortcuts. > > Andrea > > > On May 2, 2007, at 10:24 AM, John Nissen wrote: > > > Hi Andrea, > > I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I know there are > lot of "whole language" advocates on this list. > > Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics with whole > language approach, putting the "visual and auditory" together. > This was the approach used in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" > and the approach used in most schools over the past few decades. > Despite the introduction of the literacy hour in all schools some > years ago, the literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading > satisfactorily by end of primary school. The Clackmannanshire > study compared synthetic phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed > approach. Synthetic phonics was by far the best. It was not to > do with the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught > enthusiastically with the old methods find that synthetic phonics > works better. But I'm not a teacher myself, so you need to ask > somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the > method, and knows many other teachers who have used it. > > The experience of teaching is backing up the science. > > Cheers from Chiswick, > > John > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Andrea Wilder > *To:* The Focus on Basics Discussion List > *Sent:* Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM > *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research > dissemination > > Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading > activates different parts of the brain than does > phoneme-grapheme training. > > There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the > auditory cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at > the back of the head. This seems to be where the two > representations, visual and auditory, are put together. > Children can improve their reading by work in both areas, it > is the TEACHER who makes the difference directing the child's > attention . > > Andrea > On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: > > > > Hi all, > > As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners > view the science, and (3) the policy support needed, you > may be interested to know what is happening over here in > England concerning the teaching of reading. > > I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, > not an educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge > University, I was trained to recognise the application of > good scientific methods. And there are countless examples > in the history of science where it has taken time for the > "conventional view" of something to be overturned by good > evidence coming from careful observation and logical > argument. > > The science of reading falls into several areas: > (a) how fluent readers read; > (b) what is going on in the brain; > (c) how best to train the brain; > (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. > > There has been controversy in all these areas, which has > held back the acceptance of "good science". > > (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional > view) is that rapid reading involves whole word > recognition, and not being slowed down by the decoding and > sounding out of words in one's "mind's ear". However > research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is > mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are > capable of mentally sounding out words at great speed, > just as we can listen to somebody talking rapidly. > > (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent > readers use one part of the brain for the visual > processing, and then another part of the brain is > activated as for listening. This supports the research of > (a). However this research has been clouded by the > interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather > than a product of training the brain to use the wrong > pathways. > > (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of > how best to train the brain of a young child, and how to > deal with older children who can't read fluently. To my > knowledge, there has been little or no research on the > brain to answer these questions directly. However the > most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the > principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an > age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and > "sound out" words is developed from the start. And for > older children, one has to go back to basics, to get this > brain process trained up and exercised. > > (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience > elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works well for > all children, and works better than rival approaches. In > synthetic phonics, children are taught to decode starting > from single letter-sound correspondences, and build up the > sound of the word. Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et > al) have questioned the soundness of the research, their > criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane > McGuinness. > > So how do practitioners view the research? The experience > in England is that practitioners are generally unaware of > the research (a) and (b). Regarding (c), they may have > heard of brain research on dyslexia and the brain. But > they are most likely to know about research on what works > (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, > because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select > Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed > synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide > coverage on the media. And one television channel ran a > series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy > results) that was adopting synthetic phonics from scratch, > with dramatic results (everybody reading). > > What policy has been adopted? The government has > officially accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying > that synthetic phonics should be mandated by September > that year. However, when it comes to putting synthetic > phonics into mainstream, the government has delegated > responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and > Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little > activity since then. There has been no sign of teachers > being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no > authoritative books on the subject giving practical help > to primary school teachers. > > So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as > speedy and effective as one would like. The educational > establishment by and large continues to support the old > "mix and match" methods. Teachers are so weighed down by > paperwork that they can't easily take new methods on > board. Thus we will continue to see one in five children > failing to read by the end of primary school. This is a > human tragedy. > > BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years > and more ago we were taught phonics from the start. So > one could say that the research is taking us "back to the > future". > > Cheers from Chiswick, > > John > > John Nissen, MA (Cantab) > Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk > maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. > Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: > http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm > Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 > Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* John Benseman > *To:* 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' > *Sent:* Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM > *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our > discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati > > Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the > debate about NCLB and the push by the Bush > administration for ?definitive evidence? from > researchers about practice, I would like to argue that > there is a strong argument for quantitative research > (I need to identify myself as a qualitative researcher > at this point) in the push to understand our work as > literacy teachers. > > I am currently reviewing all of the research done in > New Zealand over the past 5 years on adult literacy, > language and numeracy (LLN). The purpose of this > review is to provide evidence for the Minister of > Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding > decision about future provision later this year. > > In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any > statistics and most of those are pretty light both in > terms of their samples and analyses. I can already see > that my report is not going to have much weight with > key government agencies such as the Prime Minister?s > Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) > say that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? > In other words, we have been doing predominantly > qualitative research at the expense of quantitative > research. There are many reasons for this, which is a > whole debate in itself. > > The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of > research if we are to understand what we do better. > Both types of research provide useful perspectives and > complement each other. The problem is that we tend to > oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? driven not > only by politicians, but also by those of us who work > in the field. > > John > > John Benseman* * > > Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ > (based at Department of Labour) > > */ /john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz > *(* 0064 9 627 4415 > *7 *0064 9 627 4418 > Cell 027 454 0683 > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to > andreawilder at comcast.net.---------------------------------------------------- > > > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go > to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to > JN at cloudworld.co.uk.---------------------------------------------------- > > > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > From sreid at workbase.org.nz Wed May 2 20:31:28 2007 From: sreid at workbase.org.nz (Susan Reid) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 12:31:28 +1200 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 895] Re: effective research dissemination Message-ID: <14794889A1E3AF419042F64CC5425A1E53CC5A@secure.workbase.org.nz> Hi Ujwala Came across this great quote that will appeal to you >From a book called Built to Last authors Collins and Porras talk about "avoiding the Tyranny of the OR and embracing the Genius of AND " Regards Susan Reid -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Ujwala Samant Sent: Thursday, 3 May 2007 5:58 a.m. To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 892] Re: effective research dissemination Hi Andrea and John, This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 years of teaching special ed, adults, children, Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole host of other things, I've seen studies come and go. I work in the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire study. Now I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's study and in a few years we will have another study which will say something else. Forgive me if I sound sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature vs nurture debate. We will always have advocates for both sides. An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake Oil. An either/or approach is simply tiresome. Besides, let's first agree on a universal system of phonics for the English language. Then, let's see how best to train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how well it works in the classroom. Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I will not get into this debate the next time it pops up. Cheers, Ujwala --- John Nissen wrote: > > Hi Andrea, > > I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I know there are lot > of "whole language" advocates on this list. > > Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics with whole language > approach, putting the "visual and auditory" together. This was the > approach used in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the approach > used in most schools over the past few decades. Despite the > introduction of the literacy hour in all schools some years ago, the > literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading satisfactorily by > end of primary school. The Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic > phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed approach. Synthetic phonics > was by far the best. It was not to do with the teachers. Dedicated > teachers who have taught enthusiastically with the old methods find > that synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a teacher myself, so > you need to ask somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught > children by the method, and knows many other teachers who have used > it. > > The experience of teaching is backing up the science. > > Cheers from Chiswick, > > John > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Andrea Wilder > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research dissemination > > > Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading activates > different parts of the brain than does phoneme-grapheme training. > > There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the auditory > cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at the back of the > head. This seems to be where the two representations, visual and > auditory, are put together. Children can improve their reading by work > in both areas, it is the TEACHER who makes the difference directing > the child's attention . > > Andrea > On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: > > > > > Hi all, > > As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners view the > science, and (3) the policy support needed, you may be interested to > know what is happening over here in England concerning the teaching of > reading. > > I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, not an > educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge University, I was > trained to recognise the application of good scientific methods. And > there are countless examples in the history of science where it has > taken time for the "conventional view" of something to be overturned > by good evidence coming from careful observation and logical argument. > > The science of reading falls into several areas: > > (a) how fluent readers read; > (b) what is going on in the brain; > (c) how best to train the brain; > (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. > > There has been controversy in all these areas, which has held back > the acceptance of "good science". > > (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional view) is > that rapid reading involves whole word recognition, and not being > slowed down by the decoding and sounding out of words in one's "mind's > ear". However research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is > mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are capable of > mentally sounding out words at great speed, just as we can listen to > somebody talking rapidly. > > (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent readers use > one part of the brain for the visual processing, and then another part > of the brain is activated as for listening. This supports the > research of (a). However this research has been clouded by the > interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather than a > product of training the brain to use the wrong pathways. > > (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of how best > to train the brain of a young child, and how to deal with older > children who can't read fluently. To my knowledge, there has been > little or no research on the brain to answer these questions directly. > However the most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the > principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an age as > possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and "sound out" words > is developed from the start. And for older children, one has to go > back to basics, to get this brain process trained up and exercised. > > (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience elsewhere, has > shown that synthetic phonics works well for all children, and works > better than rival approaches. In synthetic phonics, children are > taught to decode starting from single letter-sound correspondences, > and build up the sound of the word. > Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et al) have questioned the > soundness of the research, their criticisms have been thoroughly > dismissed by Diane McGuinness. > > So how do practitioners view the research? The experience in > England is that practitioners are generally unaware of the research > (a) and (b). > Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research on dyslexia and > the brain. But they are most likely to know about research on what > works (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, because > of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select Committee on Education > and Skills, which endorsed synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was > given wide coverage on the media. And one television channel ran a > series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy results) that > was adopting synthetic phonics from scratch, with dramatic results > (everybody reading). > > What policy has been adopted? The government has officially > accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying that synthetic phonics > should be mandated by September that year. However, when it comes to > putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, the government has > delegated responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and > Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little activity since > then. There has been no sign of teachers being trained in synthetic > phonics, and there are no authoritative books on the subject giving > practical help to primary school teachers. > > So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as speedy > and effective as one would like. > The educational establishment by and large continues to support the > old "mix and match" methods. > Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they can't easily take > new methods on board. Thus we will continue to see one in five > children failing to read by the end of primary school. This is a > human tragedy. > > BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years and more > ago we were taught phonics from the start. So one could say that the > research is taking us "back to the future". > > Cheers from Chiswick, > > John > > John Nissen, MA (Cantab) > Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk > maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. > Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: > > http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm > Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 > Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: John Benseman > To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' > Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our discussion > ofeffectiveresearch disseminati > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to LALUMINEUSE at yahoo.com. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to SREID at workbase.org.nz. From andreawilder at comcast.net Wed May 2 22:06:52 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 22:06:52 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 896] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1><006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> Message-ID: Ok, Tom, lets see what I remember. Here it is: there was a time when a Inuit (I think) curriculum was more or less packed in a box, with artifacts, maybe photos, things to look at and draw conclusions from. The thinking had already been done by people who knew about Inuit culture and thought they were the best teachers of teachers--a curriculum in a box, "teacher proof." Now we have flipped to the opposite extreme (not a bad extreme, but it will take really smart educated and engaged teachers) where the teacher should be able to recognize the skill level of the students, identify the assumed skill levels of the material to be taught, and set up situations for students where questioning and experimentation can occur. This curriculum builds both on John Dewey, Piaget, for the initial start in child observation, and some more current, more developed, knowledge about skill levels and how they correlate with brain change and development. I think this second role--teacher as Piaget is excellent, but does it ever take teacher education. It's late for me, and i am groggy with need for sleep, but I can expand on any of this tomorrow if you want. BTW, I have done some of this in my classroom, so i know some of what it requires. Andrea On May 2, 2007, at 6:16 PM, Woods wrote: > Andrea, > Would you please elaborate on your terms, teacher-proof-curriculum, and > teacher-as-Piaget-curriculum. > Thanks, > Tom Woods > > Andrea Wilder wrote: > >> Hi John, >> >> I had another experience at the Learning and the Brain Conference I >> went to. In a lesson on skill development we were given the task of >> measuring how high a ball would bounce when dropped from different >> heights, when measured by a yard stick. Turns out the variability in >> scores from different teams is related to the SKILL of the different >> people doing the measuring. From this I learned that what matters is >> the SKILL of the teacher. I have been in education long enough to see >> the swing from teacher proof curriculum to teacher-as-Piaget >> curriculum. Teachers need to have knowledge and experience, This will >> only occur when teachers are paid better. No shortcuts. >> >> Andrea >> >> >> On May 2, 2007, at 10:24 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> Hi Andrea, >> >> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I know there are >> lot of "whole language" advocates on this list. >> >> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics with whole >> language approach, putting the "visual and auditory" together. >> This was the approach used in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" >> and the approach used in most schools over the past few decades. >> Despite the introduction of the literacy hour in all schools some >> years ago, the literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The Clackmannanshire >> study compared synthetic phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed >> approach. Synthetic phonics was by far the best. It was not to >> do with the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught >> enthusiastically with the old methods find that synthetic phonics >> works better. But I'm not a teacher myself, so you need to ask >> somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the >> method, and knows many other teachers who have used it. >> >> The experience of teaching is backing up the science. >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> *From:* Andrea Wilder >> *To:* The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research >> dissemination >> >> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading >> activates different parts of the brain than does >> phoneme-grapheme training. >> >> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the >> auditory cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at >> the back of the head. This seems to be where the two >> representations, visual and auditory, are put together. >> Children can improve their reading by work in both areas, it >> is the TEACHER who makes the difference directing the child's >> attention . >> >> Andrea >> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners >> view the science, and (3) the policy support needed, you >> may be interested to know what is happening over here in >> England concerning the teaching of reading. >> >> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, >> not an educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge >> University, I was trained to recognise the application of >> good scientific methods. And there are countless examples >> in the history of science where it has taken time for the >> "conventional view" of something to be overturned by good >> evidence coming from careful observation and logical >> argument. >> >> The science of reading falls into several areas: >> (a) how fluent readers read; >> (b) what is going on in the brain; >> (c) how best to train the brain; >> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >> >> There has been controversy in all these areas, which has >> held back the acceptance of "good science". >> >> (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional >> view) is that rapid reading involves whole word >> recognition, and not being slowed down by the decoding and >> sounding out of words in one's "mind's ear". However >> research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is >> mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are >> capable of mentally sounding out words at great speed, >> just as we can listen to somebody talking rapidly. >> >> (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent >> readers use one part of the brain for the visual >> processing, and then another part of the brain is >> activated as for listening. This supports the research of >> (a). However this research has been clouded by the >> interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather >> than a product of training the brain to use the wrong >> pathways. >> >> (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of >> how best to train the brain of a young child, and how to >> deal with older children who can't read fluently. To my >> knowledge, there has been little or no research on the >> brain to answer these questions directly. However the >> most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the >> principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an >> age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and >> "sound out" words is developed from the start. And for >> older children, one has to go back to basics, to get this >> brain process trained up and exercised. >> >> (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience >> elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works well for >> all children, and works better than rival approaches. In >> synthetic phonics, children are taught to decode starting >> from single letter-sound correspondences, and build up the >> sound of the word. Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et >> al) have questioned the soundness of the research, their >> criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane >> McGuinness. >> >> So how do practitioners view the research? The experience >> in England is that practitioners are generally unaware of >> the research (a) and (b). Regarding (c), they may have >> heard of brain research on dyslexia and the brain. But >> they are most likely to know about research on what works >> (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, >> because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select >> Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed >> synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide >> coverage on the media. And one television channel ran a >> series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy >> results) that was adopting synthetic phonics from scratch, >> with dramatic results (everybody reading). >> >> What policy has been adopted? The government has >> officially accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying >> that synthetic phonics should be mandated by September >> that year. However, when it comes to putting synthetic >> phonics into mainstream, the government has delegated >> responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and >> Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little >> activity since then. There has been no sign of teachers >> being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no >> authoritative books on the subject giving practical help >> to primary school teachers. >> >> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as >> speedy and effective as one would like. The educational >> establishment by and large continues to support the old >> "mix and match" methods. Teachers are so weighed down by >> paperwork that they can't easily take new methods on >> board. Thus we will continue to see one in five children >> failing to read by the end of primary school. This is a >> human tragedy. >> >> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years >> and more ago we were taught phonics from the start. So >> one could say that the research is taking us "back to the >> future". >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >> Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> *From:* John Benseman >> *To:* 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >> *Sent:* Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our >> discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >> >> Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the >> debate about NCLB and the push by the Bush >> administration for ?definitive evidence? from >> researchers about practice, I would like to argue that >> there is a strong argument for quantitative research >> (I need to identify myself as a qualitative researcher >> at this point) in the push to understand our work as >> literacy teachers. >> >> I am currently reviewing all of the research done in >> New Zealand over the past 5 years on adult literacy, >> language and numeracy (LLN). The purpose of this >> review is to provide evidence for the Minister of >> Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding >> decision about future provision later this year. >> >> In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any >> statistics and most of those are pretty light both in >> terms of their samples and analyses. I can already see >> that my report is not going to have much weight with >> key government agencies such as the Prime Minister?s >> Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) >> say that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? >> In other words, we have been doing predominantly >> qualitative research at the expense of quantitative >> research. There are many reasons for this, which is a >> whole debate in itself. >> >> The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of >> research if we are to understand what we do better. >> Both types of research provide useful perspectives and >> complement each other. The problem is that we tend to >> oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? driven not >> only by politicians, but also by those of us who work >> in the field. >> >> John >> >> John Benseman* * >> >> Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ >> (based at Department of Labour) >> >> */ /john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz >> *(* 0064 9 627 4415 >> *7 *0064 9 627 4418 >> Cell 027 454 0683 >> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, >> please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to >> >> andreawilder at comcast.net.--------------------------------------------- >> ------- >> >> >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go >> to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to >> >> JN at cloudworld.co.uk.-------------------------------------------------- >> -- >> >> >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> -- >> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > From andreawilder at comcast.net Wed May 2 22:11:29 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 22:11:29 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 897] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <97695.96936.qm@web55112.mail.re4.yahoo.com> References: <97695.96936.qm@web55112.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <7291ca514ea85966cc57dd5d967c8b12@comcast.net> Hi Ujwala, i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it thoroughly. For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of scientific interest, hence my addition that each method effects positive changes, these changes are teacher driven and focused, and that the learning takes place in different areas of the brain. Andrea On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: > Hi Andrea and John, > > This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 years > of teaching special ed, adults, children, > Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole host of > other things, I've seen studies come and go. I work in > the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire study. Now > I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's > study and in a few years we will have another study > which will say something else. Forgive me if I sound > sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature vs > nurture debate. We will always have advocates for both > sides. > > An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake Oil. > > An either/or approach is simply tiresome. Besides, > let's first agree on a universal system of phonics for > the English language. Then, let's see how best to > train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how well > it works in the classroom. > > Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I will > not get into this debate the next time it pops up. > > Cheers, > Ujwala > > > > --- John Nissen wrote: > >> >> Hi Andrea, >> >> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I >> know there are lot of "whole language" advocates on >> this list. >> >> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics >> with whole language approach, putting the "visual >> and auditory" together. This was the approach used >> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the >> approach used in most schools over the past few >> decades. Despite the introduction of the literacy >> hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy >> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The >> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic phonics, >> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. Synthetic >> phonics was by far the best. It was not to do with >> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught >> enthusiastically with the old methods find that >> synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a >> teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like >> Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the >> method, and knows many other teachers who have used >> it. >> >> The experience of teaching is backing up the >> science. >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Andrea Wilder >> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective >> research dissemination >> >> >> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language >> reading activates different parts of the brain than >> does phoneme-grapheme training. >> >> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between >> the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the >> visual cortex at the back of the head. This seems to >> be where the two representations, visual and >> auditory, are put together. Children can improve >> their reading by work in both areas, it is the >> TEACHER who makes the difference directing the >> child's attention . >> >> Andrea >> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how >> practitioners view the science, and (3) the policy >> support needed, you may be interested to know what >> is happening over here in England concerning the >> teaching of reading. >> >> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a >> scientist, not an educator. As a science graduate >> from Cambridge University, I was trained to >> recognise the application of good scientific >> methods. And there are countless examples in the >> history of science where it has taken time for the >> "conventional view" of something to be overturned by >> good evidence coming from careful observation and >> logical argument. >> >> The science of reading falls into several areas: >> >> (a) how fluent readers read; >> (b) what is going on in the brain; >> (c) how best to train the brain; >> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >> >> There has been controversy in all these areas, >> which has held back the acceptance of "good >> science". >> >> (a) A widely held view (one could say the >> conventional view) is that rapid reading involves >> whole word recognition, and not being slowed down by >> the decoding and sounding out of words in one's >> "mind's ear". However research in neurolinguistics >> shows that this view is mistaken. We decode a >> majority of words, and we are capable of mentally >> sounding out words at great speed, just as we can >> listen to somebody talking rapidly. >> >> (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that >> fluent readers use one part of the brain for the >> visual processing, and then another part of the >> brain is activated as for listening. This supports >> the research of (a). However this research has been >> clouded by the interpretation of dyslexia as a brain >> malfunction, rather than a product of training the >> brain to use the wrong pathways. >> >> (c) In view of the above research, there are >> questions of how best to train the brain of a young >> child, and how to deal with older children who can't >> read fluently. To my knowledge, there has been >> little or no research on the brain to answer these >> questions directly. However the most obvious >> deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the >> principles of decoding and how to decode from an >> early an age as possible, so that an ability to >> rapidly decode and "sound out" words is developed >> from the start. And for older children, one has to >> go back to basics, to get this brain process trained >> up and exercised. >> >> (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience >> elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works >> well for all children, and works better than rival >> approaches. In synthetic phonics, children are >> taught to decode starting from single letter-sound >> correspondences, and build up the sound of the word. >> Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et al) have >> questioned the soundness of the research, their >> criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane >> McGuinness. >> >> So how do practitioners view the research? The >> experience in England is that practitioners are >> generally unaware of the research (a) and (b). >> Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research >> on dyslexia and the brain. But they are most likely >> to know about research on what works (d), and in >> particular the research in Clackmannanshire, because >> of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select >> Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed >> synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide >> coverage on the media. And one television channel >> ran a series of programmes about a school (with poor >> literacy results) that was adopting synthetic >> phonics from scratch, with dramatic results >> (everybody reading). >> >> What policy has been adopted? The government >> has officially accepted the Rose Report, in March >> 2006, saying that synthetic phonics should be >> mandated by September that year. However, when it >> comes to putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, >> the government has delegated responsibility to the >> old-guard QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum >> Authority), and we have seen very little activity >> since then. There has been no sign of teachers >> being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no >> authoritative books on the subject giving practical >> help to primary school teachers. >> >> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has >> not been as speedy and effective as one would like. >> The educational establishment by and large continues >> to support the old "mix and match" methods. >> Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they >> can't easily take new methods on board. Thus we >> will continue to see one in five children failing to >> read by the end of primary school. This is a human >> tragedy. >> >> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because >> forty years and more ago we were taught phonics from >> the start. So one could say that the research is >> taking us "back to the future". >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >> >> > http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >> Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: John Benseman >> To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our >> discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >> > === message truncated ===> > ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, >> please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to LALUMINEUSE at yahoo.com. > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > From jschneider at eicc.edu Thu May 3 11:18:51 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 10:18:51 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 898] Effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <7291ca514ea85966cc57dd5d967c8b12@comcast.net> Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB8708E13538@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Let me preface my remarks with a commendation to the NCSALL folks, as a practicioner, I have benefitted tremendously from the myriad of resources and publications they have provided over the years. They have been the exception to the rule - particularly when compared to much of the literature in academic journals. Having said that, I found that an Arthur Cohen article (citation and abstract at the bottom) that IMHO provides several poignant points regarding research and practicioners... As a practicioner I found the following paragraph (especially the quote from McKeachie) to be an accurate reflection of my feelings about much of the research regarding adult literacy. "This discussion of the gap between research and practice is not new. As Biesta and Burbules (2003) paraphrase from 20th century education philosopher John Dewey, "The idea of 'improving' educational practice in any direct way through educational research should be abandoned.... Educational problems are always unique and for that reason always require unique responses, tailored as best as possible to the idiosyncrasies of the actual, unique situation" (p. 81). In other words, all findings in educational research are tentative, equivocal, and derivative, and dressing them up with statistics only gives the illusion of precision. McKeachie (1963) put it most succinctly when he concluded that, at bottom, research on teaching can demonstrate only that in college A, on day B, instructor C used method D to teach concept E to F set of students. Change any of those variables and the findings shift." Jim Scott Community College Davenport, IA UCLA Community College Review: Why Practitioners and Researchers Ignore Each Other (Even When They Are The Same Person) Author(s): Cohen, Arthur M. In: Community College Review (Community Coll Rev) v. 33 no1 (Fall 2005) p. 51-62 ISSN: 0091-5521 Abstract: The writer discusses the mutual indifference between practitioners in and researchers of community colleges. Principles that illustrate the differences between these two groups are the distance from the object of study, an ideological perspective, the purposes of research, and the political agenda. Researchers and practitioners can speak to one another only if they use a common language, understand how distance from the object of study affects the usefulness of information, reject ideological perspectives that place blame on the students or the institution, and focus on studies concerning relationships between educational processes and outcomes. From Miller_J at cde.state.co.us Thu May 3 11:31:03 2007 From: Miller_J at cde.state.co.us (Miller, Jane) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 09:31:03 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools In-Reply-To: <4638783A0200002D000020FD@mail.jsi.com> References: <4638783A0200002D000020FD@mail.jsi.com> Message-ID: <1590226EC6C04443A841ED70F8F930363B7C5B@wopr.cde.state.co.us> Hello everyone, In Colorado we have a team of professional developers connected to our state adult education office. Whenever we design trainings, workshops, or conference presentations, we operate from the philosophy that effective PD is a combination of theory and research (presented by the trainers) and professional wisdom (shared by the participants). The theory and research form the basis of the "whys" of classroom practice and the professional wisdom is the basis of the "hows". It is very clear to our trainers that practitioners are eager to learn about research that supports and informs their work in the classroom, but they are simply too busy to seek it out themselves. Therefore, our role as professional developers is to ferret out the current, recent, and classic research and to weave this into our trainings/presentations. We have the time to do this, the knowledge of research sources, and the skills to evaluate which research is relevant to the training topic. We rely heavily on the NCSALL and CAELA websites, the work presented at the two Meetings of the Minds (2004 & 2006) symposia, and information shared by participants on the nifl listservs. Our trainings and presentations always cite the relevant findings from research and provide participants with links to read the complete research reports. For several years we've been using both the NCSALL and CAELA study circles in which teachers read research articles and use them as the basis for discussion and activity. Without exception teachers appreciate the opportunity to read the research and either 1) have their ideas and practice affirmed, or 2) learn new ideas to implement in their practice. We always extend the study circle materials by including many additional resources - both from researchers and from practitioners (such as articles from SABES Field Notes). You can see excitement on the teachers' faces when they flip through the training binders and see the wealth of information available to them. If you have the luxury of a 3-4 session study circle, you can watch the process of participants becoming more skilled consumers of research. Accessibility of research means two things, I think. First, as I said, professional developers need to locate the research and present it to teachers as part of the training design. Second, teachers do find research more accessible when it is presented in briefs, with concise descriptions of the research design, the study population, the research method and the findings. As professional developers, we have the interest and time to read entire research reports, but for the purposes of disseminating the research to teachers, shorter articles - such as the FOB articles and CAELA briefs and digests are perfect. Jane C. Miller ESL Specialist / Professional Development Coordinator Colorado Department of Education /AEFL 201 E. Colfax Ave., Room 400 Denver, CO 80203-1799 303-866-6611 (ph) 303-866-6599 (fax) miller_j at cde.state.co.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 9:39 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 890] FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hi Cris and others, Thanks for outlining this so clearly! In #2, you say: "Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research." These tools include the publication Focus on Basics (FOB) as well as this discussion list to share ideas from FOB. I would love to hear your thoughts on how FOB has worked as a dissemination tool, and how this list has worked to reinforce it. I would also like to hear from others how FOB and the list have been used by professional development staff to "help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research". How effective is this model? How can it be included in PD activities? Thanks! Julie P.S. Last year, we had a discussion on this list with Barb Garner about he FOB Evaluation Report, which you find at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report27.pdf You can read the discussion on the archives at: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/date.html (Scroll down to April 10) ******************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Cristine Smith" 04/30/07 12:30 PM >>> Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to miller_j at cde.state.co.us. From cristinesmith at comcast.net Thu May 3 11:52:31 2007 From: cristinesmith at comcast.net (Cristine Smith) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 11:52:31 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 900] Re: starting our discussion of effectiveresearchdissemination In-Reply-To: <5ACB5AED488C2F44A5B4B8FEA0B0F122D06B7B@ebe3.umassb.net> Message-ID: <000001c78d9b$0f5ed930$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> Deborah: Thanks for your question about NCSALL's efforts to promote practitioner research. We actually did quite a bit to promote practitioner research as a professional development activity whereby teachers and administrators could learn about the latest research on a particular topic (reading, learner persistence), think about how it might apply to their own contexts and adult student populations, develop a question to investigate in their classroom or program, and then collect data about the effectiveness of a new approach or strategy to improve student learning or persistence. We found that practitioner research was probably the most valuable way of helping teachers and administrators access, understand, judge and use research, because they were weighing the validity of external research and then conducting their own and sharing it with others. Through projects in Minnesota, Texas, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and many other states, teachers conducted practitioner research related to the same topics that NCSALL was researching and then shared their findings with each other and with NCSALL researchers at Harvard, World Education, Center for Literacy Studies, Rutgers, and Portland State University. Practitioner research is definitely an intensive learning experience for practitioners, but its benefits are multiple. Practitioner research groups were also one of the models of professional development that we tested in the NCSALL professional development study (along with multi-session workshops and mentor teacher groups) of how teachers change. For more information about how practitioner research influences teachers, see the research report at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report25.pdf For more information about how to design and support practitioner research training around problems of practice and existing research, you might go to our website to look at some of the professional development activities we developed for anyone to use, free for downloading, if they want to sponsor practitioner research in their program or state: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1143 or http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=967 Best.Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu _____ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Deborah C. Schwartz Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 7:54 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 886] Re: starting our discussion of effectiveresearchdissemination Hi Chris, I was wondering if you could share if and how NCSALL has explored and implemented "practitioner research-" where teachers are doing their own research on their own practice using their own questions, yet in a facilitated manner-and whether that is one possible way to address the #1 finding below. Best, Deborah Schwartz Adult Literacy Resource Institute System for Adult Basic Education (SABES) http://www.sabes.org _____ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cristine Smith Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 876] starting our discussion of effective researchdissemination Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070503/ff7d53b6/attachment.html From b.garner4 at verizon.net Thu May 3 11:48:42 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 10:48:42 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 901] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Message-ID: <16396987.102411178207322745.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net> Jane and other list members, You really captured the role of professional development staff well. You mention using "Focus on Basics" articles as part of study circle materials and in training packets. Do you have any suggestions about how to make the articles more useful? For example, I get the sense that it might be nice to include with research articles a box that summarizes the study question, sample, and findings. What else might make the next two "Focus on Basics'" more useful? Barb Garner Editor, Focus on Basics ===================== From: "Miller, Jane" Date: 2007/05/03 Thu AM 10:31:03 CDT To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hello everyone, In Colorado we have a team of professional developers connected to our state adult education office. Whenever we design trainings, workshops, or conference presentations, we operate from the philosophy that effective PD is a combination of theory and research (presented by the trainers) and professional wisdom (shared by the participants). The theory and research form the basis of the "whys" of classroom practice and the professional wisdom is the basis of the "hows". It is very clear to our trainers that practitioners are eager to learn about research that supports and informs their work in the classroom, but they are simply too busy to seek it out themselves. Therefore, our role as professional developers is to ferret out the current, recent, and classic research and to weave this into our trainings/presentations. We have the time to do this, the knowledge of research sources, and the skills to evaluate which research is relevant to the training topic. We rely heavily on the NCSALL and CAELA websites, the work presented at the two Meetings of the Minds (2004 & 2006) symposia, and information shared by participants on the nifl listservs. Our trainings and presentations always cite the relevant findings from research and provide participants with links to read the complete research reports. For several years we've been using both the NCSALL and CAELA study circles in which teachers read research articles and use them as the basis for discussion and activity. Without exception teachers appreciate the opportunity to read the research and either 1) have their ideas and practice affirmed, or 2) learn new ideas to implement in their practice. We always extend the study circle materials by including many additional resources - both from researchers and from practitioners (such as articles from SABES Field Notes). You can see excitement on the teachers' faces when they flip through the training binders and see the wealth of information available to them. If you have the luxury of a 3-4 session study circle, you can watch the process of participants becoming more skilled consumers of research. Accessibility of research means two things, I think. First, as I said, professional developers need to locate the research and present it to teachers as part of the training design. Second, teachers do find research more accessible when it is presented in briefs, with concise descriptions of the research design, the study population, the research method and the findings. As professional developers, we have the interest and time to read entire research reports, but for the purposes of disseminating the research to teachers, shorter articles - such as the FOB articles and CAELA briefs and digests are perfect. Jane C. Miller ESL Specialist / Professional Development Coordinator Colorado Department of Education /AEFL 201 E. Colfax Ave., Room 400 Denver, CO 80203-1799 303-866-6611 (ph) 303-866-6599 (fax) miller_j at cde.state.co.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 9:39 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 890] FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hi Cris and others, Thanks for outlining this so clearly! In #2, you say: "Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research." These tools include the publication Focus on Basics (FOB) as well as this discussion list to share ideas from FOB. I would love to hear your thoughts on how FOB has worked as a dissemination tool, and how this list has worked to reinforce it. I would also like to hear from others how FOB and the list have been used by professional development staff to "help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research". How effective is this model? How can it be included in PD activities? Thanks! Julie P.S. Last year, we had a discussion on this list with Barb Garner about he FOB Evaluation Report, which you find at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report27.pdf You can read the discussion on the archives at: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/date.html (Scroll down to April 10) ******************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Cristine Smith" 04/30/07 12:30 PM >>> Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to miller_j at cde.state.co.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From andreawilder at comcast.net Thu May 3 09:11:31 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 09:11:31 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 902] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1><006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> Message-ID: Tom and others: I have woken up, I think. The latest thinking, by a host of educators around the world who are uniting behind this, is of using one measure for both curriculum and skill levels--one measure for student and the same measure for curriculum. This builds in part on Piaget's observations of different skill levels in developing children. These skill levels reflect brain myelination at different ages, it is thought. There are measurable electrical currents that integrate new brain functions with old brain functions in a predictable sequence. Learning and development occur through the combination of chemical and electrical signals in the brain. Andrea On May 2, 2007, at 10:06 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote: > Ok, Tom, lets see what I remember. > > Here it is: there was a time when a Inuit (I think) curriculum was > more or less packed in a box, with artifacts, maybe photos, things to > look at and draw conclusions from. The thinking had already been done > by people who knew about Inuit culture and thought they were the best > teachers of teachers--a curriculum in a box, "teacher proof." > > Now we have flipped to the opposite extreme (not a bad extreme, but it > will take really smart educated and engaged teachers) where the teacher > should be able to recognize the skill level of the students, identify > the assumed skill levels of the material to be taught, and set up > situations for students where questioning and experimentation can > occur. This curriculum builds both on John Dewey, Piaget, for the > initial start in child observation, and some more current, more > developed, knowledge about skill levels and how they correlate with > brain change and development. > > I think this second role--teacher as Piaget is excellent, but does it > ever take teacher education. > > It's late for me, and i am groggy with need for sleep, but I can expand > on any of this tomorrow if you want. BTW, I have done some of this in > my classroom, so i know some of what it requires. > > Andrea > > On May 2, 2007, at 6:16 PM, Woods wrote: > >> Andrea, >> Would you please elaborate on your terms, teacher-proof-curriculum, >> and >> teacher-as-Piaget-curriculum. >> Thanks, >> Tom Woods >> >> Andrea Wilder wrote: >> >>> Hi John, >>> >>> I had another experience at the Learning and the Brain Conference I >>> went to. In a lesson on skill development we were given the task of >>> measuring how high a ball would bounce when dropped from different >>> heights, when measured by a yard stick. Turns out the variability in >>> scores from different teams is related to the SKILL of the different >>> people doing the measuring. From this I learned that what matters is >>> the SKILL of the teacher. I have been in education long enough to see >>> the swing from teacher proof curriculum to teacher-as-Piaget >>> curriculum. Teachers need to have knowledge and experience, This will >>> only occur when teachers are paid better. No shortcuts. >>> >>> Andrea >>> >>> >>> On May 2, 2007, at 10:24 AM, John Nissen wrote: >>> >>> >>> Hi Andrea, >>> >>> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I know there are >>> lot of "whole language" advocates on this list. >>> >>> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics with whole >>> language approach, putting the "visual and auditory" together. >>> This was the approach used in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" >>> and the approach used in most schools over the past few decades. >>> Despite the introduction of the literacy hour in all schools some >>> years ago, the literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >>> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The Clackmannanshire >>> study compared synthetic phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed >>> approach. Synthetic phonics was by far the best. It was not to >>> do with the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught >>> enthusiastically with the old methods find that synthetic phonics >>> works better. But I'm not a teacher myself, so you need to ask >>> somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the >>> method, and knows many other teachers who have used it. >>> >>> The experience of teaching is backing up the science. >>> >>> Cheers from Chiswick, >>> >>> John >>> >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> *From:* Andrea Wilder >>> *To:* The Focus on Basics Discussion List >>> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >>> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research >>> dissemination >>> >>> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading >>> activates different parts of the brain than does >>> phoneme-grapheme training. >>> >>> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the >>> auditory cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at >>> the back of the head. This seems to be where the two >>> representations, visual and auditory, are put together. >>> Children can improve their reading by work in both areas, it >>> is the TEACHER who makes the difference directing the child's >>> attention . >>> >>> Andrea >>> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners >>> view the science, and (3) the policy support needed, you >>> may be interested to know what is happening over here in >>> England concerning the teaching of reading. >>> >>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, >>> not an educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge >>> University, I was trained to recognise the application of >>> good scientific methods. And there are countless >>> examples >>> in the history of science where it has taken time for the >>> "conventional view" of something to be overturned by good >>> evidence coming from careful observation and logical >>> argument. >>> >>> The science of reading falls into several areas: >>> (a) how fluent readers read; >>> (b) what is going on in the brain; >>> (c) how best to train the brain; >>> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >>> >>> There has been controversy in all these areas, which has >>> held back the acceptance of "good science". >>> >>> (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional >>> view) is that rapid reading involves whole word >>> recognition, and not being slowed down by the decoding >>> and >>> sounding out of words in one's "mind's ear". However >>> research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is >>> mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are >>> capable of mentally sounding out words at great speed, >>> just as we can listen to somebody talking rapidly. >>> >>> (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent >>> readers use one part of the brain for the visual >>> processing, and then another part of the brain is >>> activated as for listening. This supports the research >>> of >>> (a). However this research has been clouded by the >>> interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather >>> than a product of training the brain to use the wrong >>> pathways. >>> >>> (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of >>> how best to train the brain of a young child, and how to >>> deal with older children who can't read fluently. To my >>> knowledge, there has been little or no research on the >>> brain to answer these questions directly. However the >>> most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the >>> principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an >>> age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and >>> "sound out" words is developed from the start. And for >>> older children, one has to go back to basics, to get this >>> brain process trained up and exercised. >>> >>> (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience >>> elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works well >>> for >>> all children, and works better than rival approaches. In >>> synthetic phonics, children are taught to decode starting >>> from single letter-sound correspondences, and build up >>> the >>> sound of the word. Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et >>> al) have questioned the soundness of the research, their >>> criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane >>> McGuinness. >>> >>> So how do practitioners view the research? The >>> experience >>> in England is that practitioners are generally unaware of >>> the research (a) and (b). Regarding (c), they may have >>> heard of brain research on dyslexia and the brain. But >>> they are most likely to know about research on what works >>> (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, >>> because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select >>> Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed >>> synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide >>> coverage on the media. And one television channel ran a >>> series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy >>> results) that was adopting synthetic phonics from >>> scratch, >>> with dramatic results (everybody reading). >>> >>> What policy has been adopted? The government has >>> officially accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, >>> saying >>> that synthetic phonics should be mandated by September >>> that year. However, when it comes to putting synthetic >>> phonics into mainstream, the government has delegated >>> responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and >>> Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little >>> activity since then. There has been no sign of teachers >>> being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no >>> authoritative books on the subject giving practical help >>> to primary school teachers. >>> >>> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as >>> speedy and effective as one would like. The educational >>> establishment by and large continues to support the old >>> "mix and match" methods. Teachers are so weighed down by >>> paperwork that they can't easily take new methods on >>> board. Thus we will continue to see one in five children >>> failing to read by the end of primary school. This is a >>> human tragedy. >>> >>> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years >>> and more ago we were taught phonics from the start. So >>> one could say that the research is taking us "back to the >>> future". >>> >>> Cheers from Chiswick, >>> >>> John >>> >>> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >>> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >>> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >>> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >>> >>> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >>> Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >>> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> *From:* John Benseman >>> *To:* 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >>> *Sent:* Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >>> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our >>> discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >>> >>> Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the >>> debate about NCLB and the push by the Bush >>> administration for ?definitive evidence? from >>> researchers about practice, I would like to argue >>> that >>> there is a strong argument for quantitative research >>> (I need to identify myself as a qualitative >>> researcher >>> at this point) in the push to understand our work as >>> literacy teachers. >>> >>> I am currently reviewing all of the research done in >>> New Zealand over the past 5 years on adult literacy, >>> language and numeracy (LLN). The purpose of this >>> review is to provide evidence for the Minister of >>> Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding >>> decision about future provision later this year. >>> >>> In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any >>> statistics and most of those are pretty light both in >>> terms of their samples and analyses. I can already >>> see >>> that my report is not going to have much weight with >>> key government agencies such as the Prime Minister?s >>> Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) >>> say that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? >>> In other words, we have been doing predominantly >>> qualitative research at the expense of quantitative >>> research. There are many reasons for this, which is a >>> whole debate in itself. >>> >>> The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of >>> research if we are to understand what we do better. >>> Both types of research provide useful perspectives >>> and >>> complement each other. The problem is that we tend to >>> oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? driven not >>> only by politicians, but also by those of us who work >>> in the field. >>> >>> John >>> >>> John Benseman* * >>> >>> Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ >>> (based at Department of Labour) >>> >>> */ /john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz >>> *(* 0064 9 627 4415 >>> *7 *0064 9 627 4418 >>> Cell 027 454 0683 >>> >>> ---------------------------------------------------- >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, >>> please go to >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to >>> >>> andreawilder at comcast.net.-------------------------------------------- >>> - >>> ------- >>> >>> >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please >>> go >>> to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to >>> >>> JN at cloudworld.co.uk.------------------------------------------------- >>> - >>> -- >>> >>> >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. >>> >>> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> - >>> -- >>> >>> ---------------------------------------------------- >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >>> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. >> > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > From bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net Thu May 3 10:00:57 2007 From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net (Bonnita Solberg) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 07:00:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 903] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <7291ca514ea85966cc57dd5d967c8b12@comcast.net> Message-ID: <902043.45238.qm@web83111.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Is there a web reference to Literacy As Snake Oil or did I miss something here? Bonnita Andrea Wilder wrote: Hi Ujwala, i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it thoroughly. For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of scientific interest, hence my addition that each method effects positive changes, these changes are teacher driven and focused, and that the learning takes place in different areas of the brain. Andrea On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: > Hi Andrea and John, > > This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 years > of teaching special ed, adults, children, > Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole host of > other things, I've seen studies come and go. I work in > the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire study. Now > I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's > study and in a few years we will have another study > which will say something else. Forgive me if I sound > sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature vs > nurture debate. We will always have advocates for both > sides. > > An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake Oil. > > An either/or approach is simply tiresome. Besides, > let's first agree on a universal system of phonics for > the English language. Then, let's see how best to > train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how well > it works in the classroom. > > Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I will > not get into this debate the next time it pops up. > > Cheers, > Ujwala > > > > --- John Nissen wrote: > >> >> Hi Andrea, >> >> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I >> know there are lot of "whole language" advocates on >> this list. >> >> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics >> with whole language approach, putting the "visual >> and auditory" together. This was the approach used >> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the >> approach used in most schools over the past few >> decades. Despite the introduction of the literacy >> hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy >> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The >> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic phonics, >> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. Synthetic >> phonics was by far the best. It was not to do with >> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught >> enthusiastically with the old methods find that >> synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a >> teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like >> Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the >> method, and knows many other teachers who have used >> it. >> >> The experience of teaching is backing up the >> science. >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Andrea Wilder >> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective >> research dissemination >> >> >> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language >> reading activates different parts of the brain than >> does phoneme-grapheme training. >> >> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between >> the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the >> visual cortex at the back of the head. This seems to >> be where the two representations, visual and >> auditory, are put together. Children can improve >> their reading by work in both areas, it is the >> TEACHER who makes the difference directing the >> child's attention . >> >> Andrea >> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how >> practitioners view the science, and (3) the policy >> support needed, you may be interested to know what >> is happening over here in England concerning the >> teaching of reading. >> >> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a >> scientist, not an educator. As a science graduate >> from Cambridge University, I was trained to >> recognise the application of good scientific >> methods. And there are countless examples in the >> history of science where it has taken time for the >> "conventional view" of something to be overturned by >> good evidence coming from careful observation and >> logical argument. >> >> The science of reading falls into several areas: >> >> (a) how fluent readers read; >> (b) what is going on in the brain; >> (c) how best to train the brain; >> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >> >> There has been controversy in all these areas, >> which has held back the acceptance of "good >> science". >> >> (a) A widely held view (one could say the >> conventional view) is that rapid reading involves >> whole word recognition, and not being slowed down by >> the decoding and sounding out of words in one's >> "mind's ear". However research in neurolinguistics >> shows that this view is mistaken. We decode a >> majority of words, and we are capable of mentally >> sounding out words at great speed, just as we can >> listen to somebody talking rapidly. >> >> (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that >> fluent readers use one part of the brain for the >> visual processing, and then another part of the >> brain is activated as for listening. This supports >> the research of (a). However this research has been >> clouded by the interpretation of dyslexia as a brain >> malfunction, rather than a product of training the >> brain to use the wrong pathways. >> >> (c) In view of the above research, there are >> questions of how best to train the brain of a young >> child, and how to deal with older children who can't >> read fluently. To my knowledge, there has been >> little or no research on the brain to answer these >> questions directly. However the most obvious >> deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the >> principles of decoding and how to decode from an >> early an age as possible, so that an ability to >> rapidly decode and "sound out" words is developed >> from the start. And for older children, one has to >> go back to basics, to get this brain process trained >> up and exercised. >> >> (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience >> elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works >> well for all children, and works better than rival >> approaches. In synthetic phonics, children are >> taught to decode starting from single letter-sound >> correspondences, and build up the sound of the word. >> Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et al) have >> questioned the soundness of the research, their >> criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane >> McGuinness. >> >> So how do practitioners view the research? The >> experience in England is that practitioners are >> generally unaware of the research (a) and (b). >> Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research >> on dyslexia and the brain. But they are most likely >> to know about research on what works (d), and in >> particular the research in Clackmannanshire, because >> of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select >> Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed >> synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide >> coverage on the media. And one television channel >> ran a series of programmes about a school (with poor >> literacy results) that was adopting synthetic >> phonics from scratch, with dramatic results >> (everybody reading). >> >> What policy has been adopted? The government >> has officially accepted the Rose Report, in March >> 2006, saying that synthetic phonics should be >> mandated by September that year. However, when it >> comes to putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, >> the government has delegated responsibility to the >> old-guard QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum >> Authority), and we have seen very little activity >> since then. There has been no sign of teachers >> being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no >> authoritative books on the subject giving practical >> help to primary school teachers. >> >> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has >> not been as speedy and effective as one would like. >> The educational establishment by and large continues >> to support the old "mix and match" methods. >> Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they >> can't easily take new methods on board. Thus we >> will continue to see one in five children failing to >> read by the end of primary school. This is a human >> tragedy. >> >> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because >> forty years and more ago we were taught phonics from >> the start. So one could say that the research is >> taking us "back to the future". >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >> >> > http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >> Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: John Benseman >> To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our >> discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >> > === message truncated ===> > ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, >> please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to LALUMINEUSE at yahoo.com. > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070503/6d871fd8/attachment.html From lalumineuse at yahoo.com Thu May 3 10:30:27 2007 From: lalumineuse at yahoo.com (Ujwala Samant) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 07:30:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 904] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <14794889A1E3AF419042F64CC5425A1E53CC5A@secure.workbase.org.nz> Message-ID: <691027.14711.qm@web55102.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Hi Susan, I'm going to put that up where I (and others) can see it regularly.... Thanks! Ujwala --- Susan Reid wrote: > Hi Ujwala > Came across this great quote that will appeal to you > > > >From a book called Built to Last authors Collins > and Porras talk about > "avoiding the Tyranny of the OR and embracing the > Genius of AND " > > Regards Susan Reid > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Ujwala Samant > Sent: Thursday, 3 May 2007 5:58 a.m. > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 892] Re: effective research > dissemination > > Hi Andrea and John, > > This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 > years of teaching > special ed, adults, children, Marathi,Hindi and > English, as well as a > whole host of other things, I've seen studies come > and go. I work in the > UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire study. Now > I'm just waiting for > the other side to start it's study and in a few > years we will have > another study which will say something else. Forgive > me if I sound > sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature vs > nurture debate. We > will always have advocates for both sides. > > An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake Oil. > > An either/or approach is simply tiresome. Besides, > let's first agree on > a universal system of phonics for the English > language. Then, let's see > how best to train teachers in its use. And then, > lets see how well it > works in the classroom. > > Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I will > not get into this > debate the next time it pops up. > > Cheers, > Ujwala > > > > --- John Nissen wrote: > > > > > Hi Andrea, > > > > I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I > know there are lot > > of "whole language" advocates on this list. > > > > Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics > with whole language > > > approach, putting the "visual and auditory" > together. This was the > > approach used in our UK "National Literacy > Strategy" and the approach > > used in most schools over the past few decades. > Despite the > > introduction of the literacy hour in all schools > some years ago, the > > literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading > satisfactorily by > > end of primary school. The Clackmannanshire study > compared synthetic > > phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed approach. > Synthetic phonics > > was by far the best. It was not to do with the > teachers. Dedicated > > teachers who have taught enthusiastically with the > old methods find > > that synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not > a teacher myself, so > > > you need to ask somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite > who has taught > > children by the method, and knows many other > teachers who have used > > it. > > > > The experience of teaching is backing up the > science. > > > > Cheers from Chiswick, > > > > John > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: Andrea Wilder > > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > > Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM > > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective > research dissemination > > > > > > Just to get back in the fray....Whole language > reading activates > > different parts of the brain than does > phoneme-grapheme training. > > > > There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way > between the auditory > > cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex > at the back of the > > head. This seems to be where the two > representations, visual and > > auditory, are put together. Children can improve > their reading by work > > > in both areas, it is the TEACHER who makes the > difference directing > > the child's attention . > > > > Andrea > > On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Hi all, > > > > As regards Cristine's point (1) about how > practitioners view the > > science, and (3) the policy support needed, you > may be interested to > > know what is happening over here in England > concerning the teaching of > > > reading. > > > > I declare my interest here - I am trained as a > scientist, not an > > educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge > University, I was > > trained to recognise the application of good > scientific methods. And > > there are countless examples in the history of > science where it has > > taken time for the "conventional view" of > something to be overturned > > by good evidence coming from careful observation > and logical argument. > > > > The science of reading falls into several > areas: > > > > (a) how fluent readers read; > > (b) what is going on in the brain; > > (c) how best to train the brain; > > (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. > > > > There has been controversy in all these areas, > which has held back > > > the acceptance of "good science". > > > > (a) A widely held view (one could say the > conventional view) is > > that rapid reading involves whole word > recognition, and not being > > slowed down by the decoding and sounding out of > words in one's "mind's > > > ear". However research in neurolinguistics shows > that this view is > > mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we > are capable of > > mentally sounding out words at great speed, just > as we can listen to > > somebody talking rapidly. > > > > (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that > fluent readers use > > one part of the brain for the visual processing, > and then another part > > > of the brain is activated as for listening. This > supports the > > research of (a). However this research has been > clouded by the > > interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, > rather than a > > product of training the brain to use the wrong > pathways. > === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From andreawilder at comcast.net Thu May 3 12:31:09 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 12:31:09 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 905] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools In-Reply-To: <16396987.102411178207322745.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net> References: <16396987.102411178207322745.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: Barb-- Usefulness: relevant citations so it is possible to follow up on research findings. Andrea On May 3, 2007, at 11:48 AM, Barbara Garner wrote: > Jane and other list members, > You really captured the role of professional development staff well. > You mention using "Focus on Basics" articles as part of study circle > materials and in training packets. Do you have any suggestions about > how to make the articles more useful? For example, I get the sense > that it might be nice to include with research articles a box that > summarizes the study question, sample, and findings. > > What else might make the next two "Focus on Basics'" more useful? > > Barb Garner > Editor, Focus on Basics > > ===================== > From: "Miller, Jane" > Date: 2007/05/03 Thu AM 10:31:03 CDT > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as > dissemination andPD tools > > Hello everyone, > > In Colorado we have a team of professional developers connected to our > state adult education office. Whenever we design trainings, workshops, > or conference presentations, we operate from the philosophy that > effective PD is a combination of theory and research (presented by the > trainers) and professional wisdom (shared by the participants). The > theory and research form the basis of the "whys" of classroom practice > and the professional wisdom is the basis of the "hows". It is very > clear to our trainers that practitioners are eager to learn about > research that supports and informs their work in the classroom, but > they > are simply too busy to seek it out themselves. Therefore, our role as > professional developers is to ferret out the current, recent, and > classic research and to weave this into our trainings/presentations. > We > have the time to do this, the knowledge of research sources, and the > skills to evaluate which research is relevant to the training topic. > We > rely heavily on the NCSALL and CAELA websites, the work presented at > the > two Meetings of the Minds (2004 & 2006) symposia, and information > shared > by participants on the nifl listservs. > > Our trainings and presentations always cite the relevant findings from > research and provide participants with links to read the complete > research reports. For several years we've been using both the NCSALL > and CAELA study circles in which teachers read research articles and > use > them as the basis for discussion and activity. Without exception > teachers appreciate the opportunity to read the research and either 1) > have their ideas and practice affirmed, or 2) learn new ideas to > implement in their practice. We always extend the study circle > materials by including many additional resources - both from > researchers > and from practitioners (such as articles from SABES Field Notes). You > can see excitement on the teachers' faces when they flip through the > training binders and see the wealth of information available to them. > If you have the luxury of a 3-4 session study circle, you can watch the > process of participants becoming more skilled consumers of research. > > Accessibility of research means two things, I think. First, as I said, > professional developers need to locate the research and present it to > teachers as part of the training design. Second, teachers do find > research more accessible when it is presented in briefs, with concise > descriptions of the research design, the study population, the research > method and the findings. As professional developers, we have the > interest and time to read entire research reports, but for the purposes > of disseminating the research to teachers, shorter articles - such as > the FOB articles and CAELA briefs and digests are perfect. > > Jane C. Miller > ESL Specialist / Professional Development Coordinator > Colorado Department of Education /AEFL > 201 E. Colfax Ave., Room 400 > Denver, CO 80203-1799 > 303-866-6611 (ph) 303-866-6599 (fax) > miller_j at cde.state.co.us > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney > Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 9:39 AM > To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 890] FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination > andPD tools > > Hi Cris and others, > > Thanks for outlining this so clearly! In #2, you say: > > "Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, > and assistance from professional development staff who can help > practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research." > > These tools include the publication Focus on Basics (FOB) as well as > this discussion list to share ideas from FOB. I would love to hear your > thoughts on how FOB has worked as a dissemination tool, and how this > list has worked to reinforce it. > > I would also like to hear from others how FOB and the list have been > used by professional development staff to "help practitioners access, > understand, judge, and use research". How effective is this model? How > can it be included in PD activities? > > Thanks! > > Julie > > P.S. Last year, we had a discussion on this list with Barb Garner about > he FOB Evaluation Report, which you find at: > http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report27.pdf > > You can read the discussion on the archives at: > http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/date.html > (Scroll down to April 10) > > ******************************* > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > >>>> "Cristine Smith" 04/30/07 12:30 PM >>> > Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion > of > effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused > extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 > years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we > learned. > I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd > like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending > on your interest. > > > > 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an > understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners > start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their > work, not by being interested in research in general. > > > > 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate > findings from research. No single researcher or research center can > expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. > Adult > educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and > assistance from professional development staff who can help > practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. > > > > 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without > policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make > such changes. > Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and > funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program > administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to > teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom > level. > An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the > federal level, is needed. > > > > 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and > policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier > when > the research questions come from the field rather than from the > researchers. > However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet > have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate > questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. > > > > Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in > terms > of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field > forward in utilizing research? > > > > Looking forward to our discussion... Cris > > > > > > > > Cristine Smith > > Assistant Professor > > Center for International Education > > University of Massachusetts > > 285 Hills House South > > Amherst, MA 01003 > > 413-545-2731 > > cristine at educ.umass.edu > > > > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to miller_j at cde.state.co.us. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > From Miller_J at cde.state.co.us Thu May 3 13:26:51 2007 From: Miller_J at cde.state.co.us (Miller, Jane) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 11:26:51 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 906] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as disseminationandPD tools In-Reply-To: <16396987.102411178207322745.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net> References: <16396987.102411178207322745.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: <1590226EC6C04443A841ED70F8F930363B7C88@wopr.cde.state.co.us> Barb, When conducting study circles using FOB articles, here are a few things I have noticed: 1) Teachers are very interested in the target population. The first thing they look at in research is how closely the participants in the research study match the learners they currently teach. If the match is close, the teachers are more invested in reading about the study and considering the findings. If the match is remote, there is less willingness to invest in reading and discussing the article. When we conducted NCSALL's first Learner Persistence Study Circle the participants (who were mostly ESL teachers) were disappointed that most of the articles were drawn from research with native English speaking ABE/GED learners. 2) Teachers look to the brief author bio at the end of the article. They like to see someone who has legitimate credentials as a researcher, but who has solid experience as a classroom practitioner. 3) They want additional resources to supplement the original article, and they want those resources to be available via the internet. Because of time constraints, teachers are much less likely to order and read a book than they are to hop on the internet and print out a short article, the executive summary of a report, or a teaching technique description. They want resources to be a mix of additional research, and articles describing activities a practitioner has conducted in the classroom based on findings from research. The additional resources should be from a variety of sources - i.e. not all from NCSALL/FOB. When I do conference presentations and don't have time to cover research in detail, I like to select brief quotations from the findings and print them on large posters around the room. In that way, the findings are part of the environment when participants are arriving the room - it sets the tone, piques their curiosity and gets the participants thinking about the topic even before I begin my presentation. Jane Colorado Dept of Education, Adult Ed Professional Development Coordinator -----Original Message----- From: Barbara Garner [mailto:b.garner4 at verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 9:49 AM To: Miller, Jane; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as disseminationandPD tools Jane and other list members, You really captured the role of professional development staff well. You mention using "Focus on Basics" articles as part of study circle materials and in training packets. Do you have any suggestions about how to make the articles more useful? For example, I get the sense that it might be nice to include with research articles a box that summarizes the study question, sample, and findings. What else might make the next two "Focus on Basics'" more useful? Barb Garner Editor, Focus on Basics ===================== From: "Miller, Jane" Date: 2007/05/03 Thu AM 10:31:03 CDT To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hello everyone, In Colorado we have a team of professional developers connected to our state adult education office. Whenever we design trainings, workshops, or conference presentations, we operate from the philosophy that effective PD is a combination of theory and research (presented by the trainers) and professional wisdom (shared by the participants). The theory and research form the basis of the "whys" of classroom practice and the professional wisdom is the basis of the "hows". It is very clear to our trainers that practitioners are eager to learn about research that supports and informs their work in the classroom, but they are simply too busy to seek it out themselves. Therefore, our role as professional developers is to ferret out the current, recent, and classic research and to weave this into our trainings/presentations. We have the time to do this, the knowledge of research sources, and the skills to evaluate which research is relevant to the training topic. We rely heavily on the NCSALL and CAELA websites, the work presented at the two Meetings of the Minds (2004 & 2006) symposia, and information shared by participants on the nifl listservs. Our trainings and presentations always cite the relevant findings from research and provide participants with links to read the complete research reports. For several years we've been using both the NCSALL and CAELA study circles in which teachers read research articles and use them as the basis for discussion and activity. Without exception teachers appreciate the opportunity to read the research and either 1) have their ideas and practice affirmed, or 2) learn new ideas to implement in their practice. We always extend the study circle materials by including many additional resources - both from researchers and from practitioners (such as articles from SABES Field Notes). You can see excitement on the teachers' faces when they flip through the training binders and see the wealth of information available to them. If you have the luxury of a 3-4 session study circle, you can watch the process of participants becoming more skilled consumers of research. Accessibility of research means two things, I think. First, as I said, professional developers need to locate the research and present it to teachers as part of the training design. Second, teachers do find research more accessible when it is presented in briefs, with concise descriptions of the research design, the study population, the research method and the findings. As professional developers, we have the interest and time to read entire research reports, but for the purposes of disseminating the research to teachers, shorter articles - such as the FOB articles and CAELA briefs and digests are perfect. Jane C. Miller ESL Specialist / Professional Development Coordinator Colorado Department of Education /AEFL 201 E. Colfax Ave., Room 400 Denver, CO 80203-1799 303-866-6611 (ph) 303-866-6599 (fax) miller_j at cde.state.co.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 9:39 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 890] FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hi Cris and others, Thanks for outlining this so clearly! In #2, you say: "Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research." These tools include the publication Focus on Basics (FOB) as well as this discussion list to share ideas from FOB. I would love to hear your thoughts on how FOB has worked as a dissemination tool, and how this list has worked to reinforce it. I would also like to hear from others how FOB and the list have been used by professional development staff to "help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research". How effective is this model? How can it be included in PD activities? Thanks! Julie P.S. Last year, we had a discussion on this list with Barb Garner about he FOB Evaluation Report, which you find at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report27.pdf You can read the discussion on the archives at: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/date.html (Scroll down to April 10) ******************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Cristine Smith" 04/30/07 12:30 PM >>> Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to miller_j at cde.state.co.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From b.garner4 at verizon.net Thu May 3 13:33:59 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 12:33:59 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 907] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as disseminationandPD tools Message-ID: <2916993.168651178213639799.JavaMail.root@vms126.mailsrvcs.net> Got it, great information, thanks. Is it enough for additional resources to be what's in the references (if there is a reference list), or should they be featured in a Resources box or section? Barb ===================== From: "Miller, Jane" Date: 2007/05/03 Thu PM 12:26:51 CDT To: b.garner4 at verizon.net, The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as disseminationandPD tools Barb, When conducting study circles using FOB articles, here are a few things I have noticed: 1) Teachers are very interested in the target population. The first thing they look at in research is how closely the participants in the research study match the learners they currently teach. If the match is close, the teachers are more invested in reading about the study and considering the findings. If the match is remote, there is less willingness to invest in reading and discussing the article. When we conducted NCSALL's first Learner Persistence Study Circle the participants (who were mostly ESL teachers) were disappointed that most of the articles were drawn from research with native English speaking ABE/GED learners. 2) Teachers look to the brief author bio at the end of the article. They like to see someone who has legitimate credentials as a researcher, but who has solid experience as a classroom practitioner. 3) They want additional resources to supplement the original article, and they want those resources to be available via the internet. Because of time constraints, teachers are much less likely to order and read a book than they are to hop on the internet and print out a short article, the executive summary of a report, or a teaching technique description. They want resources to be a mix of additional research, and articles describing activities a practitioner has conducted in the classroom based on findings from research. The additional resources should be from a variety of sources - i.e. not all from NCSALL/FOB. When I do conference presentations and don't have time to cover research in detail, I like to select brief quotations from the findings and print them on large posters around the room. In that way, the findings are part of the environment when participants are arriving the room - it sets the tone, piques their curiosity and gets the participants thinking about the topic even before I begin my presentation. Jane Colorado Dept of Education, Adult Ed Professional Development Coordinator -----Original Message----- From: Barbara Garner [mailto:b.garner4 at verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 9:49 AM To: Miller, Jane; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as disseminationandPD tools Jane and other list members, You really captured the role of professional development staff well. You mention using "Focus on Basics" articles as part of study circle materials and in training packets. Do you have any suggestions about how to make the articles more useful? For example, I get the sense that it might be nice to include with research articles a box that summarizes the study question, sample, and findings. What else might make the next two "Focus on Basics'" more useful? Barb Garner Editor, Focus on Basics ===================== From: "Miller, Jane" Date: 2007/05/03 Thu AM 10:31:03 CDT To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hello everyone, In Colorado we have a team of professional developers connected to our state adult education office. Whenever we design trainings, workshops, or conference presentations, we operate from the philosophy that effective PD is a combination of theory and research (presented by the trainers) and professional wisdom (shared by the participants). The theory and research form the basis of the "whys" of classroom practice and the professional wisdom is the basis of the "hows". It is very clear to our trainers that practitioners are eager to learn about research that supports and informs their work in the classroom, but they are simply too busy to seek it out themselves. Therefore, our role as professional developers is to ferret out the current, recent, and classic research and to weave this into our trainings/presentations. We have the time to do this, the knowledge of research sources, and the skills to evaluate which research is relevant to the training topic. We rely heavily on the NCSALL and CAELA websites, the work presented at the two Meetings of the Minds (2004 & 2006) symposia, and information shared by participants on the nifl listservs. Our trainings and presentations always cite the relevant findings from research and provide participants with links to read the complete research reports. For several years we've been using both the NCSALL and CAELA study circles in which teachers read research articles and use them as the basis for discussion and activity. Without exception teachers appreciate the opportunity to read the research and either 1) have their ideas and practice affirmed, or 2) learn new ideas to implement in their practice. We always extend the study circle materials by including many additional resources - both from researchers and from practitioners (such as articles from SABES Field Notes). You can see excitement on the teachers' faces when they flip through the training binders and see the wealth of information available to them. If you have the luxury of a 3-4 session study circle, you can watch the process of participants becoming more skilled consumers of research. Accessibility of research means two things, I think. First, as I said, professional developers need to locate the research and present it to teachers as part of the training design. Second, teachers do find research more accessible when it is presented in briefs, with concise descriptions of the research design, the study population, the research method and the findings. As professional developers, we have the interest and time to read entire research reports, but for the purposes of disseminating the research to teachers, shorter articles - such as the FOB articles and CAELA briefs and digests are perfect. Jane C. Miller ESL Specialist / Professional Development Coordinator Colorado Department of Education /AEFL 201 E. Colfax Ave., Room 400 Denver, CO 80203-1799 303-866-6611 (ph) 303-866-6599 (fax) miller_j at cde.state.co.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 9:39 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 890] FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hi Cris and others, Thanks for outlining this so clearly! In #2, you say: "Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research." These tools include the publication Focus on Basics (FOB) as well as this discussion list to share ideas from FOB. I would love to hear your thoughts on how FOB has worked as a dissemination tool, and how this list has worked to reinforce it. I would also like to hear from others how FOB and the list have been used by professional development staff to "help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research". How effective is this model? How can it be included in PD activities? Thanks! Julie P.S. Last year, we had a discussion on this list with Barb Garner about he FOB Evaluation Report, which you find at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report27.pdf You can read the discussion on the archives at: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/date.html (Scroll down to April 10) ******************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Cristine Smith" 04/30/07 12:30 PM >>> Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to miller_j at cde.state.co.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From Miller_J at cde.state.co.us Thu May 3 13:42:00 2007 From: Miller_J at cde.state.co.us (Miller, Jane) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 11:42:00 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 908] Re: FOB and Discussion lists asdisseminationandPD tools In-Reply-To: <2916993.168651178213639799.JavaMail.root@vms126.mailsrvcs.net> References: <2916993.168651178213639799.JavaMail.root@vms126.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: <1590226EC6C04443A841ED70F8F930363B7C8C@wopr.cde.state.co.us> Barb, I think it would be stronger in a separate Resources box. I'm not a publisher, but as I understand it, "references" are cited in the main article, but additional "resources" are not. There are so many good resources out there - articles practitioners have contributed to their state adult ed or state literacy resource center websites, research from the public ed arena, education think tank reports, studies done at universities. Not everything can be cited in the main FOB article and referenced - but teachers would appreciate your locating these myriad resources and putting them in a Resources box. What do others on the list think? As professional developers, where do you look for resources to supplement research studies and how do you get those resources to your teachers? Jane Colorado Dept of Education, Adult Ed Professional Development Coordinator -----Original Message----- From: Barbara Garner [mailto:b.garner4 at verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 11:34 AM To: Miller, Jane; b.garner4 at verizon.net; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: Re: RE: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists asdisseminationandPD tools Got it, great information, thanks. Is it enough for additional resources to be what's in the references (if there is a reference list), or should they be featured in a Resources box or section? Barb ===================== From: "Miller, Jane" Date: 2007/05/03 Thu PM 12:26:51 CDT To: b.garner4 at verizon.net, The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as disseminationandPD tools Barb, When conducting study circles using FOB articles, here are a few things I have noticed: 1) Teachers are very interested in the target population. The first thing they look at in research is how closely the participants in the research study match the learners they currently teach. If the match is close, the teachers are more invested in reading about the study and considering the findings. If the match is remote, there is less willingness to invest in reading and discussing the article. When we conducted NCSALL's first Learner Persistence Study Circle the participants (who were mostly ESL teachers) were disappointed that most of the articles were drawn from research with native English speaking ABE/GED learners. 2) Teachers look to the brief author bio at the end of the article. They like to see someone who has legitimate credentials as a researcher, but who has solid experience as a classroom practitioner. 3) They want additional resources to supplement the original article, and they want those resources to be available via the internet. Because of time constraints, teachers are much less likely to order and read a book than they are to hop on the internet and print out a short article, the executive summary of a report, or a teaching technique description. They want resources to be a mix of additional research, and articles describing activities a practitioner has conducted in the classroom based on findings from research. The additional resources should be from a variety of sources - i.e. not all from NCSALL/FOB. When I do conference presentations and don't have time to cover research in detail, I like to select brief quotations from the findings and print them on large posters around the room. In that way, the findings are part of the environment when participants are arriving the room - it sets the tone, piques their curiosity and gets the participants thinking about the topic even before I begin my presentation. Jane Colorado Dept of Education, Adult Ed Professional Development Coordinator -----Original Message----- From: Barbara Garner [mailto:b.garner4 at verizon.net] Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 9:49 AM To: Miller, Jane; The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as disseminationandPD tools Jane and other list members, You really captured the role of professional development staff well. You mention using "Focus on Basics" articles as part of study circle materials and in training packets. Do you have any suggestions about how to make the articles more useful? For example, I get the sense that it might be nice to include with research articles a box that summarizes the study question, sample, and findings. What else might make the next two "Focus on Basics'" more useful? Barb Garner Editor, Focus on Basics ===================== From: "Miller, Jane" Date: 2007/05/03 Thu AM 10:31:03 CDT To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 899] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hello everyone, In Colorado we have a team of professional developers connected to our state adult education office. Whenever we design trainings, workshops, or conference presentations, we operate from the philosophy that effective PD is a combination of theory and research (presented by the trainers) and professional wisdom (shared by the participants). The theory and research form the basis of the "whys" of classroom practice and the professional wisdom is the basis of the "hows". It is very clear to our trainers that practitioners are eager to learn about research that supports and informs their work in the classroom, but they are simply too busy to seek it out themselves. Therefore, our role as professional developers is to ferret out the current, recent, and classic research and to weave this into our trainings/presentations. We have the time to do this, the knowledge of research sources, and the skills to evaluate which research is relevant to the training topic. We rely heavily on the NCSALL and CAELA websites, the work presented at the two Meetings of the Minds (2004 & 2006) symposia, and information shared by participants on the nifl listservs. Our trainings and presentations always cite the relevant findings from research and provide participants with links to read the complete research reports. For several years we've been using both the NCSALL and CAELA study circles in which teachers read research articles and use them as the basis for discussion and activity. Without exception teachers appreciate the opportunity to read the research and either 1) have their ideas and practice affirmed, or 2) learn new ideas to implement in their practice. We always extend the study circle materials by including many additional resources - both from researchers and from practitioners (such as articles from SABES Field Notes). You can see excitement on the teachers' faces when they flip through the training binders and see the wealth of information available to them. If you have the luxury of a 3-4 session study circle, you can watch the process of participants becoming more skilled consumers of research. Accessibility of research means two things, I think. First, as I said, professional developers need to locate the research and present it to teachers as part of the training design. Second, teachers do find research more accessible when it is presented in briefs, with concise descriptions of the research design, the study population, the research method and the findings. As professional developers, we have the interest and time to read entire research reports, but for the purposes of disseminating the research to teachers, shorter articles - such as the FOB articles and CAELA briefs and digests are perfect. Jane C. Miller ESL Specialist / Professional Development Coordinator Colorado Department of Education /AEFL 201 E. Colfax Ave., Room 400 Denver, CO 80203-1799 303-866-6611 (ph) 303-866-6599 (fax) miller_j at cde.state.co.us -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 9:39 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 890] FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hi Cris and others, Thanks for outlining this so clearly! In #2, you say: "Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research." These tools include the publication Focus on Basics (FOB) as well as this discussion list to share ideas from FOB. I would love to hear your thoughts on how FOB has worked as a dissemination tool, and how this list has worked to reinforce it. I would also like to hear from others how FOB and the list have been used by professional development staff to "help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research". How effective is this model? How can it be included in PD activities? Thanks! Julie P.S. Last year, we had a discussion on this list with Barb Garner about he FOB Evaluation Report, which you find at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report27.pdf You can read the discussion on the archives at: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/date.html (Scroll down to April 10) ******************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Cristine Smith" 04/30/07 12:30 PM >>> Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to miller_j at cde.state.co.us. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to B.GARNER4 at verizon.net. From battelle at shaw.ca Thu May 3 13:06:17 2007 From: battelle at shaw.ca (Evelyn Battell) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 10:06:17 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 909] Re: effective research dissemination References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1> <006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> Message-ID: <002b01c78da5$5d2bcba0$6401a8c0@ownerf10cbc1b5> I find these expressions quite fascinating. I am an adult literacy/ABE instructor and when I started in the field every student had a packaged curriculum in a file in the classroom - they handed in work for marking - the only marking that took any knowledge was marking writing - I think the writers of the curriculum assumed you marked for grammar errors and the 5 paragraph essay - each paragraph with a opening sentence. I never taught that way again - at the end of my career I work enrtriely with curriculum Imake up each semester based on my experience and the present studetns - i still have file cabinets full of photocopied stuff - but use them very seldom - usually for a special bit of work a student has asked for. The later honours my intelligence and expertise and is very very demanding teaching. Did Piaget teach this way and die young?? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrea Wilder" To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 7:06 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 896] Re: effective research dissemination Ok, Tom, lets see what I remember. Here it is: there was a time when a Inuit (I think) curriculum was more or less packed in a box, with artifacts, maybe photos, things to look at and draw conclusions from. The thinking had already been done by people who knew about Inuit culture and thought they were the best teachers of teachers--a curriculum in a box, "teacher proof." Now we have flipped to the opposite extreme (not a bad extreme, but it will take really smart educated and engaged teachers) where the teacher should be able to recognize the skill level of the students, identify the assumed skill levels of the material to be taught, and set up situations for students where questioning and experimentation can occur. This curriculum builds both on John Dewey, Piaget, for the initial start in child observation, and some more current, more developed, knowledge about skill levels and how they correlate with brain change and development. I think this second role--teacher as Piaget is excellent, but does it ever take teacher education. It's late for me, and i am groggy with need for sleep, but I can expand on any of this tomorrow if you want. BTW, I have done some of this in my classroom, so i know some of what it requires. Andrea On May 2, 2007, at 6:16 PM, Woods wrote: > Andrea, > Would you please elaborate on your terms, teacher-proof-curriculum, and > teacher-as-Piaget-curriculum. > Thanks, > Tom Woods > > Andrea Wilder wrote: > >> Hi John, >> >> I had another experience at the Learning and the Brain Conference I >> went to. In a lesson on skill development we were given the task of >> measuring how high a ball would bounce when dropped from different >> heights, when measured by a yard stick. Turns out the variability in >> scores from different teams is related to the SKILL of the different >> people doing the measuring. From this I learned that what matters is >> the SKILL of the teacher. I have been in education long enough to see >> the swing from teacher proof curriculum to teacher-as-Piaget >> curriculum. Teachers need to have knowledge and experience, This will >> only occur when teachers are paid better. No shortcuts. >> >> Andrea >> >> >> On May 2, 2007, at 10:24 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> Hi Andrea, >> >> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I know there are >> lot of "whole language" advocates on this list. >> >> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics with whole >> language approach, putting the "visual and auditory" together. >> This was the approach used in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" >> and the approach used in most schools over the past few decades. >> Despite the introduction of the literacy hour in all schools some >> years ago, the literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The Clackmannanshire >> study compared synthetic phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed >> approach. Synthetic phonics was by far the best. It was not to >> do with the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught >> enthusiastically with the old methods find that synthetic phonics >> works better. But I'm not a teacher myself, so you need to ask >> somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the >> method, and knows many other teachers who have used it. >> >> The experience of teaching is backing up the science. >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> *From:* Andrea Wilder >> *To:* The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research >> dissemination >> >> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading >> activates different parts of the brain than does >> phoneme-grapheme training. >> >> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the >> auditory cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at >> the back of the head. This seems to be where the two >> representations, visual and auditory, are put together. >> Children can improve their reading by work in both areas, it >> is the TEACHER who makes the difference directing the child's >> attention . >> >> Andrea >> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners >> view the science, and (3) the policy support needed, you >> may be interested to know what is happening over here in >> England concerning the teaching of reading. >> >> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, >> not an educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge >> University, I was trained to recognise the application of >> good scientific methods. And there are countless examples >> in the history of science where it has taken time for the >> "conventional view" of something to be overturned by good >> evidence coming from careful observation and logical >> argument. >> >> The science of reading falls into several areas: >> (a) how fluent readers read; >> (b) what is going on in the brain; >> (c) how best to train the brain; >> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >> >> There has been controversy in all these areas, which has >> held back the acceptance of "good science". >> >> (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional >> view) is that rapid reading involves whole word >> recognition, and not being slowed down by the decoding and >> sounding out of words in one's "mind's ear". However >> research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is >> mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are >> capable of mentally sounding out words at great speed, >> just as we can listen to somebody talking rapidly. >> >> (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent >> readers use one part of the brain for the visual >> processing, and then another part of the brain is >> activated as for listening. This supports the research of >> (a). However this research has been clouded by the >> interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather >> than a product of training the brain to use the wrong >> pathways. >> >> (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of >> how best to train the brain of a young child, and how to >> deal with older children who can't read fluently. To my >> knowledge, there has been little or no research on the >> brain to answer these questions directly. However the >> most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the >> principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an >> age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and >> "sound out" words is developed from the start. And for >> older children, one has to go back to basics, to get this >> brain process trained up and exercised. >> >> (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience >> elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works well for >> all children, and works better than rival approaches. In >> synthetic phonics, children are taught to decode starting >> from single letter-sound correspondences, and build up the >> sound of the word. Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et >> al) have questioned the soundness of the research, their >> criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane >> McGuinness. >> >> So how do practitioners view the research? The experience >> in England is that practitioners are generally unaware of >> the research (a) and (b). Regarding (c), they may have >> heard of brain research on dyslexia and the brain. But >> they are most likely to know about research on what works >> (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, >> because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select >> Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed >> synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide >> coverage on the media. And one television channel ran a >> series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy >> results) that was adopting synthetic phonics from scratch, >> with dramatic results (everybody reading). >> >> What policy has been adopted? The government has >> officially accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying >> that synthetic phonics should be mandated by September >> that year. However, when it comes to putting synthetic >> phonics into mainstream, the government has delegated >> responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and >> Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little >> activity since then. There has been no sign of teachers >> being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no >> authoritative books on the subject giving practical help >> to primary school teachers. >> >> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as >> speedy and effective as one would like. The educational >> establishment by and large continues to support the old >> "mix and match" methods. Teachers are so weighed down by >> paperwork that they can't easily take new methods on >> board. Thus we will continue to see one in five children >> failing to read by the end of primary school. This is a >> human tragedy. >> >> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years >> and more ago we were taught phonics from the start. So >> one could say that the research is taking us "back to the >> future". >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >> Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> *From:* John Benseman >> *To:* 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >> *Sent:* Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our >> discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >> >> Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the >> debate about NCLB and the push by the Bush >> administration for ?definitive evidence? from >> researchers about practice, I would like to argue that >> there is a strong argument for quantitative research >> (I need to identify myself as a qualitative researcher >> at this point) in the push to understand our work as >> literacy teachers. >> >> I am currently reviewing all of the research done in >> New Zealand over the past 5 years on adult literacy, >> language and numeracy (LLN). The purpose of this >> review is to provide evidence for the Minister of >> Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding >> decision about future provision later this year. >> >> In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any >> statistics and most of those are pretty light both in >> terms of their samples and analyses. I can already see >> that my report is not going to have much weight with >> key government agencies such as the Prime Minister?s >> Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) >> say that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? >> In other words, we have been doing predominantly >> qualitative research at the expense of quantitative >> research. There are many reasons for this, which is a >> whole debate in itself. >> >> The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of >> research if we are to understand what we do better. >> Both types of research provide useful perspectives and >> complement each other. The problem is that we tend to >> oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? driven not >> only by politicians, but also by those of us who work >> in the field. >> >> John >> >> John Benseman* * >> >> Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ >> (based at Department of Labour) >> >> */ /john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz >> *(* 0064 9 627 4415 >> *7 *0064 9 627 4418 >> Cell 027 454 0683 >> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, >> please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to >> >> andreawilder at comcast.net.--------------------------------------------- >> ------- >> >> >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go >> to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to >> >> JN at cloudworld.co.uk.-------------------------------------------------- >> -- >> >> >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> -- >> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to battelle at shaw.ca. From comingjo at gse.harvard.edu Thu May 3 14:17:43 2007 From: comingjo at gse.harvard.edu (John Comings) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 14:17:43 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 910] Re: Effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB8708E13538@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> References: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB8708E13538@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Message-ID: <298F8AE10F55685AAA7C0F2D@nic106> Thank you for the kind words about NCSALL. We've struggled with how research can improve practice. It is hard, but probably not impossible. My thinking at the moment is that the key word in Dewey's statement is "direct". To have an impact, the findings of educational research must work through a relationship, that between a teacher and a student. The research findings have to be in the mind of the teacher and the student who then work together to use it. How they use it can be quite different, depending on who they are and the resources and constraints of the program that supports them. I had an opportunity to observe a teacher who had training under OVAE's STAR project (which seeks to improve instruction through the application of research), and because of STAR, she and her students shared some common elements of an approach to improving literacy skills. On a different day, in a different program, and with different students, the impact might be different, but it would probably be an improvement over how that teacher and those students would have learned together without her training by STAR. The relationship between the teacher and each student was quite different, but there were clearly common elements, those learned in the STAR program, that were in all of those relationships. Though no one has yet undertaken a rigorous evaluation of STAR, an experiment with a large enough population and set of programs, would probably show it improves learning outcomes when those common elements are observed. The teacher said her students were doing better on indicators of achievement and persistence and that STAR helped her students understand how they could improve their reading. --On Thursday, May 03, 2007 10:18 AM -0500 "Schneider, Jim" wrote: > Let me preface my remarks with a commendation to the NCSALL folks, as a > practicioner, I have benefitted tremendously from the myriad of > resources and publications they have provided over the years. They have > been the exception to the rule - particularly when compared to much of > the literature in academic journals. > > Having said that, I found that an Arthur Cohen article (citation and > abstract at the bottom) that IMHO provides several poignant points > regarding research and practicioners... > > As a practicioner I found the following paragraph (especially the quote > from McKeachie) to be an accurate reflection of my feelings about much > of the research regarding adult literacy. > > "This discussion of the gap between research and practice is not new. As > Biesta and Burbules (2003) paraphrase from 20th century education > philosopher John Dewey, "The idea of 'improving' educational practice in > any direct way through educational research should be abandoned.... > Educational problems are always unique and for that reason always > require unique responses, tailored as best as possible to the > idiosyncrasies of the actual, unique situation" (p. 81). In other words, > all findings in educational research are tentative, equivocal, and > derivative, and dressing them up with statistics only gives the illusion > of precision. McKeachie (1963) put it most succinctly when he concluded > that, at bottom, research on teaching can demonstrate only that in > college A, on day B, instructor C used method D to teach concept E to F > set of students. Change any of those variables and the findings shift." > > Jim > Scott Community College > Davenport, IA > > UCLA Community College Review: Why Practitioners and Researchers Ignore > Each Other (Even When They Are The Same Person) > Author(s): Cohen, Arthur M. > > In: Community College Review (Community Coll Rev) v. 33 no1 (Fall 2005) > p. 51-62 ISSN: 0091-5521 > > Abstract: The writer discusses the mutual indifference between > practitioners in and researchers of community colleges. Principles that > illustrate the differences between these two groups are the distance > from the object of study, an ideological perspective, the purposes of > research, and the political agenda. Researchers and practitioners can > speak to one another only if they use a common language, understand how > distance from the object of study affects the usefulness of information, > reject ideological perspectives that place blame on the students or the > institution, and focus on studies concerning relationships between > educational processes and outcomes. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to > COMINGJO at gse.harvard.edu. John Comings, Director National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy Harvard Graduate School of Education 7 Appian Way Cambridge MA 02138 (617) 496-0516, voice (617) 495-4811, fax (617) 335-9839, mobile john_comings at harvard.edu http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu May 3 14:23:13 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 14:23:13 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 911] Re: Effective research dissemination Message-ID: <4639F0510200002D00002140@mail.jsi.com> Jim, Thanks for sharing this. Can you specify why the NCSALL resources and publications represent "the exception to the rule"? Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Schneider, Jim" 05/03/07 11:18 AM >>> Let me preface my remarks with a commendation to the NCSALL folks, as a practicioner, I have benefitted tremendously from the myriad of resources and publications they have provided over the years. They have been the exception to the rule - particularly when compared to much of the literature in academic journals. Having said that, I found that an Arthur Cohen article (citation and abstract at the bottom) that IMHO provides several poignant points regarding research and practicioners... As a practicioner I found the following paragraph (especially the quote from McKeachie) to be an accurate reflection of my feelings about much of the research regarding adult literacy. "This discussion of the gap between research and practice is not new. As Biesta and Burbules (2003) paraphrase from 20th century education philosopher John Dewey, "The idea of 'improving' educational practice in any direct way through educational research should be abandoned.... Educational problems are always unique and for that reason always require unique responses, tailored as best as possible to the idiosyncrasies of the actual, unique situation" (p. 81). In other words, all findings in educational research are tentative, equivocal, and derivative, and dressing them up with statistics only gives the illusion of precision. McKeachie (1963) put it most succinctly when he concluded that, at bottom, research on teaching can demonstrate only that in college A, on day B, instructor C used method D to teach concept E to F set of students. Change any of those variables and the findings shift." Jim Scott Community College Davenport, IA UCLA Community College Review: Why Practitioners and Researchers Ignore Each Other (Even When They Are The Same Person) Author(s): Cohen, Arthur M. In: Community College Review (Community Coll Rev) v. 33 no1 (Fall 2005) p. 51-62 ISSN: 0091-5521 Abstract: The writer discusses the mutual indifference between practitioners in and researchers of community colleges. Principles that illustrate the differences between these two groups are the distance from the object of study, an ideological perspective, the purposes of research, and the political agenda. Researchers and practitioners can speak to one another only if they use a common language, understand how distance from the object of study affects the usefulness of information, reject ideological perspectives that place blame on the students or the institution, and focus on studies concerning relationships between educational processes and outcomes. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From andreawilder at comcast.net Thu May 3 12:49:10 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 12:49:10 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 912] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1><006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> Message-ID: Friends-- I have often brought brain based information into various NIFL discussions. My biggest and continuing source (besides reading a lot of books and articles) is the Learning and the Brain conference held twice a year in Cambridge MA, and now once a year in San Francisco. Here is their URL: www.edupr.com. They welcome callers and would be glad to talk with you an describe what they do. Of course the hotel prices are outasight, so people who go often stay at Band B's, YMCA, and so on. More info at edupr. Andrea On May 2, 2007, at 6:16 PM, Woods wrote: > Andrea, > Would you please elaborate on your terms, teacher-proof-curriculum, and > teacher-as-Piaget-curriculum. > Thanks, > Tom Woods > > Andrea Wilder wrote: > >> Hi John, >> >> I had another experience at the Learning and the Brain Conference I >> went to. In a lesson on skill development we were given the task of >> measuring how high a ball would bounce when dropped from different >> heights, when measured by a yard stick. Turns out the variability in >> scores from different teams is related to the SKILL of the different >> people doing the measuring. From this I learned that what matters is >> the SKILL of the teacher. I have been in education long enough to see >> the swing from teacher proof curriculum to teacher-as-Piaget >> curriculum. Teachers need to have knowledge and experience, This will >> only occur when teachers are paid better. No shortcuts. >> >> Andrea >> >> >> On May 2, 2007, at 10:24 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> Hi Andrea, >> >> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I know there are >> lot of "whole language" advocates on this list. >> >> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics with whole >> language approach, putting the "visual and auditory" together. >> This was the approach used in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" >> and the approach used in most schools over the past few decades. >> Despite the introduction of the literacy hour in all schools some >> years ago, the literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The Clackmannanshire >> study compared synthetic phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed >> approach. Synthetic phonics was by far the best. It was not to >> do with the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught >> enthusiastically with the old methods find that synthetic phonics >> works better. But I'm not a teacher myself, so you need to ask >> somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the >> method, and knows many other teachers who have used it. >> >> The experience of teaching is backing up the science. >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> *From:* Andrea Wilder >> *To:* The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research >> dissemination >> >> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading >> activates different parts of the brain than does >> phoneme-grapheme training. >> >> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the >> auditory cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at >> the back of the head. This seems to be where the two >> representations, visual and auditory, are put together. >> Children can improve their reading by work in both areas, it >> is the TEACHER who makes the difference directing the child's >> attention . >> >> Andrea >> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners >> view the science, and (3) the policy support needed, you >> may be interested to know what is happening over here in >> England concerning the teaching of reading. >> >> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, >> not an educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge >> University, I was trained to recognise the application of >> good scientific methods. And there are countless examples >> in the history of science where it has taken time for the >> "conventional view" of something to be overturned by good >> evidence coming from careful observation and logical >> argument. >> >> The science of reading falls into several areas: >> (a) how fluent readers read; >> (b) what is going on in the brain; >> (c) how best to train the brain; >> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >> >> There has been controversy in all these areas, which has >> held back the acceptance of "good science". >> >> (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional >> view) is that rapid reading involves whole word >> recognition, and not being slowed down by the decoding and >> sounding out of words in one's "mind's ear". However >> research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is >> mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are >> capable of mentally sounding out words at great speed, >> just as we can listen to somebody talking rapidly. >> >> (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent >> readers use one part of the brain for the visual >> processing, and then another part of the brain is >> activated as for listening. This supports the research of >> (a). However this research has been clouded by the >> interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather >> than a product of training the brain to use the wrong >> pathways. >> >> (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of >> how best to train the brain of a young child, and how to >> deal with older children who can't read fluently. To my >> knowledge, there has been little or no research on the >> brain to answer these questions directly. However the >> most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the >> principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an >> age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and >> "sound out" words is developed from the start. And for >> older children, one has to go back to basics, to get this >> brain process trained up and exercised. >> >> (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience >> elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works well for >> all children, and works better than rival approaches. In >> synthetic phonics, children are taught to decode starting >> from single letter-sound correspondences, and build up the >> sound of the word. Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et >> al) have questioned the soundness of the research, their >> criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane >> McGuinness. >> >> So how do practitioners view the research? The experience >> in England is that practitioners are generally unaware of >> the research (a) and (b). Regarding (c), they may have >> heard of brain research on dyslexia and the brain. But >> they are most likely to know about research on what works >> (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, >> because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select >> Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed >> synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide >> coverage on the media. And one television channel ran a >> series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy >> results) that was adopting synthetic phonics from scratch, >> with dramatic results (everybody reading). >> >> What policy has been adopted? The government has >> officially accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying >> that synthetic phonics should be mandated by September >> that year. However, when it comes to putting synthetic >> phonics into mainstream, the government has delegated >> responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and >> Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little >> activity since then. There has been no sign of teachers >> being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no >> authoritative books on the subject giving practical help >> to primary school teachers. >> >> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as >> speedy and effective as one would like. The educational >> establishment by and large continues to support the old >> "mix and match" methods. Teachers are so weighed down by >> paperwork that they can't easily take new methods on >> board. Thus we will continue to see one in five children >> failing to read by the end of primary school. This is a >> human tragedy. >> >> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years >> and more ago we were taught phonics from the start. So >> one could say that the research is taking us "back to the >> future". >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> John >> >> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >> Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> *From:* John Benseman >> *To:* 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >> *Sent:* Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our >> discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >> >> Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the >> debate about NCLB and the push by the Bush >> administration for ?definitive evidence? from >> researchers about practice, I would like to argue that >> there is a strong argument for quantitative research >> (I need to identify myself as a qualitative researcher >> at this point) in the push to understand our work as >> literacy teachers. >> >> I am currently reviewing all of the research done in >> New Zealand over the past 5 years on adult literacy, >> language and numeracy (LLN). The purpose of this >> review is to provide evidence for the Minister of >> Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding >> decision about future provision later this year. >> >> In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any >> statistics and most of those are pretty light both in >> terms of their samples and analyses. I can already see >> that my report is not going to have much weight with >> key government agencies such as the Prime Minister?s >> Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) >> say that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? >> In other words, we have been doing predominantly >> qualitative research at the expense of quantitative >> research. There are many reasons for this, which is a >> whole debate in itself. >> >> The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of >> research if we are to understand what we do better. >> Both types of research provide useful perspectives and >> complement each other. The problem is that we tend to >> oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? driven not >> only by politicians, but also by those of us who work >> in the field. >> >> John >> >> John Benseman* * >> >> Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ >> (based at Department of Labour) >> >> */ /john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz >> *(* 0064 9 627 4415 >> *7 *0064 9 627 4418 >> Cell 027 454 0683 >> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, >> please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to >> >> andreawilder at comcast.net.--------------------------------------------- >> ------- >> >> >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go >> to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to >> >> JN at cloudworld.co.uk.-------------------------------------------------- >> -- >> >> >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> -- >> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >> > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > From andreawilder at comcast.net Thu May 3 14:18:04 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 14:18:04 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 913] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <902043.45238.qm@web83111.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <902043.45238.qm@web83111.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <3b471a05d3febb22bc28c15e2c2e4017@comcast.net> Go to google and enter the phrase--you will find it is a book title and has lots of cites. Andrea On May 3, 2007, at 10:00 AM, Bonnita Solberg wrote: > Is there a web reference to Literacy As Snake Oil or did I miss > something here?? Bonnita > > Andrea Wilder wrote: >> >> i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it thoroughly. >> >> For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of scientific interest, hence >> my addition that each method effects positive changes, these changes >> are teacher driven and focused, and that the learning takes place in >> different areas of the brain. >> >> Andrea >> >> On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: >> >> > Hi Andrea and John, >> > >> > This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 years >> > of teaching special ed, adults, children, >> > Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole host of >> > other things, I've seen studies come and go. I work in >> > the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire study. Now >> > I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's >> > study and in a few years we will have another study >> > which will say something else. Forgive me if I sound >> > sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature vs >> > nurture debate. We will always have advocates for both >> > sides. >> > >> > An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake Oil. >> > >> > An either/or approach is simply tiresome. Besides, >> > let's first agree on a universal system of phonics for >> > the English language. Then, let's see how best to >> > train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how well >> > it works in the classroom. >> > >> > Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I will >> > not get into this debate the next time it pops up. >> > >> > Cheers, >> > Ujwala >> > >> > >> > >> > --- John Nissen wrote: >> > >> >> >> >> Hi Andrea, >> >> >> >> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I >> >> know there are lot of "whole language" advocates on >> >> this list. >> >> >> >> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics >> >> with whole language approach, putting the "visual >> >> and auditory" together. This was the approach used >> >> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the >> >> approach used in most schools over the past few >> >> decades. Despite the introduction of the literacy >> >> hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy >> >> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >> >> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The >> >> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic phonics, >> >> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. Synthetic >> >> phonics was by far the best. It was not to do with >> >> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught >> >> enthusiastically with the old methods find that >> >> synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a >> >> teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like >> >> Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the >> >> method, and knows many other teachers who have used >> >> it. >> >> >> >> The experience of teaching is backing up the >> >> science. >> >> >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> >> >> John >> >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> >> From: Andrea Wilder >> >> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> >> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >> >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective >> >> research dissemination >> >> >> >> >> >> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language >> >> reading activates different parts of the brain than >> >> does phoneme-grapheme training. >> >> >> >> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between >> >> the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the >> >> visual cortex at the back of the head. This seems to >> >> be where the two representations, visual and >> >> auditory, are put together. Children can improve >> >> their reading by work in both areas, it is the >> >> TEACHER who makes the difference directing the >> >> child's attention . >> >> >> >> Andrea >> >> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> >> >> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how >> >> practitioners view the science, and (3) the policy >> >> support needed, you may be interested to know what >> >> is happening over here in England concerning the >> >> teaching of reading. >> >> >> >> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a >> >> scientist, not an educator. As a science graduate >> >> from Cambridge University, I was trained to >> >> recognise the application of good scientific >> >> methods. And there are countless examples in the >> >> history of science where it has taken time for the >> >> "conventional view" of something to be overturned by >> >> good evidence coming from careful observation and >> >> logical argument. >> >> >> >> The science of reading falls into several areas: >> >> >> >> (a) how fluent readers read; >> >> (b) what is going on in the brain; >> >> (c) how best to train the brain; >> >> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >> >> >> >> There has been controversy in all these areas, >> >> which has held back the acceptance of "good >> >> science". >> >> >> >> (a) A widely held view (one could say the >> >> conventional view) is that rapid reading involves >> >> whole word recognition, and not being slowed down by >> >> the decoding and sounding out of words in one's >> >> "mind's ear". However research in neurolinguistics >> >> shows that this view is mistaken. We decode a >> >> majority of words, and we are capable of mentally >> >> sounding out words at great speed, just as we can >> >> listen to somebody talking rapidly. >> >> >> >> (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that >> >> fluent readers use one part of the brain for the >> >> visual processing, and then another part of the >> >> brain is activated as for listening. This supports >> >> the research of (a). However this research has been >> >> clouded by the interpretation of dyslexia as a brain >> >> malfunction, rather than a product of training the >> >> brain to use the wrong pathways. >> >> >> >> (c) In view of the above research, there are >> >> questions of how best to train the brain of a young >> >> child, and how to deal with older children who can't >> >> read fluently. To my knowledge, there has been >> >> little or no research on the brain to answer these >> >> questions directly. However the most obvious >> >> deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the >> >> principles of decoding and how to decode from an >> >> early an age as possible, so that an ability to >> >> rapidly decode and "sound out" words is developed >> >> from the start. And for older children, one has to >> >> go back to basics, to get this brain process trained >> >> up and exercised. >> >> >> >> (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience >> >> elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works >> >> well for all children, and works better than rival >> >> approaches. In synthetic phonics, children are >> >> taught to decode starting from single letter-sound >> >> correspondences, and build up the sound of the word. >> >> Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et al) have >> >> questioned the soundness of the research, their >> >> criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane >> >> McGuinness. >> >> >> >> So how do practitioners view the research? The >> >> experience in England is that practitioners are >> >> generally unaware of the research (a) and (b). >> >> Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research >> >> on dyslexia and the brain. But they are most likely >> >> to know about research on what works (d), and in >> >> particular the research in Clackmannanshire, because >> >> of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select >> >> Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed >> >> synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide >> >> coverage on the media. And one television channel >> >> ran a series of programmes about a school (with poor >> >> literacy results) that was adopting synthetic >> >> phonics from scratch, with dramatic results >> >> (everybody reading). >> >> >> >> What policy has been adopted? The government >> >> has officially accepted the Rose Report, in March >> >> 2006, saying that synthetic phonics should be >> >> mandated by September that year. However, when it >> >> comes to putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, >> >> the government has delegated responsibility to the >> >> old-guard QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum >> >> Authority), and we have seen very little activity >> >> since then. There has been no sign of teachers >> >> being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no >> >> authoritative books on the subject giving practical >> >> help to primary school teachers. >> >> >> >> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has >> >> not been as speedy and effective as one would like. >> >> The educational establishment by and large continues >> >> to support the old "mix and match" methods. >> >> Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they >> >> can't easily take new methods on board. Thus we >> >> will continue to see one in five children failing to >> >> read by the end of primary school. This is a human >> >> tragedy. >> >> >> >> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because >> >> forty years and more ago we were taught phonics from >> >> the start. So one could say that the research is >> >> taking us "back to the future". >> >> >> >> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >> >> >> John >> >> >> >> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >> >> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >> >> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >> >> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >> >> >> >> >> > http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >> >> Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >> >> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> >> From: John Benseman >> >> To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >> >> Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >> >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our >> >> discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >> >> >> > === message truncated ===> >> > ---------------------------------------------------- >> >> National Institute for Literacy >> >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, >> >> please go to >> >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> >> Message sent to LALUMINEUSE at yahoo.com. >> > >> > >> > __________________________________________________ >> > Do You Yahoo!? >> > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around >> > http://mail.yahoo.com >> > ---------------------------------------------------- >> > National Institute for Literacy >> > Focus on Basics mailing list >> > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. >> > >> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 11083 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070503/8823c1ac/attachment.bin From andreawilder at comcast.net Thu May 3 14:26:28 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 14:26:28 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 914] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <002b01c78da5$5d2bcba0$6401a8c0@ownerf10cbc1b5> References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1> <006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> <002b01c78da5$5d2bcba0$6401a8c0@ownerf10cbc1b5> Message-ID: As I recall, Piaget did not each at all (did he/) but spent his time observing his growing children, Barbro (?) Inhelder was a co-researcher. I recall that the first "skill" was a reflex that turns into a purposeful act. Anyway, others have built on his work, which is based on careful observation. He proposed ladder-like stages in development, more recent work has blown that apart--development is more like a web, with skills developing in their own and then coming together, or splitting apart so one leg can develop more quickly. Thin starting point, then visualize a web like a cracked glass, and you've got it. So, for example, reading is built up from different skills, then comes together. The skilled teacher knows the usual steps in skill development, supports them along until they all join up. THIS PROCESS IS REPEATED FOR EVERY NEW SKILL. That's why you, Evelyn, make up your own materials as you go along, you know what to expect, and when to invent a material that will support optimal development. Andrea On May 3, 2007, at 1:06 PM, Evelyn Battell wrote: > I find these expressions quite fascinating. I am an adult literacy/ABE > instructor and when I started in the field every student had a > packaged > curriculum in a file in the classroom - they handed in work for > marking - > the only marking that took any knowledge was marking writing - I think > the > writers of the curriculum assumed you marked for grammar errors and > the 5 > paragraph essay - each paragraph with a opening sentence. > > I never taught that way again - at the end of my career I work > enrtriely > with curriculum Imake up each semester based on my experience and the > present studetns - i still have file cabinets full of photocopied > stuff - > but use them very seldom - usually for a special bit of work a student > has > asked for. > > The later honours my intelligence and expertise and is very very > demanding > teaching. Did Piaget teach this way and die young?? > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Andrea Wilder" > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 7:06 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 896] Re: effective research dissemination > > > Ok, Tom, lets see what I remember. > > Here it is: there was a time when a Inuit (I think) curriculum was > more or less packed in a box, with artifacts, maybe photos, things to > look at and draw conclusions from. The thinking had already been done > by people who knew about Inuit culture and thought they were the best > teachers of teachers--a curriculum in a box, "teacher proof." > > Now we have flipped to the opposite extreme (not a bad extreme, but it > will take really smart educated and engaged teachers) where the teacher > should be able to recognize the skill level of the students, identify > the assumed skill levels of the material to be taught, and set up > situations for students where questioning and experimentation can > occur. This curriculum builds both on John Dewey, Piaget, for the > initial start in child observation, and some more current, more > developed, knowledge about skill levels and how they correlate with > brain change and development. > > I think this second role--teacher as Piaget is excellent, but does it > ever take teacher education. > > It's late for me, and i am groggy with need for sleep, but I can expand > on any of this tomorrow if you want. BTW, I have done some of this in > my classroom, so i know some of what it requires. > > Andrea > > On May 2, 2007, at 6:16 PM, Woods wrote: > >> Andrea, >> Would you please elaborate on your terms, teacher-proof-curriculum, >> and >> teacher-as-Piaget-curriculum. >> Thanks, >> Tom Woods >> >> Andrea Wilder wrote: >> >>> Hi John, >>> >>> I had another experience at the Learning and the Brain Conference I >>> went to. In a lesson on skill development we were given the task of >>> measuring how high a ball would bounce when dropped from different >>> heights, when measured by a yard stick. Turns out the variability in >>> scores from different teams is related to the SKILL of the different >>> people doing the measuring. From this I learned that what matters is >>> the SKILL of the teacher. I have been in education long enough to see >>> the swing from teacher proof curriculum to teacher-as-Piaget >>> curriculum. Teachers need to have knowledge and experience, This will >>> only occur when teachers are paid better. No shortcuts. >>> >>> Andrea >>> >>> >>> On May 2, 2007, at 10:24 AM, John Nissen wrote: >>> >>> >>> Hi Andrea, >>> >>> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I know there are >>> lot of "whole language" advocates on this list. >>> >>> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics with whole >>> language approach, putting the "visual and auditory" together. >>> This was the approach used in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" >>> and the approach used in most schools over the past few decades. >>> Despite the introduction of the literacy hour in all schools some >>> years ago, the literacy rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >>> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The Clackmannanshire >>> study compared synthetic phonics, analytic phonics and the mixed >>> approach. Synthetic phonics was by far the best. It was not to >>> do with the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught >>> enthusiastically with the old methods find that synthetic phonics >>> works better. But I'm not a teacher myself, so you need to ask >>> somebody like Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the >>> method, and knows many other teachers who have used it. >>> >>> The experience of teaching is backing up the science. >>> >>> Cheers from Chiswick, >>> >>> John >>> >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> *From:* Andrea Wilder >>> *To:* The Focus on Basics Discussion List >>> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >>> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective research >>> dissemination >>> >>> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language reading >>> activates different parts of the brain than does >>> phoneme-grapheme training. >>> >>> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between the >>> auditory cortex above the left ear, and the visual cortex at >>> the back of the head. This seems to be where the two >>> representations, visual and auditory, are put together. >>> Children can improve their reading by work in both areas, it >>> is the TEACHER who makes the difference directing the child's >>> attention . >>> >>> Andrea >>> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners >>> view the science, and (3) the policy support needed, you >>> may be interested to know what is happening over here in >>> England concerning the teaching of reading. >>> >>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, >>> not an educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge >>> University, I was trained to recognise the application of >>> good scientific methods. And there are countless >>> examples >>> in the history of science where it has taken time for the >>> "conventional view" of something to be overturned by good >>> evidence coming from careful observation and logical >>> argument. >>> >>> The science of reading falls into several areas: >>> (a) how fluent readers read; >>> (b) what is going on in the brain; >>> (c) how best to train the brain; >>> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >>> >>> There has been controversy in all these areas, which has >>> held back the acceptance of "good science". >>> >>> (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional >>> view) is that rapid reading involves whole word >>> recognition, and not being slowed down by the decoding >>> and >>> sounding out of words in one's "mind's ear". However >>> research in neurolinguistics shows that this view is >>> mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are >>> capable of mentally sounding out words at great speed, >>> just as we can listen to somebody talking rapidly. >>> >>> (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent >>> readers use one part of the brain for the visual >>> processing, and then another part of the brain is >>> activated as for listening. This supports the research >>> of >>> (a). However this research has been clouded by the >>> interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather >>> than a product of training the brain to use the wrong >>> pathways. >>> >>> (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of >>> how best to train the brain of a young child, and how to >>> deal with older children who can't read fluently. To my >>> knowledge, there has been little or no research on the >>> brain to answer these questions directly. However the >>> most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the >>> principles of decoding and how to decode from an early an >>> age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and >>> "sound out" words is developed from the start. And for >>> older children, one has to go back to basics, to get this >>> brain process trained up and exercised. >>> >>> (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience >>> elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works well >>> for >>> all children, and works better than rival approaches. In >>> synthetic phonics, children are taught to decode starting >>> from single letter-sound correspondences, and build up >>> the >>> sound of the word. Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et >>> al) have questioned the soundness of the research, their >>> criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane >>> McGuinness. >>> >>> So how do practitioners view the research? The >>> experience >>> in England is that practitioners are generally unaware of >>> the research (a) and (b). Regarding (c), they may have >>> heard of brain research on dyslexia and the brain. But >>> they are most likely to know about research on what works >>> (d), and in particular the research in Clackmannanshire, >>> because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select >>> Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed >>> synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide >>> coverage on the media. And one television channel ran a >>> series of programmes about a school (with poor literacy >>> results) that was adopting synthetic phonics from >>> scratch, >>> with dramatic results (everybody reading). >>> >>> What policy has been adopted? The government has >>> officially accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, >>> saying >>> that synthetic phonics should be mandated by September >>> that year. However, when it comes to putting synthetic >>> phonics into mainstream, the government has delegated >>> responsibility to the old-guard QCA (Qualifications and >>> Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very little >>> activity since then. There has been no sign of teachers >>> being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no >>> authoritative books on the subject giving practical help >>> to primary school teachers. >>> >>> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as >>> speedy and effective as one would like. The educational >>> establishment by and large continues to support the old >>> "mix and match" methods. Teachers are so weighed down by >>> paperwork that they can't easily take new methods on >>> board. Thus we will continue to see one in five children >>> failing to read by the end of primary school. This is a >>> human tragedy. >>> >>> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years >>> and more ago we were taught phonics from the start. So >>> one could say that the research is taking us "back to the >>> future". >>> >>> Cheers from Chiswick, >>> >>> John >>> >>> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >>> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >>> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >>> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >>> >>> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >>> Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >>> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> *From:* John Benseman >>> *To:* 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >>> *Sent:* Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM >>> *Subject:* [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our >>> discussion ofeffectiveresearch disseminati >>> >>> Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the >>> debate about NCLB and the push by the Bush >>> administration for ?definitive evidence? from >>> researchers about practice, I would like to argue >>> that >>> there is a strong argument for quantitative research >>> (I need to identify myself as a qualitative >>> researcher >>> at this point) in the push to understand our work as >>> literacy teachers. >>> >>> I am currently reviewing all of the research done in >>> New Zealand over the past 5 years on adult literacy, >>> language and numeracy (LLN). The purpose of this >>> review is to provide evidence for the Minister of >>> Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding >>> decision about future provision later this year. >>> >>> In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any >>> statistics and most of those are pretty light both in >>> terms of their samples and analyses. I can already >>> see >>> that my report is not going to have much weight with >>> key government agencies such as the Prime Minister?s >>> Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) >>> say that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? >>> In other words, we have been doing predominantly >>> qualitative research at the expense of quantitative >>> research. There are many reasons for this, which is a >>> whole debate in itself. >>> >>> The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of >>> research if we are to understand what we do better. >>> Both types of research provide useful perspectives >>> and >>> complement each other. The problem is that we tend to >>> oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? driven not >>> only by politicians, but also by those of us who work >>> in the field. >>> >>> John >>> >>> John Benseman* * >>> >>> Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ >>> (based at Department of Labour) >>> >>> */ /john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz >>> *(* 0064 9 627 4415 >>> *7 *0064 9 627 4418 >>> Cell 027 454 0683 >>> >>> ---------------------------------------------------- >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, >>> please go to >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to >>> >>> andreawilder at comcast.net.-------------------------------------------- >>> - >>> ------- >>> >>> >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please >>> go >>> to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to >>> >>> JN at cloudworld.co.uk.------------------------------------------------- >>> - >>> -- >>> >>> >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. >>> >>> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> - >>> -- >>> >>> ---------------------------------------------------- >>> National Institute for Literacy >>> Focus on Basics mailing list >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >>> Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. >>> >> ---------------------------------------------------- >> National Institute for Literacy >> Focus on Basics mailing list >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >> Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. >> > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to battelle at shaw.ca. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > From jn at cloudworld.co.uk Thu May 3 18:32:21 2007 From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 23:32:21 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 915] Re: effective research dissemination References: <97695.96936.qm@web55112.mail.re4.yahoo.com> <7291ca514ea85966cc57dd5d967c8b12@comcast.net> Message-ID: <005f01c78dd2$eafc4b80$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Hi Andrea and Ujwala, For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating development in science, where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how good readers read, and how best one can be taught to read in this way. I am frustrated when people do not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I become angry because children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering needlessly - often into adulthood. BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians ignore global warming, which will put the lives of future generations at stake. Here the scientific evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) Cheers, John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrea Wilder" To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:11 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 897] Re: effective research dissemination > Hi Ujwala, > > i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it thoroughly. > > For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of scientific interest, hence > my addition that each method effects positive changes, these changes > are teacher driven and focused, and that the learning takes place in > different areas of the brain. > > Andrea > > On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: > >> Hi Andrea and John, >> >> This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 years >> of teaching special ed, adults, children, >> Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole host of >> other things, I've seen studies come and go. I work in >> the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire study. Now >> I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's >> study and in a few years we will have another study >> which will say something else. Forgive me if I sound >> sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature vs >> nurture debate. We will always have advocates for both >> sides. >> >> An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake Oil. >> >> An either/or approach is simply tiresome. Besides, >> let's first agree on a universal system of phonics for >> the English language. Then, let's see how best to >> train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how well >> it works in the classroom. >> >> Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I will >> not get into this debate the next time it pops up. >> >> Cheers, >> Ujwala >> >> >> >> --- John Nissen wrote: >> >>> >>> Hi Andrea, >>> >>> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because I >>> know there are lot of "whole language" advocates on >>> this list. >>> >>> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed phonics >>> with whole language approach, putting the "visual >>> and auditory" together. This was the approach used >>> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the >>> approach used in most schools over the past few >>> decades. Despite the introduction of the literacy >>> hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy >>> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >>> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The >>> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic phonics, >>> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. Synthetic >>> phonics was by far the best. It was not to do with >>> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have taught >>> enthusiastically with the old methods find that >>> synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a >>> teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like >>> Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by the >>> method, and knows many other teachers who have used >>> it. >>> >>> The experience of teaching is backing up the >>> science. >>> >>> Cheers from Chiswick, >>> >>> John >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: Andrea Wilder >>> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >>> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >>> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective >>> research dissemination >>> >>> >>> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language >>> reading activates different parts of the brain than >>> does phoneme-grapheme training. >>> >>> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way between >>> the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the >>> visual cortex at the back of the head. This seems to >>> be where the two representations, visual and >>> auditory, are put together. Children can improve >>> their reading by work in both areas, it is the >>> TEACHER who makes the difference directing the >>> child's attention . >>> >>> Andrea >>> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how >>> practitioners view the science, and (3) the policy >>> support needed, you may be interested to know what >>> is happening over here in England concerning the >>> teaching of reading. >>> >>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as a >>> scientist, not an educator. As a science graduate >>> from Cambridge University, I was trained to >>> recognise the application of good scientific >>> methods. And there are countless examples in the >>> history of science where it has taken time for the >>> "conventional view" of something to be overturned by >>> good evidence coming from careful observation and >>> logical argument. >>> >>> The science of reading falls into several areas: >>> >>> (a) how fluent readers read; >>> (b) what is going on in the brain; >>> (c) how best to train the brain; >>> (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. >>> >>> There has been controversy in all these areas, >>> which has held back the acceptance of "good >>> science". >>> >>> (a) A widely held view (one could say the >>> conventional view) is that rapid reading involves >>> whole word recognition, and not being slowed down by >>> the decoding and sounding out of words in one's >>> "mind's ear". However research in neurolinguistics >>> shows that this view is mistaken. We decode a >>> majority of words, and we are capable of mentally >>> sounding out words at great speed, just as we can >>> listen to somebody talking rapidly. >>> >>> (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that >>> fluent readers use one part of the brain for the >>> visual processing, and then another part of the >>> brain is activated as for listening. This supports >>> the research of (a). However this research has been >>> clouded by the interpretation of dyslexia as a brain >>> malfunction, rather than a product of training the >>> brain to use the wrong pathways. >>> >>> (c) In view of the above research, there are >>> questions of how best to train the brain of a young >>> child, and how to deal with older children who can't >>> read fluently. To my knowledge, there has been >>> little or no research on the brain to answer these >>> questions directly. However the most obvious >>> deduction from (a) and (b) is to teach the >>> principles of decoding and how to decode from an >>> early an age as possible, so that an ability to >>> rapidly decode and "sound out" words is developed >>> from the start. And for older children, one has to >>> go back to basics, to get this brain process trained >>> up and exercised. >>> >>> (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience >>> elsewhere, has shown that synthetic phonics works >>> well for all children, and works better than rival >>> approaches. In synthetic phonics, children are >>> taught to decode starting from single letter-sound >>> correspondences, and build up the sound of the word. >>> Although some (Brooks, Torgerson, et al) have >>> questioned the soundness of the research, their >>> criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane >>> McGuinness. >>> >>> So how do practitioners view the research? The >>> experience in England is that practitioners are >>> generally unaware of the research (a) and (b). >>> Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research >>> on dyslexia and the brain. But they are most likely >>> to know about research on what works (d), and in >>> particular the research in Clackmannanshire, because >>> of the Rose Report, commissioned by the Select >>> Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed >>> synthetic phonics. The Rose Report was given wide >>> coverage on the media. And one television channel >>> ran a series of programmes about a school (with poor >>> literacy results) that was adopting synthetic >>> phonics from scratch, with dramatic results >>> (everybody reading). >>> >>> What policy has been adopted? The government >>> has officially accepted the Rose Report, in March >>> 2006, saying that synthetic phonics should be >>> mandated by September that year. However, when it >>> comes to putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, >>> the government has delegated responsibility to the >>> old-guard QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum >>> Authority), and we have seen very little activity >>> since then. There has been no sign of teachers >>> being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no >>> authoritative books on the subject giving practical >>> help to primary school teachers. >>> >>> So, in conclusion, research dissemination has >>> not been as speedy and effective as one would like. >>> The educational establishment by and large continues >>> to support the old "mix and match" methods. >>> Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they >>> can't easily take new methods on board. Thus we >>> will continue to see one in five children failing to >>> read by the end of primary school. This is a human >>> tragedy. >>> >>> BTW, there's a twist in this story, because >>> forty years and more ago we were taught phonics from >>> the start. So one could say that the research is >>> taking us "back to the future". >>> >>> Cheers from Chiswick, >>> >>> John >>> >>> John Nissen, MA (Cantab) >>> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk >>> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. >>> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: >>> >>> >> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm >>> Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 >>> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk From woodsnh at isp.com Thu May 3 20:05:26 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Thu, 03 May 2007 20:05:26 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 916] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1> <006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> <002b01c78da5$5d2bcba0$6401a8c0@ownerf10cbc1b5> Message-ID: <463A78C6.2000403@isp.com> Hopefully I won't just repeat what everyone knows, but Piagetian learning was described to me as follows: We each have a structure, a framework we have built of our knowledge of the world. In our daily experience we are in a state of equilibation (Piaget's term), when something new, something unexpected, disrupts the equilibrium. Our response is to attend to the stimulus and to incorporate it into our knowledge framework through a process of assimilation or accommodation, thereby regaining equilibation. In essence, we learn from our experiences. Something new knocks us off balance and we either find a way to reconcile it with our existing framework of knowledge, or we add more structure. Frank Smith, author of Understanding Reading, refers to a theory of the world, possibly another way of viewing Piaget's structure. Smith says that learning occurs when experience causes us to make changes to our theory. Maybe physical evidence of this is being found where Andrea says, There are measurable electrical currents that integrate new brain functions with old brain functions in a predictable sequence. Constructivist learning is also based on the idea that we 'construct' our own knowledge out of personally meaningful experiences . Implicit in this is the notion that given the same shared experience, we each develop unique ways of knowing because we have unique past experiences, our motivations, and our different constructions of meaning. Apparently we each learn what we are ready to learn. This would be my explanation of Jim Schneider's and John Comings' observations on the inherent difficulties in educational research. Tom Woods From valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org Thu May 3 20:48:43 2007 From: valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org (Valley Peters) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 18:48:43 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 917] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1> <006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Message-ID: Hello, I'm curious if anyone is familiar with the Read Right system developed by Dr. Dee Tadlock because the research and thinking behind her approach seems to be unlike any other reading research. I haven't studied it in depth and am not endorsing it here but I wanted to put it other there for people to consider since it fits in well with this discussion. Dr. Tadlock recently visited our program because the local school district is planning to implement her method as a reading intervention. The basic idea as I understand it, is that her method of teaching reading is based on process learning which operates below the level of conscious awareness. She believes the brain's neural circuitry either guides the reading process appropriately or inappropriately. If the process is inappropriate, then there will be "symptoms," i.e. reading difficulties. The method trains the brain to "create anticipatory sets" - there's no explicit teaching at all. The website is http://www.readright.com/ and I would love to hear more about what others think of this research that is based on what the brain does as it reads and the training of the brain. Valley Peters On May 1, 2007, at 7:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: > > Hi all, > > As regards Cristine's point (1) about how practitioners view the > science, and (3) the policy support needed, you may be interested > to know what is happening over here in England concerning the > teaching of reading. > > I declare my interest here - I am trained as a scientist, not an > educator. As a science graduate from Cambridge University, I was > trained to recognise the application of good scientific methods. > And there are countless examples in the history of science where it > has taken time for the "conventional view" of something to be > overturned by good evidence coming from careful observation and > logical argument. > > The science of reading falls into several areas: > (a) how fluent readers read; > (b) what is going on in the brain; > (c) how best to train the brain; > (d) what works (and doesn't work) in practice. > > There has been controversy in all these areas, which has held back > the acceptance of "good science". > > (a) A widely held view (one could say the conventional view) is > that rapid reading involves whole word recognition, and not being > slowed down by the decoding and sounding out of words in one's > "mind's ear". However research in neurolinguistics shows that this > view is mistaken. We decode a majority of words, and we are > capable of mentally sounding out words at great speed, just as we > can listen to somebody talking rapidly. > > (b) The use of brain scanning has shown that fluent readers use one > part of the brain for the visual processing, and then another part > of the brain is activated as for listening. This supports the > research of (a). However this research has been clouded by the > interpretation of dyslexia as a brain malfunction, rather than a > product of training the brain to use the wrong pathways. > > (c) In view of the above research, there are questions of how best > to train the brain of a young child, and how to deal with older > children who can't read fluently. To my knowledge, there has been > little or no research on the brain to answer these questions > directly. However the most obvious deduction from (a) and (b) is > to teach the principles of decoding and how to decode from an early > an age as possible, so that an ability to rapidly decode and "sound > out" words is developed from the start. And for older children, > one has to go back to basics, to get this brain process trained up > and exercised. > > (d) Research in Clackmannanshire, and experience elsewhere, has > shown that synthetic phonics works well for all children, and works > better than rival approaches. In synthetic phonics, children are > taught to decode starting from single letter-sound correspondences, > and build up the sound of the word. Although some (Brooks, > Torgerson, et al) have questioned the soundness of the research, > their criticisms have been thoroughly dismissed by Diane McGuinness. > > So how do practitioners view the research? The experience in > England is that practitioners are generally unaware of the research > (a) and (b). Regarding (c), they may have heard of brain research > on dyslexia and the brain. But they are most likely to know about > research on what works (d), and in particular the research in > Clackmannanshire, because of the Rose Report, commissioned by the > Select Committee on Education and Skills, which endorsed synthetic > phonics. The Rose Report was given wide coverage on the media. > And one television channel ran a series of programmes about a > school (with poor literacy results) that was adopting synthetic > phonics from scratch, with dramatic results (everybody reading). > > What policy has been adopted? The government has officially > accepted the Rose Report, in March 2006, saying that synthetic > phonics should be mandated by September that year. However, when > it comes to putting synthetic phonics into mainstream, the > government has delegated responsibility to the old-guard QCA > (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority), and we have seen very > little activity since then. There has been no sign of teachers > being trained in synthetic phonics, and there are no authoritative > books on the subject giving practical help to primary school teachers. > > So, in conclusion, research dissemination has not been as speedy > and effective as one would like. The educational establishment by > and large continues to support the old "mix and match" methods. > Teachers are so weighed down by paperwork that they can't easily > take new methods on board. Thus we will continue to see one in > five children failing to read by the end of primary school. This > is a human tragedy. > > BTW, there's a twist in this story, because forty years and more > ago we were taught phonics from the start. So one could say that > the research is taking us "back to the future". > > Cheers from Chiswick, > > John > > John Nissen, MA (Cantab) > Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk > maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud. > Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics: > http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm > Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Fax: +44 208 742 0202 > Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: John Benseman > To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' > Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 10:00 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 884] Re: starting our discussion > ofeffectiveresearch disseminati > > Perhaps I could chime in here. Notwithstanding the debate about > NCLB and the push by the Bush administration for ?definitive > evidence? from researchers about practice, I would like to argue > that there is a strong argument for quantitative research (I need > to identify myself as a qualitative researcher at this point) in > the push to understand our work as literacy teachers. > > > > I am currently reviewing all of the research done in New Zealand > over the past 5 years on adult literacy, language and numeracy > (LLN). The purpose of this review is to provide evidence for the > Minister of Tertiary Education when he makes a major funding > decision about future provision later this year. > > > > In nearly 100 studies there are only 7 involving any statistics and > most of those are pretty light both in terms of their samples and > analyses. I can already see that my report is not going to have > much weight with key government agencies such as the Prime > Minister?s Dept and Treasury, who (quite rightly in this case) say > that ?we don?t want yet another good news story.? In other words, > we have been doing predominantly qualitative research at the > expense of quantitative research. There are many reasons for this, > which is a whole debate in itself. > > > > The main point for me is that LLN needs both types of research if > we are to understand what we do better. Both types of research > provide useful perspectives and complement each other. The problem > is that we tend to oscillate between swings of the pendulum ? > driven not only by politicians, but also by those of us who work in > the field. > > > > John > > > > John Benseman > > > > Director of Research & Evaluation, Upskilling NZ > > (based at Department of Labour) > > > > * john.benseman at criticalinsight.co.nz > > ( 0064 9 627 4415 > > 7 0064 9 627 4418 > > Cell 027 454 0683 > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org. Valley Peters Director of Adult Services valleypeters at tetonliteracy.org 307.733.9242, ext. 227 Teton Literacy Program provides literacy education and resources to open doors for individuals and families to achieve their personal, professional, and academic goals, as contributing members of our community. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070503/40edfcbe/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri May 4 11:49:12 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 11:49:12 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 918] STAR training URL Message-ID: <463B1DB70200002D00002181@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, You can read about the STAR training project here: http://www.startoolkit.org/about.html Thanks, John, for sharing this! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> John Comings 05/03/07 2:17 PM >>> Thank you for the kind words about NCSALL. We've struggled with how research can improve practice. It is hard, but probably not impossible. My thinking at the moment is that the key word in Dewey's statement is "direct". To have an impact, the findings of educational research must work through a relationship, that between a teacher and a student. The research findings have to be in the mind of the teacher and the student who then work together to use it. How they use it can be quite different, depending on who they are and the resources and constraints of the program that supports them. I had an opportunity to observe a teacher who had training under OVAE's STAR project (which seeks to improve instruction through the application of research), and because of STAR, she and her students shared some common elements of an approach to improving literacy skills. On a different day, in a different program, and with different students, the impact might be different, but it would probably be an improvement over how that teacher and those students would have learned together without her training by STAR. The relationship between the teacher and each student was quite different, but there were clearly common elements, those learned in the STAR program, that were in all of those relationships. Though no one has yet undertaken a rigorous evaluation of STAR, an experiment with a large enough population and set of programs, would probably show it improves learning outcomes when those common elements are observed. The teacher said her students were doing better on indicators of achievement and persistence and that STAR helped her students understand how they could improve their reading. --On Thursday, May 03, 2007 10:18 AM -0500 "Schneider, Jim" wrote: > Let me preface my remarks with a commendation to the NCSALL folks, as a > practicioner, I have benefitted tremendously from the myriad of > resources and publications they have provided over the years. They have > been the exception to the rule - particularly when compared to much of > the literature in academic journals. > > Having said that, I found that an Arthur Cohen article (citation and > abstract at the bottom) that IMHO provides several poignant points > regarding research and practicioners... > > As a practicioner I found the following paragraph (especially the quote > from McKeachie) to be an accurate reflection of my feelings about much > of the research regarding adult literacy. > > "This discussion of the gap between research and practice is not new. As > Biesta and Burbules (2003) paraphrase from 20th century education > philosopher John Dewey, "The idea of 'improving' educational practice in > any direct way through educational research should be abandoned.... > Educational problems are always unique and for that reason always > require unique responses, tailored as best as possible to the > idiosyncrasies of the actual, unique situation" (p. 81). In other words, > all findings in educational research are tentative, equivocal, and > derivative, and dressing them up with statistics only gives the illusion > of precision. McKeachie (1963) put it most succinctly when he concluded > that, at bottom, research on teaching can demonstrate only that in > college A, on day B, instructor C used method D to teach concept E to F > set of students. Change any of those variables and the findings shift." > > Jim > Scott Community College > Davenport, IA > > UCLA Community College Review: Why Practitioners and Researchers Ignore > Each Other (Even When They Are The Same Person) > Author(s): Cohen, Arthur M. > > In: Community College Review (Community Coll Rev) v. 33 no1 (Fall 2005) > p. 51-62 ISSN: 0091-5521 > > Abstract: The writer discusses the mutual indifference between > practitioners in and researchers of community colleges. Principles that > illustrate the differences between these two groups are the distance > from the object of study, an ideological perspective, the purposes of > research, and the political agenda. Researchers and practitioners can > speak to one another only if they use a common language, understand how > distance from the object of study affects the usefulness of information, > reject ideological perspectives that place blame on the students or the > institution, and focus on studies concerning relationships between > educational processes and outcomes. > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to > COMINGJO at gse.harvard.edu. John Comings, Director National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy Harvard Graduate School of Education 7 Appian Way Cambridge MA 02138 (617) 496-0516, voice (617) 495-4811, fax (617) 335-9839, mobile john_comings at harvard.edu http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From lalumineuse at yahoo.com Fri May 4 02:11:42 2007 From: lalumineuse at yahoo.com (Ujwala Samant) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 23:11:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 919] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <005f01c78dd2$eafc4b80$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Message-ID: <854371.96090.qm@web55114.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Dear John, It may be a development in science, but having been on this list for years, I have seen phonics proponents repeat the same message, try and "market" their methodologies, and unfavourably compare whole word and phonics. And yet, once in the classroom, when teaching English or observing it being taught, I don't see the need for the (to me) artificial cleft between phonics and whole word methodology. Personally I like using a blended approach, which I have seen work better than any isolated approach, when I worked for NCSALL. As a Hindi speaker once said to me, "If 't-o is to, d-o is do, how come g-o isn't goo'? Are there no "maatras" in English?" Maatras are the symbols in the Indian alphabet that distinguish each specific sound/phoneme. Cheers Ujwala --- John Nissen wrote: > > Hi Andrea and Ujwala, > > For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating > development in science, > where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how > good readers read, and how > best one can be taught to read in this way. I am > frustrated when people do > not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I > become angry because > children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering > needlessly - often into > adulthood. > > BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians > ignore global warming, which > will put the lives of future generations at stake. > Here the scientific > evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) > > Cheers, > > John > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Andrea Wilder" > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:11 AM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 897] Re: effective research > dissemination > > > > Hi Ujwala, > > > > i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it > thoroughly. > > > > For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of > scientific interest, hence > > my addition that each method effects positive > changes, these changes > > are teacher driven and focused, and that the > learning takes place in > > different areas of the brain. > > > > Andrea > > > > On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: > > > >> Hi Andrea and John, > >> > >> This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 > years > >> of teaching special ed, adults, children, > >> Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole > host of > >> other things, I've seen studies come and go. I > work in > >> the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire > study. Now > >> I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's > >> study and in a few years we will have another > study > >> which will say something else. Forgive me if I > sound > >> sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature > vs > >> nurture debate. We will always have advocates for > both > >> sides. > >> > >> An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake > Oil. > >> > >> An either/or approach is simply tiresome. > Besides, > >> let's first agree on a universal system of > phonics for > >> the English language. Then, let's see how best to > >> train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how > well > >> it works in the classroom. > >> > >> Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I > will > >> not get into this debate the next time it pops > up. > >> > >> Cheers, > >> Ujwala > >> > >> > >> > >> --- John Nissen wrote: > >> > >>> > >>> Hi Andrea, > >>> > >>> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because > I > >>> know there are lot of "whole language" advocates > on > >>> this list. > >>> > >>> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed > phonics > >>> with whole language approach, putting the > "visual > >>> and auditory" together. This was the approach > used > >>> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the > >>> approach used in most schools over the past few > >>> decades. Despite the introduction of the > literacy > >>> hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy > >>> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading > >>> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The > >>> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic > phonics, > >>> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. > Synthetic > >>> phonics was by far the best. It was not to do > with > >>> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have > taught > >>> enthusiastically with the old methods find that > >>> synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a > >>> teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like > >>> Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by > the > >>> method, and knows many other teachers who have > used > >>> it. > >>> > >>> The experience of teaching is backing up the > >>> science. > >>> > >>> Cheers from Chiswick, > >>> > >>> John > >>> > >>> > >>> ----- Original Message ----- > >>> From: Andrea Wilder > >>> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > >>> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM > >>> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective > >>> research dissemination > >>> > >>> > >>> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language > >>> reading activates different parts of the brain > than > >>> does phoneme-grapheme training. > >>> > >>> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way > between > >>> the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the > >>> visual cortex at the back of the head. This > seems to > >>> be where the two representations, visual and > >>> auditory, are put together. Children can improve > >>> their reading by work in both areas, it is the > >>> TEACHER who makes the difference directing the > >>> child's attention . > >>> > >>> Andrea > >>> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Hi all, > >>> > >>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how > >>> practitioners view the science, and (3) the > policy > >>> support needed, you may be interested to know > what > >>> is happening over here in England concerning the > >>> teaching of reading. > >>> > >>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as > a > >>> scientist, not an educator. As a science > graduate > >>> from Cambridge University, I was trained to > >>> recognise the application of good scientific > >>> methods. And there are countless examples in > the > >>> history of science where it has taken time for > the > >>> "conventional view" of something to be > overturned by > >>> good evidence coming from careful observation > and > >>> logical argument. > >>> > === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From andreawilder at comcast.net Fri May 4 07:59:09 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 07:59:09 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 920] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <463A78C6.2000403@isp.com> References: <005301c78b6a$9ed7de50$0b00a8c0@critical1> <006e01c78bf2$6dbd2f90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <24849d681c66a10bc882bc4b546bd094@comcast.net> <012b01c78cc5$897f3650$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <59107c3f4060eda6bb829488afacb63e@comcast.net> <46390DD9.9010503@isp.com> <002b01c78da5$5d2bcba0$6401a8c0@ownerf10cbc1b5> <463A78C6.2000403@isp.com> Message-ID: <34d8722917c04b5fedc0cbd0ce98099c@comcast.net> Hi all, You can find evidence of the developmental web both in behaviors and in brain imaging. Everybody knows this in behavior--little kids can't do algebra. The brain imaging and EEG levels are maybe 20 years old. This is widely accepted and being taught. Of course we learn from our experiences. Children brought up without learning speech loose the capacity, the neurons get reassigned--this isn't a god moment, but a reaction to external stimulation during a critical period. The brain is "experience expectant." Andrea On May 3, 2007, at 8:05 PM, Woods wrote: > Hopefully I won't just repeat what everyone knows, but Piagetian > learning was described to me as follows: We each have a structure, a > framework we have built of our knowledge of the world. In our daily > experience we are in a state of equilibation (Piaget's term), when > something new, something unexpected, disrupts the equilibrium. Our > response is to attend to the stimulus and to incorporate it into our > knowledge framework through a process of assimilation or accommodation, > thereby regaining equilibation. In essence, we learn from our > experiences. Something new knocks us off balance and we either find a > way to reconcile it with our existing framework of knowledge, or we add > more structure. > > Frank Smith, author of Understanding Reading, refers to a theory of the > world, possibly another way of viewing Piaget's structure. Smith says > that learning occurs when experience causes us to make changes to our > theory. > > Maybe physical evidence of this is being found where Andrea says, > > There are measurable > electrical currents that integrate new brain functions with old brain > functions in a predictable sequence. > > > Constructivist learning is also based on the idea that we 'construct' > our own knowledge out of personally meaningful experiences . Implicit > in > this is the notion that given the same shared experience, we each > develop unique ways of knowing because we have unique past experiences, > our motivations, and our different constructions of meaning. Apparently > we each learn what we are ready to learn. This would be my explanation > of Jim Schneider's and John Comings' observations on the inherent > difficulties in educational research. > > Tom Woods > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > From andreawilder at comcast.net Fri May 4 12:10:49 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 12:10:49 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 921] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <854371.96090.qm@web55114.mail.re4.yahoo.com> References: <854371.96090.qm@web55114.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <3bcfcc34f4b10b46bc6fe9a25516d26e@comcast.net> All: The English language reflects patterns of invasion, dominance and subservience, historically speaking. English is about 85% predictable. It is a useful tool for figuring out where the British people came from originally. ....and since you're asking...the original British people probably walked from the coast of Spain while the water levels were considerably lower than they are now, and England and Ireland and Scotland were part of the European landmass. Andrea On May 4, 2007, at 2:11 AM, Ujwala Samant wrote: > Dear John, > > It may be a development in science, but having been on > this list for years, I have seen phonics proponents > repeat the same message, try and "market" their > methodologies, and unfavourably compare whole word and > phonics. And yet, once in the classroom, when teaching > English or observing it being taught, I don't see the > need for the (to me) artificial cleft between phonics > and whole word methodology. Personally I like using a > blended approach, which I have seen work better than > any isolated approach, when I worked for NCSALL. > > As a Hindi speaker once said to me, "If 't-o is to, > d-o is do, how come g-o isn't goo'? Are there no > "maatras" in English?" Maatras are the symbols in the > Indian alphabet that distinguish each specific > sound/phoneme. > > Cheers > Ujwala > > > --- John Nissen wrote: > >> >> Hi Andrea and Ujwala, >> >> For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating >> development in science, >> where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how >> good readers read, and how >> best one can be taught to read in this way. I am >> frustrated when people do >> not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I >> become angry because >> children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering >> needlessly - often into >> adulthood. >> >> BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians >> ignore global warming, which >> will put the lives of future generations at stake. >> Here the scientific >> evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) >> >> Cheers, >> >> John >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Andrea Wilder" >> To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" >> >> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:11 AM >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 897] Re: effective research >> dissemination >> >> >>> Hi Ujwala, >>> >>> i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it >> thoroughly. >>> >>> For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of >> scientific interest, hence >>> my addition that each method effects positive >> changes, these changes >>> are teacher driven and focused, and that the >> learning takes place in >>> different areas of the brain. >>> >>> Andrea >>> >>> On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: >>> >>>> Hi Andrea and John, >>>> >>>> This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 >> years >>>> of teaching special ed, adults, children, >>>> Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole >> host of >>>> other things, I've seen studies come and go. I >> work in >>>> the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire >> study. Now >>>> I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's >>>> study and in a few years we will have another >> study >>>> which will say something else. Forgive me if I >> sound >>>> sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature >> vs >>>> nurture debate. We will always have advocates for >> both >>>> sides. >>>> >>>> An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake >> Oil. >>>> >>>> An either/or approach is simply tiresome. >> Besides, >>>> let's first agree on a universal system of >> phonics for >>>> the English language. Then, let's see how best to >>>> train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how >> well >>>> it works in the classroom. >>>> >>>> Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I >> will >>>> not get into this debate the next time it pops >> up. >>>> >>>> Cheers, >>>> Ujwala >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> --- John Nissen wrote: >>>> >>>>> >>>>> Hi Andrea, >>>>> >>>>> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because >> I >>>>> know there are lot of "whole language" advocates >> on >>>>> this list. >>>>> >>>>> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed >> phonics >>>>> with whole language approach, putting the >> "visual >>>>> and auditory" together. This was the approach >> used >>>>> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the >>>>> approach used in most schools over the past few >>>>> decades. Despite the introduction of the >> literacy >>>>> hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy >>>>> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >>>>> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The >>>>> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic >> phonics, >>>>> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. >> Synthetic >>>>> phonics was by far the best. It was not to do >> with >>>>> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have >> taught >>>>> enthusiastically with the old methods find that >>>>> synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a >>>>> teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like >>>>> Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by >> the >>>>> method, and knows many other teachers who have >> used >>>>> it. >>>>> >>>>> The experience of teaching is backing up the >>>>> science. >>>>> >>>>> Cheers from Chiswick, >>>>> >>>>> John >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>>> From: Andrea Wilder >>>>> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >>>>> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >>>>> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective >>>>> research dissemination >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language >>>>> reading activates different parts of the brain >> than >>>>> does phoneme-grapheme training. >>>>> >>>>> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way >> between >>>>> the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the >>>>> visual cortex at the back of the head. This >> seems to >>>>> be where the two representations, visual and >>>>> auditory, are put together. Children can improve >>>>> their reading by work in both areas, it is the >>>>> TEACHER who makes the difference directing the >>>>> child's attention . >>>>> >>>>> Andrea >>>>> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Hi all, >>>>> >>>>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how >>>>> practitioners view the science, and (3) the >> policy >>>>> support needed, you may be interested to know >> what >>>>> is happening over here in England concerning the >>>>> teaching of reading. >>>>> >>>>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as >> a >>>>> scientist, not an educator. As a science >> graduate >>>>> from Cambridge University, I was trained to >>>>> recognise the application of good scientific >>>>> methods. And there are countless examples in >> the >>>>> history of science where it has taken time for >> the >>>>> "conventional view" of something to be >> overturned by >>>>> good evidence coming from careful observation >> and >>>>> logical argument. >>>>> >> > === message truncated === > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > From cristinesmith at comcast.net Fri May 4 12:14:39 2007 From: cristinesmith at comcast.net (Cristine Smith) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 12:14:39 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 922] Re: FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools In-Reply-To: <4638783A0200002D000020FD@mail.jsi.com> Message-ID: <001301c78e67$516aadf0$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> Cris here. One of the other reasons that NCSALL created so many professional development activities based on the research we did was that it is quite clearly impossible for the researchers themselves to do all of the dissemination. Yes, researchers go to conferences, and NCSALL had a research strand each year at COABE and ProLiteracy. But how many people can that actually reach? For all of the teachers and administrators who don't get FOB, who don't have time to read research reports, or who can't listen to researchers in person, there has got to be a way that practitioners can access, understand, judge and think about using research through professional development offered by their state. The next logic step in thinking about dissemination nationally is to realize that it is ALSO impossible for NCSALL dissemination staff to conduct all these professional development activities across the country. The funds and time would never be enough. Therefore, we needed to create professional development activities (study circles, workshops, seminars, trainings, etc.) that someone within a state or a program could pick up themselves and do on their own. Hence, most if not all of NCSALL's professional development activities are free, available for downloading and self-explanatory: they have all the materials, readings, and steps for planning and implementing the professional development activity that someone might need to facilitate it him/herself. PD activities built around research findings thus have had multiple benefits in the field, we think: it gets the findings out through activities that anyone, anywhere can organize and conduct; it provides good models of PD that state professional developers can use without having to develop them themselves; and it provides a record and a "catalogue" of activities that will exist even after NCSALL is over. This means that most practitioners around the country will ultimately hear about research findings from someone other than the researcher him/herself, but that is a stipulation we can live with if it means that most practitioners around the country ultimately hear about the research findings. This should be food for thought for any future center or researchers who work in our field. It's not enough to do the research and write a report; you need to think about how it's actually going to reach large numbers of practitioners. Best...Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 11:39 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 890] FOB and Discussion lists as dissemination andPD tools Hi Cris and others, Thanks for outlining this so clearly! In #2, you say: "Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research." These tools include the publication Focus on Basics (FOB) as well as this discussion list to share ideas from FOB. I would love to hear your thoughts on how FOB has worked as a dissemination tool, and how this list has worked to reinforce it. I would also like to hear from others how FOB and the list have been used by professional development staff to "help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research". How effective is this model? How can it be included in PD activities? Thanks! Julie P.S. Last year, we had a discussion on this list with Barb Garner about he FOB Evaluation Report, which you find at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report27.pdf You can read the discussion on the archives at: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/date.html (Scroll down to April 10) ******************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Cristine Smith" 04/30/07 12:30 PM >>> Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri May 4 12:16:16 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 12:16:16 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 923] When professional wisdom disagrees with research Message-ID: <463B24110200002D0000218A@bostongwia.jsi.com> Ujwala brings up an interesting point that we have discussed before. Except for those ideal times when we use practitioner research, how do teachers judge if there's a discrepancy between their own professional wisdom and a research finding? This came up in a discussion we had last September with Ana Lipnevich about her research suggesting that low self-esteem was not as common among adult learners as many of us assume. It seems that in cases where the research seems to disagree with our own experience (perceived) then we can be wary of research findings. Cris and others, how should we deal with this when advising and learning how to "understand, judge, and use research"? Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> Ujwala Samant 05/04/07 2:11 AM >>> Dear John, It may be a development in science, but having been on this list for years, I have seen phonics proponents repeat the same message, try and "market" their methodologies, and unfavourably compare whole word and phonics. And yet, once in the classroom, when teaching English or observing it being taught, I don't see the need for the (to me) artificial cleft between phonics and whole word methodology. Personally I like using a blended approach, which I have seen work better than any isolated approach, when I worked for NCSALL. As a Hindi speaker once said to me, "If 't-o is to, d-o is do, how come g-o isn't goo'? Are there no "maatras" in English?" Maatras are the symbols in the Indian alphabet that distinguish each specific sound/phoneme. Cheers Ujwala --- John Nissen wrote: > > Hi Andrea and Ujwala, > > For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating > development in science, > where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how > good readers read, and how > best one can be taught to read in this way. I am > frustrated when people do > not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I > become angry because > children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering > needlessly - often into > adulthood. > > BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians > ignore global warming, which > will put the lives of future generations at stake. > Here the scientific > evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) > > Cheers, > > John > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Andrea Wilder" > To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > > Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:11 AM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 897] Re: effective research > dissemination > > > > Hi Ujwala, > > > > i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it > thoroughly. > > > > For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of > scientific interest, hence > > my addition that each method effects positive > changes, these changes > > are teacher driven and focused, and that the > learning takes place in > > different areas of the brain. > > > > Andrea > > > > On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: > > > >> Hi Andrea and John, > >> > >> This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 > years > >> of teaching special ed, adults, children, > >> Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole > host of > >> other things, I've seen studies come and go. I > work in > >> the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire > study. Now > >> I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's > >> study and in a few years we will have another > study > >> which will say something else. Forgive me if I > sound > >> sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature > vs > >> nurture debate. We will always have advocates for > both > >> sides. > >> > >> An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake > Oil. > >> > >> An either/or approach is simply tiresome. > Besides, > >> let's first agree on a universal system of > phonics for > >> the English language. Then, let's see how best to > >> train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how > well > >> it works in the classroom. > >> > >> Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I > will > >> not get into this debate the next time it pops > up. > >> > >> Cheers, > >> Ujwala > >> > >> > >> > >> --- John Nissen wrote: > >> > >>> > >>> Hi Andrea, > >>> > >>> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because > I > >>> know there are lot of "whole language" advocates > on > >>> this list. > >>> > >>> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed > phonics > >>> with whole language approach, putting the > "visual > >>> and auditory" together. This was the approach > used > >>> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the > >>> approach used in most schools over the past few > >>> decades. Despite the introduction of the > literacy > >>> hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy > >>> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading > >>> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The > >>> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic > phonics, > >>> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. > Synthetic > >>> phonics was by far the best. It was not to do > with > >>> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have > taught > >>> enthusiastically with the old methods find that > >>> synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a > >>> teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like > >>> Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by > the > >>> method, and knows many other teachers who have > used > >>> it. > >>> > >>> The experience of teaching is backing up the > >>> science. > >>> > >>> Cheers from Chiswick, > >>> > >>> John > >>> > >>> > >>> ----- Original Message ----- > >>> From: Andrea Wilder > >>> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > >>> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM > >>> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective > >>> research dissemination > >>> > >>> > >>> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language > >>> reading activates different parts of the brain > than > >>> does phoneme-grapheme training. > >>> > >>> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way > between > >>> the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the > >>> visual cortex at the back of the head. This > seems to > >>> be where the two representations, visual and > >>> auditory, are put together. Children can improve > >>> their reading by work in both areas, it is the > >>> TEACHER who makes the difference directing the > >>> child's attention . > >>> > >>> Andrea > >>> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Hi all, > >>> > >>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how > >>> practitioners view the science, and (3) the > policy > >>> support needed, you may be interested to know > what > >>> is happening over here in England concerning the > >>> teaching of reading. > >>> > >>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as > a > >>> scientist, not an educator. As a science > graduate > >>> from Cambridge University, I was trained to > >>> recognise the application of good scientific > >>> methods. And there are countless examples in > the > >>> history of science where it has taken time for > the > >>> "conventional view" of something to be > overturned by > >>> good evidence coming from careful observation > and > >>> logical argument. > >>> > === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jmckinney at worlded.org. From comingjo at gse.harvard.edu Fri May 4 13:16:48 2007 From: comingjo at gse.harvard.edu (John Comings) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 13:16:48 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 924] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <854371.96090.qm@web55114.mail.re4.yahoo.com> References: <854371.96090.qm@web55114.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <7E3022EF6D3845D9D3DEE074@nic106> As I understand the STAR project, it is focused on the teaching of vocabulary and fluency (speed and accuracy) for people who can decode (though they may have some problems with difficult decoding patterns) and score within the mid-range, or pre-GED level. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal and so learned devenagri script. Since I could already read quite well in English, I learned the alphabet, through phonics, in a couple of days, and could then read any words I knew (which was not many at the time). However, as an English speaker, I had trouble with the four T's and four D's. --On Thursday, May 03, 2007 11:11 PM -0700 Ujwala Samant wrote: > Dear John, > > It may be a development in science, but having been on > this list for years, I have seen phonics proponents > repeat the same message, try and "market" their > methodologies, and unfavourably compare whole word and > phonics. And yet, once in the classroom, when teaching > English or observing it being taught, I don't see the > need for the (to me) artificial cleft between phonics > and whole word methodology. Personally I like using a > blended approach, which I have seen work better than > any isolated approach, when I worked for NCSALL. > > As a Hindi speaker once said to me, "If 't-o is to, > d-o is do, how come g-o isn't goo'? Are there no > "maatras" in English?" Maatras are the symbols in the > Indian alphabet that distinguish each specific > sound/phoneme. > > Cheers > Ujwala > > > --- John Nissen wrote: > >> >> Hi Andrea and Ujwala, >> >> For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating >> development in science, >> where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how >> good readers read, and how >> best one can be taught to read in this way. I am >> frustrated when people do >> not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I >> become angry because >> children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering >> needlessly - often into >> adulthood. >> >> BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians >> ignore global warming, which >> will put the lives of future generations at stake. >> Here the scientific >> evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) >> >> Cheers, >> >> John >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Andrea Wilder" >> To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" >> >> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:11 AM >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 897] Re: effective research >> dissemination >> >> >> > Hi Ujwala, >> > >> > i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it >> thoroughly. >> > >> > For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of >> scientific interest, hence >> > my addition that each method effects positive >> changes, these changes >> > are teacher driven and focused, and that the >> learning takes place in >> > different areas of the brain. >> > >> > Andrea >> > >> > On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: >> > >> >> Hi Andrea and John, >> >> >> >> This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 >> years >> >> of teaching special ed, adults, children, >> >> Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole >> host of >> >> other things, I've seen studies come and go. I >> work in >> >> the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire >> study. Now >> >> I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's >> >> study and in a few years we will have another >> study >> >> which will say something else. Forgive me if I >> sound >> >> sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature >> vs >> >> nurture debate. We will always have advocates for >> both >> >> sides. >> >> >> >> An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake >> Oil. >> >> >> >> An either/or approach is simply tiresome. >> Besides, >> >> let's first agree on a universal system of >> phonics for >> >> the English language. Then, let's see how best to >> >> train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how >> well >> >> it works in the classroom. >> >> >> >> Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I >> will >> >> not get into this debate the next time it pops >> up. >> >> >> >> Cheers, >> >> Ujwala >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> --- John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> >>> >> >>> Hi Andrea, >> >>> >> >>> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because >> I >> >>> know there are lot of "whole language" advocates >> on >> >>> this list. >> >>> >> >>> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed >> phonics >> >>> with whole language approach, putting the >> "visual >> >>> and auditory" together. This was the approach >> used >> >>> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the >> >>> approach used in most schools over the past few >> >>> decades. Despite the introduction of the >> literacy >> >>> hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy >> >>> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >> >>> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The >> >>> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic >> phonics, >> >>> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. >> Synthetic >> >>> phonics was by far the best. It was not to do >> with >> >>> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have >> taught >> >>> enthusiastically with the old methods find that >> >>> synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a >> >>> teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like >> >>> Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by >> the >> >>> method, and knows many other teachers who have >> used >> >>> it. >> >>> >> >>> The experience of teaching is backing up the >> >>> science. >> >>> >> >>> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >>> >> >>> John >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >> >>> From: Andrea Wilder >> >>> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> >>> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >> >>> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective >> >>> research dissemination >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language >> >>> reading activates different parts of the brain >> than >> >>> does phoneme-grapheme training. >> >>> >> >>> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way >> between >> >>> the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the >> >>> visual cortex at the back of the head. This >> seems to >> >>> be where the two representations, visual and >> >>> auditory, are put together. Children can improve >> >>> their reading by work in both areas, it is the >> >>> TEACHER who makes the difference directing the >> >>> child's attention . >> >>> >> >>> Andrea >> >>> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> Hi all, >> >>> >> >>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how >> >>> practitioners view the science, and (3) the >> policy >> >>> support needed, you may be interested to know >> what >> >>> is happening over here in England concerning the >> >>> teaching of reading. >> >>> >> >>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as >> a >> >>> scientist, not an educator. As a science >> graduate >> >>> from Cambridge University, I was trained to >> >>> recognise the application of good scientific >> >>> methods. And there are countless examples in >> the >> >>> history of science where it has taken time for >> the >> >>> "conventional view" of something to be >> overturned by >> >>> good evidence coming from careful observation >> and >> >>> logical argument. >> >>> >> > === message truncated === > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to > COMINGJO at gse.harvard.edu. John Comings, Director National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy Harvard Graduate School of Education 7 Appian Way Cambridge MA 02138 (617) 496-0516, voice (617) 495-4811, fax (617) 335-9839, mobile john_comings at harvard.edu http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri May 4 12:49:50 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 12:49:50 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 925] ALE Wiki page: Professional Wisdom and Research Message-ID: <463B2BEE0200002D000021A2@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, In light of our discussion this week about disseminating research, I want to let you know that the Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki has a page on Developing Professional Wisdom and Research. Find it at: http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Developing_Professional_Wisdom_and_Research It has quick access to: * Professional Wisdom and Teacher Research * Adult Literacy Practitioner and/or Research journals * Reports of Active and Proposed Research Projects * Resources for Connecting Practice and Research * Information about Research Methods * Research Overviews * Conference information This is another dissemination method that is free, accessible to anyone, and searchable by topic of interest. Thios is a relatively new page and you are welcome to add to it! (Click on "Main Page" and then on "New Here?" for more information.) Check it out! And please write in and tell us what you think of this as a method to access research. All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From Deborah.Schwartz at umb.edu Fri May 4 16:44:13 2007 From: Deborah.Schwartz at umb.edu (Deborah C. Schwartz) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 16:44:13 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 926] Re: starting our discussion ofeffectiveresearchdissemination In-Reply-To: <000001c78d9b$0f5ed930$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> Message-ID: <5ACB5AED488C2F44A5B4B8FEA0B0F122D06BA2@ebe3.umassb.net> Thanks Chris for this thorough answer. Given that you state that: "[you] found that practitioner research was probably the most valuable way of helping teachers and administrators access, understand, judge and use research, because they were weighing the validity of external research and then conducting their own and sharing it with others," I'm wondering if others on this list have had opportunities to be involved in practitioner research (either as a practitioner researcher or as someone training the practitioners or facilitating the process)? If so, I'm curious about how effective an experience it was as a way to bridge current research and practice? I'm also curious to learn if the research processes and questions that practitioners explored were qualitatively different or similar to the kinds of questions that have been posed in our discussion? Best, Deborah ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cristine Smith Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 11:53 AM To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' Subject: [FocusOnBasics 900] Re: starting our discussion ofeffectiveresearchdissemination Deborah: Thanks for your question about NCSALL's efforts to promote practitioner research. We actually did quite a bit to promote practitioner research as a professional development activity whereby teachers and administrators could learn about the latest research on a particular topic (reading, learner persistence), think about how it might apply to their own contexts and adult student populations, develop a question to investigate in their classroom or program, and then collect data about the effectiveness of a new approach or strategy to improve student learning or persistence. We found that practitioner research was probably the most valuable way of helping teachers and administrators access, understand, judge and use research, because they were weighing the validity of external research and then conducting their own and sharing it with others. Through projects in Minnesota, Texas, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and many other states, teachers conducted practitioner research related to the same topics that NCSALL was researching and then shared their findings with each other and with NCSALL researchers at Harvard, World Education, Center for Literacy Studies, Rutgers, and Portland State University. Practitioner research is definitely an intensive learning experience for practitioners, but its benefits are multiple. Practitioner research groups were also one of the models of professional development that we tested in the NCSALL professional development study (along with multi-session workshops and mentor teacher groups) of how teachers change. For more information about how practitioner research influences teachers, see the research report at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report25.pdf For more information about how to design and support practitioner research training around problems of practice and existing research, you might go to our website to look at some of the professional development activities we developed for anyone to use, free for downloading, if they want to sponsor practitioner research in their program or state: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1143 or http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=967 Best...Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Deborah C. Schwartz Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 7:54 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 886] Re: starting our discussion of effectiveresearchdissemination Hi Chris, I was wondering if you could share if and how NCSALL has explored and implemented "practitioner research-" where teachers are doing their own research on their own practice using their own questions, yet in a facilitated manner-and whether that is one possible way to address the #1 finding below. Best, Deborah Schwartz Adult Literacy Resource Institute System for Adult Basic Education (SABES) http://www.sabes.org ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cristine Smith Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 876] starting our discussion of effective researchdissemination Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070504/d70c91e6/attachment.html From jn at cloudworld.co.uk Fri May 4 17:12:07 2007 From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen) Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 22:12:07 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 927] Re: When professional wisdom disagrees with research References: <463B24110200002D0000218A@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <00cf01c78e90$df64aba0$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Hi Julie, Your question is apposite. In Ana's case, her research showed that the common "professional wisdom" that adult learners had low esteem was incorrect. We should go by the research, providing the research is sound. In the case of research on the teaching of reading, the common "professional wisdom" on this list is that a mix or blend of methods seems to work better than an "isolated" approach, whereas the research is pointing to synthetic phonics being significantly better than a mixed approach. When I started looking into the teaching of reading, a few years ago, it was not obvious who to believe. But when I researched into the science, I was really excited to find that there was evidence that a phonics-based approach should work better. So I have come to this through the science. Then there were the remarkable results of the Clackmannanshire study, that validated the science. As a scientist, you always look for evidence that your theories work out in practice. When they work out so dramatically, it is difficult to suppress one's own enthusiasm. Cheers, John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Julie McKinney" To: Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 5:16 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 923] When professional wisdom disagrees with research > Ujwala brings up an interesting point that we have discussed before. > Except for those ideal times when we use practitioner research, how do > teachers judge if there's a discrepancy between their own professional > wisdom and a research finding? > > This came up in a discussion we had last September with Ana Lipnevich > about her research suggesting that low self-esteem was not as common among > adult learners as many of us assume. It seems that in cases where the > research seems to disagree with our own experience (perceived) then we can > be wary of research findings. > > Cris and others, how should we deal with this when advising and learning > how to "understand, judge, and use research"? > > Julie > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > >>>> Ujwala Samant 05/04/07 2:11 AM >>> > Dear John, > > It may be a development in science, but having been on > this list for years, I have seen phonics proponents > repeat the same message, try and "market" their > methodologies, and unfavourably compare whole word and > phonics. And yet, once in the classroom, when teaching > English or observing it being taught, I don't see the > need for the (to me) artificial cleft between phonics > and whole word methodology. Personally I like using a > blended approach, which I have seen work better than > any isolated approach, when I worked for NCSALL. > > As a Hindi speaker once said to me, "If 't-o is to, > d-o is do, how come g-o isn't goo'? Are there no > "maatras" in English?" Maatras are the symbols in the > Indian alphabet that distinguish each specific > sound/phoneme. > > Cheers > Ujwala > > > --- John Nissen wrote: > >> >> Hi Andrea and Ujwala, >> >> For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating >> development in science, >> where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how >> good readers read, and how >> best one can be taught to read in this way. I am >> frustrated when people do >> not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I >> become angry because >> children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering >> needlessly - often into >> adulthood. >> >> BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians >> ignore global warming, which >> will put the lives of future generations at stake. >> Here the scientific >> evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) >> >> Cheers, >> >> John >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Andrea Wilder" >> To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" >> >> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:11 AM >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 897] Re: effective research >> dissemination >> >> >> > Hi Ujwala, >> > >> > i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it >> thoroughly. >> > >> > For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of >> scientific interest, hence >> > my addition that each method effects positive >> changes, these changes >> > are teacher driven and focused, and that the >> learning takes place in >> > different areas of the brain. >> > >> > Andrea >> > >> > On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: >> > >> >> Hi Andrea and John, >> >> >> >> This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 >> years >> >> of teaching special ed, adults, children, >> >> Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole >> host of >> >> other things, I've seen studies come and go. I >> work in >> >> the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire >> study. Now >> >> I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's >> >> study and in a few years we will have another >> study >> >> which will say something else. Forgive me if I >> sound >> >> sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature >> vs >> >> nurture debate. We will always have advocates for >> both >> >> sides. >> >> >> >> An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake >> Oil. >> >> >> >> An either/or approach is simply tiresome. >> Besides, >> >> let's first agree on a universal system of >> phonics for >> >> the English language. Then, let's see how best to >> >> train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how >> well >> >> it works in the classroom. >> >> >> >> Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I >> will >> >> not get into this debate the next time it pops >> up. >> >> >> >> Cheers, >> >> Ujwala >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> --- John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> >>> >> >>> Hi Andrea, >> >>> >> >>> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because >> I >> >>> know there are lot of "whole language" advocates >> on >> >>> this list. >> >>> >> >>> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed >> phonics >> >>> with whole language approach, putting the >> "visual >> >>> and auditory" together. This was the approach >> used >> >>> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the >> >>> approach used in most schools over the past few >> >>> decades. Despite the introduction of the >> literacy >> >>> hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy >> >>> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >> >>> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The >> >>> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic >> phonics, >> >>> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. >> Synthetic >> >>> phonics was by far the best. It was not to do >> with >> >>> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have >> taught >> >>> enthusiastically with the old methods find that >> >>> synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a >> >>> teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like >> >>> Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by >> the >> >>> method, and knows many other teachers who have >> used >> >>> it. >> >>> >> >>> The experience of teaching is backing up the >> >>> science. >> >>> >> >>> Cheers from Chiswick, >> >>> >> >>> John >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >> >>> From: Andrea Wilder >> >>> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >> >>> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >> >>> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective >> >>> research dissemination >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language >> >>> reading activates different parts of the brain >> than >> >>> does phoneme-grapheme training. >> >>> >> >>> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way >> between >> >>> the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the >> >>> visual cortex at the back of the head. This >> seems to >> >>> be where the two representations, visual and >> >>> auditory, are put together. Children can improve >> >>> their reading by work in both areas, it is the >> >>> TEACHER who makes the difference directing the >> >>> child's attention . >> >>> >> >>> Andrea >> >>> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> Hi all, >> >>> >> >>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how >> >>> practitioners view the science, and (3) the >> policy >> >>> support needed, you may be interested to know >> what >> >>> is happening over here in England concerning the >> >>> teaching of reading. >> >>> >> >>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as >> a >> >>> scientist, not an educator. As a science >> graduate >> >>> from Cambridge University, I was trained to >> >>> recognise the application of good scientific >> >>> methods. And there are countless examples in >> the >> >>> history of science where it has taken time for >> the >> >>> "conventional view" of something to be >> overturned by >> >>> good evidence coming from careful observation >> and >> >>> logical argument. >> >>> >> > === message truncated === From woodsnh at isp.com Fri May 4 22:50:22 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Fri, 04 May 2007 22:50:22 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 928] Re: When professional wisdom disagrees with research In-Reply-To: <00cf01c78e90$df64aba0$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> References: <463B24110200002D0000218A@bostongwia.jsi.com> <00cf01c78e90$df64aba0$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> Message-ID: <463BF0EE.7060801@isp.com> In response to Julie's question about judging and using research, I rely a great deal on critical evaluation of statistical research, the rudiments of which I learned through coursework and practice. Having studied research studies in this way, I have learned that it is extremely difficult to design good research, that much of it, even peer reviewed research, is deeply flawed, and educational research seems to be especially problematic. I have learned to be a skeptic. For instance, the Clackmannshire study has been described by John Nissen. I decided to look at it with a critical eye. The first thing I notice is the study does not indicate how children were assigned to groups. This raises questions in my mind about validity if there was not random assignment. The results certainly appear to suggest the synthetic phonics group made the largest gains and the statistical significance of many of the tests was impressive. I had not heard of the Newman Keuls tests used to compare scores so I looked it up and found a rather harsh recommendation ( http://www.graphpad.com/faq/viewfaq.cfm?faq=1093 ) to avoid this test because of its inability to keep the chance of a type I error (a false positive) at less than 5%. In other words, the impressive statistical significance that the results are not caused by chance is called into question. Of concern to me is that this study was carried out on young children just learning to read. I would like to ask the researchers if they would generalize their conclusions to adult populations have failed numerous times to learn to read. Questions like this about threats to validity can and should be asked about all research. It is by answering these questions and by redesigning and repeating research that we can begin to trust their conclusions. This would be my next question about the Clackmannshire study. What have other researchers to say about its findings? One study, two, or ten studies cannot prove an assertion. They can only add support for it. But it will be the weight of repeated similar findings that will make me begin to trust its conclusions. Tom Woods John Nissen wrote: >Hi Julie, > >Your question is apposite. In Ana's case, her research showed that the >common "professional wisdom" that adult learners had low esteem was >incorrect. We should go by the research, providing the research is sound. >In the case of research on the teaching of reading, the common "professional >wisdom" on this list is that a mix or blend of methods seems to work better >than an "isolated" approach, whereas the research is pointing to synthetic >phonics being significantly better than a mixed approach. > >When I started looking into the teaching of reading, a few years ago, it was >not obvious who to believe. But when I researched into the science, I was >really excited to find that there was evidence that a phonics-based approach >should work better. So I have come to this through the science. Then there >were the remarkable results of the Clackmannanshire study, that validated >the science. As a scientist, you always look for evidence that your >theories work out in practice. When they work out so dramatically, it is >difficult to suppress one's own enthusiasm. > >Cheers, > >John > > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Julie McKinney" >To: >Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 5:16 PM >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 923] When professional wisdom disagrees with >research > > > > >>Ujwala brings up an interesting point that we have discussed before. >>Except for those ideal times when we use practitioner research, how do >>teachers judge if there's a discrepancy between their own professional >>wisdom and a research finding? >> >>This came up in a discussion we had last September with Ana Lipnevich >>about her research suggesting that low self-esteem was not as common among >>adult learners as many of us assume. It seems that in cases where the >>research seems to disagree with our own experience (perceived) then we can >>be wary of research findings. >> >>Cris and others, how should we deal with this when advising and learning >>how to "understand, judge, and use research"? >> >>Julie >> >>Julie McKinney >>Discussion List Moderator >>World Education/NCSALL >>jmckinney at worlded.org >> >> >> >>>>>Ujwala Samant 05/04/07 2:11 AM >>> >>>>> >>>>> >>Dear John, >> >>It may be a development in science, but having been on >>this list for years, I have seen phonics proponents >>repeat the same message, try and "market" their >>methodologies, and unfavourably compare whole word and >>phonics. And yet, once in the classroom, when teaching >>English or observing it being taught, I don't see the >>need for the (to me) artificial cleft between phonics >>and whole word methodology. Personally I like using a >>blended approach, which I have seen work better than >>any isolated approach, when I worked for NCSALL. >> >>As a Hindi speaker once said to me, "If 't-o is to, >>d-o is do, how come g-o isn't goo'? Are there no >>"maatras" in English?" Maatras are the symbols in the >>Indian alphabet that distinguish each specific >>sound/phoneme. >> >>Cheers >>Ujwala >> >> >>--- John Nissen wrote: >> >> >> >>>Hi Andrea and Ujwala, >>> >>>For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating >>>development in science, >>>where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how >>>good readers read, and how >>>best one can be taught to read in this way. I am >>>frustrated when people do >>>not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I >>>become angry because >>>children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering >>>needlessly - often into >>>adulthood. >>> >>>BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians >>>ignore global warming, which >>>will put the lives of future generations at stake. >>>Here the scientific >>>evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) >>> >>>Cheers, >>> >>>John >>> >>> >>>----- Original Message ----- >>>From: "Andrea Wilder" >>>To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" >>> >>>Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:11 AM >>>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 897] Re: effective research >>>dissemination >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>>Hi Ujwala, >>>> >>>>i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed it >>>> >>>> >>>thoroughly. >>> >>> >>>>For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of >>>> >>>> >>>scientific interest, hence >>> >>> >>>>my addition that each method effects positive >>>> >>>> >>>changes, these changes >>> >>> >>>>are teacher driven and focused, and that the >>>> >>>> >>>learning takes place in >>> >>> >>>>different areas of the brain. >>>> >>>>Andrea >>>> >>>>On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>>Hi Andrea and John, >>>>> >>>>>This debate is as old as the hills and in my 25 >>>>> >>>>> >>>years >>> >>> >>>>>of teaching special ed, adults, children, >>>>>Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole >>>>> >>>>> >>>host of >>> >>> >>>>>other things, I've seen studies come and go. I >>>>> >>>>> >>>work in >>> >>> >>>>>the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire >>>>> >>>>> >>>study. Now >>> >>> >>>>>I'm just waiting for the other side to start it's >>>>>study and in a few years we will have another >>>>> >>>>> >>>study >>> >>> >>>>>which will say something else. Forgive me if I >>>>> >>>>> >>>sound >>> >>> >>>>>sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the nature >>>>> >>>>> >>>vs >>> >>> >>>>>nurture debate. We will always have advocates for >>>>> >>>>> >>>both >>> >>> >>>>>sides. >>>>> >>>>>An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake >>>>> >>>>> >>>Oil. >>> >>> >>>>>An either/or approach is simply tiresome. >>>>> >>>>> >>>Besides, >>> >>> >>>>>let's first agree on a universal system of >>>>> >>>>> >>>phonics for >>> >>> >>>>>the English language. Then, let's see how best to >>>>>train teachers in its use. And then, lets see how >>>>> >>>>> >>>well >>> >>> >>>>>it works in the classroom. >>>>> >>>>>Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I >>>>> >>>>> >>>will >>> >>> >>>>>not get into this debate the next time it pops >>>>> >>>>> >>>up. >>> >>> >>>>>Cheers, >>>>>Ujwala >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>--- John Nissen wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>>Hi Andrea, >>>>>> >>>>>>I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, because >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>I >>> >>> >>>>>>know there are lot of "whole language" advocates >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>on >>> >>> >>>>>>this list. >>>>>> >>>>>>Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>phonics >>> >>> >>>>>>with whole language approach, putting the >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>"visual >>> >>> >>>>>>and auditory" together. This was the approach >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>used >>> >>> >>>>>>in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and the >>>>>>approach used in most schools over the past few >>>>>>decades. Despite the introduction of the >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>literacy >>> >>> >>>>>>hour in all schools some years ago, the literacy >>>>>>rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading >>>>>>satisfactorily by end of primary school. The >>>>>>Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>phonics, >>> >>> >>>>>>analytic phonics and the mixed approach. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>Synthetic >>> >>> >>>>>>phonics was by far the best. It was not to do >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>with >>> >>> >>>>>>the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>taught >>> >>> >>>>>>enthusiastically with the old methods find that >>>>>>synthetic phonics works better. But I'm not a >>>>>>teacher myself, so you need to ask somebody like >>>>>>Debbie Hepplewhite who has taught children by >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>the >>> >>> >>>>>>method, and knows many other teachers who have >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>used >>> >>> >>>>>>it. >>>>>> >>>>>>The experience of teaching is backing up the >>>>>>science. >>>>>> >>>>>>Cheers from Chiswick, >>>>>> >>>>>>John >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>>>> From: Andrea Wilder >>>>>> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List >>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 AM >>>>>> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 888] Re: effective >>>>>>research dissemination >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Just to get back in the fray....Whole language >>>>>>reading activates different parts of the brain >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>than >>> >>> >>>>>>does phoneme-grapheme training. >>>>>> >>>>>> There is a word form area, kind of 1/2 way >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>between >>> >>> >>>>>>the auditory cortex above the left ear, and the >>>>>>visual cortex at the back of the head. This >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>seems to >>> >>> >>>>>>be where the two representations, visual and >>>>>>auditory, are put together. Children can improve >>>>>>their reading by work in both areas, it is the >>>>>>TEACHER who makes the difference directing the >>>>>>child's attention . >>>>>> >>>>>> Andrea >>>>>> On May 1, 2007, at 9:12 AM, John Nissen wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Hi all, >>>>>> >>>>>> As regards Cristine's point (1) about how >>>>>>practitioners view the science, and (3) the >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>policy >>> >>> >>>>>>support needed, you may be interested to know >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>what >>> >>> >>>>>>is happening over here in England concerning the >>>>>>teaching of reading. >>>>>> >>>>>> I declare my interest here - I am trained as >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>a >>> >>> >>>>>>scientist, not an educator. As a science >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>graduate >>> >>> >>>>>>from Cambridge University, I was trained to >>>>>>recognise the application of good scientific >>>>>>methods. And there are countless examples in >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>the >>> >>> >>>>>>history of science where it has taken time for >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>the >>> >>> >>>>>>"conventional view" of something to be >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>overturned by >>> >>> >>>>>>good evidence coming from careful observation >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>and >>> >>> >>>>>>logical argument. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>=== message truncated === >> >> > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > From battelle at shaw.ca Sat May 5 11:59:12 2007 From: battelle at shaw.ca (Evelyn Battell) Date: Sat, 05 May 2007 08:59:12 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 929] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination References: <5ACB5AED488C2F44A5B4B8FEA0B0F122D06BA2@ebe3.umassb.net> Message-ID: <002601c78f2e$538410a0$6401a8c0@ownerf10cbc1b5> Hello - I'm a practitioner in BC, Canada involved in research. I'm currently working on a project to consider some ways of moving research into practice specifically on the question of violence and learning. We are exploring a couple of possiblities for how to do/use reaseach by practitioners. My expereince of projects here has been mixed - some projects the practitioner/researchers are quite happy to consult the literature and in a couple of cases there was resistance to even spending the time to do a literature search. Certainly my own reading shows me that the vast amount of research that impinges on my field (very little of it is actually done on my field) is either written in the kind of language that makes it hard for me to translate to my real life experience or it is Off somehow - it simply doesn't take up or accurately portray my expereince (27 years). So that is the first problem with research that is not based in the field. Research that is based in the field should be directed by practitioners - we are the ones who know the nuances and the respectful, non-disruptive ways to carry out the research. That is what is happening these days to my great delight. I'm pretty excited about the new move to have the practitioners doing the research/ using the research as they see fit. It definietly improves practice and the opportunities for all our students. it also gives the field another tool to use to convince funders to look at larger issues when designing programs and services (not that this is happening with any speed - but I have hope.) Sorry this was so long - not sure which parts might be relevant. ----- Original Message ----- From: Deborah C. Schwartz To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 1:44 PM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 926] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination Thanks Chris for this thorough answer. Given that you state that: "[you] found that practitioner research was probably the most valuable way of helping teachers and administrators access, understand, judge and use research, because they were weighing the validity of external research and then conducting their own and sharing it with others," I'm wondering if others on this list have had opportunities to be involved in practitioner research (either as a practitioner researcher or as someone training the practitioners or facilitating the process)? If so, I'm curious about how effective an experience it was as a way to bridge current research and practice? I'm also curious to learn if the research processes and questions that practitioners explored were qualitatively different or similar to the kinds of questions that have been posed in our discussion? Best, Deborah ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cristine Smith Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 11:53 AM To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' Subject: [FocusOnBasics 900] Re: starting our discussion ofeffectiveresearchdissemination Deborah: Thanks for your question about NCSALL's efforts to promote practitioner research. We actually did quite a bit to promote practitioner research as a professional development activity whereby teachers and administrators could learn about the latest research on a particular topic (reading, learner persistence), think about how it might apply to their own contexts and adult student populations, develop a question to investigate in their classroom or program, and then collect data about the effectiveness of a new approach or strategy to improve student learning or persistence. We found that practitioner research was probably the most valuable way of helping teachers and administrators access, understand, judge and use research, because they were weighing the validity of external research and then conducting their own and sharing it with others. Through projects in Minnesota, Texas, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and many other states, teachers conducted practitioner research related to the same topics that NCSALL was researching and then shared their findings with each other and with NCSALL researchers at Harvard, World Education, Center for Literacy Studies, Rutgers, and Portland State University. Practitioner research is definitely an intensive learning experience for practitioners, but its benefits are multiple. Practitioner research groups were also one of the models of professional development that we tested in the NCSALL professional development study (along with multi-session workshops and mentor teacher groups) of how teachers change. For more information about how practitioner research influences teachers, see the research report at: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report25.pdf For more information about how to design and support practitioner research training around problems of practice and existing research, you might go to our website to look at some of the professional development activities we developed for anyone to use, free for downloading, if they want to sponsor practitioner research in their program or state: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1143 or http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=967 Best.Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Deborah C. Schwartz Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 7:54 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 886] Re: starting our discussion of effectiveresearchdissemination Hi Chris, I was wondering if you could share if and how NCSALL has explored and implemented "practitioner research-" where teachers are doing their own research on their own practice using their own questions, yet in a facilitated manner-and whether that is one possible way to address the #1 finding below. Best, Deborah Schwartz Adult Literacy Resource Institute System for Adult Basic Education (SABES) http://www.sabes.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cristine Smith Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 12:30 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 876] starting our discussion of effective researchdissemination Hello, all. Cristine Smith here. Thanks for joining this discussion of effective research dissemination. As you know, NCSALL focused extensively on how to connect research, policy and practice over its 10 years, and the article in FOB was a way for us to share what we learned. I've summarized below the four main lessons we learned, and what I'd like to suggest is that we talk about the lessons one by one, depending on your interest. 1. Dissemination must start with a focus on practitioners and an understanding of how practitioners view research. Most practitioners start by being interested in an issue or problem they face in their work, not by being interested in research in general. 2. Researchers and dissemination staff alone cannot disseminate findings from research. No single researcher or research center can expect to reach the thousands of practitioners across the country. Adult educators need a range of publications, tools, and activities, and assistance from professional development staff who can help practitioners access, understand, judge, and use research. 3. Research-based changes in practice are not possible without policies, funding, and structures that support practitioners to make such changes. Teachers need research information, time to prepare new strategies, and funding to share ideas and experiences with other teachers. Program administrators need the freedom and funding to give these supports to teachers. Change cannot be achieved only at the teacher or classroom level. An intensive and long-term systemic change process, supported at the federal level, is needed. 4. Dissemination is cyclical, not linear. Helping practitioners and policy makers access, understand, judge, and use research is easier when the research questions come from the field rather than from the researchers. However, this is easier said than done. Adult education does not yet have a systematic mechanism through which stakeholders can generate questions as part of a continually evolving research agenda. Which one of these "lessons learned" most intrigues you, either in terms of what we learned or in terms of its implications for moving the field forward in utilizing research? Looking forward to our discussion... Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to battelle at shaw.ca. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070505/6b8dd343/attachment.html From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu Sat May 5 16:06:16 2007 From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Isserlis, Janet) Date: Sat, 5 May 2007 16:06:16 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 930] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination References: <5ACB5AED488C2F44A5B4B8FEA0B0F122D06BA2@ebe3.umassb.net> <002601c78f2e$538410a0$6401a8c0@ownerf10cbc1b5> Message-ID: <20EC1BB15C09F340A09A79FA1DBF9706019C2CED@MAIL3.AD.Brown.Edu> Thanks, Evelyn, for this message. People outside of BC might not be aware of the resources and publications that Evelyn and others have produced. There's a rich library of practitioner-based research online here: http://www.nald.ca/litweb/province/ab/ripal/online.htm The Canadian government, through its National Literacy Secretariat had sponsored a series of annual practitioner research conferences for awhile - and I believe that these efforts continue within and among provines, but with far less support. The resources, at least, remain online for our learning. Janet Isserlis -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Evelyn Battell Sent: Sat 5/5/2007 11:59 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 929] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination Hello - I'm a practitioner in BC, Canada involved in research. I'm currently working on a project to consider some ways of moving research into practice specifically on the question of violence and learning. We are exploring a couple of possiblities for how to do/use reaseach by practitioners. My expereince of projects here has been mixed - some projects the practitioner/researchers are quite happy to consult the literature and in a couple of cases there was resistance to even spending the time to do a literature search. Certainly my own reading shows me that the vast amount of research that impinges on my field (very little of it is actually done on my field) is either written in the kind of language that makes it hard for me to translate to my real life experience or it is Off somehow - it simply doesn't take up or accurately portray my expereince (27 years). So that is the first problem with research that is not based in the field. Research that is based in the field should be directed by practitioners - we are the ones who know the nuances and the respectful, non-disruptive ways to carry out the research. That is what is happening these days to my great delight. I'm pretty excited about the new move to have the practitioners doing the research/ using the research as they see fit. It definietly improves practice and the opportunities for all our students. it also gives the field another tool to use to convince funders to look at larger issues when designing programs and services (not that this is happening with any speed - but I have hope.) Sorry this was so long - not sure which parts might be relevant. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 4300 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070505/b0e9e587/attachment.bin From njmontano at yahoo.com Sat May 5 18:45:30 2007 From: njmontano at yahoo.com (Nicholas Montano) Date: Sat, 5 May 2007 15:45:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 931] Re: Effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB8708E13538@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Message-ID: <145568.39120.qm@web30801.mail.mud.yahoo.com> "Schneider, Jim" wrote: Let me preface my remarks with a commendation to the NCSALL folks, as a practicioner, I have benefitted tremendously from the myriad of resources and publications they have provided over the years. They have been the exception to the rule - particularly when compared to much of the literature in academic journals. Having said that, I found that an Arthur Cohen article (citation and abstract at the bottom) that IMHO provides several poignant points regarding research and practicioners... As a practicioner I found the following paragraph (especially the quote from McKeachie) to be an accurate reflection of my feelings about much of the research regarding adult literacy. "This discussion of the gap between research and practice is not new. As Biesta and Burbules (2003) paraphrase from 20th century education philosopher John Dewey, "The idea of 'improving' educational practice in any direct way through educational research should be abandoned.... Educational problems are always unique and for that reason always require unique responses, tailored as best as possible to the idiosyncrasies of the actual, unique situation" (p. 81). In other words, all findings in educational research are tentative, equivocal, and derivative, and dressing them up with statistics only gives the illusion of precision. McKeachie (1963) put it most succinctly when he concluded that, at bottom, research on teaching can demonstrate only that in college A, on day B, instructor C used method D to teach concept E to F set of students. Change any of those variables and the findings shift." Jim Scott Community College Davenport, IA UCLA Community College Review: Why Practitioners and Researchers Ignore Each Other (Even When They Are The Same Person) Author(s): Cohen, Arthur M. In: Community College Review (Community Coll Rev) v. 33 no1 (Fall 2005) p. 51-62 ISSN: 0091-5521 Abstract: The writer discusses the mutual indifference between practitioners in and researchers of community colleges. Principles that illustrate the differences between these two groups are the distance from the object of study, an ideological perspective, the purposes of research, and the political agenda. Researchers and practitioners can speak to one another only if they use a common language, understand how distance from the object of study affects the usefulness of information, reject ideological perspectives that place blame on the students or the institution, and focus on studies concerning relationships between educational processes and outcomes. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to NJMONTANO at yahoo.com. Nicholas Montano 83 Hawley Ave Milford, CT 06460 Phone 203-878-7916 Fax 203-286-1527 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070505/280a0aa6/attachment.html From lalumineuse at yahoo.com Sun May 6 04:52:31 2007 From: lalumineuse at yahoo.com (Ujwala Samant) Date: Sun, 6 May 2007 01:52:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 932] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination In-Reply-To: <002601c78f2e$538410a0$6401a8c0@ownerf10cbc1b5> Message-ID: <354551.65251.qm@web55107.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Hello Evelyn, Your message makes sense. When I worked on an observational study, adults reactions to my arrival ranged from mistrust (especially if I carried a tape recorder), to welcome. I went twice to each class, and the second time, usually, the response was better. I found this to be true when I did my doctoral research in the slums. The more I went, the more open and relaxed learners and teachers were with me. Your point about the language used in reports has come up often and is very valid. At conferences, I have had teachers come up to me and say exactly what you said. Being a qualitative researcher, I was taught to write in clear, descriptive language, with lots of case studies and to include illustrative dialogue, to bring the classroom dialogue and nuances to the reader. Apparently, for research reports this is not seen as professional. Hence the use of research 'jargon' for lack of a better term, in reports. One thing we did do, was if teachers wanted copies of the field notes, we always gave them. Practitioner voice is often not taken into account when writing a grant for research. I think that is where the problem as you identified it, lies. When we conducted "practitioner research", it was to ask teachers if they would participate, would be interested in doing a mini research project(for which they were paid), and contribute to the analysis of our findings to make sure that they resonated with their class experience. There was another study (in which I did not participate) where practitioners did the research. I believe Cris made a reference to it, perhaps you could get better answers to that from her. Regards, Ujwala --- Evelyn Battell wrote: > Hello - I'm a practitioner in BC, Canada involved in > research. I'm currently working on a project to > consider some ways of moving research into practice > specifically on the question of violence and > learning. We are exploring a couple of possiblities > for how to do/use reaseach by practitioners. > > My expereince of projects here has been mixed - some > projects the practitioner/researchers are quite > happy to consult the literature and in a couple of > cases there was resistance to even spending the time > to do a literature search. Certainly my own reading > shows me that the vast amount of research that > impinges on my field (very little of it is actually > done on my field) is either written in the kind of > language that makes it hard for me to translate to > my real life experience or it is Off somehow - it > simply doesn't take up or accurately portray my > expereince (27 years). > > So that is the first problem with research that is > not based in the field. Research that is based in > the field should be directed by practitioners - we > are the ones who know the nuances and the > respectful, non-disruptive ways to carry out the > research. That is what is happening these days to my > great delight. I'm pretty excited about the new move > to have the practitioners doing the research/ using > the research as they see fit. It definietly improves > practice and the opportunities for all our students. > it also gives the field another tool to use to > convince funders to look at larger issues when > designing programs and services (not that this is > happening with any speed - but I have hope.) > > Sorry this was so long - not sure which parts might > be relevant. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Deborah C. Schwartz > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 1:44 PM > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 926] Re: starting our > discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination > > > > > Thanks Chris for this thorough answer. Given that > you state that: "[you] found that practitioner > research was probably the most valuable way of > helping teachers and administrators access, > understand, judge and use research, because they > were weighing the validity of external research and > then conducting their own and sharing it with > others," I'm wondering if others on this list have > had opportunities to be involved in practitioner > research (either as a practitioner researcher or as > someone training the practitioners or facilitating > the process)? If so, I'm curious about how effective > an experience it was as a way to bridge current > research and practice? I'm also curious to learn if > the research processes and questions that > practitioners explored were qualitatively different > or similar to the kinds of questions that have been > posed in our discussion? > > > > Best, > > Deborah > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Cristine Smith > Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 11:53 AM > To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 900] Re: starting our > discussion ofeffectiveresearchdissemination > > > > Deborah: Thanks for your question about NCSALL's > efforts to promote practitioner research. We > actually did quite a bit to promote practitioner > research as a professional development activity > whereby teachers and administrators could learn > about the latest research on a particular topic > (reading, learner persistence), think about how it > might apply to their own contexts and adult student > populations, develop a question to investigate in > their classroom or program, and then collect data > about the effectiveness of a new approach or > strategy to improve student learning or persistence. > We found that practitioner research was probably > the most valuable way of helping teachers and > administrators access, understand, judge and use > research, because they were weighing the validity of > external research and then conducting their own and > sharing it with others. Through projects in > Minnesota, Texas, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and > many other states, teachers conducted practitioner > research related to the same topics that NCSALL was > researching and then shared their findings with each > other and with NCSALL researchers at Harvard, World > Education, Center for Literacy Studies, Rutgers, and > Portland State University. Practitioner research is > definitely an intensive learning experience for > practitioners, but its benefits are multiple. > > > > Practitioner research groups were also one of the > models of professional development that we tested in > the NCSALL professional development study (along > with multi-session workshops and mentor teacher > groups) of how teachers change. For more > information about how practitioner research > influences teachers, see the research report at: > http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report25.pdf > > > > > > For more information about how to design and > support practitioner research training around > problems of practice and existing research, you > might go to our website to look at some of the > professional development activities we developed for > anyone to use, free for downloading, if they want to > sponsor practitioner research in their program or > state: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1143 or > http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=967 > > Best.Cris > > > > > > Cristine Smith > > Assistant Professor > > Center for International Education > > University of Massachusetts > > 285 Hills House South > > Amherst, MA 01003 > > 413-545-2731 > > cristine at educ.umass.edu > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov > [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of > Deborah C. Schwartz > Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 7:54 AM > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 886] Re: starting our > discussion of effectiveresearchdissemination > > > > Hi Chris, > > I was wondering if you could share if and how > NCSALL has explored and implemented "practitioner > research-" where teachers are doing their own > research on their own practice using their own > questions, yet in a facilitated manner-and whether > that is one possible way to address the #1 finding > below. > > Best, > > Deborah Schwartz > > Adult Literacy Resource Institute > > System for Adult Basic Education (SABES) > > http://www.sabes.org > > > > > > === message truncated ===> ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, > please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to LALUMINEUSE at yahoo.com. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From lalumineuse at yahoo.com Sun May 6 06:33:49 2007 From: lalumineuse at yahoo.com (Ujwala Samant) Date: Sun, 6 May 2007 03:33:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 933] Re: effective research dissemination In-Reply-To: <7E3022EF6D3845D9D3DEE074@nic106> Message-ID: <846517.65529.qm@web55102.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Hi John, The four T's and the four D's are difficult... how did you do on the second "N" and "L", because I know most people stumble on those too? Cheers Ujwala --- John Comings wrote: > As I understand the STAR project, it is focused on > the teaching of > vocabulary and fluency (speed and accuracy) for > people who can decode > (though they may have some problems with difficult > decoding patterns) and > score within the mid-range, or pre-GED level. > > I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal and so > learned devenagri script. > Since I could already read quite well in English, I > learned the alphabet, > through phonics, in a couple of days, and could then > read any words I knew > (which was not many at the time). However, as an > English speaker, I had > trouble with the four T's and four D's. > > --On Thursday, May 03, 2007 11:11 PM -0700 Ujwala > Samant > wrote: > > > Dear John, > > > > It may be a development in science, but having > been on > > this list for years, I have seen phonics > proponents > > repeat the same message, try and "market" their > > methodologies, and unfavourably compare whole word > and > > phonics. And yet, once in the classroom, when > teaching > > English or observing it being taught, I don't see > the > > need for the (to me) artificial cleft between > phonics > > and whole word methodology. Personally I like > using a > > blended approach, which I have seen work better > than > > any isolated approach, when I worked for NCSALL. > > > > As a Hindi speaker once said to me, "If 't-o is > to, > > d-o is do, how come g-o isn't goo'? Are there no > > "maatras" in English?" Maatras are the symbols in > the > > Indian alphabet that distinguish each specific > > sound/phoneme. > > > > Cheers > > Ujwala > > > > > > --- John Nissen wrote: > > > >> > >> Hi Andrea and Ujwala, > >> > >> For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating > >> development in science, > >> where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how > >> good readers read, and how > >> best one can be taught to read in this way. I am > >> frustrated when people do > >> not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I > >> become angry because > >> children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering > >> needlessly - often into > >> adulthood. > >> > >> BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians > >> ignore global warming, which > >> will put the lives of future generations at > stake. > >> Here the scientific > >> evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) > >> > >> Cheers, > >> > >> John > >> > >> > >> ----- Original Message ----- > >> From: "Andrea Wilder" > >> To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" > >> > >> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 3:11 AM > >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 897] Re: effective > research > >> dissemination > >> > >> > >> > Hi Ujwala, > >> > > >> > i have read Literacy as Snake Oil and enjoyed > it > >> thoroughly. > >> > > >> > For me this isn't a debate, but a topic of > >> scientific interest, hence > >> > my addition that each method effects positive > >> changes, these changes > >> > are teacher driven and focused, and that the > >> learning takes place in > >> > different areas of the brain. > >> > > >> > Andrea > >> > > >> > On May 2, 2007, at 1:57 PM, Ujwala Samant > wrote: > >> > > >> >> Hi Andrea and John, > >> >> > >> >> This debate is as old as the hills and in my > 25 > >> years > >> >> of teaching special ed, adults, children, > >> >> Marathi,Hindi and English, as well as a whole > >> host of > >> >> other things, I've seen studies come and go. I > >> work in > >> >> the UK now and have seen the Clackmannshire > >> study. Now > >> >> I'm just waiting for the other side to start > it's > >> >> study and in a few years we will have another > >> study > >> >> which will say something else. Forgive me if I > >> sound > >> >> sceptical, but hey, this is as old as the > nature > >> vs > >> >> nurture debate. We will always have advocates > for > >> both > >> >> sides. > >> >> > >> >> An interesting read might be Literacy as Snake > >> Oil. > >> >> > >> >> An either/or approach is simply tiresome. > >> Besides, > >> >> let's first agree on a universal system of > >> phonics for > >> >> the English language. Then, let's see how best > to > >> >> train teachers in its use. And then, lets see > how > >> well > >> >> it works in the classroom. > >> >> > >> >> Back in lurking mode... and promising myself I > >> will > >> >> not get into this debate the next time it pops > >> up. > >> >> > >> >> Cheers, > >> >> Ujwala > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> >> --- John Nissen wrote: > >> >> > >> >>> > >> >>> Hi Andrea, > >> >>> > >> >>> I'm glad you prepared to join the fray, > because > >> I > >> >>> know there are lot of "whole language" > advocates > >> on > >> >>> this list. > >> >>> > >> >>> Actually you seem to be advocating a mixed > >> phonics > >> >>> with whole language approach, putting the > >> "visual > >> >>> and auditory" together. This was the > approach > >> used > >> >>> in our UK "National Literacy Strategy" and > the > >> >>> approach used in most schools over the past > few > >> >>> decades. Despite the introduction of the > >> literacy > >> >>> hour in all schools some years ago, the > literacy > >> >>> rate has reached a ceiling of 80% reading > >> >>> satisfactorily by end of primary school. The > >> >>> Clackmannanshire study compared synthetic > >> phonics, > >> >>> analytic phonics and the mixed approach. > >> Synthetic > >> >>> phonics was by far the best. It was not to > do > >> with > >> >>> the teachers. Dedicated teachers who have > === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________ 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news From Deborah.Schwartz at umb.edu Mon May 7 09:55:09 2007 From: Deborah.Schwartz at umb.edu (Deborah C. Schwartz) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 09:55:09 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 934] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination In-Reply-To: <20EC1BB15C09F340A09A79FA1DBF9706019C2CED@MAIL3.AD.Brown.Edu> Message-ID: <5ACB5AED488C2F44A5B4B8FEA0B0F122D06BA4@ebe3.umassb.net> I'm just perusing this website for the first time--quite a resource! Thanks. Deborah -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Isserlis, Janet Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 4:06 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics 929] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination Thanks, Evelyn, for this message. People outside of BC might not be aware of the resources and publications that Evelyn and others have produced. There's a rich library of practitioner-based research online here: http://www.nald.ca/litweb/province/ab/ripal/online.htm The Canadian government, through its National Literacy Secretariat had sponsored a series of annual practitioner research conferences for awhile - and I believe that these efforts continue within and among provines, but with far less support. The resources, at least, remain online for our learning. Janet Isserlis -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Evelyn Battell Sent: Sat 5/5/2007 11:59 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 929] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination Hello - I'm a practitioner in BC, Canada involved in research. I'm currently working on a project to consider some ways of moving research into practice specifically on the question of violence and learning. We are exploring a couple of possiblities for how to do/use reaseach by practitioners. My expereince of projects here has been mixed - some projects the practitioner/researchers are quite happy to consult the literature and in a couple of cases there was resistance to even spending the time to do a literature search. Certainly my own reading shows me that the vast amount of research that impinges on my field (very little of it is actually done on my field) is either written in the kind of language that makes it hard for me to translate to my real life experience or it is Off somehow - it simply doesn't take up or accurately portray my expereince (27 years). So that is the first problem with research that is not based in the field. Research that is based in the field should be directed by practitioners - we are the ones who know the nuances and the respectful, non-disruptive ways to carry out the research. That is what is happening these days to my great delight. I'm pretty excited about the new move to have the practitioners doing the research/ using the research as they see fit. It definietly improves practice and the opportunities for all our students. it also gives the field another tool to use to convince funders to look at larger issues when designing programs and services (not that this is happening with any speed - but I have hope.) Sorry this was so long - not sure which parts might be relevant. From janeaddeo at comcast.net Mon May 7 10:28:33 2007 From: janeaddeo at comcast.net (janeaddeo at comcast.net) Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 14:28:33 +0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 935] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination Message-ID: <050720071428.18899.463F3791000B81A1000049D32207020653010A0B0B0E0A020E06@comcast.net> Janet, Thank you so much for this wealth of information on literacy. Jane -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Isserlis, Janet" > Thanks, Evelyn, for this message. > > People outside of BC might not be aware of the resources and publications that > Evelyn and others have produced. There's a rich library of practitioner-based > research online here: > http://www.nald.ca/litweb/province/ab/ripal/online.htm > > The Canadian government, through its National Literacy Secretariat had sponsored > a series of annual practitioner research conferences for awhile - and I believe > that these efforts continue within and among provines, but with far less > support. The resources, at least, remain online for our learning. > > Janet Isserlis > > > -----Original Message----- > From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Evelyn Battell > Sent: Sat 5/5/2007 11:59 AM > To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 929] Re: starting our > discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination > > Hello - I'm a practitioner in BC, Canada involved in research. I'm currently > working on a project to consider some ways of moving research into practice > specifically on the question of violence and learning. We are exploring a couple > of possiblities for how to do/use reaseach by practitioners. > > My expereince of projects here has been mixed - some projects the > practitioner/researchers are quite happy to consult the literature and in a > couple of cases there was resistance to even spending the time to do a > literature search. Certainly my own reading shows me that the vast amount of > research that impinges on my field (very little of it is actually done on my > field) is either written in the kind of language that makes it hard for me to > translate to my real life experience or it is Off somehow - it simply doesn't > take up or accurately portray my expereince (27 years). > > So that is the first problem with research that is not based in the field. > Research that is based in the field should be directed by practitioners - we are > the ones who know the nuances and the respectful, non-disruptive ways to carry > out the research. That is what is happening these days to my great delight. I'm > pretty excited about the new move to have the practitioners doing the research/ > using the research as they see fit. It definietly improves practice and the > opportunities for all our students. it also gives the field another tool to use > to convince funders to look at larger issues when designing programs and > services (not that this is happening with any speed - but I have hope.) > > Sorry this was so long - not sure which parts might be relevant. > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070507/ffd618cd/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Isserlis, Janet" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 930] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 13:45:41 +0000 Size: 6838 Url: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070507/ffd618cd/attachment.mht From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon May 7 10:46:34 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 10:46:34 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 936] Thanks to Cris and everyone! Message-ID: <463F038A0200002D000021EC@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Thanks so much for sharing your views, resources and questions during our discussion last week about NCSALL's lessons on effective research dissemination. Thanks, especially, to you, Cris, for so thoroughly outlining your expertise on the subject, and speaking to our questions. Please feel free to continue discussing this. To encourage this, I repeat Deborah's request:we would love to hear from people who have been involved in practitioner research to share their experiences more fully! Thanks again, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon May 7 11:06:24 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 11:06:24 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 937] Links to Resources from Effective Dissemination discussion Message-ID: <463F08300200002D000021F4@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, For your convenience I have compiled the links to all online resources mentioned in last week's discussion. See below. All the best, Julie ****************************************** NCSALL: All reports and information www.ncsall.net Focus on Basics: all previous issues www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=31 RIPAL: Research in Practice in Adult Literacy (From B.C. Canada) http://www.nald.ca/litweb/province/ab/ripal/online.htm Newman Keuls tests: used to compare http://www.graphpad.com/faq/viewfaq.cfm?faq=1093 Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki: page on Developing Professional Wisdom and Research http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Developing_Professional_Wisdom_and_Research STAR training project: http://www.startoolkit.org/about.html Read Right system developed by Dr. Dee Tadlock http://www.readright.com Literacy As Snake Oil: book review and citation http://www.rochester.edu/Warner/faculty/larson/bookreview.htm Learning and the Brain conference: Cambridge, MA www.edupr.com How Teachers Change: A Study of Professional Development in Adult Education http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report25.pdf NCSALL?s Professional Development Activities involving Practitioner Research http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1143 or http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=967 **************************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From jn at cloudworld.co.uk Mon May 7 14:39:56 2007 From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 19:39:56 +0100 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 938] Re: When professional wisdom disagrees with research References: <463B24110200002D0000218A@bostongwia.jsi.com><00cf01c78e90$df64aba0$0302a8c0@Tomschoice> <463BF0EE.7060801@isp.com> Message-ID: <001e01c790d7$1ce05220$0402a8c0@Tomschoice> Hi Tom, Thank you very much for taking time to look at the Clackmannanshire study. In fact some researchers (Brooks, Torgerson and Hall) have evaluated the evidence of research into the teaching of reading, and thrown doubt on one of the essential findings of the study, namely that synthetic phonics is significantly better than analytic phonics. This finding has been rebuffed by Diane McGuinness: http://www.rrf.org.uk/Torgersonarticle.pdf As I understand it, in the study, 300 children were divided into matched groups of 100. Obviously if the groups were not matched with one another, then one would be suspicious. I will try and find out what was done. However even if the groups were not well matched, they were eventually all taught by synthetic phonics, and the follow up to this at the end of primary school was that on average they were three years ahead of their reading age. This in itself is an outstanding result. Now for me the Clackmannanshire study was a good test of the scientific theory that good readers decode the majority of words. If this theory was right, then by teaching the decoding of words into sounds from the beginning, the brain would be trained for rapid decoding, as observed in the study. However the scientific theory can also be applied to adults. But in this case, one would expect the reading ability of many low-literacy adults to be due to having been taught by the wrong methods when they were younger. And remediation would be by extensive training and exercise in phonics, to develop the "good" pathways in the brain. There was evidence presented at the Reading Reform Foundation conference that such remediation does work. (I took some notes on this conference, see http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/reading-reform-conference.htm) As with all scientific theories, my theory can be tested against other theories. If you think your scientific theory is "better" than mine, then you need to devise a test to demonstrate this or present some good evidence for this. I would be very interested. Cheers from Chiswick, John John Nissen Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Woods" To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 3:50 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 928] Re: When professional wisdom disagrees with research > In response to Julie's question about judging and using research, I rely > a great deal on critical evaluation of statistical research, the > rudiments of which I learned through coursework and practice. Having > studied research studies in this way, I have learned that it is > extremely difficult to design good research, that much of it, even peer > reviewed research, is deeply flawed, and educational research seems to > be especially problematic. I have learned to be a skeptic. > > For instance, the Clackmannshire study has been described by John > Nissen. I decided to look at it with a critical eye. The first thing I > notice is the study does not indicate how children were assigned to > groups. This raises questions in my mind about validity if there was not > random assignment. The results certainly appear to suggest the synthetic > phonics group made the largest gains and the statistical significance of > many of the tests was impressive. I had not heard of the Newman Keuls > tests used to compare scores so I looked it up and found a rather harsh > recommendation ( http://www.graphpad.com/faq/viewfaq.cfm?faq=1093 ) to > avoid this test because of its inability to keep the chance of a type I > error (a false positive) at less than 5%. In other words, the impressive > statistical significance that the results are not caused by chance is > called into question. Of concern to me is that this study was carried > out on young children just learning to read. I would like to ask the > researchers if they would generalize their conclusions to adult > populations have failed numerous times to learn to read. > > Questions like this about threats to validity can and should be asked > about all research. It is by answering these questions and by > redesigning and repeating research that we can begin to trust their > conclusions. This would be my next question about the Clackmannshire > study. What have other researchers to say about its findings? One study, > two, or ten studies cannot prove an assertion. They can only add support > for it. But it will be the weight of repeated similar findings that will > make me begin to trust its conclusions. > > Tom Woods > > > > John Nissen wrote: > >>Hi Julie, >> >>Your question is apposite. In Ana's case, her research showed that the >>common "professional wisdom" that adult learners had low esteem was >>incorrect. We should go by the research, providing the research is sound. >>In the case of research on the teaching of reading, the common >>"professional >>wisdom" on this list is that a mix or blend of methods seems to work >>better >>than an "isolated" approach, whereas the research is pointing to synthetic >>phonics being significantly better than a mixed approach. >> >>When I started looking into the teaching of reading, a few years ago, it >>was >>not obvious who to believe. But when I researched into the science, I was >>really excited to find that there was evidence that a phonics-based >>approach >>should work better. So I have come to this through the science. Then >>there >>were the remarkable results of the Clackmannanshire study, that validated >>the science. As a scientist, you always look for evidence that your >>theories work out in practice. When they work out so dramatically, it is >>difficult to suppress one's own enthusiasm. >> >>Cheers, >> >>John >> >> >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: "Julie McKinney" >>To: >>Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 5:16 PM >>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 923] When professional wisdom disagrees with >>research >> >> >> >> >>>Ujwala brings up an interesting point that we have discussed before. >>>Except for those ideal times when we use practitioner research, how do >>>teachers judge if there's a discrepancy between their own professional >>>wisdom and a research finding? >>> >>>This came up in a discussion we had last September with Ana Lipnevich >>>about her research suggesting that low self-esteem was not as common >>>among >>>adult learners as many of us assume. It seems that in cases where the >>>research seems to disagree with our own experience (perceived) then we >>>can >>>be wary of research findings. >>> >>>Cris and others, how should we deal with this when advising and learning >>>how to "understand, judge, and use research"? >>> >>>Julie >>> >>>Julie McKinney >>>Discussion List Moderator >>>World Education/NCSALL >>>jmckinney at worlded.org >>> >>> >>> >>>>>>Ujwala Samant 05/04/07 2:11 AM >>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>Dear John, >>> >>>It may be a development in science, but having been on >>>this list for years, I have seen phonics proponents >>>repeat the same message, try and "market" their >>>methodologies, and unfavourably compare whole word and >>>phonics. And yet, once in the classroom, when teaching >>>English or observing it being taught, I don't see the >>>need for the (to me) artificial cleft between phonics >>>and whole word methodology. Personally I like using a >>>blended approach, which I have seen work better than >>>any isolated approach, when I worked for NCSALL. >>> >>>As a Hindi speaker once said to me, "If 't-o is to, >>>d-o is do, how come g-o isn't goo'? Are there no >>>"maatras" in English?" Maatras are the symbols in the >>>Indian alphabet that distinguish each specific >>>sound/phoneme. >>> >>>Cheers >>>Ujwala >>> >>> >>>--- John Nissen wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>>>Hi Andrea and Ujwala, >>>> >>>>For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating >>>>development in science, >>>>where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how >>>>good readers read, and how >>>>best one can be taught to read in this way. I am >>>>frustrated when people do >>>>not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I >>>>become angry because >>>>children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering >>>>needlessly - often into >>>>adulthood. >>>> >>>>BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians >>>>ignore global warming, which >>>>will put the lives of future generations at stake. >>>>Here the scientific >>>>evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) >>>> >>>>Cheers, >>>> >>>>John [snip] From lalumineuse at yahoo.com Mon May 7 19:57:57 2007 From: lalumineuse at yahoo.com (Ujwala Samant) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 16:57:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 939] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination In-Reply-To: <002601c78f2e$538410a0$6401a8c0@ownerf10cbc1b5> Message-ID: <826044.91339.qm@web55111.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Dear All, Just one more postscript: learner voice is taken even less into account than is practitioner voice, when research is conducted, in my experience. Regards Ujwala ____________________________________________________________________________________ Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather From tarv at chemeketa.edu Mon May 7 20:09:07 2007 From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 17:09:07 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 940] Re: When professional wisdom disagrees withresearch In-Reply-To: <001e01c790d7$1ce05220$0402a8c0@Tomschoice> References: <463B24110200002D0000218A@bostongwia.jsi.com><00cf01c78e90$df64aba0$0302a8c0@Tomschoice><463BF0EE.7060801@isp.com> <001e01c790d7$1ce05220$0402a8c0@Tomschoice> Message-ID: It might be useful to look at studies done with adults instead of children when working with adult literacy skills acquisition. Adults come with such a broader skills base to which vocabulary can be linked. Va -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of John Nissen Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007 11:40 AM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Cc: Jennifer Chew; Debbie Hepplewhite; John Rack Subject: [FocusOnBasics 938] Re: When professional wisdom disagrees withresearch Hi Tom, Thank you very much for taking time to look at the Clackmannanshire study. In fact some researchers (Brooks, Torgerson and Hall) have evaluated the evidence of research into the teaching of reading, and thrown doubt on one of the essential findings of the study, namely that synthetic phonics is significantly better than analytic phonics. This finding has been rebuffed by Diane McGuinness: http://www.rrf.org.uk/Torgersonarticle.pdf As I understand it, in the study, 300 children were divided into matched groups of 100. Obviously if the groups were not matched with one another, then one would be suspicious. I will try and find out what was done. However even if the groups were not well matched, they were eventually all taught by synthetic phonics, and the follow up to this at the end of primary school was that on average they were three years ahead of their reading age. This in itself is an outstanding result. Now for me the Clackmannanshire study was a good test of the scientific theory that good readers decode the majority of words. If this theory was right, then by teaching the decoding of words into sounds from the beginning, the brain would be trained for rapid decoding, as observed in the study. However the scientific theory can also be applied to adults. But in this case, one would expect the reading ability of many low-literacy adults to be due to having been taught by the wrong methods when they were younger. And remediation would be by extensive training and exercise in phonics, to develop the "good" pathways in the brain. There was evidence presented at the Reading Reform Foundation conference that such remediation does work. (I took some notes on this conference, see http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/reading-reform-conference.htm) As with all scientific theories, my theory can be tested against other theories. If you think your scientific theory is "better" than mine, then you need to devise a test to demonstrate this or present some good evidence for this. I would be very interested. Cheers from Chiswick, John John Nissen Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk Tel: +44 208 742 3170 Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Woods" To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 3:50 AM Subject: [FocusOnBasics 928] Re: When professional wisdom disagrees with research > In response to Julie's question about judging and using research, I rely > a great deal on critical evaluation of statistical research, the > rudiments of which I learned through coursework and practice. Having > studied research studies in this way, I have learned that it is > extremely difficult to design good research, that much of it, even peer > reviewed research, is deeply flawed, and educational research seems to > be especially problematic. I have learned to be a skeptic. > > For instance, the Clackmannshire study has been described by John > Nissen. I decided to look at it with a critical eye. The first thing I > notice is the study does not indicate how children were assigned to > groups. This raises questions in my mind about validity if there was not > random assignment. The results certainly appear to suggest the synthetic > phonics group made the largest gains and the statistical significance of > many of the tests was impressive. I had not heard of the Newman Keuls > tests used to compare scores so I looked it up and found a rather harsh > recommendation ( http://www.graphpad.com/faq/viewfaq.cfm?faq=1093 ) to > avoid this test because of its inability to keep the chance of a type I > error (a false positive) at less than 5%. In other words, the impressive > statistical significance that the results are not caused by chance is > called into question. Of concern to me is that this study was carried > out on young children just learning to read. I would like to ask the > researchers if they would generalize their conclusions to adult > populations have failed numerous times to learn to read. > > Questions like this about threats to validity can and should be asked > about all research. It is by answering these questions and by > redesigning and repeating research that we can begin to trust their > conclusions. This would be my next question about the Clackmannshire > study. What have other researchers to say about its findings? One study, > two, or ten studies cannot prove an assertion. They can only add support > for it. But it will be the weight of repeated similar findings that will > make me begin to trust its conclusions. > > Tom Woods > > > > John Nissen wrote: > >>Hi Julie, >> >>Your question is apposite. In Ana's case, her research showed that the >>common "professional wisdom" that adult learners had low esteem was >>incorrect. We should go by the research, providing the research is sound. >>In the case of research on the teaching of reading, the common >>"professional >>wisdom" on this list is that a mix or blend of methods seems to work >>better >>than an "isolated" approach, whereas the research is pointing to synthetic >>phonics being significantly better than a mixed approach. >> >>When I started looking into the teaching of reading, a few years ago, it >>was >>not obvious who to believe. But when I researched into the science, I was >>really excited to find that there was evidence that a phonics-based >>approach >>should work better. So I have come to this through the science. Then >>there >>were the remarkable results of the Clackmannanshire study, that validated >>the science. As a scientist, you always look for evidence that your >>theories work out in practice. When they work out so dramatically, it is >>difficult to suppress one's own enthusiasm. >> >>Cheers, >> >>John >> >> >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: "Julie McKinney" >>To: >>Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 5:16 PM >>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 923] When professional wisdom disagrees with >>research >> >> >> >> >>>Ujwala brings up an interesting point that we have discussed before. >>>Except for those ideal times when we use practitioner research, how do >>>teachers judge if there's a discrepancy between their own professional >>>wisdom and a research finding? >>> >>>This came up in a discussion we had last September with Ana Lipnevich >>>about her research suggesting that low self-esteem was not as common >>>among >>>adult learners as many of us assume. It seems that in cases where the >>>research seems to disagree with our own experience (perceived) then we >>>can >>>be wary of research findings. >>> >>>Cris and others, how should we deal with this when advising and learning >>>how to "understand, judge, and use research"? >>> >>>Julie >>> >>>Julie McKinney >>>Discussion List Moderator >>>World Education/NCSALL >>>jmckinney at worlded.org >>> >>> >>> >>>>>>Ujwala Samant 05/04/07 2:11 AM >>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>Dear John, >>> >>>It may be a development in science, but having been on >>>this list for years, I have seen phonics proponents >>>repeat the same message, try and "market" their >>>methodologies, and unfavourably compare whole word and >>>phonics. And yet, once in the classroom, when teaching >>>English or observing it being taught, I don't see the >>>need for the (to me) artificial cleft between phonics >>>and whole word methodology. Personally I like using a >>>blended approach, which I have seen work better than >>>any isolated approach, when I worked for NCSALL. >>> >>>As a Hindi speaker once said to me, "If 't-o is to, >>>d-o is do, how come g-o isn't goo'? Are there no >>>"maatras" in English?" Maatras are the symbols in the >>>Indian alphabet that distinguish each specific >>>sound/phoneme. >>> >>>Cheers >>>Ujwala >>> >>> >>>--- John Nissen wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>>>Hi Andrea and Ujwala, >>>> >>>>For me too it is not a debate, but a fascinating >>>>development in science, >>>>where we are discovering, bit by bit, exactly how >>>>good readers read, and how >>>>best one can be taught to read in this way. I am >>>>frustrated when people do >>>>not see the logic and beauty of it. But then I >>>>become angry because >>>>children (the 20% non-readers) are suffering >>>>needlessly - often into >>>>adulthood. >>>> >>>>BTW, I am far more angry about how politicians >>>>ignore global warming, which >>>>will put the lives of future generations at stake. >>>>Here the scientific >>>>evidence is overwhelming. (Thanks, Al Gore.) >>>> >>>>Cheers, >>>> >>>>John [snip] ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to TARV at chemeketa.edu. From andreawilder at comcast.net Mon May 7 21:28:06 2007 From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 21:28:06 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 941] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination In-Reply-To: <826044.91339.qm@web55111.mail.re4.yahoo.com> References: <826044.91339.qm@web55111.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Ujwala-- Do you have good examples of learner voice being brought forward in research? (And didn't you make a point of this in your own research?) Thanks. Andrea On May 7, 2007, at 7:57 PM, Ujwala Samant wrote: > Dear All, > > Just one more postscript: learner voice is taken even > less into account than is practitioner voice, when > research is conducted, in my experience. > > Regards > Ujwala > > > > _______________________________________________________________________ > _____________ > Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast > with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut. > http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to andreawilder at comcast.net. > From woodsnh at isp.com Mon May 7 22:12:22 2007 From: woodsnh at isp.com (Woods) Date: Mon, 07 May 2007 22:12:22 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 942] Re: starting our discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination In-Reply-To: <826044.91339.qm@web55111.mail.re4.yahoo.com> References: <826044.91339.qm@web55111.mail.re4.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <463FDC86.60809@isp.com> You make an important observation Ujwala. The school I work at tries hard include student input. This might take the form of student self-assessments or inventories, student course evaluations, or simply asking a student if an approach is working, or asking what helps or what is needed. The importance of this kind of input is hard to overstate. The reason, I think, is because it helps make the process student centered rather than teacher/specialist centered. Tom Woods Ujwala Samant wrote: >Dear All, > >Just one more postscript: learner voice is taken even >less into account than is practitioner voice, when >research is conducted, in my experience. > >Regards >Ujwala > > > >____________________________________________________________________________________ >Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast >with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut. >http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > From swoods at sbctc.ctc.edu Tue May 8 11:43:40 2007 From: swoods at sbctc.ctc.edu (Shash Woods) Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 08:43:40 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 943] Re: startingour discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination References: <826044.91339.qm@web55111.mail.re4.yahoo.com> <463FDC86.60809@isp.com> Message-ID: <0CA6C79FCB4AC642A77B76C17A4316EE012C3F10@exch-1.sbctc2.local> I agree that a good way to get learner voice in research, especially action or participatory research, is to ask students to provide input (aka: data), presumably with clear explanations of how the data will be used and how they are contributing, I think there should also be room to confer with students on designing research. How do you select a good question? As we all know, that's a difficult task, and subject to blind spots, assumptions, and pre-conceptions. Learner voice can help us cut through this. Also learners can play a role in compiling and analyzing data, and help in evaluating conclusions. We're all trying to teach critical thinking, organizational, and math skills, and these all come to play in designing, reporting and evaluating research. These are the skills learners need to succeed at work and make sense out of their own lives. - Shash Shash Woods Professional Development Coordinator NW Region OABE/SBCTC (206) 276-3745 ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Woods Sent: Mon 5/7/2007 7:12 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 942] Re: startingour discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination You make an important observation Ujwala. The school I work at tries hard include student input. This might take the form of student self-assessments or inventories, student course evaluations, or simply asking a student if an approach is working, or asking what helps or what is needed. The importance of this kind of input is hard to overstate. The reason, I think, is because it helps make the process student centered rather than teacher/specialist centered. Tom Woods Ujwala Samant wrote: >Dear All, > >Just one more postscript: learner voice is taken even >less into account than is practitioner voice, when >research is conducted, in my experience. > >Regards >Ujwala > > > >____________________________________________________________________________________ >Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast >with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut. >http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to WOODSNH at isp.com. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to swoods at sbctc.ctc.edu. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070508/3ae399c7/attachment.html From Holly.Dilatush-Guthrie at ccs.k12.va.us Tue May 8 13:07:28 2007 From: Holly.Dilatush-Guthrie at ccs.k12.va.us (Holly Dilatush-Guthrie) Date: Tue, 08 May 2007 13:07:28 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 944] Re: startingour discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination In-Reply-To: <0CA6C79FCB4AC642A77B76C17A4316EE012C3F10@exch-1.sbctc2.local> References: <826044.91339.qm@web55111.mail.re4.yahoo.com> <463FDC86.60809@isp.com> <0CA6C79FCB4AC642A77B76C17A4316EE012C3F10@exch-1.sbctc2.local> Message-ID: <4640761002000069000026C8@gwia.ccs.k12.va.us> Hope this won't be too long of a post... Shash wrote: <> Here, here! I agree completely. Efforts at the Adult Learning Center where I work to include students always reap rewards. As Volunteer Coordinator, I've tried to engage learners in volunteer activities as a way both to learn and to give back to the center. One recent project took several volunteers and several months of sporadic meetings/planning -- but resulted in a wonderful first "Volunteer-of-the-month" display and interview. It began with an explanation to students (students as volunteers) that we wanted students to design, plan, carry out and report interviews with longterm community volunteers at our center. We gave suggestions of two questions we thought should be included --then left students to brainstorm a list of things they'd want to know, and/or thought others would want to know. We also helped with grammar corrections and led mock interview practice sessions. As I read the list below I was pleasantly impressed by the thoughtfulness and do not think any list I'd provided to them would have come close to the same "richness" and meaning of their list. I also reflected on how this project enabled students to feel involved in something meaningful to them and to others. Our first community volunteer who agreed to be interviewed indicated how honored she felt, and how genuine the process seemed to be. It is a win-win-win-win for us and for all involved; we hope it will inspire future volunteers, students, and the community -- it certainly showcases our center's mission values! Here's the list compiled by students (for the actual interview, the interviewer selects a sampliing from this list -- and the group of student volunteers planning this felt it would be polite to give a copy of the full list to the interviewee, in advance, so they would be more comfortable with their responses). Questions for ALC Volunteers 1. How long have you been a volunteer here at the ALC? 2. Why are you a volunteer? Why did you decide to be a volunteer? 3. Why did you choose ALC? 4. Do you remember your first experience as a volunteer? Would you please tell us about that? 5. What do you do for a living? [If the answer is ?retired?, what did you do?] 6. Before you began volunteering, what did you do with your extra time? Do you still find time for ______________? 7. What was the process when you started in ALC? Were there any problems with that process? a. If you had to tell about strength and weakness about the ALC process, what would you say? b. If you became the volunteer coordinator at ALC, what would you do to recognize your volunteer team? 8. Besides the ALC, do you or have you volunteer in any other places? 9. Do you also work with children? 10. If you teach both adults and children, which one do you prefer? Why? 11. Do you ever have trouble understanding what students say? 12. Do students ever ask questions you can?t answer? 13. What was your biggest lesson from your career as a volunteer? 14. If you wanted to convince someone to be a volunteer, what would your reasons be? 15. Is there anything else you would like to say? Additional questions: ? Do you have another photo you would like us to use? ? We will have your review the story before we publish it, ok? ? May we send this to anyone for you? "No matter what our attempts to inform, it is our ability to inspire that will turn the tides." Holly Dilatush ESL distance learning, Dialogue Cafe, Volunteer coordinator Charlottesville City Schools Adult Learning Center 1000 Preston Ave., Suite D Charlottesville VA 22903 (434) 245.2815 office (434) 960.7177 cell/mobile http://theHsmile.org ['home' to several Moodle CMS (course management systems/virtual classrooms)] http://www.Charlottesville-ESL.org "Live with intention. Share inside~out smiles, inspire hope, seek awe and nurture in nature." From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu Tue May 8 14:21:42 2007 From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Janet Isserlis) Date: Tue, 08 May 2007 14:21:42 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 945] Re: startingour discussionofeffectiveresearchdissemination In-Reply-To: <4640761002000069000026C8@gwia.ccs.k12.va.us> Message-ID: Holly It would be interesting to see if learners would want to review these questions as prompts for learning more about each other and then interviewing one another, and/or others in the community? Janet > From: Holly Dilatush-Guthrie Questions for ALC Volunteers 1. How long have you been a volunteer here at the ALC? 2. Why are you a volunteer? Why did you decide to be a volunteer? 3. Why did you choose ALC? 4. Do you remember your first experience as a volunteer? Would you please tell us about that? 5. What do you do for a living? [If the answer is ?retired?, what did you do?] 6. Before you began volunteering, what did you do with your extra time? Do you still find time for ______________? 7. What was the process when you started in ALC? Were there any problems with that process? a. If you had to tell about strength and weakness about the ALC process, what would you say? b. If you became the volunteer coordinator at ALC, what would you do to recognize your volunteer team? 8. Besides the ALC, do you or have you volunteer in any other places? 9. Do you also work with children? 10. If you teach both adults and children, which one do you prefer? Why? 11. Do you ever have trouble understanding what students say? 12. Do students ever ask questions you can?t answer? 13. What was your biggest lesson from your career as a volunteer? 14. If you wanted to convince someone to be a volunteer, what would your reasons be? 15. Is there anything else you would like to say? Additional questions: ? Do you have another photo you would like us to use? ? We will have your review the story before we publish it, ok? ? May we send this to anyone for you? From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu May 10 10:56:25 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 10:56:25 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 946] Discussion on PD list: Blended Models of Sustained PD Message-ID: <4642FA6F0200002D000022EA@mail.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am passing on an announcement from Jackie Taylor about a guest discussion on the Adult Literacy Profession Development discussion list next week, with a prelude this week. It looks like there is something in here for everyone! Please read on for more information. All the best, Julie ******************** Going the Distance: Online and Blended Models of Sustained Professional Development Where held: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List Discussion Primer: May 7-13, 2007 Discussion with Guests: May 14 ? 21, 2007 To participate, subscribe: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment Moderator: Jackie Taylor, jataylor at utk.edu Guest Participants (Biographies): http://tinyurl.com/yrtktz Preparation for Discussion: http://tinyurl.com/242bpg This is a two-part discussion. Part I is a ?discussion primer? and begins before the guest discussion. Part II is the online discussion with Guest Participants. General Overview Join the Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List to explore development, design, and facilitation considerations and implications with online and blended models of professional development. Subscribers will have the opportunity to view a Pod cast of the face-to-face panel discussion at the AALPD PreConference at COABE, interact with panelists and additional guests online, and plan next steps. Part I: Discussion Primer - What?s Available in Online Professional Development?? When: May 7-13, 2007 Join the list to share your state or organization?s initiatives in providing online professional development, or to learn what is available to you in online professional development, any costs involved, whether credits (CEUs) are available, and more. Part II: Guest Discussion - ?Going the Distance: Online and Blended Models of Sustained Professional Development? When: May 14 ? 21, 2007 Join the list to participate in a guest discussion of online and blended professional development and professional development-at-a-distance. Topics include (but are not limited to): Teachers and Administrators: Sharing qualities that attract practitioners to online and blended professional development and offering recommendations for designers/developers; Browsing online courses/tools from various providers and interacting with online course facilitators; Discussing considerations in selecting online professional development and supporting participation; Designers and Developers: Sharing strategies and considerations for online and blended professional development and professional development-at-a-distance; Examining ways to blend technology tools and other design implications to enhance professional development; Exploring strategies for evaluating the effectiveness of online and blended models; Online Facilitators (DE Teachers, Professional Developers, List Moderators): Considering what skills and qualities make a good online presenter/trainer; Sharing practical techniques, including facilitating interactivity and improving teacher retention; All: Discussing quality considerations specific to the online environment; and Developing action agendas as individuals, teams, or as a field to advance online and blended professional development opportunities. This discussion will build and expand upon issues explored in the recent AALPD PreConference at COABE, ?Exploring the Potential for Online Professional Development.? http://www.aalpd.org/training/2007coabepreconference_agenda.html GUESTS Marie Cora, Adult Education Consultant Barbara (Bee) Dieu Teacher and Coordinator, Franco-Brazilian secondary school, Sao Paulo; TESOL EVO Kristine Marane G?ngora, Instructional Designer, ProLiteracy Worldwide Dr. Dafne Gonz?lez, Full Professor, Universidad Simon Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela; TESOL EVO Crystal Hack, GED-i Coordinator, Center for the Application of Information Technologies (CADr. Elizabeth Hanson-Smith ~ Professor Emeritus at CSU, Sacramento; TESOL EVO Debra L. Hargrove, Ed.D. ~ Coordinator Florida TechNet Noreen S. Lopez ~ Adult Education Consultant Susan Ohlsen ~ Project Manager, ProLiteracy America, Verizon Literacy Network Dr. Leslie Petty ~ Associate Director, Project IDEAL, University of Michigan Tim Ponder ~ Ohio Literacy Resource Center (OLRC) Sharon Reynolds ~ Coordinator, Central/Southeast ABLE Resource Center, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio Lynda Terrill ~ Technical Assistance and Web Coordinator, Center for Adult English Language Acquisition, Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC Marian Thacher ~ Director, Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From MMaralit at NIFL.gov Thu May 10 11:55:05 2007 From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo) Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 11:55:05 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 947] Latest NAAL Report -- Literacy Behind Bars Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B15382A2E@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov> Forwarded by request: Literacy Behind Bars The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has just released Literacy Behind Bars: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey. This report presents findings on the literacy skills of incarcerated adults and analyzes the changes in these skills since the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). Major findings include the following: * The average Prose, Document, and Quantitative literacy scores of the prison population were higher in 2003 than in 1992. * Prison inmates had lower average prose, document, and quantitative literacy than adults living in households. On average, inmates also had lower levels of educational attainment than adults living in households. * In general, either prison inmates had lower average Prose, Document, and Quantitative literacy than adults living in households with the same level of educational attainment or there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The exception was that among adults without any high school education, prison inmates had higher average literacy on all three scales than adults living in households. * In 2003, 37 percent of the prison population did not have a high school diploma or a GED, compared with 49 percent in 1992. * Incarcerated White adults had lower average prose literacy than White adults living in households. Incarcerated Black and Hispanic adults had higher average prose literacy than Black and Hispanic adults living in households. * Between 1992 and 2003, average prose and quantitative literacy levels increased for prison inmates who were Black, male, or in the 25- to 39-year-old age group. For more information, please check NAAL web site at: nces.ed.gov/NAAL. Jaleh Behroozi Soroui Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI) American Institutes for Research 1990 K Street, NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20006 Phone: 202/403-6958 email: jsoroui at air.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070510/e1596670/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed May 16 11:16:31 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 11:16:31 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 948] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Professional Development Message-ID: <464AE80F0200002D0000248E@mail.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I hope some of you are participating in the discussion on the Adult Literacy Professional Development List about online and blended PD. * In light of that rich exploration going on this week, today's FOB Article-of-the-Week is about what factors influence the effect of PD activities on teachers, and tries to answer the question: "...why do some teachers get a lot from professional development, while others gain very little?" Pathways to Change:A Summary of Findings from NCSALL's Staff Development Study by Cristine Smith & Judy Hofer http://www.ncsall.net/?id=233 * You can subscribe or just "Read Current Posted Messages" at: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment Please write in and tell us how these findings mesh with your experience, or bring your thoughts to the discussion on the PD list! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From kabeall at comcast.net Wed May 16 15:48:02 2007 From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 15:48:02 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 949] New from NCSALL Message-ID: <00cf01c797f3$1fe44850$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6> Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 7, edited by John Comings, Barbara Garner, and Cristine Smith. This newest volume in the annual series from NCSALL presents chapters on the persistence of adult education students, adult education program quality, assistive technology, individualized group instruction, health literacy, research on professional development and teacher change, adult literacy and numeracy development in Australia, adult basic education in South Africa, and annotated bibliography on workplace education. For chapter summaries, visit the NCSALL Web site at http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1175. Includes chapters on: * the persistence of adult education students * adult education program quality * assistive technology * individualized group instruction * health literacy * research on professional development and teacher change * adult literacy and numeracy development in Australia * adult basic education in South Africa * annotated bibliography on workplace education To order the paper edition of the Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 7, for $25.00, a 30% discount, visit NCSALL's Web site at www.ncsall.net/?id=1002. To order the cloth edition at $135.00 or the paper edition at $35.00 Taylor & Francis Web site at www.taylorandfrancis.co.uk/. **************** Kaye Beall World Education 4401 S. Madison St. Muncie, IN 47302 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070516/40f2fdc3/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri May 18 11:15:25 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 11:15:25 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 950] Discussion next week on other list: NAAL results, Gender, Race and SES Message-ID: <464D8ACD0200002D00002570@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am passing on this announcement of a discussion next week on the Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy List. It will address the results of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) and what they tell us about America's literacy profile as it relates to gender, race and socioeconomic status. Please read on if you are interested. all the best, Julie *********************************** Gender, Race, SES and Adult Literacy: What does the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) tell us? When: May 21-May 29, 2007 Where: Poverty, Race, Women, and Literacy List. To subscribe (and later unsubscribe if you wish) go to: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen Guest Discussant: Elizabeth Greenberg Guest Bio: Elizabeth Greenberg, is a principal research analyst at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), and is AIR's Project Director for the 2008 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) Special Studies contract. She was also AIR's Deputy Project Director for the 2003 NAAL Design, Analysis, and Reporting contract. In her role as Deputy Project Director for the 2003 NAAL, she led the development of the NAAL background questionnaire and assessment items. She is a lead author or co-author of several reports based on the 2003 NAAL, including A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults in the 21st Century, The Health Literacy of America's Adults, Literacy in Everyday Life, Literacy Behind Bars, and the 2003 NAAL Public-Use Data File User's Guide. Elizabeth is also an author or co-author of several reports and articles based upon the 1992 adult literacy data, including English Literacy and Language Minorities in the United States. Resources for Discussion: Literacy in Everyday Life http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007480 A First Look at the Literacy of America?s Adults in the 21st Century http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006470 The Health Literacy of America?s Adults http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006483 Literacy Behind Bars http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007473 Key Points from NAAL 2003 related to Literacy, Gender, Race, and SES: Gender * Between 1992 and 2003, women's average document and quantitative literacy scores increased. During the same time period, men's average document literacy score decreased and there was no statistically significant change in average quantitative literacy for men. * Between 1992 and 2003, women's average prose literacy score stayed the same, while men's average prose literacy score decreased. * In 2003, women had higher average prose and document literacy than men, and men had higher average quantitative literacy than women. In 1992, there was no statistically significant difference between men and women in their average prose literacy, but men had higher average document and quantitative literacy than women. Race * Between 1992 and 2003, average prose, document, and quantitative literacy increased for Black adults. * Between 1992 and 2003, average prose and document literacy decreased for Hispanic adults. Average quantitative literacy did not change for Hispanic adults. The percentage of the adult population (age 16 and older) that identified themselves as Hispanic increased from 8 percent in 1992 to 12 percent in 2003. * Between 1992 and 2003, average prose literacy increased for Asian/Pacific Islander adults and there was no statistically significant change in average document and quantitative literacy for this group. * Between 1992 and 2003, there was no statistically significant change in average prose and document literacy for white adults, but there was an increase in quantitative literacy. SES * Among adults with Below Basic prose literacy, 26 percent lived in households with average incomes of less than $10,000 and only 7 percent lived i n households with average incomes of $60,000 or greater. Among and 65 percent lived in households with average incomes of $60,000 or greater. * Higher percentages of adults with higher literacy levels than adults with lower literacy levels were employed full-time, and lower percentages were out of the labor force. Sixty-four percent of adults with Proficient prose literacy were employed full-time, compared with 29 percent of adults with Below Basic prose literacy. Eighteen percent of adults with Proficient prose literacy were not in the labor force, compared with 57 percent of adults with Below Basic prose literacy. * The occupational groups with the highest average prose, document, and quantitative literacy scores were Professional and related and Management, Business, and Financial. The occupational groups with the lowest average prose document and quantitative literacy scores were Service; Farming, Fishing, and Forestry; Transportation and Material Moving; Production; and Construction and Extraction. Daphne Greenberg Assistant Professor Educational Psych. & Special Ed. Georgia State University P.O. Box 3979 Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979 phone: 404-651-0127 fax:404-651-4901 dgreenberg at gsu.edu ************************************ Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri May 18 11:19:04 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 11:19:04 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 951] Discussion next week on ESL List: implementing adult ESL content standards Message-ID: <464D8BA80200002D00002574@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, ...And here's another announcement of a discussion next week that may interest you. Please read on. Julie ***************** To subscribe to the Adult English Language Learners discussion list, go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Englishlanguage and click on Subscribe ****************** Please join us for an upcoming discussion on implementing adult ESL content standards from May 21-25. The discussion will be facilitated by Kirsten Schaetzel and Sarah Young of the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA). Kirsten and Sarah will be joined by adult ESL practitioners using standards in the field, including Dr. Lesley Tomaszewski of the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) and Karen Gianninoto of the Maryland State Department of Education. Before beginning the discussion, we would like to provide some background information about standards-based instruction based on two recent CAELA briefs: "Understanding Adult ESL Content Standards" (September 2006, http://www.cal.org/CAELA/esl_resources/briefs/contentstandards.html ) and "Using Adult ESL Content Standards" (March 2007, http://www.cal.org/CAELA/esl_resources/briefs/usingcontstandards.html ). Content standards are broadly defined as what learners should know and be able to do in a certain subject or practical domain. They describe the knowledge and skills that students will have upon successful completion of an instructional program. Although standards are the foundation for designing curricula, instruction, and assessment, they do not stipulate the types of lesson plans, activities, or teaching methodologies that should be used. Content standards, curriculum frameworks, and resource guides that states have developed can provide guidance to local programs and practitioners in developing effective curriculum and instruction. Standards-based education has been a part of K-12 instruction and assessment for quite some time now, but it is a relatively new addition to the adult basic education and adult ESL fields. There are many adult ESL standards-based initiatives currently in development or in use, such as the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse (http://www.adultedcontentstandards.ed.gov ) where sets of adult ESL content standards from ten states, CASAS, and Equipped for the Future (EFF) are available for download. The Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki Web site on Standards (http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Standards ) provides a list of existing and in-development adult education standards, curriculum frameworks, and resource guides from over 20 states, as well as links to standards from four other English-speaking countries. The Standards-In-Action project, funded by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, is working with six pilot states to develop professional development and resources for implementing standards in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. As we prepare to begin our discussion on what adult ESL content standards are and how they are used to improve instruction and learning, please consider the following questions. We look forward to hearing your responses and examining additional questions focused on implementing standards in adult ESL. How are English language acquisition and skills development approached in content standards, and how does this differ from previous methods of ESL instruction? Many people on this list have children in standards-based K-12 programs or who have taught in a K-12 setting. How do adult standards compare to K-12 standards? What can we learn or apply from K-12 standards-based education, in terms of research on instructional methods, activities, and materials, assessment, and professional development? What professional development and supplementary materials are needed to facilitate adult ESL standards implementation? How can we know if adult ESL standards-based instruction and assessment are beneficial for students, teachers, and programs? We will be posting some preliminary thoughts about these questions next week, and look forward to hearing from practitioners and administrators in the field who have experience with adult ESL content standards or who are interested in learning more. Sincerely, Sarah Young & Kirsten Schaetzel Center for Adult English Language Acquisition www.cal.org/caela ************************************************* Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From b.garner4 at verizon.net Fri May 18 13:13:08 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 12:13:08 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 952] Editorial board members? Message-ID: <4381328.5410051179508388255.JavaMail.root@vms069.mailsrvcs.net> Hi, As I wrote a few weeks ago, World Education, a non-profit that served as NCSALL's dissemination arm for 10 years, is going to publish at least two more issues of "Focus on Basics". (All back issues are at www.ncsall.net, click on the "Focus on Basics" box to the right) Learning Disabilites is going to be the theme of one of them. I'm looking for editorial board members and for writers. I'll focus on editorial board members in this posting, and discuss writing in another. Editorial board members commit to reading each article and participating in conference calls during which the board discusses the articles. I use that feedback to work with the authors. Each article goes through at least three revisions. The time commitment is roughly the equivalent of reading a full issue of "Focus on Basics" thoroughly, three times, and participating in at least 10 hours of conference calls. This will take place off and on over the summer and into September. We try to find one week day that works for everyone and hold our calls on that day, but given folks' summer schedules, it's likely that each board member will miss at least one or two calls. If anyone on the list has participated as an editorial board member, please share your experiences with the list (good and bad) so folks know what they're volunteering for (we offer a measly stipend). Board members have said it's fun to work in a national group and to look at manuscripts in this way. If you're interested, let me know off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net Tell me a little bit about yourself, any LD or editing experience, and any suggestions you have for how we can improve "Focus on Basics". My selection process tends to be based on "first come first served" with a eye to geographic distribution. So if I don't have room for you, please don't take it personally! Thanks, Barbara Garner Sharon, MA From b.garner4 at verizon.net Fri May 18 13:27:13 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 12:27:13 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 953] Writers, Articles on LD Message-ID: <28679369.5414281179509233176.JavaMail.root@vms069.mailsrvcs.net> What articles would you like to see in the upcoming issue of Focus on Basics, on LD? Do you have LD-related research (could be formal, academic type research or teacher research or action research) to share? Have you as a teacher, a program, or a state grappled with issues of LD and made significant changes as a result? Can others learn from your experiences? I'm looking for writers and for article ideas. Share your experiences on the list, or contact me off list, at b.garner4 at verizon.net I look forward to hearing from you, Regards, Barb Garner From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon May 21 14:07:52 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 14:07:52 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 954] See Learning Disabilities List for informal talk of next FOB issue! Message-ID: <4651A7B90200002D000025D6@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I hope the excitement of Barb's announcemnt about TWO MORE ISSUES OF FOB didn't get lost in our last discussion about research dissemination! Yes, It's very exciting, and Barb is busy working on those now. It looks like one will be dedicated to Learning Disabilities, and the folks on the Learning Disabilities List are discussing some ideas for articles and current research. Please take a look if you are interested, go to: www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/learningdisabilities Even if you are not subscribed, you can "Read the Current Posted Messages" by clicking on that at the top. Feel free to add your ideas for this and the other upcoming issue (still looking for a theme) on this list! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From bgiven at gmu.edu Wed May 23 07:44:11 2007 From: bgiven at gmu.edu (Barbara K Given) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 07:44:11 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 955] Re: Editorial board members? In-Reply-To: <4381328.5410051179508388255.JavaMail.root@vms069.mailsrvcs.net> References: <4381328.5410051179508388255.JavaMail.root@vms069.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: In way of response from Barbara regarding experiences on the Editorial Board for Focus on Basics, as a recent member I found the opportunity quite rewarding and informative. It was a professional growth experience to read the manuscripts and discuss the pros and cons with other Board members. If you ask to be a Board member, I believe you will find it quite rewarding. Best regards, barb given Barbara K. Given, Ph.D. Director, Adolescent and Adult Learning Research Center Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, and Director, Center for Honoring Individual Learning Diversity, an International Learning Styles Center George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030-4444 Fax: 703-993-4325 Ph: 703-993-4406 ----- Original Message ----- From: Barbara Garner Date: Friday, May 18, 2007 1:13 pm Subject: [FocusOnBasics 952] Editorial board members? > Hi, > As I wrote a few weeks ago, World Education, a non-profit that > served as NCSALL's dissemination arm for 10 years, is going to > publish at least two more issues of "Focus on Basics". (All back > issues are at www.ncsall.net, click on the "Focus on Basics" box > to the right) > > Learning Disabilites is going to be the theme of one of them. > I'm looking for editorial board members and for writers. > I'll focus on editorial board members in this posting, and discuss > writing in another. > > Editorial board members commit to reading each article and > participating in conference calls during which the board discusses > the articles. I use that feedback to work with the authors. Each > article goes through at least three revisions. The time commitment > is roughly the equivalent of reading a full issue of "Focus on > Basics" thoroughly, three times, and participating in at least 10 > hours of conference calls. This will take place off and on over > the summer and into September. We try to find one week day that > works for everyone and hold our calls on that day, but given > folks' summer schedules, it's likely that each board member will > miss at least one or two calls. > > If anyone on the list has participated as an editorial board > member, please share your experiences with the list (good and bad) > so folks know what they're volunteering for (we offer a measly > stipend). Board members have said it's fun to work in a national > group and to look at manuscripts in this way. > > If you're interested, let me know off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net > Tell me a little bit about yourself, any LD or editing experience, > and any suggestions you have for how we can improve "Focus on Basics". > > My selection process tends to be based on "first come first > served" with a eye to geographic distribution. So if I don't have > room for you, please don't take it personally! > > Thanks, > Barbara Garner > > Sharon, MA > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasicsMessage sent to > bgiven at gmu.edu. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed May 23 11:39:25 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 11:39:25 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 956] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Evaluating Web Sites for Literacy Instruction Message-ID: <465427EB.9F1B.002D.0@worlded.org> Hi Everyone, This week's FOB Article-of-the-Week is about evaluating web sites for use in literacy classes. It is from issue 4C, which is all about Technology. Choosing and Using Web Sites for Literacy Instruction: Evaluation Resources and Strategies by Emily Hacker http://www.ncsall.net/?id=312 This article discusses the factors to look for in choosing appropriate web sites, links to helpful projects for guidance, includes an easy-to-use evaluation form, and touches on accessibility for disabled users. As always with an older article (this is from 2000), I ask you to think about what has changed since this was written. I think it still provides a good reminder for all of us who use the web in classrooms, but I invite you all to share with us other issues that have arisen since then that we should be aware of. I look forward to hearing some thoughts! You can find the whole Technology issue of FOB at: http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=155 All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From b.garner4 at verizon.net Wed May 23 13:23:54 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 12:23:54 -0500 (CDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 957] Re: =?utf-8?q?=C3=82=C2=A0Editorial_board_members=3F?= Message-ID: <15325207.851671179941034226.JavaMail.root@vms074.mailsrvcs.net> Thanks, Barbara. I know I always learn from the board, both about the theme of the issue, and about how programs and systems work in other parts of the country. The board for the LD issue is now complete, but in about a month I'll be advertising for the board of the next issue, so make a mental note to look for that email if you're interested. We still need examples of research-based practice in LD if you're thinking about writing for the LD issue. Contact me off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net with your story idea. Regards, Barb Garner Editor, Focus on Basics Massachusetts ===================== From: Barbara K Given Date: 2007/05/23 Wed AM 06:44:11 CDT To: b.garner4 at verizon.net, The Focus on Basics Discussion List Cc: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics 952] Editorial board members? In way of response from Barbara regarding experiences on the Editorial Board for Focus on Basics, as a recent member I found the opportunity quite rewarding and informative. It was a professional growth experience to read the manuscripts and discuss the pros and cons with other Board members. If you ask to be a Board member, I believe you will find it quite rewarding. Best regards, barb given Barbara K. Given, Ph.D. Director, Adolescent and Adult Learning Research Center Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, and Director, Center for Honoring Individual Learning Diversity, an International Learning Styles Center George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030-4444 Fax: 703-993-4325 Ph: 703-993-4406 ----- Original Message ----- From: Barbara Garner Date: Friday, May 18, 2007 1:13 pm Subject: [FocusOnBasics 952] Editorial board members? > Hi, > As I wrote a few weeks ago, World Education, a non-profit that > served as NCSALL's dissemination arm for 10 years, is going to > publish at least two more issues of "Focus on Basics". (All back > issues are at www.ncsall.net, click on the "Focus on Basics" box > to the right) > > Learning Disabilites is going to be the theme of one of them. > I'm looking for editorial board members and for writers. > I'll focus on editorial board members in this posting, and discuss > writing in another. > > Editorial board members commit to reading each article and > participating in conference calls during which the board discusses > the articles. I use that feedback to work with the authors. Each > article goes through at least three revisions. The time commitment > is roughly the equivalent of reading a full issue of "Focus on > Basics" thoroughly, three times, and participating in at least 10 > hours of conference calls. This will take place off and on over > the summer and into September. We try to find one week day that > works for everyone and hold our calls on that day, but given > folks' summer schedules, it's likely that each board member will > miss at least one or two calls. > > If anyone on the list has participated as an editorial board > member, please share your experiences with the list (good and bad) > so folks know what they're volunteering for (we offer a measly > stipend). Board members have said it's fun to work in a national > group and to look at manuscripts in this way. > > If you're interested, let me know off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net > Tell me a little bit about yourself, any LD or editing experience, > and any suggestions you have for how we can improve "Focus on Basics". > > My selection process tends to be based on "first come first > served" with a eye to geographic distribution. So if I don't have > room for you, please don't take it personally! > > Thanks, > Barbara Garner > > Sharon, MA > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasicsMessage sent to > bgiven at gmu.edu. From atoops at ohioliteracynetwork.org Wed May 23 13:36:28 2007 From: atoops at ohioliteracynetwork.org (Alan Toops) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 13:36:28 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 958] Re: Editorial board members? In-Reply-To: <4381328.5410051179508388255.JavaMail.root@vms069.mailsrvcs.net> References: <4381328.5410051179508388255.JavaMail.root@vms069.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: <83214801-D268-4331-ADBB-A129DE6B1DAF@ohioliteracynetwork.org> Barbara, As the Executive Director of the Ohio Literacy Network and a long time advocate for Learning issues, I am willing to volunteer to be an editorial board member. I also volunteer time with the Executive Board of the National Association for Adults with Special Learning Needs. sincerely, Alan Toops Executive Director Ohio Literacy Network On May 18, 2007, at 1:13 PM, Barbara Garner wrote: > Hi, > As I wrote a few weeks ago, World Education, a non-profit that > served as NCSALL's dissemination arm for 10 years, is going to > publish at least two more issues of "Focus on Basics". (All back > issues are at www.ncsall.net, click on the "Focus on Basics" box to > the right) > > Learning Disabilites is going to be the theme of one of them. > I'm looking for editorial board members and for writers. > I'll focus on editorial board members in this posting, and discuss > writing in another. > > Editorial board members commit to reading each article and > participating in conference calls during which the board discusses > the articles. I use that feedback to work with the authors. Each > article goes through at least three revisions. The time commitment > is roughly the equivalent of reading a full issue of "Focus on > Basics" thoroughly, three times, and participating in at least 10 > hours of conference calls. This will take place off and on over the > summer and into September. We try to find one week day that works > for everyone and hold our calls on that day, but given folks' > summer schedules, it's likely that each board member will miss at > least one or two calls. > > If anyone on the list has participated as an editorial board > member, please share your experiences with the list (good and bad) > so folks know what they're volunteering for (we offer a measly > stipend). Board members have said it's fun to work in a national > group and to look at manuscripts in this way. > > If you're interested, let me know off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net > Tell me a little bit about yourself, any LD or editing experience, > and any suggestions you have for how we can improve "Focus on Basics". > > My selection process tends to be based on "first come first served" > with a eye to geographic distribution. So if I don't have room for > you, please don't take it personally! > > Thanks, > Barbara Garner > > Sharon, MA > > > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > Message sent to atoops at ohioliteracynetwork.org. > Alan Toops atoops at ohioliteracynetwork.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070523/b0ff2f6a/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue May 29 21:35:46 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 21:35:46 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 959] FOB Article-f-the-Week: Inquiry-Based Staff Development Message-ID: <465C9CB30200002D0000272F@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, In our recent discussion about disseminating research, we talked about practitioner research, and it seems there has been a lot of talk lately about models of professional development. This week's article is from issue 2C and talks about the process of inquiry-based staff development, which relates to both. Facilitating Inquiry-Based Staff Development: While helping teachers to change, staff developers must be open to changing, too. by Jereann King http://www.ncsall.net/?id=392 "Inquiry-based staff development is a process in which practitioners come together with colleagues over a period of time to systematically explore issues, questions, or problems emerging in their work. The framework for organizing inquiry-based staff development can differ from context to context, but always involves reflecting on practice, formulating problem statements, taking new action or trying out new approaches, and evaluating their effectiveness. In theory, inquiry-based staff development, like learner-centered, participatory adult literacy, is about respecting experience, culture, knowledge; it is about sharing power and taking new actions. It is a way of learning that places practitioners and their practice at the center of the learning process. This article is about the tensions and contradictions [the author] experienced facilitating a practitioner-inquiry-as-staff-development project." Has anyone been involved in this kind of staff development? What are the challenges? What are the benefits? What advice do you have for others who are facilitating this? I'd love to hear from some of you! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From biancom at q7.com Sat Jun 2 19:19:55 2007 From: biancom at q7.com (Martha J. Bianco, Ph.D.) Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2007 16:19:55 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 960] FOB Article-f-the-Week: Inquiry-Based Staff Development References: Message-ID: <013001c7a56c$87dd0b50$ac00000a@marthalifebook> Greetings! I have some experience with the "inquiry-based model" for both the educator and the learner. I am happy to share what little I know. Brief Background -------------------- Although I am currently an ABE/ESOL educator with the county, my last teaching post was with Portland State University's relatively innovative undergraduate program known as University Studies. The program replaces the traditional undergraduate model with which most of us are familiar. The crux of the program is "inquiry-based learning," and the "inquiry" approach extends to both students and faculty. The original goal was that it would extend to everyone, so that the entire learning community of this large urban university would be on the same page as far as the format, theory, and parts and pieces that make up inquiry-based pedagogy. I would be happy to discuss the inquiry-based model of learning as we at PSU envisioned it for the student in a later message if there is any interest. For now, I will address the original topic, which is inquiry-based educator development. First, I think it's necessary to say that faculty in the University Studies program taught in teams, and each team had a "theme" that it addressed over the course of a year. Team members teach separate sections of their courses, but try to coordinate thematic materials, readings, and projects. Every team must teach to four pedagogical goals over the course of a year (critical thinking, ethics, language arts, and quantitative literacy); within those goals, we had to deliver course content that touched on the traditional university survey subject matter such as sociology, history, psychology, science, statistics, and writing. The entire program was learner directed as much as was possible. Also, each faculty member had a student "mentor" -- a upper-division or grad student who worked as a peer mentor with the students in the class during special "mentor sessions," which were held outside regular class time. I hope this is neither too much nor too little background for me to get to the question at hand, "inquiry-based staff development." So, here goes: Overview of Inquiry-Based Model in Practice -------------------------------------------------- As we at PSU conceived inquiry-based learning, at the center is the PORTFOLIO. Every participant -- each student, each faculty member, each mentor, etc. -- ideally has a portfolio. The portfolio is, ideally, web based or at least in digital format so that it can be shared with ease. Beyond the portfolio, the fundamental pieces that I identified of what I came to call "portfolio thinking" are GOAL SETTING, ASSESSMENT, REFLECTION, GOAL REVISION. These are also the components of what I understand to be inquiry-based learning. What I would do, as an educator, at the beginning of each phase of a learning/teaching experience (we tried not to draw hard lines between learning and teaching but rather spoke of the "learning community" and of ourselves as participants in this community) was to articulate my GOALS: what did I want to achieve with a certain assignment, activity, project, etc.? I tended to make these goals public (posted on the class website) as part of the assignment, so that students would always know WHY I was presenting them with a particular learning activity. So, suppose, for example, that the activity was peer-reviewing of first drafts of term papers. After the first iteration of the activity, I would then ASSESS how it went for me. The greatest challenge, for myself and for students, was to keep the assessment about ME, not about them (and, on their part, for them to assess themselves, not me). It seems that our tendency is to jump right in to evaluating the other; if there was a problem with the assignment, we tend to try to cast "blame" on the other party -- if we are educators, we tend to identify where the students dropped the ball; if we are students, we tend to point out where the teacher let us down. In true inquiry-based thinking, as I understand it, it is essential that one assesses oneself. What were MY strengths and weaknesses as far as MY PART of this assignment (which was to guide the students in the peer-reviewing activity)? The assessment portion leads almost immediately to and overlaps with the REFLECTION portion. For the example at hand, I remember evaluating myself and reflecting upon how I set up the assignment, as far as the logistics of it went (it was a complete disaster -- which is why this example stands out for me). It didn't work. Why? What could I have done differently? [It's important for me to stress that my knee-jerk reaction was to blame the students and to list the many ways they "failed" at executing the project -- but once I remember that I must evaluate MYSELF and leave the students out of my assessment, the process becomes far more productive.] In thinking about the many things I could have done differently and how I would change the assignment next time around, I eventually came (and this is the intention, I think, of inquiry-based thinking) down to the basic question of WHY? What, really, was the purpose, the goal of the assignment? Is it possible that it failed because the educational activity (peer reviewing) was poorly or weakly connected to a specific pedagogical goal? What, really, was I trying to achieve? Could I really identify a specific pedagogical goal and, if so, could I really justify this activity (peer reviewing) as the best-practices approach? Certainly, we all "know" that peer-reviewing activities are "supposed" to be wonderful and productive, but maybe that's a myth -- or maybe the activity didn't fit my class in the way it might have elsewhere. Or maybe I just didn't do a good job. The key here is that in the assessment and reflection process, I, as an educator, really delve into the functional theory behind my practice. In the end, I pronounced the exercise as a failure and admitted that it was a mistake. I shared my analysis not just with my colleagues (my other team members), but with my mentor and, perhaps most significantly, with my students, who were, after all, the consumers of my work product. Simultaneously, as I am assessing and reflecting upon the activity as a whole, how I executed it, its rationale, etc., the students are doing the same as far as their part in the production of knowledge that is occurring in our learning community (this all sounds much more ideal than in practice it was, but nevertheless, this is the way many of us genuinely tried to conceptualize and execute the process). Students would write an assessment of what they did in terms of actual benchmark standards we faculty had developed for each of the four goals (critical thinking, ethics, language arts, and quantitative literacy). They would reflect on what they learned, how the experience was for them, and, most importantly, what they would do differently. What is so essential here is that in order for students to become self-directed learners, they must learn to take charge of their learning. So, the piece about what they would do differently is important. In the early stages, most students are inclined to say that what they would do differently would be to "try harder," "take the assignment more seriously," "be more responsible about working with their peer," and so on. But as time went on, and with guidance from faculty, the hope is that they would learn to say things like, "What I would do differently would be to decide whether this assignment really had merit for me as far as my goals as a learner and to set up a time with the professor to talk to her about what would actually serve my learning needs better." In theory and in practice, students don't really reach this stage until the end of their learning time (e.g., four years of undergraduate learning). The educator should already be at that place, though, ready to critique self and system and to identify and articulate changes. This is why Step 4 involves SETTING NEW GOALS, that is, both reframing the exercise in terms of a new and improved set of goals AND determining in the first place whether those original goals even have pedagogical merit. With my peer-reviewing activity, what was I really trying to achieve? If the pedagogical goal was valid, how could I improve the activity so that it worked better OR could I achieve the goal with a different activity? Conclusions ------------- Challenges: a.. time: smoothly incorporating the four-step process of goal setting, assessment, reflection, and setting new goals -- all of which is done in a portfolio manner, that is, online so that it can be shared with colleagues -- into regular lesson planning activities constitutes yet one more thing the educator needs to do b.. owning what's yours: it's very hard for all parties involved to avoid the temptation to blame the others (the administration, the students, your fellow team members); but it's mandatory to do so, because your inquiry process is about YOU, not about them; your assessment and reflection are around YOUR GOALS, not theirs c.. keeping up and staying committed: one really needs to believe in the process, even if (as was the case for me) this means making it your own, rather than just following the steps laid out by administrators. In fact, they were rather silent about the process and had minimal requirements. In order for the inquiry- and portfolio-based model to work, one truly needs to be invested and committed. This may involve researching the entire process and evaluating it with sound program evaluation techniques d.. staff-based buy-in: related to the above, this really cannot be a top-down (that is, from administrator-to-teaching staff) process. While the administrators can and should facilitate the process by providing informational retreats, time, and compensation, the details of the process need to be defined, owned, and refined by the actors in the process (in this case, the teaching staff) Benefits: a.. growth: if done with genuine commitment, one cannot help but learn and grow as an educator (or, if a student, then as a learner); the growth extends beyond growth as an educator to growth as a person. Personal development becomes very clear and tangible, because you are actually recording it as it happens. It's all very purposeful. I still benefit from this mode of thinking on my present job. b.. collegiality: One purpose of the inquiry model is to share your portfolio. As your team members read what you have to say, this initiates dialogue and, at least in the case of this team approach, true collegial support. c.. portfolio building: ideally, the portfolio portion becomes part of one's promotion and advancement materials and process. I have come up with a way of including the inquiry-based portfolio thinking into my resume. A prospective employer can read about how I developed a project, assessed it, reflected upon it, and changed it. Also, the whole thing is supposed to be digital; so, I either have it on the web or on a disk to hand over to someone. Advice: a.. Find a way to be invested and take the approach seriously. If you don't believe in it, it won't work. You'll simply resent what you'll see as "extra work" and unsupported "top-down visioning" b.. Inquiry-based portfolio thinking is part of the individual-directed learning community approach to pedagogy; therefore, it's important to keep in mind that you are not working in a vacuum, but as part of a teaching team and a larger community -- one that includes your students. You mustn't be afraid to share with them; they will appreciate and value your honesty and respect you even more c.. Be patient; it takes a long time not only to understand what the process is all about but to make it actually work; it's a fundamental shift, so it's not like getting a haircut one day -- waking up with a short bob where you once had waist-long hair. It's more like waking up after finding out you're pregnant or that you have a life-altering disease or something; it's going to take time and there will be a lot of mistakes along the way. As I think back on my experience at PSU with what we called (using current pedagogical buzz terms) "inquiry-based learning," "student-centered [or student-directed] learning," "project-based learning," "portfolios," and "learning community," I realize that while these ideas are widespread, I wonder if more often than not they are just theoretical banners we wave over what we're doing without any real substantive change occurring at the front-line level. When I doubt the depth of true change, I wonder how much of what is lacking is due to underfunded mandates and dictates coming from administrators on down to the front-line, street-level providers (the teachers). I think I cannot overstate the importance of staff buy-in and adequate compensation for time invested in development of substitute lesson plans necessary for training sessions, time spent in training sessions, and extra time necessary for implementing new procedures that reflect the updated state-of-the-art vision regarding learning processes. In this regard, I think it should be mandatory that administrators participate as fully as the teachers in the inquiry-based process of goal setting, SELF EVALUATION, REFLECTION, and setting of new goals, all the while communicating openly with staff about what their own inquiry process has revealed. Now that would really facilitate a learning community! I hope some of this is useful. Sincerely, Martha J. Bianco, Ph.D. ABE/ESOL Educator Multnomah County Department of Community Justice Londer Learning Center Portland, Oregon ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 21:35:46 -0400 > From: "Julie McKinney" > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 959] FOB Article-f-the-Week: Inquiry-Based > Staff Development > To: > Message-ID: <465C9CB30200002D0000272F at bostongwia.jsi.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > Hi Everyone, > > In our recent discussion about disseminating research, we talked about > practitioner research, and it seems there has been a lot of talk lately > about models of professional development. This week's article is from > issue 2C and talks about the process of inquiry-based staff development, > which relates to both. > > Facilitating Inquiry-Based Staff Development: > While helping teachers to change, staff developers must be open to > changing, too. > by Jereann King > http://www.ncsall.net/?id=392 > > "Inquiry-based staff development is a process in which practitioners > come together with colleagues over a period of time to systematically > explore issues, questions, or problems emerging in their work. The > framework for organizing inquiry-based staff development can differ from > context to context, but always involves reflecting on practice, > formulating problem statements, taking new action or trying out new > approaches, and evaluating their effectiveness. In theory, inquiry-based > staff development, like learner-centered, participatory adult literacy, > is about respecting experience, culture, knowledge; it is about sharing > power and taking new actions. It is a way of learning that places > practitioners and their practice at the center of the learning process. > This article is about the tensions and contradictions [the author] > experienced facilitating a practitioner-inquiry-as-staff-development > project." > > Has anyone been involved in this kind of staff development? > What are the challenges? > What are the benefits? > What advice do you have for others who are facilitating this? > > I'd love to hear from some of you! > > All the best, > Julie > > > > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > > > ------------------------------ > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 20, Issue 26 > ********************************************* > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070602/0a7fc658/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Jun 4 14:00:22 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:00:22 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 961] Re: FOB Article-f-the-Week: Inquiry-Based Staff Development Message-ID: <46641AF70200002D00002830@bostongwia.jsi.com> Martha, Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and analysis of this process! It was so nice that you included your conclusions and advice as well! Does anyone else have experience with this type of process, or any questions for Martha? All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org >>> "Martha J. Bianco, Ph.D." 06/02/07 7:19 PM >>> Greetings! I have some experience with the "inquiry-based model" for both the educator and the learner. I am happy to share what little I know. Brief Background -------------------- Although I am currently an ABE/ESOL educator with the county, my last teaching post was with Portland State University's relatively innovative undergraduate program known as University Studies. The program replaces the traditional undergraduate model with which most of us are familiar. The crux of the program is "inquiry-based learning," and the "inquiry" approach extends to both students and faculty. The original goal was that it would extend to everyone, so that the entire learning community of this large urban university would be on the same page as far as the format, theory, and parts and pieces that make up inquiry-based pedagogy. I would be happy to discuss the inquiry-based model of learning as we at PSU envisioned it for the student in a later message if there is any interest. For now, I will address the original topic, which is inquiry-based educator development. First, I think it's necessary to say that faculty in the University Studies program taught in teams, and each team had a "theme" that it addressed over the course of a year. Team members teach separate sections of their courses, but try to coordinate thematic materials, readings, and projects. Every team must teach to four pedagogical goals over the course of a year (critical thinking, ethics, language arts, and quantitative literacy); within those goals, we had to deliver course content that touched on the traditional university survey subject matter such as sociology, history, psychology, science, statistics, and writing. The entire program was learner directed as much as was possible. Also, each faculty member had a student "mentor" -- a upper-division or grad student who worked as a peer mentor with the students in the class during special "mentor sessions," which were held outside regular class time. I hope this is neither too much nor too little background for me to get to the question at hand, "inquiry-based staff development." So, here goes: Overview of Inquiry-Based Model in Practice -------------------------------------------------- As we at PSU conceived inquiry-based learning, at the center is the PORTFOLIO. Every participant -- each student, each faculty member, each mentor, etc. -- ideally has a portfolio. The portfolio is, ideally, web based or at least in digital format so that it can be shared with ease. Beyond the portfolio, the fundamental pieces that I identified of what I came to call "portfolio thinking" are GOAL SETTING, ASSESSMENT, REFLECTION, GOAL REVISION. These are also the components of what I understand to be inquiry-based learning. What I would do, as an educator, at the beginning of each phase of a learning/teaching experience (we tried not to draw hard lines between learning and teaching but rather spoke of the "learning community" and of ourselves as participants in this community) was to articulate my GOALS: what did I want to achieve with a certain assignment, activity, project, etc.? I tended to make these goals public (posted on the class website) as part of the assignment, so that students would always know WHY I was presenting them with a particular learning activity. So, suppose, for example, that the activity was peer-reviewing of first drafts of term papers. After the first iteration of the activity, I would then ASSESS how it went for me. The greatest challenge, for myself and for students, was to keep the assessment about ME, not about them (and, on their part, for them to assess themselves, not me). It seems that our tendency is to jump right in to evaluating the other; if there was a problem with the assignment, we tend to try to cast "blame" on the other party -- if we are educators, we tend to identify where the students dropped the ball; if we are students, we tend to point out where the teacher let us down. In true inquiry-based thinking, as I understand it, it is essential that one assesses oneself. What were MY strengths and weaknesses as far as MY PART of this assignment (which was to guide the students in the peer-reviewing activity)? The assessment portion leads almost immediately to and overlaps with the REFLECTION portion. For the example at hand, I remember evaluating myself and reflecting upon how I set up the assignment, as far as the logistics of it went (it was a complete disaster -- which is why this example stands out for me). It didn't work. Why? What could I have done differently? [It's important for me to stress that my knee-jerk reaction was to blame the students and to list the many ways they "failed" at executing the project -- but once I remember that I must evaluate MYSELF and leave the students out of my assessment, the process becomes far more productive.] In thinking about the many things I could have done differently and how I would change the assignment next time around, I eventually came (and this is the intention, I think, of inquiry-based thinking) down to the basic question of WHY? What, really, was the purpose, the goal of the assignment? Is it possible that it failed because the educational activity (peer reviewing) was poorly or weakly connected to a specific pedagogical goal? What, really, was I trying to achieve? Could I really identify a specific pedagogical goal and, if so, could I really justify this activity (peer reviewing) as the best-practices approach? Certainly, we all "know" that peer-reviewing activities are "supposed" to be wonderful and productive, but maybe that's a myth -- or maybe the activity didn't fit my class in the way it might have elsewhere. Or maybe I just didn't do a good job. The key here is that in the assessment and reflection process, I, as an educator, really delve into the functional theory behind my practice. In the end, I pronounced the exercise as a failure and admitted that it was a mistake. I shared my analysis not just with my colleagues (my other team members), but with my mentor and, perhaps most significantly, with my students, who were, after all, the consumers of my work product. Simultaneously, as I am assessing and reflecting upon the activity as a whole, how I executed it, its rationale, etc., the students are doing the same as far as their part in the production of knowledge that is occurring in our learning community (this all sounds much more ideal than in practice it was, but nevertheless, this is the way many of us genuinely tried to conceptualize and execute the process). Students would write an assessment of what they did in terms of actual benchmark standards we faculty had developed for each of the four goals (critical thinking, ethics, language arts, and quantitative literacy). They would reflect on what they learned, how the experience was for them, and, most importantly, what they would do differently. What is so essential here is that in order for students to become self-directed learners, they must learn to take charge of their learning. So, the piece about what they would do differently is important. In the early stages, most students are inclined to say that what they would do differently would be to "try harder," "take the assignment more seriously," "be more responsible about working with their peer," and so on. But as time went on, and with guidance from faculty, the hope is that they would learn to say things like, "What I would do differently would be to decide whether this assignment really had merit for me as far as my goals as a learner and to set up a time with the professor to talk to her about what would actually serve my learning needs better." In theory and in practice, students don't really reach this stage until the end of their learning time (e.g., four years of undergraduate learning). The educator should already be at that place, though, ready to critique self and system and to identify and articulate changes. This is why Step 4 involves SETTING NEW GOALS, that is, both reframing the exercise in terms of a new and improved set of goals AND determining in the first place whether those original goals even have pedagogical merit. With my peer-reviewing activity, what was I really trying to achieve? If the pedagogical goal was valid, how could I improve the activity so that it worked better OR could I achieve the goal with a different activity? Conclusions ------------- Challenges: a.. time: smoothly incorporating the four-step process of goal setting, assessment, reflection, and setting new goals -- all of which is done in a portfolio manner, that is, online so that it can be shared with colleagues -- into regular lesson planning activities constitutes yet one more thing the educator needs to do b.. owning what's yours: it's very hard for all parties involved to avoid the temptation to blame the others (the administration, the students, your fellow team members); but it's mandatory to do so, because your inquiry process is about YOU, not about them; your assessment and reflection are around YOUR GOALS, not theirs c.. keeping up and staying committed: one really needs to believe in the process, even if (as was the case for me) this means making it your own, rather than just following the steps laid out by administrators. In fact, they were rather silent about the process and had minimal requirements. In order for the inquiry- and portfolio-based model to work, one truly needs to be invested and committed. This may involve researching the entire process and evaluating it with sound program evaluation techniques d.. staff-based buy-in: related to the above, this really cannot be a top-down (that is, from administrator-to-teaching staff) process. While the administrators can and should facilitate the process by providing informational retreats, time, and compensation, the details of the process need to be defined, owned, and refined by the actors in the process (in this case, the teaching staff) Benefits: a.. growth: if done with genuine commitment, one cannot help but learn and grow as an educator (or, if a student, then as a learner); the growth extends beyond growth as an educator to growth as a person. Personal development becomes very clear and tangible, because you are actually recording it as it happens. It's all very purposeful. I still benefit from this mode of thinking on my present job. b.. collegiality: One purpose of the inquiry model is to share your portfolio. As your team members read what you have to say, this initiates dialogue and, at least in the case of this team approach, true collegial support. c.. portfolio building: ideally, the portfolio portion becomes part of one's promotion and advancement materials and process. I have come up with a way of including the inquiry-based portfolio thinking into my resume. A prospective employer can read about how I developed a project, assessed it, reflected upon it, and changed it. Also, the whole thing is supposed to be digital; so, I either have it on the web or on a disk to hand over to someone. Advice: a.. Find a way to be invested and take the approach seriously. If you don't believe in it, it won't work. You'll simply resent what you'll see as "extra work" and unsupported "top-down visioning" b.. Inquiry-based portfolio thinking is part of the individual-directed learning community approach to pedagogy; therefore, it's important to keep in mind that you are not working in a vacuum, but as part of a teaching team and a larger community -- one that includes your students. You mustn't be afraid to share with them; they will appreciate and value your honesty and respect you even more c.. Be patient; it takes a long time not only to understand what the process is all about but to make it actually work; it's a fundamental shift, so it's not like getting a haircut one day -- waking up with a short bob where you once had waist-long hair. It's more like waking up after finding out you're pregnant or that you have a life-altering disease or something; it's going to take time and there will be a lot of mistakes along the way. As I think back on my experience at PSU with what we called (using current pedagogical buzz terms) "inquiry-based learning," "student-centered [or student-directed] learning," "project-based learning," "portfolios," and "learning community," I realize that while these ideas are widespread, I wonder if more often than not they are just theoretical banners we wave over what we're doing without any real substantive change occurring at the front-line level. When I doubt the depth of true change, I wonder how much of what is lacking is due to underfunded mandates and dictates coming from administrators on down to the front-line, street-level providers (the teachers). I think I cannot overstate the importance of staff buy-in and adequate compensation for time invested in development of substitute lesson plans necessary for training sessions, time spent in training sessions, and extra time necessary for implementing new procedures that reflect the updated state-of-the-art vision regarding learning processes. In this regard, I think it should be mandatory that administrators participate as fully as the teachers in the inquiry-based process of goal setting, SELF EVALUATION, REFLECTION, and setting of new goals, all the while communicating openly with staff about what their own inquiry process has revealed. Now that would really facilitate a learning community! I hope some of this is useful. Sincerely, Martha J. Bianco, Ph.D. ABE/ESOL Educator Multnomah County Department of Community Justice Londer Learning Center Portland, Oregon ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 21:35:46 -0400 > From: "Julie McKinney" > Subject: [FocusOnBasics 959] FOB Article-f-the-Week: Inquiry-Based > Staff Development > To: > Message-ID: <465C9CB30200002D0000272F at bostongwia.jsi.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > > Hi Everyone, > > In our recent discussion about disseminating research, we talked about > practitioner research, and it seems there has been a lot of talk lately > about models of professional development. This week's article is from > issue 2C and talks about the process of inquiry-based staff development, > which relates to both. > > Facilitating Inquiry-Based Staff Development: > While helping teachers to change, staff developers must be open to > changing, too. > by Jereann King > http://www.ncsall.net/?id=392 > > "Inquiry-based staff development is a process in which practitioners > come together with colleagues over a period of time to systematically > explore issues, questions, or problems emerging in their work. The > framework for organizing inquiry-based staff development can differ from > context to context, but always involves reflecting on practice, > formulating problem statements, taking new action or trying out new > approaches, and evaluating their effectiveness. In theory, inquiry-based > staff development, like learner-centered, participatory adult literacy, > is about respecting experience, culture, knowledge; it is about sharing > power and taking new actions. It is a way of learning that places > practitioners and their practice at the center of the learning process. > This article is about the tensions and contradictions [the author] > experienced facilitating a practitioner-inquiry-as-staff-development > project." > > Has anyone been involved in this kind of staff development? > What are the challenges? > What are the benefits? > What advice do you have for others who are facilitating this? > > I'd love to hear from some of you! > > All the best, > Julie > > > > > Julie McKinney > Discussion List Moderator > World Education/NCSALL > jmckinney at worlded.org > > > > ------------------------------ > > ---------------------------------------------------- > National Institute for Literacy > Focus on Basics mailing list > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics > > End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 20, Issue 26 > ********************************************* > From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Jun 5 14:04:42 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:04:42 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 962] Another Example of Inquiry-based Staff Development Message-ID: <46656D7A0200002D00002879@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, A few months ago, Bonnita Solberg (a list member) asked for some recommendations for assessment resources to be shared at a Professional Development retreat, and got some helpful responses from the FOB community both on and off-list. (Thanks to those of you who shared!) We have been curious how these discussion lists are being used for professional development activities, so we asked Bonnita if she could write a summary of this experience. She put in some very precious time to record the experience and write a list of the assessment resources, both of which can be shared with you all and others. The process that her center used was very much like the inquiry-based staff development process described in last week's FOB Article-of-the-Week, and by Martha in yesterday's message. I would like to share Bonnita's summary with you and invite your comments and questions. Thanks so much, Julie ********************** Bonnita writes: Interested List Moderators: You may post this response to a request I received to relate how the web retrievals I sent earlier were used in the ESL PD committee addressing the issue of assessments in the Oakland Adult and Career Education (OACE) program. It is not the same article I wrote earlier, nor is it intended to meet that purpose. It may be good to have this precede the list of web retrievals. Here goes-- A committee of several classroom teachers, teachers on special assignment and two administrators first came together in November 2006 to meet the challenge of developing an assessment process. We began by contacting several districts, both K12 and community colleges, within CA and other states, to determine if assessments were available "ready made" for use in our program. Although there is a myriad of assessment tools in use, none met our needs. After a lengthy discussion, the PD committee agreed on a goal in January 2007 to develop an in-house assessment process that is uniform and consistent across the five ESL levels. Rather than the committee developing assessments, we chose to invite OACE classroom teachers to present models of their assessment tools at a retreat in February. We did not employ experts in the field, nor did we mount workshops or study circles. Instead, work groups were held on Friday afternoons prior to the retreat; small groups of teachers made poster boards to demonstrate their assessment tools. During and after the retreat, it became apparent that we were floundering. Teachers were presenting excellent classroom exercises from daily practice, but had not taken them to ythe next step: developing assessment tools that could be recorded and used by the teacher to adjust their daily practice. Classroom exercises could not be presented to the student nor shown to teachers who would receive a promoted student as evidence of student progress in class. Classroom exercises are not hard data for administration or funding sources to show OACE was meeting the learning goals of students. Without examples of the many types of assessments acceptable and useful for these purposes, teachers were retaining student assessments "in their heads", but not on a reportable form. Enter web resources; I accessed the web and compiled folders of assessment examples and brief articles on the academics of assessment. These were used to inform both the committee and teachers participating in the PD training; with this information in hand, teachers will be able to adjust classroom exercises to meet the criteria of an assessment tool of excellence--a work in progress. We are at the end of a year of paradigm shift from a traditional model of attending workshops and being taught by an expert, to mounting and implementing workshops, and learning hands on. It is sometimes painful, never boring, always engaging. Although we did not meet our goal for the year, we have adjusted Oakland's innovative PD model to meet the needs of the teachers first; program goals will surely follow suit. Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Jun 12 11:33:31 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 11:33:31 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 963] Job Posting: President, Literacy Network of Greater LA Message-ID: <466E848D0200002D0000298E@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, The National Institute for Literacy received this job posting from the Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles (LNGLA). Please read on or forward if you or a colleague may be interested. Thanks, Julie ******************************************************* The Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles announces a new opportunity for President The Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles (LNGLA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to support and promote individual, family and workplace literacy efforts through partnerships, advocacy, and direct program services. Started 15 years ago, LNGLA is regarded as one of the top literacy organizations in the country. It has gained a national reputation for its innovative approach to serving the Southern California community, which is probably the most diverse community in the United States today and also the epicenter of the ?adult English literacy crisis.? Initially launched through a joint initiative by the County of Los Angeles and the United Way of Greater LA, LNGLA is now an organization with an approximately $925,000 direct annual budget and a full-time staff of 8. Funding comes primarily from foundations and corporations, and from the Literacy in Media Awards event (LIMA). The Network is also developing an earned income stream via Literacy at Work projects. The President, reporting to the Board of Directors through the Chairman, provides professional leadership in the support and development of LNGLA. The President will be an experienced leader/manager with the ability to expand, elevate and enhance LNGLA's profile with business, media, foundations and the general public. Ideal candidates preferably will have an advanced degree and a minimum of five years experience in nonprofit management, including direct responsibility for and proven track record of success in fundraising. __________________________________________________________________________ Direct inquiries and r?sum?s to Johnston and Company, Attn: LNGLA, 6167 Bristol Parkway, Suite 140, Culver City, CA 90230. Electronic r?sum?s and cover letters preferred. Send to JandC at johnstonco.org Additional information regarding LNGLA may be found at www.literacynetwork.org. http://www.nonprofitjobscoop.org/8405 Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Jun 12 13:55:39 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:55:39 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 964] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Web-based PD Resources Message-ID: <466EA5DB0200002D000029A7@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, In light of the recent discussion on the Adult Literacy Professional Development list about blended models of PD, I have picked the following article for this week, from issue 5D: Staff Development. There is a lot of buzz about using technology and the internet in everything, including PD, so I thought this article might be worth revisiting. Expanding Access: Web Resources for States Interested in Improving and Expanding their Professional Development Systems by Lennox McLendon http://www.ncsall.net/?id=238 "For more than 30 years, as a teacher, program director, state director, and now director of the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (NAEPDC), Dr. Lennox McLendon has provided professional development opportunities to adult basic educators that respond to their varied needs and time constraints. For this issue of Focus on Basics, Dr. McLendon compiled a list of web-based resources, predominantly posted by states, that he has used successfully in building a staff development system. Only a sample of the rich resources available to states interested in exploring professional development options,they are organized in sections based on six interrelated components that Dr. McLendon has identified as key to creating an effective professional development system. State policy, pre-service training, systems training, responsive professional development, opportunities for each practitioner to share, and self-evaluation and program evaluation combine to create an atmosphere in which all educators are accountable to learn and develop as professionals." - Jessica Mortensen I bet many of you could add to this compiled list, which is five years old by now. (There may also be some sites which are no longer current.) Please send in other resources, and we could add them to the ALE Wiki. Do you find this resource list helpful in your efforts? Why or why not? All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From djrosen at comcast.net Sat Jun 16 23:14:25 2007 From: djrosen at comcast.net (David J. Rosen) Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 23:14:25 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 965] Special Topic: Community Literacy Discussion, June 25-29 References: <4674A45D.2080704@comcast.net> Message-ID: Colleagues, We will hold a discussion about community literacy on the National Institute for Literacy Special Topics discussion list during the week of June 25 -29. Our guests for this discussion will include, among others: Margaret Doughty, Carl Guerriere, Petrice Sams- Abiodun, Darlene Kostrub, Jeff Carter, and Kathy Chernus. We will discuss: ? what community adult and family literacy means ? what the community literacy purposes and goals are ? why community literacy is important ? who key community literacy stakeholders are ? examples of community literacy coalitions ? incentives and strategies for strengthening community literacy ? how to measure the health, outcomes and impact of community literacy ? the effect of community literacy on a community ? what we know about community literacy from research ? what the relationship is of community literacy to workforce literacy, workforce development, and transition to higher education ? the role of technology in community literacy ? what resources are needed for effective community literacy collaboration ? how literacy organizations can work together to make literacy a top community priority and more. To subscribe to the Special Topics Discussion List, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics (After registering, you will be sent an email. You must reply to the email immediately to be subscribed.) You may unsubscribe, after this discussion, or remain subscribed to see if you are interested in the next discussion. Between these specific, topic-oriented discussions, you will not receive messages from the list. I look forward to your joining us in this discussion. David J. Rosen Special Topics Discussion List Moderator djrosen at comcast.net From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Mon Jun 18 23:57:09 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:57:09 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 966] Have a good week Message-ID: <46771BD60200002D00002AC6@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I'll be away this week, rather suddenly, and have not prepared an FOB Article-of-the-Week. Would anyone out there like to suggest one? Please do! Someone will be checking the postings and sending them through. Have a good week! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From jataylor at utk.edu Wed Jun 20 08:52:08 2007 From: jataylor at utk.edu (Taylor, Jackie) Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:52:08 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 967] Youth cultural competence In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <0913EC48F2B05C4FBE4878BAFCABBFEC7BA5D7@KFSVS2.utk.tennessee.edu> Hello Julie and all, Julie, I'm glad you asked, because I have been thinking a lot about a particular FOB article and general topic. Although this may make 2 or 3 articles that get proposed for discussion this week, I hope to hear from some of you. I am interested in the FOB edition on Youth; in particular the article: A Comprehensive Professional Development Process Produces Radical Results http://www.ncsall.net/?id=125 This article shares a model of professional development on teaching youth in adult ed -- with what appears to be great success -- by the Metropolitan Alliance for Adult Learning in Kansas City. A few years ago, teaching youth in adult education seemed to be an important area of concern. But I haven't heard much from the field about it lately. -- How are we doing at serving this population in our adult education and ESOL classes? -- What strategies have you all found lately that work in addressing this population's need? -- What professional development is being offered nationally, or in programs or states on the needs of our youngest students? Thanks in advance for your thoughts, Jackie Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator, jataylor at utk.edu Julie asked: " I'll be away this week, rather suddenly, and have not prepared an FOB Article-of-the-Week. Would anyone out there like to suggest one?" -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070620/9b502e7e/attachment.html From janeaddeo at comcast.net Wed Jun 20 19:22:41 2007 From: janeaddeo at comcast.net (janeaddeo at comcast.net) Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 23:22:41 +0000 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 968] Re: Youth cultural competence Message-ID: <062020072322.3606.4679B6C10009350A00000E162213484373010A0B0B0E0A020E06@comcast.net> Hello Jackie and all: I found the article to be very interesting. and more apropos for Americans. Nevertheless, ESOL students also enjoy learning English via similar methods. However, in our ESOL program, we have not encountered the cited behaviors. Perhaps, the difference is cultural. The behaviors may be demonstrated more by American students who are seeking the GED, than ESOL students who are very motivated to learn English to survive and to succeed in American society. Enjoy, Jane -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Taylor, Jackie" Hello Julie and all, Julie, I'm glad you asked, because I have been thinking a lot about a particular FOB article and general topic. Although this may make 2 or 3 articles that get proposed for discussion this week, I hope to hear from some of you. I am interested in the FOB edition on Youth; in particular the article: A Comprehensive Professional Development Process Produces Radical Results http://www.ncsall.net/?id=125 This article shares a model of professional development on teaching youth in adult ed -- with what appears to be great success -- by the Metropolitan Alliance for Adult Learning in Kansas City. A few years ago, teaching youth in adult education seemed to be an important area of concern. But I haven't heard much from the field about it lately. -- How are we doing at serving this population in our adult education and ESOL classes? -- What strategies have you all found lately that work in addressing this population's need? -- What professional development is being offered nationally, or in programs or states on the needs of our youngest students? Thanks in advance for your thoughts, Jackie Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator, jataylor at utk.edu Julie asked: " I'll be away this week, rather suddenly, and have not prepared an FOB Article-of-the-Week. Would anyone out there like to suggest one?" -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070620/b9cfa5f6/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: "Taylor, Jackie" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 967] Youth cultural competence Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 15:35:19 +0000 Size: 804 Url: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070620/b9cfa5f6/attachment.mht From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Jun 27 13:40:28 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:40:28 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 969] FOB Article-of-the-Week Message-ID: <468268CD0200002D00002C55@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Thanks, Jackie, for highlighting last week's article! Instruction and retention for younger students has been a topic of much interest lately. This week's article is another one from the Youth issue of FOB (Vol. 7A), in which John Tyler looks at cognitive skills needed as learners enter the workforce. Skills Matter in the Types of Jobs Young Dropouts Will First Hold by John Tyler http://www.ncsall.net/?id=124 Do basic cognitive skills matter for the least educated? They may not, if computerization of the workplace has "deskilled" the types of jobs in which young dropouts are first employed. This is, therefore, an empirical question that has received little attention and less systematic research. The ideal way to examine this question would be to begin with a pool of school dropouts, randomly assign individuals in this pool different levels of cognitive skills, and then follow them into the labor market to see if those with higher levels of cognitive skills were employed more and earned more than those with lower skill levels. To approximate this situation in a recent research study, I used data on General Educational Development (GED) candidates who attempted the GED exams in Florida between 1995 and 1998, when all were 16 to 18 years of age. All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Jul 3 13:35:35 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:35:35 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 970] FOB Article-of-the-Week: A Literacy Program's Antiracist Journey Message-ID: <468A50D00200002D00002D35@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, A couple weeks ago there was some discussion on the lists about literacy as a social justice issue. I wish I'd found this article then, but I think it's worth taking a look at anytime! It is from FOB issue 6B, which is all about "-isms". YES! A Literacy Program's Antiracist Journey by Margery Freeman & Lou Johnson http://www.ncsall.net/?id=209 This article tells of the journey of a YMCA literacy program in New Orleans in its efforts to become a "student-centered organization with a vision of social justice." Find out how the leaders used principles from The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond to build their program based on relationships within the community, incorporating the history of literacy, poverty and racism, and going "outside the box" to adopt new approaches to teaching and learning. I'd love to hear people's thoughts about this journey! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From jataylor at utk.edu Fri Jul 6 12:24:23 2007 From: jataylor at utk.edu (Taylor, Jackie) Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 12:24:23 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 971] Discussion of Professional Development Research (July 9 - 13) Message-ID: <0913EC48F2B05C4FBE4878BAFCABBFEC8E0C50@KFSVS2.utk.tennessee.edu> Dear List Colleagues, Next week (July 9-13), the Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List is hosting a guest discussion on professional development research, and implications for teaching and learning in our field. To join the discussion, visit: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment For a web-based version of the announcement below, visit: http://tinyurl.com/yvuvzr Looking forward! Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator, jataylor at utk.edu Title: Research on Professional Development and Teacher Change: Implications for Adult Basic Education Date: July 9-13, 2007 Resource for Discussion: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/ann_rev/smith-gillespie-07.pdf Guests: Marilyn Gillespie, Ed.D., Senior Educational Researcher, Center for Education Policy, SRI International Cristine Smith, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Center for International Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Guest Bios: http://tinyurl.com/2bpyap) To participate, subscribe: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment To submit questions for discussion, email: jataylor at utk.edu Description: Historically, very little research has been conducted in adult literacy professional development. Recently, the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) has published a chapter within the Review of Adult Learning and Literacy (v. 7) on research in professional development and teacher change . This chapter (available free and online) draws from the NCSALL Professional Development Study as well as research on professional development from the K-12 field. Join the Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List where the authors, Cristine Smith and Marilyn Gillespie, will participate with subscribers in discussion on teacher professional development issues like: * What is known about what makes teacher professional development effective * How teachers change as a result of professional development * Implications for policy, practice and research in professional development * How the Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD) can take action to: a. Develop a centralized location for professional development research, and b. Advance research in adult literacy professional development. ************************************************ Preparation for PD Research Discussion Please reflect on your answers to any of the following... Overall: 1) From your experience, what has been the most effective professional development in which you have participated? What factors made it most valuable for your professional growth and learning? 2) What aspects of the chapter on professional development research stood out to you most? Why? 3) What are the similarities and notable differences between K-12 and adult literacy education professional development? Lessons Learned 4) Given the lessons learned from the NCSALL Professional Development Study and PD research in general, are these understandings being translated into the professional development our field is offering teachers? For example: a. Is more teacher training involving both the program administrator and teacher? b. Are you seeing more follow-up on-site? c. Is there less of a focus in the field on single-session workshops and more on program-based, job-embedded, or hybrid models of professional development? State of Research 5) What are the differences in K-12 and adult literacy professional development research needs? 6) What kinds of research in adult literacy professional development are most needed? Funding: 7) How are states currently funding professional development research? What are potential ways in which states may fund PD research, such as collaborating with neighboring states to address common PD research questions of concern? Professional Development Models 8) On-site professional development vs. the regional or state workshop model: What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Single-Session Professional Development - Exception vs. Norm 9) The authors note that one implication for practice from professional development research is that states should make single-session workshops the exception rather than the norm. Do you agree? Why or why not? 10) What are other options for increasing professional development designs that offer longer term, more job-embedded models of professional development? Teacher Working Conditions 11) Authors discuss what researchers call the "dilution effect" of professional development: The actual impact of the professional development is diluted by all of the other factors that support or hinder teachers from making change. a. How do teachers' working conditions (such as paid prep time or benefits) relate to their ability to make use of the professional development they receive? b. Is improving teacher working conditions a concern that can only be addressed at the local level? Why or why not? c. What work is being done to improve teacher working conditions in programs and states? What has changed since the advent of the NCSALL Professional Development Study, specifically pertaining to teacher working conditions? Have we "taken the lesson home?" To heart? The Role of the School Administrator in Teacher Professional Development 12) How do program directors support and/or constrain teacher change? Using Student Data to Improve Instruction 13) What work is being done in using student achievement data to improve teaching practice? Teacher Turnover 14) Is teacher turnover higher in adult education than in K-12? What are the factors that cause teachers to leave the field of adult education? What are the implications of high teacher turnover for our students, for our field? Serve More Students or Serve Fewer, Better? 15) From your experience, share your perspective on the issue about the extent to which research-based professional development should be more heavily invested. For example, given that research indicates that working conditions, such as access to benefits and paid preparation time for ABE teachers, may actually influence the effectiveness of professional development, should policy makers consider whether any increase in funding be channeled into such expenditures, even if fewer students are served as a result? 16) The annual average cost per adult education student in states is $800.00. In many states, this cost is much lower. Should it cost more to teach adult education students? Why or why not? 17) What other issues may arise in the quantity versus quality debate? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070706/d9859d36/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Jul 10 13:17:08 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:17:08 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 972] Discussion this week on the Assessment List: Distance Learning! Message-ID: <469386D40200002D00002E16@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Sorry for the late notice about this discussion happening this week on the Assessment list on Assessments in Distance Learning. Please read on for the description from Marie Cora. Julie ********************************************* To subscribe to this discussion, please go to: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Assessment Dear Colleagues, I'm pleased to announce the following Guest Discussion, which will be held during the week of July 9 (next week!!): Topic: Assessment in Distance Learning Guest Participants: Jennifer Rafferty currently works as an independent education consultant. Formerly, she worked at the Adult Literacy Resource Institute at SABES Boston where she held the role of Project Manager for the Massachusetts ABE Distance Learning Project. She has worked in the field of ABE since 1998. Shannon Young is the Program Manager for the Support Center at Project IDEAL / AdultEd Online and is a Senior Research Area Specialist for the Program on Teaching, Learning, & Technology at The University of Michigan?s Institute for Social Research. She oversees the Center's work on curriculum and assessment issues and leads the design team that creates online tools used to collect student data and support teachers in member states. Shannon has conducted education research in k-12 and ABE settings and been a tutor and writing instructor since 1991. Recommended preparations for this discussion: Please consider any of the following questions as catalysts for discussion. There is some redundancy with the questions below; however, the questions are articulated slightly differently and so might provide people with different entry points of thought. Also, perhaps subscribers will find it interesting to view Massachusetts as a sort of case study given that the issues faced there appear to mirror the issues faced elsewhere in Distance Learning. Measures of Progress?Informal and Ongoing In the discussion on pre-assessments for online learning (see Resources of Interest, below), participants talked about the ways in which they use various pre-assessments, orientation activities, and technology training to gauge readiness and prepare their students to become distance learners who persist beyond the ?try-out? phase. In distance learning, the initial orientation period may be one of the few times teachers and students are face to face. The types of informal, ongoing assessments teachers routinely use in classrooms (e.g., ?reading? students to determine comprehension, redirecting or expanding discussions, group activities, quizzes, etc.) frequently aren?t available in a distance setting. So, once we have students in the distance-learning door, how can we use progress measures and informal assessments to help keep them engaged? What do those measures entail? What does and doesn?t work and why? What role might partner agencies and/or interested ?others? play in the assessment process and in helping students stay connected and engaged? As a distance teacher, how do you use the results of progress measures to inform your teaching? Post-Testing and the NRS In June, the NRS posted its official guidelines for counting distance learners in the NRS tables. One of the guidelines for counting distance learners states that students be post-tested in a proctored setting using a standardized assessment at intervals designated by the test developer or by state policy. Some states follow test developer guidelines. Others mandate students be post-tested after a certain number of days. How do you get your distance learners to take standardized post-tests? How do you prepare them in advance to understand the necessity of post-testing? What sorts of partnerships have you formed with other service providers (e.g., libraries, career link centers, etc.) to handle post-testing distance learners? What advice would you have for others interested in forming these partnerships? What do you do when a student achieves his/her goal before the pr For example, many students come into distance programs with specific, short-term goals and study intently for brief periods of time (e.g., 50 hours of study over a two-week period). They meet their objectives and are ready to exit a program. If they have not been designated as a project-based learner, how do you handle accounting for these students? Do you post-test even if they haven?t met the pre-established time-based criteria? The following questions are based on discussions that have come up with distance learning programs in Massachusetts: Questions related to standardized assessments, NRS, and state assessment policies: 1. What standardized testing instruments do you use with distance learners in your state? 2. Are your distance learning programs required to follow assessment policies/guidelines that were created for classroom programs, or has your state developed a separate set of distance learning assessment policies? 3. Do the standardized assessments align well with the dl curricula being used in your state? 4. How successful has your program been with pre and post assessment of distance learners? 5. What strategies have you implemented to encourage learners to return for a post-test and which strategies have been the most successful? 6. Has your state developed any remote testing guidelines that would make it easier for learners to access required assessments without having to return to the adult learning program? 7. Does your state use a standardized assessment that is online/web-based? If so, has having a web-based assessment made it easier for your program to pre and post-test learners? Questions related to other forms of assessment for dl programs: What other assessment instruments do you use to gauge whether your learners are appropriate for distance learning delivery? Do you think that these assessments give a good indication as to whether or not the learner is prepared for self-directed learning? What skills needed for dl are not so easily evaluated with inventories and assessments? Resources of interest: Project IDEAL (Improving Distance Education for Adult Learners): http://projectideal.org AdultEdOnline: http://www.adultedonline.org (Introduction to distance teaching and free online self-assessment for classroom teachers interested in becoming a distance teacher) ?Pre-Assessments for On-Line Learning?; Excerpt from Special Topics Community Literacy discussion; go to: http://dev.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/assessment/07assess_distance_1.html The discussion begins with questions regarding early drop-out and retention issues and asks whether ?try-out periods? are integral to on-line learning processes. It then focuses on the inclusion of pre-assessments, as well as pre- and on-going orientation sessions as strategies for improving retention and success rates. Marie Cora marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com NIFL Assessment Discussion List Moderator http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment Coordinator, LINCS Assessment Special Collection http://literacy.kent.edu/Midwest/assessment/ Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Jul 11 13:26:48 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:26:48 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 973] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Message-ID: <4694DA970200002D00002E55@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Here is a PD-related piece for this week's FOB article. It is from Volume 5D, which is about staff development, and discusses a Learning Organization approach to ABE Professional Development. Has anyone used this approach? All the best, Julie ********************************** Using a Learning Organization Approach to Enhance ABE Teachers' Professional Development by M. Cecil Smith & Amy D. Rose http://www.ncsall.net/?id=231 I have included the first two paragraphs to get you started: Professional development is defined as a change process "in which instructors gradually acquire a body of knowledge and skills to improve the quality of teaching for learners and, ultimately, to enhance learner outcomes" (Kutner et al., 1997, p. 1). Most adult basic education (ABE) teachers do not have degrees or preparation in adult education, so continuing education and training are deemed essential in the field (Crandall, 1993; Belzer et al., 2001). Professional development activities often fall short, however, in meeting practitioners' needs for training. By extension, they also fail to meet the needs of the ABE programs that rely upon them to increase teachers' skills and knowledge and improve performance in the ABE classroom. We describe here an approach to ABE professional development and organizational change that can lead to greater alignment between ABE practitioners' needs and staff development offerings. We believe that professional development must be grounded in practice to facilitate teachers' transfer of knowledge learning and skills training to ABE classrooms. Such grounding is best accomplished through the adoption of a situated cognition approach to learning. Situated cognition involves the adaptation of knowledge and thinking skills to solve unique problems. It is based on the idea that knowledge is influenced by the activities, context, and culture in which it is used (McLellan, 1996). Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From djrosen at comcast.net Sat Jul 14 18:40:21 2007 From: djrosen at comcast.net (David J. Rosen) Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 18:40:21 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 973] GED Outcomes and Earnings Discussion with Dr. John Tyler Message-ID: <2E60E47A-8503-49EC-9C3A-D700DFE753ED@comcast.net> Colleagues, On July 23rd, on the National Institute for Literacy Special Topics list, we will begin discussing the General Educational Development (GED) diploma outcomes research of Dr. John Tyler. Dr. Tyler is Associate Professor of Education, Economics, and Public Policy at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. An applied microeconomist, his research focuses on what is happening to low- skilled individuals in today's high-skill economy. He is regarded as one of the nation's experts on the economic returns to the General Educational Development (GED) certificate. Dr. Tyler's interests also include school reform issues, program evaluation, and quantitative research methods. Dr. Tyler will take our questions from the week's discussion, will respond to them the following Monday, and will continue to respond to follow-up questions throughout the week of July 30th. You or your colleagues who may wish to join this discussion can subscribe by going to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics After you complete the simple registration form (30 seconds) you will receive an email asking you to confirm that you wish to subscribe. Immediately reply to the email to complete your subscription. After the discussion ends you can unsubscribe from the same Web address, or stay on for the next discussion. To prepare for this discussion please look at a 30-minute video discussion with John Tyler; teacher, Sara Fass; and professional development coordinator, Sue Snider. The video panel discussion focuses on the economic benefits that accrue to holders of the GED credential. It was based on a review by John Tyler of eight (published and working) research papers on the GED. Several of these papers were authored by John Tyler, Richard Murnane, and John Willett, researchers with the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) whose work has influenced what we know about the economic benefits of the GED. http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/ged/webcast_ged.html The following readings, mentioned in the video panel discussion, would also be useful preparation for this discussion: NCSALL GED Research Briefs http://www.ncsall.net/?id=27 Seven briefs by John Tyler are linked on this page, among which are: "The Economic Benefits of the GED: A Research Synthesis", "So You Want a GED? Estimating the Impact of the GED on the Earnings of Dropouts Who Seek the Credential", "Who Benefits from Obtaining a GED? Evidence from High School and Beyond", and "Estimating the Labor Market Signaling Value of the GED" Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices About the GED and Your Future http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmins/resources/teach/beyond_ged.pdf The following additional GED research articles by John Tyler will be found in .pdf on his Web page at http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Education/personnel.php? who=jhtyler#pubs 2005 - "Is the GED an Effective Route to Postsecondary Education?" 2004 - "Does the GED Improve Earnings? Estimates from a Sample of Both Successful and Unsuccessful GED Candidates?" Industrial and Labor Relations Review 57:4 (2004), 579-98. 2004 - "The Devil?s in the Details: Evidence from the GED on the Large Effects of Small Differences in High Stakes Exams ". Economics of Education Review 23:4 (2004), 336-49. With Richard J. Murnane and John B. Willett. GED teachers, especially, will find the following publication of GED outcomes data -- intended to be used by GED teachers and their students -- of special interest. It was written by Sara Fass and Barbara Garner in 2000, and updated by Eileen Barry in 2006. "Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices About the GED and Your Future" http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1099 I look forward to having you join us in this discussion. David J. Rosen Special Topics Discussion Moderator djrosen at comcast.net From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Jul 26 11:39:07 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:39:07 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 974] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Economic Effects of Earning a GED in Prison Message-ID: <46A887DB0200002D00003114@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, Some of you may be involved in the discussion on the Special Topics list this week about GED Outcomes and Earnings. This week's FOB Article reveals some interesting results from examining the outcomes of earning a GED in prison. What Are the Economic Effects of Earning a GED in Prison? http://www.ncsall.net/?id=822 What economic impact does earning a certificate of General Educational Development (GED) offer offenders after they are released from prison? NCSALL researcher John Tyler and a colleague, Jeffrey Kling of Princeton University, examined this question using data from the state of Florida. In this article, Barb Garner describes the study, some inplications, and some intriguing questions. You can join this discussion by going to: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From kbeall at onlyinternet.net Thu Jul 26 13:20:08 2007 From: kbeall at onlyinternet.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:20:08 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 975] Registration is open! - Effective Transition in Adult Education conference on Nov 8-9, 2007 Message-ID: <006a01c7cfa9$3731c620$0302a8c0@your4105e587b6> Dear Colleagues, We wish to invite you to join us for the National Conference on Effective Transitions in Adult Education that will take place on November 8-9, 2007 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Providence, RI. The two-day conference will focus on strategies and promising practices that help adult learners succeed in postsecondary education and training. The registration for the conference in now open! LINK: http://collegetransition.org/conference/registration.html Our keynote speaker, Dr. JoAnn Crandall, will kick off the event with a discussion of transition for English language learners. For more conference details, SEE http://www.collegetransition.org/novconference.html Cynthia Zafft, Director Priyanka Sharma, Coordinator National College Transition Network World Education, Inc. 44 Farnsworth Street Boston, MA 02210 617.482.9485 nctn at worlded.org www.collegetransition.org www.collegeforadults.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070726/e3795c41/attachment.html From EMEllison at literacyaction.org Sun Jul 29 11:54:36 2007 From: EMEllison at literacyaction.org (Emily Ellison) Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2007 11:54:36 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 976] Director of Education Needed! Message-ID: <18D8AFBAE6B79D4F8D18CDF816A4DCD179D40E@lai-mail.literacyaction.org> As a member of the discussion list, I would like to post a job opening for a newly created position at Literacy Action, Inc., in Atlanta, GA. I am sending the job description as an attachment and you will also find it below in the body of this e-mail. Thank you very much for your assistance. Emily Ellison Executive Director Literacy Action is a nearly 40-year-old nonprofit adult literacy agency with a variety of programs, including: Basic Skills (phonics, reading, writing, math), GED prep, Computer, 21st Century Work Skills as well as Advanced Writing, Advanced Computer, Oral Expression, and other course offerings. We also have a Family Literacy Program and we are working on incorporating Health Literacy and Financial Literacy into the curriculum. Literacy Action, Inc. Atlanta, GA JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title: Director of Education Reports To: Executive Director Supervises: Instructional Staff and Program Coordinators Employment Status: Regular full-time Summary: The Education Director is an essential member of the agency's Leadership Team whose main focus is on curriculum and instructional and programmatic operations, including assessment, evaluation, and accountability. Duties and Responsibilities: * Serve as Educational Leader of the organization * Oversee the implementation of a cohesive, coordinated and articulated core curriculum that incorporates state and national standards and latest research and best practices in the field of adult education * Assist in operationalizing the Strategic Goals of the agency as articulated by the Board of Trustees and Executive Director into educational programs that reflect and communicate the Mission and Values of Literacy Action * Manage the instructional staff and daily operation of educational programs at Literacy Action * Identify new education programs and services * Assess operations, coordinate and evaluate in-service and professional development activities for all instructional staff regularly * Convene regular meetings of instructors and programmatic staff to share best practices, increase communication and teamwork, and ensure quality services; attend Leadership Team meetings; attend Board meetings as required * Conduct quarterly and annual job assessments of all instructional staff * Assist in the development of program funding proposals and reports by providing accurate and timely data including: documenting student and program outcomes monthly, quarterly, and annually; evaluating educational services monthly, quarterly, and annually using a variety of methodologies including student surveys, regular pre and post testing, and other teacher created assessment instruments * Work collaboratively with the Executive Director, Director of Development, and Director of Finance and Administration to monitor outcome and costs of programs and service delivery * Function as a productive and collaborative member of the Literacy Action staff, helping to build a team spirit and contributing to a positive work environment and a culture of lifelong learning * Other duties as assigned by the Executive Director Qualifications: The candidate must have excellent oral and written communication skills; strong organizational and leadership skills are required, as well as an ability to work with a wide variety of people. Experience required in supervision, program evaluation. Experience in curriculum development preferred. Experience in and respect for adult literacy, low income, and multicultural populations. Masters degree in Education or related field preferred, with experience in adult education with educational leadership. It is essential that the person filling this position has kept up with latest research and best practices in the field of adult basic education, is a passionate advocate for adult literacy, and has exceptional interpersonal skills. All interested and qualified applicants should send a cover letter, or statement of philosophy, and their resume to: Emily Ellison emellison at literacyaction.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070729/c13efd11/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Job Description -- Education Director.doc Type: application/msword Size: 37888 bytes Desc: Job Description -- Education Director.doc Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070729/c13efd11/attachment.doc From kbeall at onlyinternet.net Mon Jul 30 12:59:11 2007 From: kbeall at onlyinternet.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:59:11 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 977] New from NCSALL Message-ID: <008d01c7d2ca$f4ad8df0$0302a8c0@your4105e587b6> We'd like to share two, new resources from the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL). The materials can be downloaded free from the NCSALL website at www.ncsall.net . Skills for Disease Prevention and Screening By Rima E. Rudd, Lisa Soricone, and Jennie Maricel Santos The goal of this 15-hour study circle+ is to prepare participants to help their students develop basic skills needed for engaging in disease prevention and screening activities. These skills include decision-making, using graphs and charts, calculating percentages, and interpreting risks and probability. For more information and to download, go to: www.ncsall.net/?id=769#prevention Evidence-based Practice: A Workshop for Training Adult Basic Education, TANF and One Stop Practitioners and Program Administrators (May 2007) By Cristine Smith, Beth Bingman, Lennox McLendon, and John Comings The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) and the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (NAEPDC), with funding from the National Institute for Literacy (Institute), created a one-day workshop to assist practitioners and administrators in adult basic education, TANF (Transitional Assistance for Needy Families) and One Stop programs to understand evidence-based practice and develop strategies for continuously accessing, understanding, judging and using research. For more information and to download, go to: www.ncsall.net/?id=769#ebp_train Kaye **************** Kaye Beall World Education 6760 West Street Linn Grove, IN 46711 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070730/ab59c165/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Aug 1 13:55:06 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:55:06 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 978] FOB Article-of-the-Week: Multisensory Approach to Low-Level Reading Intstruction Message-ID: <46B090BA0200002D0000323A@mail.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, This week's FOB Article describes a program developed by the author, based on the Slingerhand method, which in turn was adapted from Orton-Gillingham. It uses multisensory teaching techniques for teaching reading to low-level adult learners. Using a Multisensory Approach to Help Struggling Adult Learners by Gladys Geertz http://www.ncsall.net/?id=277 The article includes specific examples of the technique. I would love to hear people's reactions to this! Has anyone used this or a similar method? How does it work for different types of learners? Does it sound like something you would like to try? Why? Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you! Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From sgeorg at workforcestrategy.org Fri Aug 3 14:52:54 2007 From: sgeorg at workforcestrategy.org (Stacey Georg) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 14:52:54 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 979] Announcement Notice: ABE Career Connections Project Message-ID: <3F8DCAF0A829634390956689075BF5E5F34A50@ms06.mse1.mailstreet.com> The Workforce Strategy Center and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, invite local adult basic education (ABE) programs across the country to apply for the ABE Career Connections project. Five sites will be selected to receive support in the development and implementation of new or improved approaches to build upon their current involvement in career pathways. The ABE Career Connections project will demonstrate how ABE programs can operate within career pathways to prepare students for postsecondary courses leading to a degree or occupational certificate targeted toward an industry important to a regional economy. Each winner will receive $75,000.00, technical assistance, and national recognition. For more information, visit the Workforce Strategy Center Website . Applications are due September 5, 2007. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070803/818fa7b5/attachment.html From djrosen at comcast.net Thu Aug 9 12:16:28 2007 From: djrosen at comcast.net (David J. Rosen) Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 12:16:28 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 980] Ideas for Special Topics Discussions Message-ID: Colleagues, We would like to hear your ideas for the Special Topics discussion list. What topics would you like to suggest? What guests -- or kinds of guests -- would you like to see invited? If you have participated in Special Topics discussions, based on what you have seen so far what would you like to see emphasized in the future, and what would you like to be different? What topics aren't covered by other discussion lists that might be addressed on the Special Topics list? Please join this discussion on August 20th on the Special Topics discussion list to contribute your ideas and to see what others think. Consider the Special Topics discussion list as part of your professional development. How could the content of the discussions better meet your needs as a teacher, tutor, state or program level administrator, counselor, curriculum or professional developer, researcher or graduate student? To subscribe, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics After you complete the simple registration form (30 seconds) you will receive an email asking you to confirm that you wish to subscribe. Immediately reply to the email to complete your subscription. This discussion doesn't begin until August 20th. After the discussion ends you can unsubscribe from the same Web address, or stay on for the next discussion. Discussions Held to Date on the Special Topics list * The Adult Reading Components Study * Persistence * Formative Assessment * Corrections Family Literacy and Transition to the Community * What Works for Adult ESL Students * Community Literacy * GED Earnings Outcomes Discussions Planned for August and September * Subscribers' Ideas for Special Topics : August 20 -24 * What International Literacy Programs offer Programs in the U.S.: September 7 -14 * Components of Numeracy: September 17 -21 David Rosen Special Topics Discussion Moderator djrosen at comcast.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070809/40318aa7/attachment.html From tsticht at znet.com Fri Aug 10 14:36:29 2007 From: tsticht at znet.com (tsticht at znet.com) Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 11:36:29 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 981] Message for International Literacy Day Message-ID: <1186770989.46bcb02d34972@webmail.znet.net> A Message for International Literacy Day 2007 UNESCO Recognition for Industrialized Nations: >From Fighting Pockets of Illiteracy to Raising Levels of Literacy Tom Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education During 2007 I am presenting a series of workshops entitled Adult Literacy Education in Industrialized Nations. Earlier, I worked for 25 years (1979-2003) as a volunteer member of UNESCO's International Literacy Prize Jury. This Jury recommends to the Director General of UNESCO the winners of UNESCO's literacy awards each year on September 8, International Literacy Day. For most of the time that UNESCO has awarded literacy recognition the discourse was about "illiteracy" and most attention was, and still is, focussed on developing nations with large percentages of illiterate adults (age 15 and above). There were times, however, when recognition was given to industrialized nations where it was generally said that illiteracy was not a major problem but there were "pockets of illiteracy." This usually referred to socially marginalized groups of indigenous persons, immigrants, poverty stricken, incarcerated, and the like. Over time, the discourse of literacy has varied and has included "illiteracy," "functionally illiterate," "functionally literate," "literacy levels," and "multiple literacies." This listing moves from thinking about "illiteracy" as being almost totally unable to read and write, to thinking about literacy as a continuum from illiteracy through gradients of literacy from low to higher levels and to the idea of "multiple literacies" meaning the ability to use a variety of symbolic communication media (e.g, the internet) and graphic technologies such as maps, graphs, and the like. UNESCO may provide three types of recognition on International Literacy Day: Major Prizes with monetary awards, Honorable Mentions, and Recognition in the Palmares, the official document that proclaims the winners of each year's recognition. Of the six industrialized nations that are discussed in my workshop, five have received multiple recognition primarily before the shift in discourse in talking about "illiteracy" to "levels of literacy" or "multiple literacies." This UNESCO recognition has helped each of these five nations keep the need for literacy education in their nation in the awareness of policymakers and has provided a foundation for major activities that are underway to advance levels of literacy in these nations today. On September 8th of this year we should continue to press for international attention to the plight of hundreds of millions of illiterate adults around the world. But we should also recognize the need in all nations, both developing and developed, to raise the levels of literacy of thousands of millions of adults and promote the multiple literacies of adults who are at risk of losing such advances as they have made in their lives and the lives of their families in the face of a rapidly changing world. As a member of UNESCO's International Literacy Jury I was honored to participate in recognizing the work of nations that are part of my workshop on Adult Literacy in Industrialized Nations. Today I am pleased to once again recognize the outstanding adult literacy work that these nations have performed in the past, and to call attention to the continuing efforts of these and other industrialized nations which are today locked in a struggle to enhance the lives of millions of adults and their families through policies and practices aimed at improving literacy. Celebrate Adult Literacy Education on September 8th! UNESCO recognition of my workshop industrialized nations: 1. Australia 1969 HM Summer Institute of Education 1984 R Mr. Archibald Alexander Nelson 1989 R Workplace Education Project 1991 R News on Wheels 2. Canada 1977 HM Frontier College, Basic Education of the Canadian Frontier 1985 HM Canadian Organization for Development Through Education (CODE) 1988 HM Southam Incorporated 1995 Major Prize Community Academic Services Program (CASP), New Brunswick 2002 HM National Adult Literacy Database 3. New Zealand 1988 HM Mr. Michael Marquet 1995 HM Waitakera WEA Adult Literacy 1997 R National Association of ESOL Home Tutor Scheme 2000 HM Literacy Aotearoa, Inc. 2001 Major Prize Workbase, the National Center for Workplace Literacy & Language 4. United Kingdom 1981 HM "On the Move" Project of the British Broadcasting Corp. 1984 HM Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) 1999 Major Prize Family Literacy Programme, Basic Skills Agency 5. United States 1968 HM International Reading Association 1971 HM National Affiliation for Literacy Advance 1972 HM Appalachian Adult Education Center 1978 HM Dr.Welthy Honziger Fisher 1980 R Mrs. Ruth Johnson Colvin 1981 R Laubach Literacy International 1992 R Beginning With Books Literacy Program 2007 Major Prize Reach out and Read Legend: HM-Honorable Mention; R-Recognition in the Palmares Thomas G. Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education 2062 Valley View Blvd. El Cajon, CA 92019-2059 Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133 Email: tsticht at aznet.net From sgeorg at workforcestrategy.org Fri Aug 10 17:17:15 2007 From: sgeorg at workforcestrategy.org (Stacey Georg) Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:17:15 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 982] ABE Career Connections: REVISED APPLICATION FORM Message-ID: <3F8DCAF0A829634390956689075BF5E50101A793@ms06.mse1.mailstreet.com> The ABE Career Connections project application has been revised as of August 10, 2007. Applicants must use the new version currently posted at www.workforcestrategy.org . The revisions are on page 1 of the application and state that applicants must now also submit the following attachments: a letter supporting the ABE program applicant's participation in the project from the State Director of Adult Education , and a copy of the ABE program applicant's federal AEFLA grant award from the current year If applicants are unable to send the attachments by email, fax them to Melissa Goldberg at (646) 205-3241. Be sure to include the name of the ABE program applicant in the subject line, exactly as it appears in question 4 of the application. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070810/0e8f1036/attachment.html From MMaralit at NIFL.gov Mon Aug 13 09:44:43 2007 From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo) Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:44:43 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 983] Aug. 29 Webcast: Health Literacy of America's Adults Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B180C47C0@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov> SAVE THE DATE for a LIVE webcast! Health Literacy of America's Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy WHEN: August 29, 2007 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern Time 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM Central Time 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Mountain Time 10:30 AM - 12:00 AM Pacific Time ** Registration information will be shared in a future posting, but for now, SAVE THE DATE for a LIVE webcast on Wednesday, August 29! ** For more information about this webcast or The National Institute for Literacy, go to: http://www.nifl.gov. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The August 29 webcast will focus on the Health Literacy of America's Adults: Results of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) 2003. The live webcast will feature: * Dr. Sheida White directs the National Assessment of Adult Literacy at the National Center for Education Statistics (or NCES). Her doctoral degree is in linguistics from Georgetown University. After working as a full-time reading researcher for 6 years, she joined NCES in 1991. During the first 8 years at NCES, she monitored the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). Since 1999, she has been directing the NAAL project. Dr. White has taught non-native English speaking adults. She created a guided reading program to address the reading comprehension needs of slow readers. Her articles have appeared in journals such as "Language in Society" and "Reading Research Quarterly". * Other panelists: TBA. The webcast will be moderated by Dr. Sandra L. Baxter, Director of the National Institute for Literacy. -------------------------- The National Institute for Literacy has hosted a number of web casts presenting information, findings and results from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), for more information on these webcast, please go to: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/NAAL2003.html. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070813/450db413/attachment.html From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu Thu Aug 16 12:16:51 2007 From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Isserlis, Janet) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:16:51 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 984] Employment opportunity, RI Adult Ed PDC Message-ID: <20EC1BB15C09F340A09A79FA1DBF970602403B78@MAIL3.AD.Brown.Edu> (apologies to those for whom this is a cross-posting; please distribute as you're able to qualified candidates beyond these networks). Rhode Island's newly established Adult Education Professional Development Center seeks a full time director. The PD Center serves approximately 350 teachers and 8,000 learners within 40 adult education agencies across the state. Qualifications for the position include: knowledge and experience of ABE, ASE, ESOL and transition program practice, policy, and research; demonstrated understanding of and skill in professional development; experience in data-based program improvement processes; and proven abilities in the areas of education leadership, program management, communication and evaluation. Please send resume w/references to jtitzel at ric.edu by Sept 7, 2007. From Jessie.Hawthorn at ccd.edu Thu Aug 16 13:14:37 2007 From: Jessie.Hawthorn at ccd.edu (Hawthorn, Jessie) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:14:37 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 985] Skills continuum Message-ID: <0C899101DDC09648838892F012F0D3D001A694E0@ad300cs9.ccd.ccofc.edu> Hello, A colleague and I are starting a Contextual Basic Skills program for TANF clients who are at Grade Equivalent 5.9 and lower. Among 1,000 other things, we are trying to develop a "skills continuum." I am seeking resources for this. What I'm trying to demonstrate/ elicit is that there is a set of "survival" skills everyone should have and that these skills (and others) can be developed incrementally so that someone becomes an "expert". For example: Shopping and preparing food * A single person doing so for him/herself * A couple * A couple w/ a child/children * An informal meal with some immediate/extended family members or a few friends * A holiday dinner for a large group / a dinner party * Catering for individuals and families * Catering for parties/ events * A small diner/ caf? * A large restaurant or hotel conferences/ banquets I want to do this on a few different levels and to brainstorm/ elicit the higher level skills/ expertise involved at each step/ level of the continuum. Does anyone have something like this they're willing to share or can you direct me to a website or other resource for something like this? Thanks Jessie Hawthorn Contextual Basic Skills, Instructor CCD, Workplace Learning Project 1201 Fifth St., Ste. 260 Denver, CO 80204 jessie.hawthorn at ccd.edu PH (303) 352-6913 FAX (303) 352-6919 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070816/a2e87acf/attachment.html From bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net Thu Aug 16 14:45:33 2007 From: bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net (Bonnita Solberg) Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:45:33 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 986] Re: Skills continuum In-Reply-To: <0C899101DDC09648838892F012F0D3D001A694E0@ad300cs9.ccd.ccofc.edu> Message-ID: <966564.23622.qm@web83103.mail.mud.yahoo.com> I was immediately interested in your title, "Contextual" Basic Skills program. We are having a continuing discussion about the difference/likenesses of context and content when referring to curriculum and lesson planning. Just to add more ingredients, could you send me a short explanation of how you came to use this title. Thanks. Bonnita "Hawthorn, Jessie" wrote: Hello, A colleague and I are starting a Contextual Basic Skills program for TANF clients who are at Grade Equivalent 5.9 and lower. Among 1,000 other things, we are trying to develop a "skills continuum." I am seeking resources for this. What I'm trying to demonstrate/ elicit is that there is a set of "survival" skills everyone should have and that these skills (and others) can be developed incrementally so that someone becomes an "expert". For example: Shopping and preparing food A single person doing so for him/herself A couple A couple w/ a child/children An informal meal with some immediate/extended family members or a few friends A holiday dinner for a large group / a dinner party Catering for individuals and families Catering for parties/ events A small diner/ caf? A large restaurant or hotel conferences/ banquets I want to do this on a few different levels and to brainstorm/ elicit the higher level skills/ expertise involved at each step/ level of the continuum. Does anyone have something like this they're willing to share or can you direct me to a website or other resource for something like this? Thanks Jessie Hawthorn Contextual Basic Skills, Instructor CCD, Workplace Learning Project 1201 Fifth St., Ste. 260 Denver, CO 80204 jessie.hawthorn at ccd.edu PH (303) 352-6913 FAX (303) 352-6919 ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to bdsunmt at sbcglobal.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070816/2d5c996a/attachment.html From MMaralit at NIFL.gov Mon Aug 20 17:37:46 2007 From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo) Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:37:46 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 987] REGISTER for the August 29 Health Literacy Webcast Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B15382DCE@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov> REGISTER for the August 29 Webcast: Health Literacy of America's Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy WHEN: August 29, 2007 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern Time 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM Central Time 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Mountain Time 10:30 AM - 12:00 AM Pacific Time *To Register, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/NAALhealth/webcast0829.html * Be sure to mark your calendar for Wednesday, August 29. Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email that gives you more information on how to tune in for the webcast on August 29. (Please note, you will need either Windows Media Player or Real Player to view the webcast. More instructions will be provided, once you have registered.) For more information about this webcast or The National Institute for Literacy, go to: http://www.nifl.gov. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The August 29 webcast will focus on the Health Literacy of America's Adults: Results of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) 2003. The live webcast will feature: * Dr. Sheida White directs the National Assessment of Adult Literacy at the National Center for Education Statistics (or NCES). Her doctoral degree is in linguistics from Georgetown University. After working as a full-time reading researcher for 6 years, she joined NCES in 1991. During the first 8 years at NCES, she monitored the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). Since 1999, she has been directing the NAAL project. Dr. White has taught non-native English speaking adults. She created a guided reading program to address the reading comprehension needs of slow readers. Her articles have appeared in journals such as "Language in Society" and "Reading Research Quarterly". * Other panelists: TBA. * The webcast will be moderated by Dr. Sandra L. Baxter, Director of the National Institute for Literacy. -------------------------- The National Institute for Literacy has hosted a number of web casts presenting information, findings and results from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), for more information on these webcast, please go to: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/NAAL2003.html. From kbeall at onlyinternet.net Thu Aug 23 09:45:06 2007 From: kbeall at onlyinternet.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:45:06 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 988] Survey on Professional Development Needs/National Institute for Literacy Message-ID: <006201c7e58b$d0ff5e00$020ba8c0@your4105e587b6> Adult education teachers and administrators: Have you ever wished you could have some input into decisions that are being made nationally on professional development opportunities? If so, here is your chance to express your opinion and share your thoughts. The National Institute for Literacy is conducting a survey on the professional development needs of adult education practitioners across the country. We need your help to gather information that reflects your own needs in the area of professional development as well as how you think professional development should be offered. We are asking for only 10-15 minutes of your time. Follow this link to take the survey at http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/needssurvey/. Information collected from the professional development needs survey will be used by the Institute and the LINCS Regional Resource Centers to (1) give us insights on how Institute-produced materials and training can be disseminated and (2) identify areas where the Institute might want to develop additional materials and trainings. The Regional Resource Centers will use the data to develop a regional dissemination plan that will include how to best disseminate and present Institute-sponsored resources and training in partnership with the state organizations. The National Institute for Literacy, a federal agency, provides leadership on literacy issues, including the improvement of reading instruction for children, youth, and adults. In consultation with the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Institute serves as a national resource on current, comprehensive literacy research, practice, and policy. The National Institute for Literacy is committed to the dissemination of high-quality resources to help practitioners use evidence-based instructional practices that improve outcomes in adult learners' literacy skills. LINCS is the backbone of the Institute's dissemination system, providing information on a wide variety of literacy relevant topics, issues, and resources through regional resource centers, collections of resources, and discussion lists. For more information about the National Institute for Literacy and LINCS visit http://www.nifl.gov . NOTE: The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1800-0011 v. 86. National Institute for Literacy Regional Resource Centers Kaye Beall, Co-Director Region 1 Resource Center World Education, Inc./U.S. Division kaye_beall at worlded.org 765.717.3942 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070823/236ac29f/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 4101 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070823/236ac29f/attachment.jpe From jataylor at utk.edu Tue Aug 28 15:41:42 2007 From: jataylor at utk.edu (Taylor, Jackie) Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:41:42 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 989] Upcoming Discussion: Project-Based Learning as Professional Development Message-ID: <0913EC48F2B05C4FBE4878BAFCABBFECCF2048@KFSVS2.utk.tennessee.edu> Dear Colleagues: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List is pleased to host a guest discussion next week on Project-Based Learning as Professional Development (http://tinyurl.com/2eum64). Please see below for details. - Sound interesting? We're happy to have you join us! Visit: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment Best wishes, Jackie Taylor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Title: Project-Based Learning as Professional Development Date: September 4 - 11, 2007 Guest: Heide Spruck Wrigley, Senior Researcher, LiteracyWork International Resources for Discussion: http://tinyurl.com/2eum64 To participate, subscribe: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment To submit questions for discussion, email: jataylor at utk.edu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I. Description: Join the Adult Literacy Professional Development List to explore and share innovative practices in Project-Based Learning (PBL) as Professional Development. Guest participant Heide Spruck Wrigley will share her experiences with successful professional development models focused on PBL. A team of teachers who have facilitated student-projects in their classes will actively participate, share their professional development experiences, and offer practical advice on implementing projects. We hope you will join us and share your work. Discussion topics include: * Essential elements of project-based learning * Exploring the value added of project-based learning in ESOL and ABE * Examples of successful professional development models focused on project-based learning * Myths and realities: Is project-based learning time well-spent? * Evidence from research and practice * Assessments in project-based learning and student performance * How to get started in project-based learning This discussion introduces the PD List's Topic-of-the-Month: Keys to Communities of Practice. II. Guest Discussion Biography Heide Spruck Wrigley has been involved in all aspects of adult literacy, including family literacy, workplace literacy, adult ESL, EL civic and transition to higher education. Her work focuses on the intersection of policy, research, professional development, and classroom practice. She is currently a (non-resident) fellow with the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan Think Tank in Washington, D.C. and is finishing up a research and materials development project for Youth-at-Risk outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. Her staff development work around project-based learning includes a 3 year consultancy with Project IDEA, a Texas state wide Master Teacher project focused on PBL and a five year ongoing professional development project with teachers in Socorro, Texas. Her PBL work includes an emphasis on putting low and high end technology in the hands of learners (tape recorders, PowerPoint, digital cameras, video cameras) and creating learner showcases for the demonstration of these projects to a wider community of parents, teachers, and learners. Heide has been key in a number of U.S. national research studies focused on ESL literacy, but she has also been involved with ABE programs, youth literacy programs and with the Adult Literacy Media Alliance (TV 411). Her international work includes evaluations of teacher training programs in Poland and in Egypt, staff development in China, and presentations in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and in the UK. When she's home, Heide lives in Mesilla, a small town in Southern New Mexico, an hour from the US Mexico border. III. Preparation for Discussion Project-Based Learning and Professional Development Practical Ideas Research to Practice (a) ; (d) (c); (f); (e) (a); (b); (g); (h) (a) Research in Action: Teachers, Projects, and Technology http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/newsletr/june04/june04a.htm -- Project-Based Learning and Professional Development (b) Knowledge in Action: The Promise of Project-Based Learning http://www.ncsall.net/?id=384 Focus on Basics, v.2 Issue D -- From Research to Practice (c) Border Program Develops Model for State Socorro Independent School District implements three-year demonstration project www.bordercivics.org -- Examples of lesson plans and projects from Socorro, TX (d) From Low-Tech to High-Tech: Promising Practices in Integrating New Media into Adult Literacy and ESL http://www.literacynewyork.org/publications/LNYPract_June04.pdf -- Examples of Projects that Integrate Technology (e) Teachers Writing about Their Experience with PBL Project-Based Learning: Don't Dictate, Collaborate! http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/newsletr/sum00/sum00a.htm Lights, Camera, Active Learning! Enhancing ESL Instruction Through Video Projects http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/newsletr/june04/june04b.htm (f) Less Teaching and More Learning: Turning from traditional methods to project-based instruction, the author found that her students learned more -- Susan Gaer's article and the terrific website for both interactive computer-based learning and student web projects * Article http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385 * Website for E-Mail Projects http://www.otan.dni.us/webfarm/emailproject/email.htm (g) Problem-Based or Project-Based: Is there a big difference and what's appropriate for my class? Project-Based and Problem-Based: The same or different? http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/PBLGuide/PBL&PBL.htm Problem-based Learning and Adult English Language Learners http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/Problem-based.pdf (h) Project-Based Learning http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Project_Based_Learning -- A Compendium of Ideas and Reports on the Adult Literacy Education Wiki -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070828/57f74a33/attachment.html From pjcross at okcps.org Thu Aug 23 15:36:07 2007 From: pjcross at okcps.org (Cross, Patricia J.) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:36:07 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 991] Re: Survey on Professional DevelopmentNeeds/National Institute for Literacy References: <006201c7e58b$d0ff5e00$020ba8c0@your4105e587b6> Message-ID: I will be glad to fill out the opinion poll you sent; however, I either never received one or I accidently deleted it. If you will send another code I will be glad to fill one out. Pat ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Kaye Beall Sent: Thu 8/23/2007 8:45 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 988] Survey on Professional DevelopmentNeeds/National Institute for Literacy Adult education teachers and administrators: Have you ever wished you could have some input into decisions that are being made nationally on professional development opportunities? If so, here is your chance to express your opinion and share your thoughts. The National Institute for Literacy is conducting a survey on the professional development needs of adult education practitioners across the country. We need your help to gather information that reflects your own needs in the area of professional development as well as how you think professional development should be offered. We are asking for only 10-15 minutes of your time. Follow this link to take the survey at http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/needssurvey/. Information collected from the professional development needs survey will be used by the Institute and the LINCS Regional Resource Centers to (1) give us insights on how Institute-produced materials and training can be disseminated and (2) identify areas where the Institute might want to develop additional materials and trainings. The Regional Resource Centers will use the data to develop a regional dissemination plan that will include how to best disseminate and present Institute-sponsored resources and training in partnership with the state organizations. The National Institute for Literacy, a federal agency, provides leadership on literacy issues, including the improvement of reading instruction for children, youth, and adults. In consultation with the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Institute serves as a national resource on current, comprehensive literacy research, practice, and policy. The National Institute for Literacy is committed to the dissemination of high-quality resources to help practitioners use evidence-based instructional practices that improve outcomes in adult learners' literacy skills. LINCS is the backbone of the Institute's dissemination system, providing information on a wide variety of literacy relevant topics, issues, and resources through regional resource centers, collections of resources, and discussion lists. For more information about the National Institute for Literacy and LINCS visit http://www.nifl.gov . NOTE: The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1800-0011 v. 86. National Institute for Literacy Regional Resource Centers Kaye Beall, Co-Director Region 1 Resource Center World Education, Inc./U.S. Division kaye_beall at worlded.org 765.717.3942 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 12630 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070823/4ed5f792/attachment.bin From ekocher at state.pa.us Tue Aug 28 15:48:10 2007 From: ekocher at state.pa.us (Kocher, Eileen) Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:48:10 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 990] PAACE Request for Proposals Message-ID: <4D4E531F4AA25841BE7BC07B478F574008FA1F9D@enhbgpri06.backup> The 43rd Annual PAACE Midwinter Conference on Adult Education, the largest gathering of adult educators in Pennsylvania, will be held at the Hershey Lodge, February 6-8, 2008. Adult educators and those from related areas will convene for the premier professional development and networking opportunity for all aspects of adult education in the Pennsylvania. The theme, ?Opening Windows,? will provide a focal point for exploring educational opportunities for all types of adult students, more efficient delivery systems, transition to postsecondary education and training, new research, professional development, workforce development, public policy supporting adult education, and an optimistic eye to the future. Keynote speaker will be Dr. Cheryl D. King, study director for the new National Commission on Adult Literacy. Honorary conference chair is the Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board (PA WIB). PAACE (Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education) invites you and your colleagues to submit a proposal for a concurrent session, or a more informal roundtable. Proposals are being accepted NOW and fall into the following 11 categories: Aligned with PAACE Divisions: Adult Basic and Secondary Education (ABSE) Adult Literacy Continuing Higher Education (CHE) Corrections Education English as a Second Language (ESL) Family Literacy Workforce Development Special Categories: Administration Public Policy Research Or: General - of interest to a broad adult education audience and/or does not fit neatly into one of the above categories. We are requesting that all workshop proposals be submitted online. Please note under Format and Technique the option for Roundtable Discussion. We are providing space for facilitated discussions and networking on topics of interest. The Roundtables will convene at round tables accommodating 10 people and as many others who can pull up a chair. If your proposal has been solicited, please be sure to fill in the "Requested by" field. This is not a guarantee of acceptance but will give your proposal special attention. We hope you will consider taking the time to share your work in adult education. Proposal deadline is October 1, 2007. Here is the link to the online proposal form: http://www.smartwebsitesolutions.net/paace_rfp_2008.htm We hope to hear from you! Tana Reiff TIU Community Education Services First Vice-President Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education (PAACE) www.paacesite.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070828/ce44490d/attachment.html From tsticht at znet.com Wed Aug 29 13:27:20 2007 From: tsticht at znet.com (tsticht at znet.com) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 10:27:20 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 992] A Global Network for Adult Literacy Message-ID: <1188408440.46d5ac78742ba@webmail.znet.net> August 28, 2007 Toward a Global Network of Adult Literacy Education in Six Industrialized Nations Tom Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education One of several recent international surveys that have examined adult language, literacy, and numeracy (LLN) education in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States is a report by McKenna & Fitzpatrick (2004). In this work it was noted that three of the nations have unitary governments (Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom) in which policies, funding, and educational practice are directed from a central, national government. The other three nations studied (Australia, Canada, United States) have federated governments in which a central government and a number of separate states or provinces share responsibility for policies, funding, and practices regarding adult LLN provision. As one of these three federated nations, the United States has long had an Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS) that is jointly funded by federal and state governments and operates according to the provisions of a national law. This law, the Adult Education Act of 1966, continues today as the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Title 2, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. For over 40 years now, this adult education system has provided language, literacy, and numeracy instruction for adults 16 years of age or older, who are not in school and have not received a secondary (high) school diploma or its substitute in the form of a General Educational Development (GED) certificate. This is the longest operating, federally legislated, nationally organized, and coherently operating adult LLN system among any of the six nations studied by McKenna & Fitzpatrick (2004). Today the AELS has some two to three million adult enrollees annually, and over its 40 year history over 100 million enrollments have been recorded. This remarkable achievement has been documented by an accountability system in which the states report data to the federal government which then aggregates the data on federal and state funding, enrollments, types of education (adult basic education (ABE), adult secondary education (ASE), or English as a second language (ESL) education), types of personnel (part-time employed, full-time employed, voluntary), and, at times, types of organizations providing the AELS services (e.g., adult high schools, community colleges, community based organizations, etc.). Since 2000, the AELS has operated with a National Reporting System that includes data on funding, enrollments, retention, and completion of programs. Additionally it includes information on progression in learning upward through six levels of achievement in ABE, ASE, and ESL as indicated by performance on standardized tests or other assessments, such as portfolios scored with rubrics. It also includes data on how many adults who are seeking a secondary education diploma or GED achieve this goal, how many of those seeking employment go on to become employed, how many seeking transition to secondary training or education actually complete such a transition, and other data reported by the states. This long-lasting AELS is supplemented in the United States by a number of other organizations such as libraries, community based, charitable organizations, and education providers working under other special government programs of health, human resources development, welfare-to-work, national defense, and early childhood education which includes some adult literacy education. National data on how many of such organizations exist, how many adults they serve, and outcomes achieved are not available to me, if they exist at all. Still, I venture an educated estimate that there may be another one million or so adults served in these various programs. Similarly, in the other six nations studied by McKenna & Fitzpatrick (2004) there are difficulties in acquiring complete data on adult LLN provision across a wide variety of organizations with either governmental or non-governmental sponsorship. But there has been for the last decade or so a growing interest in these industrialized nations in developing more stable, coherent systems of adult literacy provision. >From various ongoing activities in these six nations, new policies and new approaches to adult LLN education have been forthcoming, with improved accountability systems that hold the promise of offering substantial evidence that the provision of LLN for adults is a valuable addition to existing primary, secondary, and tertiary education systems. Over100 million adults in these six nations have been declared to be at risk for low literacy. In all six nations, each year hundreds of thousands of young adults continue to leave the childhood school systems with poor literacy. For these millions of adults, a solid educational LLN system will offer the opportunities for continued growth and development, not only for themselves, but also for their children and their communities. The time for well-funded, world-class education systems for adult LLN provision is upon us. Working together, as various reports indicates is happening, these six industrialized nations form a global network connected by the virtual reality of the world wide web. Through the continuation and expansion of this work, it may be possible to transform the visions of such national education systems from virtual into substantial realities. Reference McKenna, R. & Fitzpatrick, L. (2004). Building sustainable adult literacy policy and provision In Australia: A review of international policy and programs. http://www.ncver.edu.au Thomas G. Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education 2062 Valley View Blvd. El Cajon, CA 92019-2059 Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133 Email: tsticht at aznet.net From kbeall at onlyinternet.net Wed Aug 29 17:23:05 2007 From: kbeall at onlyinternet.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:23:05 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 993] Re: Survey on ProfessionalDevelopmentNeeds/National Institute for Literacy In-Reply-To: References: <006201c7e58b$d0ff5e00$020ba8c0@your4105e587b6> Message-ID: <00be01c7ea82$ca2e52b0$020ba8c0@your4105e587b6> Hi Pat and all, The survey is online. Follow this link: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/needssurvey/ Then scroll down the page to the button that says "Begin" and start the survey. We'll look forward to your responses. Kaye **************** Kaye Beall World Education 6760 West Street Linn Grove, IN 46711 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org _____ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cross, Patricia J. Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2007 3:36 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 991] Re: Survey on ProfessionalDevelopmentNeeds/National Institute for Literacy I will be glad to fill out the opinion poll you sent; however, I either never received one or I accidently deleted it. If you will send another code I will be glad to fill one out. Pat _____ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Kaye Beall Sent: Thu 8/23/2007 8:45 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 988] Survey on Professional DevelopmentNeeds/National Institute for Literacy Adult education teachers and administrators: Have you ever wished you could have some input into decisions that are being made nationally on professional development opportunities? If so, here is your chance to express your opinion and share your thoughts. The National Institute for Literacy is conducting a survey on the professional development needs of adult education practitioners across the country. We need your help to gather information that reflects your own needs in the area of professional development as well as how you think professional development should be offered. We are asking for only 10-15 minutes of your time. Follow this link to take the survey at http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/needssurvey/. Information collected from the professional development needs survey will be used by the Institute and the LINCS Regional Resource Centers to (1) give us insights on how Institute-produced materials and training can be disseminated and (2) identify areas where the Institute might want to develop additional materials and trainings. The Regional Resource Centers will use the data to develop a regional dissemination plan that will include how to best disseminate and present Institute-sponsored resources and training in partnership with the state organizations. The National Institute for Literacy, a federal agency, provides leadership on literacy issues, including the improvement of reading instruction for children, youth, and adults. In consultation with the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Institute serves as a national resource on current, comprehensive literacy research, practice, and policy. The National Institute for Literacy is committed to the dissemination of high-quality resources to help practitioners use evidence-based instructional practices that improve outcomes in adult learners' literacy skills. LINCS is the backbone of the Institute's dissemination system, providing information on a wide variety of literacy relevant topics, issues, and resources through regional resource centers, collections of resources, and discussion lists. For more information about the National Institute for Literacy and LINCS visit http://www.nifl.gov . NOTE: The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1800-0011 v. 86. National Institute for Literacy Regional Resource Centers Kaye Beall, Co-Director Region 1 Resource Center World Education, Inc./U.S. Division kaye_beall at worlded.org 765.717.3942 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 11550 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070829/d9b0ad7e/attachment.bin From djrosen at comcast.net Thu Aug 30 07:02:45 2007 From: djrosen at comcast.net (David J. Rosen) Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 07:02:45 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 994] What International Literacy Programs Offer Programs in the U.S. Message-ID: <3CB4A95D-2A04-4E06-8F68-D6E541DFBFF5@comcast.net> Colleagues, I hope you will join us on September 7th -14th, 2007 for the Special Topics discussion What International Literacy Programs Offer Programs in the U.S. You or your colleagues who may wish to join this discussion can subscribe by going to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics After you complete the simple registration form (30 seconds) you will receive an email asking you to confirm that you wish to subscribe. Immediately reply to the email to complete your subscription. After the discussion ends you can unsubscribe from the same Web address, or stay on for the next discussion. We will talk with adult literacy educator experts who have experience with programs in the U.S. and in other countries. We will discuss with them what they have learned in other countries that may be useful to programs in the U.S. As the theme of this year?s International Literacy Day, on September 8th, is health literacy, we will also explore the intersection in their work of health and literacy. Guest Biographies and Guests' Suggested Readings for this Discussion Dr. Erik Jacobson Erik Jacobson is an Assistant Professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where he works in the Early Childhood, Elementary and Literacy Education Department. One of his research interests is the goals that teachers and students set for themselves in Japanese adult basic education classes (literacy and Japanese as a Second Language). He has been looking at this topic for almost 10 years, and he recently returned from visiting programs in Osaka and Nara. Erik is also the co-area leader of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki section on World Literacy and Nonformal Education, and he maintains a page on world literacy news. Suggested Web sites: Sample Story http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=305624 Context for Japanese ABE ?Multicultural? http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20070327zg.html Buraku Discrimination http://blhrri.org/blhrri_e/blhrri/buraku.htm Organization Japan Society for the Study of Adult and Community Education http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/jssace/index-e.html Dr. John Comings John is a senior research associate and lecturer on education at Harvard's Graduate School of Education and was director of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) from 1996 to 2007. Before HGSE and NCSALL, He spent 12 years as vice president of World Education in Boston. He has worked in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, and he lived for 6 years in Nepal and 2 years in Indonesia. In his international work, he has helped design, implement and evaluate adult literacy programs and skill training programs. Suggested Reading: http://www.worlded.org/docs/Publications/ teaching_adults_to_read.pdf Dr. Ujwala Samant Ujwala Samant is director of Learning for Life UK, a small NGo working in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UK. Under her leadership, LfL has stabilized financially and added new, larger projects and more than tripled their annual income. She was a senior researcher at the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy at Rutgers University, USA. Her research foci include gender, immigrant education, ESOL, learner engagement and voice. She has taught at the International Literacy Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, and been a consultant in the field of development, education and gender. Her doctoral research examined the links between literacy and social change amongst women in Mumbai slums. She received The UK Asian Woman of Achievement 2007 award for Social and Humanitarian work Barbara Garner Known on NIFL?s discussion lists as the editor of ?Focus on Basics?, Barbara Garner led the development of non-profit World Education?s adult literacy efforts in Africa from 1998 through 2004, providing technical assistance around teacher training and curriculum development as well as leadership and program design. Her work took her to Guinea, Mali, Benin, and more recently Egypt, where she consulted on their national adult literacy assessment system. Earlier in her career she worked on non-formal education programs and refugee education programs in Indonesia, Thailand, and Nepal. Suggested Reading: to get a feel for adult literacy in West Africa read "Creating Curricula for Challenging Circumstances" from Focus on Basics http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=199 Pamela Civins Pamela Civins has worked in the field of nonprofit management, formal and nonformal education for over 15 years internationally and in Boston, Massachusetts. Currently, she is the Executive Director of Boston Partners in Education, an organization that enhances the academic achievement and nurtures the personal growth of Boston's public school students by providing them with focused, individualized in-school volunteer support. Pamela has been working exclusively in the US for the past three years. Prior to her work being focused on K-12 urban education, she provided coordination and managerial oversight of nonformal education and literacy programs for girls and women in Nepal, India and Pakistan. For eight years, she worked with the nonprofit, World Education, Inc., both in the US and abroad. She coordinated a women's literacy program and was based in Kathmandu, Nepal for two yeas. Pamela worked extensively in India supporting a collaboration with World Education and the Indian-based nongovernmental organization, PRIA, on a the Women's Empowerment Through Literacy and Livelihoods Development Project, an integrated literacy and livelihoods development program that took place in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. She also provided support to a women's literacy program in Pakistan. Pamela received her BA from the University of Colorado, a MIIM (Masters in Intercultural & International Management) from the School for International Training, and an M.Ed. with a focus on International Education Policy from Harvard University. Recommended readings. http://www.worlded.org/docs/Publications/teaching_adults_to_read.pdf http://www.iiz-dvv.de/englisch/Publikationen/Weltbank/inhalt.htm http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001200/120067Eo.pdf http://www.globalhealth.org/publications/contents.php3?id=2&issue=116 Brenda Bell Brenda Bell, for many years Associate Director of the Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee and Coordinator of the EFF National Center, is currently an education advisor with the Global Learning Group of the Education Development Center (EDC). In 2004 and 2005, she provided support to EDC?s Afghanistan Literacy and Community Empowerment Project which links literacy with governance and economic development activities in 200 rural villages. For the past year, she has been technical advisor to EQuALLS, an education quality and livelihood skills program in over 900 barangays in the western Mindanao area of the Philippines. Additionally, Brenda assists with program assessment, design and development activities in other countries. With many years of experience in nonformal and adult education in the U.S., Brenda (a former Peace Corps volunteer) is enjoying the opportunities and challenges of working outside of the U.S. She lives in Maryville, TN. Suggested Reading: Developing Adult Literacy: Approaches to planning, implementing and delivering literacy initiatives by Juliet Merrifield Juliet McCaffrey Juliet Millican Oxfam, September 30, 2007 [For this discussion this book will be available free online] Juliet Merrifield Juliet Merrifield is Principal of the Friends Centre, an independent adult education centre in Brighton, England. She has worked as an adult educator and researcher for the last 25 years, in the USA, England and Ireland. She was Director of the Learning from Experience Trust in London, and of the Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee, USA. David J. Rosen Special Topics Discussion Moderator djrosen at comcast.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070830/9ab8b56f/attachment.html From mmaralit at nifl.gov Thu Sep 6 08:34:07 2007 From: mmaralit at nifl.gov (Mary Jo Maralit) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 08:34:07 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 995] September 28 Webcast: From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults Message-ID: <20070906123407.2CC4D11B48@mail.nifl.gov> TOPIC: From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults WHEN: Friday, September 28, 2007 TIME: 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Eastern Time 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM Central Time 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM Mountain Time 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM Pacific Time The National Institute for Literacy will host a webcast titled From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults on Friday, September 28, 2007. This webcast will present a practical and compelling rationale for the use of research-based principles for adult reading instruction. Dr. John Kruideiner, Dr. Rosalind Davidson, and Ms. Susan McShane will use two components of reading, word analysis and comprehension, as examples to illustrate research-based practices, focusing on specific assessment and instructional strategies derived from the research. Participants will learn about the direct link between research and evidence-based practice. The presenters also will explain how all four major components of reading provide a framework for assessing students' reading ability and how assessment results can lead to a program of instruction that improve students' reading. For more information, please contact info at nifl.gov or call 202-233-2025 or visit us online at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/assesspractice/webcast0928.html. Please note: This webcast will be archived on the Institute's website about two weeks after the event. From kbeall at onlyinternet.net Thu Sep 6 15:32:22 2007 From: kbeall at onlyinternet.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 15:32:22 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 996] New from NCSALL Message-ID: <00aa01c7f0bc$a5d3fd80$020ba8c0@your4105e587b6> Research Utilization in the Field of Adult Learning and Literacy: Lessons Learned by NCSALL About Connecting Practice, Policy, and Research By Cristine Smith, Beth Bingman, and Kaye Beall This occasional paper is a summary of what the staff of the NCSALL Dissemination Initiative learned about how to connect research, policy and practice in ways that promote evidence-based practice in the field of adult learning and literacy. Go to http://www.ncsall.net/?id=26#utilization to download the paper. **************** Kaye Beall World Education 6760 West Street Linn Grove, IN 46711 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070906/e98ca631/attachment.html From tsticht at znet.com Thu Sep 6 21:50:29 2007 From: tsticht at znet.com (tsticht at znet.com) Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2007 18:50:29 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 997] International Literacy Day and Health Message-ID: <1189129829.46e0ae65b38ab@webmail.znet.net> September 6, 2007 International Literacy Day and Health Tom Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education The theme for International Literacy Day September 8, 2007 is literacy and health. This is a theme that brings together two great scourges of the world today: illiteracy and ill health. But these are not new threats, nor is this the first time that illiteracy and ill health have been paired. Too often it is thought that literacy is something that one must first get before it can be applied to solving important problems like ill health. But that is a myth. The fact is that one can be developing literacy while also working towards better health. One can learn literacy and health information at the same time. Teaching Literacy in Health Contexts in Kentucky Teaching literacy and health together was clearly illustrated in the early part of the 20th century by Cora Wilson Stewart. She founded the Moonlight Schools of Kentucky to bring literacy to the illiterate country folk of Rowan County. In her Country Life Readers, First Book, Stewart (1915) taught reading using what today we would call a "whole language" approach integrated into a variety of functional contexts for the hill and hollow people of her county. One such functional context was health. In one lesson, she taught basic sight word reading using a lesson about the health problems caused by flies. The reading for the lesson went as follows: "Here you are, Mister Fly. I know where you have been. You have been in all kinds of places. You have been to the pig pen and to the cattle pen. You have been to the slops from the sick man. You have been feeding on a dead dog. Now you have come to bring the filth from all of these things to my table. I know what you will do with all this filth. You will drop it into my soup. You will put it in the baby's milk. You will put it on my bread. You will put it on my butter. You will drop it on the meat that I have cooked for dinner. If I let you live you will spoil our food. And if we eat it, we may all be sick. What shall I do? I will kill you, Mister Fly." Teaching Literacy in Health Contexts in India One of the greatest literacy educators of all times was Frank Laubach. Unlike Stewart, Laubach was a very strong proponent of phonics. However, like Stewart, Laubach engaged in teaching literacy in functional contexts, including the integrated teaching of reading and health information. Like Stewart's focus on diseases spread by flies, in one of his lessons for adults in India, Laubach dealt with diseases spread by mosquitoes (Laubach,& Laubach, 1960, p. 257). He called this Fiction with a Lesson. The reading accompanying the reading lesson read as follows: "Stop Mosquitoes! Mosquitoes carry malaria. Malaria makes many people very sick. Malaria may make you sick. It may make your child very sick. The best way to stop malaria is to kill the mosquitoes. Mosquitoes grow in still water. In the little streams and in the lakes the mosquitoes make their home. They like to live in the swamps too. They grow in wells that have no covers on them . Here are four ways that you can kill mosquitoes: 1. Drain the swamps . 2. If you can't drain swamps, pour oil on them . 3. Cover the wells . 4. Get fish for your lake . If you do these four things, soon the mosquitoes will die. You will not get sick with malaria. You will have good health. You will find that the work in killing mosquitoes will be worth the trouble. " [note: this is an abridged version of the reading passage for this lesson.] Teaching Literacy in Health Contexts in World War II During World War II, Paul Witty, a professor of reading instruction, was called upon to develop literacy programs for tunctionally illiterate soldiers. Using a whole word or whole language approach, Witty developed a number of innovations for teaching adult literacy, including the first comic strip for adults learning to read. In a special newspaper for soldiers learning to read, the September 1945 issue included a comic strip entitled Pvt. Pete Keeps Healthy. In this strip, the fictional soldier Private Pete and his sidekick, Daffy, discuss what to do after a long march: Daffy says: I'm glad that march is over, Pete. Pete: So am I. But if we keep fit, marches won't be hard for us. The first thing is to look for blisters. Another soldier says: That's right, Smith. Blisters can cripple any soldier unless he takes care of them. Every man is taught how to care for his feet That's part of first aid. After Daffy and Pete take off their clothes to take a shower, Daffy says: When do we use this foot powder, Pete? Pete says: We should use it after the shower, Daffy. It will keep us from getting athlete's foot. Waking up the next morning, Daffy says: Pete, I think I could lick the world this morning. Pete replies: It is all a matter of keeping fit. I feel the same way. This International Literacy Day, with its theme of literacy and health, adult literacy teachers are urged not to wait until adults have reached some arbitrary level of literacy before teaching them important health information. Instead, teach adults to read and write while they are also learning about health. This way, more adults can stop diseases spread by flies and mosquitoes, they can understand how to keep themselves and their families healthy, and both parents and children can wake up like Daffy and say, "I think I could lick the world this morning!" As Private Pete says, "Its all a matter of keeping fit!" Thomas G. Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education 2062 Valley View Blvd. El Cajon, Ca 92019-2059 Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133 Email: tsticht at aznet.net From djrosen at comcast.net Tue Sep 11 13:17:58 2007 From: djrosen at comcast.net (David J. Rosen) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:17:58 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 998] Special Topics Discussion: Components of Numeracy Message-ID: <23CA4760-2383-4CF0-8384-ADFA5FFFEA87@comcast.net> Colleagues, From September 17th - 21st, the Special Topics list will hold a discussion with Mary Jane Schmitt, Myrna Manly and Dr. Lynda Ginsburg, authors of The Components of Numeracy, an occasional paper published by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy in December 2006. You or your colleagues who may wish to join this discussion can subscribe by going to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics After you complete the simple registration form (30 seconds) you will receive an email asking you to confirm that you wish to subscribe. Immediately reply to the email to complete your subscription. After the discussion ends you can unsubscribe from the same Web address, or stay on for the next discussion. There is a discussion taking place on the Special Topics list now about International Education. It will end Friday, September 14th. If you do not want to get the posts from that discussion, wait until the 15th to subscribe -- but don't wait too long. The Components of Numeracy discussion begins on September 17th. Authors' Biographies Lynda Ginsburg is a senior researcher for mathematics education at Rutgers University and is currently conducting NSF-sponsored research on adult learners' work with their children on mathematics homework and on mathematics learning in out-of-school settings. Prior to this position, she worked at the National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL) for 12 years where she participated in the development of a number of adult education projects including Captured Wisdom, the Professional Development Kit (PDK) and LiteracyLink. She has taught mathematics in high schools, in ABE/GED and workplace programs, and in community college developmental classes. She holds a Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Myrna Manly (B.A. Mathematics, M.A. Education, M.S. Applied Mathematics) has experience teaching mathematics at many academic levels, most recently as a Professor of Mathematics at El Camino College. In that capacity, she developed curricula designed to adapt the foundation courses for the needs of at-risk students. She also is the author of The GED Math Problem Solver, a textbook that integrates all the strands of math into a coherent approach to test preparation. In addition to instruction, she has been involved with the assessment of the mathematics proficiency of adults as the Mathematics Specialist for the 1988 version of the GED test and as a member of the numeracy team for the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL). She also brings experience in Professional Development to the project, having worked with states and programs, facilitating staff- development and train-the-trainer workshops (e.g. Making Math Meaningful in CA and VA, GED as Project in VA, GED Math Institute in Washington, DC) that were aimed at improving mathematics instruction to adults. Mary Jane Schmitt has been an adult educator for over 35 years. She has taught mathematics in ABE, GED, and ESL programs, has worked at the Massachusetts Department of Education, and is currently a project director at TERC in Cambridge, MA, where she directs the Adult Numeracy at TERC projects. Mary Jane is the co-author and co-principal investigator for the Extending Mathematical Power (EMPower) Project Mathematics Curriculum for Adult Learners recently published by Key Curriculum Press. She is a co-founder of the Adult Numeracy Network (ANN). Mary Jane's undergraduate degree is in mathematics and she holds an M.Ed. from Harvard University. She is the 2004 recipient of the Kenneth J. Mattran Award for exemplary work at the national and international levels given by the Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE). Discussion Preparation Recommended Readings The Components of Numeracy (especially the summary on page 34) The Adult Numeracy Network's "Teaching and Learning Principles" and "Professional Development Principles." The Inclusion of Numeracy in Adult Basic Education, Volume 3, Chapter 5, Review of Adult Learning and Literacy To gain insight into the importance of numeracy or quantitative literacy in today's society, select a few chapters that interest you from "Mathematics and Democracy: The case for Quantitative Literacy." David J. Rosen Special Topics Discussion Moderator djrosen at comcast.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070911/26a924d3/attachment.html From djrosen at comcast.net Wed Sep 12 09:56:27 2007 From: djrosen at comcast.net (David J. Rosen) Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 09:56:27 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 999] Special Topics Discussion: Components of Numeracy (with links to readings) Message-ID: Colleagues, I sent this message a few days ago but the links to the readings did not appear, so here they are -- at the bottom of the message. David J. Rosen Special Topics Discussion Leader djrosen at comcast.net From September 17th - 21st, the Special Topics list will hold a discussion with Mary Jane Schmitt, Myrna Manly and Dr. Lynda Ginsburg, authors of The Components of Numeracy, an occasional paper published by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy in December 2006. You or your colleagues who may wish to join this discussion can subscribe by going to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics After you complete the simple registration form (30 seconds) you will receive an email asking you to confirm that you wish to subscribe. Immediately reply to the email to complete your subscription. After the discussion ends you can unsubscribe from the same Web address, or stay on for the next discussion. There is a discussion taking place on the Special Topics list now about International Education. It will end Friday, September 14th. If you do not want to get the posts from that discussion, wait until the 15th to subscribe -- but don't wait too long. The Components of Numeracy discussion begins on September 17th. Authors' Biographies Lynda Ginsburg is a senior researcher for mathematics education at Rutgers University and is currently conducting NSF-sponsored research on adult learners' work with their children on mathematics homework and on mathematics learning in out-of-school settings. Prior to this position, she worked at the National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL) for 12 years where she participated in the development of a number of adult education projects including Captured Wisdom, the Professional Development Kit (PDK) and LiteracyLink. She has taught mathematics in high schools, in ABE/GED and workplace programs, and in community college developmental classes. She holds a Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Myrna Manly (B.A. Mathematics, M.A. Education, M.S. Applied Mathematics) has experience teaching mathematics at many academic levels, most recently as a Professor of Mathematics at El Camino College. In that capacity, she developed curricula designed to adapt the foundation courses for the needs of at-risk students. She also is the author of The GED Math Problem Solver, a textbook that integrates all the strands of math into a coherent approach to test preparation. In addition to instruction, she has been involved with the assessment of the mathematics proficiency of adults as the Mathematics Specialist for the 1988 version of the GED test and as a member of the numeracy team for the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL). She also brings experience in Professional Development to the project, having worked with states and programs, facilitating staff- development and train-the-trainer workshops (e.g. Making Math Meaningful in CA and VA, GED as Project in VA, GED Math Institute in Washington, DC) that were aimed at improving mathematics instruction to adults. Mary Jane Schmitt has been an adult educator for over 35 years. She has taught mathematics in ABE, GED, and ESL programs, has worked at the Massachusetts Department of Education, and is currently a project director at TERC in Cambridge, MA, where she directs the Adult Numeracy at TERC projects. Mary Jane is the co-author and co-principal investigator for the Extending Mathematical Power (EMPower) Project Mathematics Curriculum for Adult Learners recently published by Key Curriculum Press. She is a co-founder of the Adult Numeracy Network (ANN). Mary Jane's undergraduate degree is in mathematics and she holds an M.Ed. from Harvard University. She is the 2004 recipient of the Kenneth J. Mattran Award for exemplary work at the national and international levels given by the Commission on Adult Basic Education (COABE). Discussion Preparation Recommended Readings ?The Components of Numeracy? (especially the summary on p. 34) http:// www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/op_numeracy.pdf The Adult Numeracy Network?s ?Teaching and Learning Principles? and ?Professional Development Principles.? http://www.literacynet.org/ann/ teachingandlearningprinciplesv610.30.05 (newest).pdf The Inclusion of Numeracy in Adult Basic Education, Volume 3, Chapter 5, Review of Adult Learning and Literacy http://www.ncsall.net/?id=566 To gain insight into the importance of numeracy or quantitative literacy in today?s society, select a few chapters that interest you from ?Mathematics and Democracy: The case for Quantitative Literacy.? http://www.maa.org/ql/mathanddemocracy.html ----- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070912/5df6ff68/attachment.html From kbeall at onlyinternet.net Sat Sep 15 09:11:25 2007 From: kbeall at onlyinternet.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2007 09:11:25 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1000] Change Agent "Call for Articles" and "Call for Artists" -- please forward widely Message-ID: <008c01c7f799$eba34030$020ba8c0@your4105e587b6> Change Agent CALL FOR ARTICLES Theme: Voting and Advocacy Voting is one of the most fundamental ways to participate in democracy. Even those who cannot vote can still be a part of elections in other ways. Speaking up about issues that matter to you is also an important part of civic life. We are interested in hearing from teachers and adult learners about their experiences with voting or advocating to change public policy. The writings will be considered for a non-partisan edition on Voting and Advocacy that aims to provide adult educators and learners with re-usable materials that encourage activism, advocacy, and informed voting. Questions for students and teachers to think about (please choose one question to write on): ? Have you recently voted in an election? What motivated you to do so? Why vote? ? Have you ever been involved in calling, writing or visiting your elected representatives? What was the situation? How did you feel? What difference did it make? ? If you can?t vote but you?re politically active, tell us what you do to get involved in elections or support candidates or campaigns? ? Have you ever spoken up for something you believe in? What was it? What was your experience? What other channels (besides voting) have you used to make your voice heard? ? What do you think about the U.S. electoral system? Feel free to comment on any relevant elements, such as representative democracy, the electoral college, the two-party system, etc. ? Some people are not allowed to vote, such as those who are under 18, those who do not have citizenship, and (in some states) those who have committed felonies. What do you think about this? ? Teachers, are you organizing your students to vote or advocate for changes in the program, the community, the state, or the nation? Tell us what you are doing, what progress you?re making, and how students are responding to these activities. ? Write to us about successful lessons you?ve used in your classroom on voting or advocacy. Send us a lesson plan or lesson description that other teachers could use. All articles must be received by November 12, 2007. All articles will be considered. Suggested length is 500-1,200 words. Final decisions are made by The Change Agent editorial board. A stipend of $50 will be paid to each adult education student whose work is accepted for publication in this issue. Please send material (preferably by email) to: Cynthia Peters, Editor New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education 44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210 Phone: 617-482-9485 fax: 617-482-0617; email: cpeters at worlded.org The mission of The Change Agent is to provide news, issues, ideas, and other teaching resources that inspire and enable adult educators and learners to make civic participation and social justice concerns part of their teaching and learning. It is published by the New England Literacy Resource Center at World Education. www.nelrc.org/changeagent Are you an Adult Education Student who is also an Artist Illustrator Cartoonist Graffiti Artist Computer Graphic Artist or Calligrapher ???? The Change Agent - a social justice magazine for adult learners and adult educators - comes out twice a year. We are looking for artwork, illustrations, and innovative designs to accompany articles in upcoming issues. Please submit a sample of your work. We will keep your name and work on file and we will call you to solicit your help with designing and illustrating future articles. If we use your work, we will pay a stipend of $50. Contact Cynthia Peters at cpeters at worlded.org or 617-482-9485. Send your samples to The Change Agent, 44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210. Learn more about The Change Agent at www.nelrc.org/changeagent. **************** Kaye Beall World Education 6760 West Street Linn Grove, IN 46711 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070915/d78390e9/attachment.html From wrmuth at vcu.edu Sun Sep 16 14:15:23 2007 From: wrmuth at vcu.edu (William R Muth/FS/VCU) Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 14:15:23 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1001] Correctional Education Discussion In-Reply-To: <3F0D6BB7-F432-449B-8CAB-F38693252B3D@comcast.net> Message-ID: Dear Literacy Colleagues, When David Rosen recently solicited ideas for NIFL?s Special Topics Discussion Group, many of you suggested topics related to Correctional Education. You may recall that last September, NIFL hosted a CE-related discussion led by David, John Linton, Steve Steurer and myself, in which engaged, resourceful educators from around the country contributed. That discussion has been complied and is now-ready-for-Wiki-time-players. You can locate it on the Corrections page of the ALE Wiki at: http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Corrections_Education Scroll down to item 10.2.2. to find the discussion, ?Correctional Ed, Family Literacy & Transition--On-Line Discussion, September 2006.? If we do have another CE discussion (and I certainly hope we do), I ask David to consider this as a reference. Thank you! - Bill Muth, VCU -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20070916/68b360a3/attachment.html From MMaralit at NIFL.gov Tue Sep 18 11:09:00 2007 From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo) Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:09:00 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1002] Sept. 28 Webcast: Registration OPEN References: <0122B345-3693-4B80-99C2-AE93BDC64E31@comcast.net> Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B15382EB7@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov> >From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults Webcast to be held Friday September 28, 2007 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Eastern Time 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM Central Time 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM Mountain Time 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM Pacific Time To register, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/assesspractice/webcast0928.html The National Institute for Literacy is pleased to host a webcast titled From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults on Friday, September 28, 2007. Join Dr. John Kruidenier, Dr. Rosalind Davidson, and Ms. Susan McShane as they present a practical and compelling rationale for the use of research-based principles for adult reading instruction. Viewers can participate by submitting questions to panelist after the presentations. Please feel free to pass along to others who may be interested in viewing this webcast. For more information on the National Institute for Literacy, go to : http://www.nifl.gov or call 202-233-2025. Regards, Jo Maralit mmaralit at nifl.gov From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Sep 26 10:41:08 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:41:08 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1003] New FOB issue on the horizon! Message-ID: <46FA37450200002D00003BC6@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I apologize for the long silence on this list! As you know, we have no ongoing funding for FOB, but World Education, Inc. has agreed to fund two more issues and we are still looking for a permanent source. Because of this uncertain future, we did not get a renewed contract for this discussion list, but we are stretching the remaining funds from last year in order to have some discussions about articles in the upcoming two issues. So we are no longer highlighting the FOB Article-of-the-Week, and the list will be quiet until the new issue comes out. I will, however, keep checking for postings so you are still welcome to make announcements or comments, or ask questions. The new issue is expected out sometime next month and is about learning disabilities. Barb is excited about it, and we will tell you when it is available. (It will only be available in electronic form, but can be printed out of course for hard copy distribution in your programs.) Many of you are also subscribed to other National Institute for Literacy discussion lists, but for those who are not familiar with the others, you can learn about them (and subscribe if you wish) at this link: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html I hope you all had a rejuvenating summer! All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Sep 27 10:44:39 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 10:44:39 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1004] Discussion on Technology List next week: Online Self-Assessment Message-ID: <46FB89970200002D00003C21@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Folks, I am passing this on from Mariann Fedele from the Technology & Literacy list about an upcoming discussion. Read on if you are interested. You can subscribe to the Tech list (and unsubscribe after the discussion if you wish) at: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Technology Thanks, Julie ****************************** Discussion Announcement: On October 1 - 5, Marian Thacher will be joining the NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List to lead a discussion on the new online technology self-assessment for teachers at AdultEd Online, www.adultedonline.org. Marian is the director of OTAN (www.otan.us) a California adult education project that provides information and technology integration support for adult educators in California. Prior to her five years with OTAN, she taught ESL and was involved in workplace education and media projects in San Diego and Chicago. In addition to sharing information about the self-assessment and the professional development plan that accompanies it, Marian will share the development process and resources that were used to create the tool. Questions related to technology integration are: 1. What are the skills an adult education teacher should have in order to use technology effectively with learners? 2. What is the role of a professional development plan, and how should it be used? 3. How do we keep up with the fast pace of technology change? What are our learning strategies? What other questions would you like to discuss about technology integration competencies, professional development plans, and the challenge of keeping up? Mariann Fedele Director, NYC Regional Adult Education Network Literacy Assistance Center Moderator, NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List 32 Broadway 10th Floor New York, New York 10004 212-803-3325 mariannf at lacnyc.org www.lacnyc.org Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From gspangenberg at caalusa.org Mon Oct 1 13:32:25 2007 From: gspangenberg at caalusa.org (Gail Spangenberg) Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 13:32:25 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1005] Commission paper by Julie Strawn released References: <29665244-BB3C-424E-9C9B-09C238726837@caalusa.org> Message-ID: <99D23018-FAAA-4390-A4D9-71BCEE1B6202@caalusa.org> > > New York, NY 10-1-07 -- The Council for Advancement of Adult > Literacy (CAAL) has released a new Policy Brief by senior analyst > Julie Strawn of the Center for Law and Social Policy. This > publication, POLICIES TO PROMOTE ADULT EDUCATION AND POSTSECONDARY > ALIGNMENT, was prepared for the 3rd meeting of the National > Commission on Adult Literacy on August 20, 2007. As introduced by > its author, the publication focuses on "helping adults with lower > skills and/or limited English proficiency earn postsecondary > credentials that open doors to family-supporting jobs." It examines > obstacles to moving toward this goal -- with major attention to > lack of alignment between federal and state adult education > efforts, job training services, and postsecondary education > policies. It also draws attention to the financial, personal, and > family challenges that prevent adults from seeking and completing > programs. Numerous policy and action recommendations are given for > Commission consideration. The publication is available for download > from the website of the National Commission, at > www.nationalcommissiononadultliteracy.org/pandp.html It is also > available in bound version from CAAL (for pricing and ordering > instructions, bheitner at caalusa.org). > > Other materials developed for various meetings of the National > Commission are also available at the Commission's website. The > website, and publications and the activities of the National > Commission, are supported by grants and in-kind support from the > Dollar General Corporation, The McGraw-Hill Companies, the Ford > Foundation, and several individual donors including Harold W. > McGraw, Jr. > > > > > Gail Spangenberg President Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy 1221 Avenue of the Americas - 46th Fl New York, NY 10020 212-512-2362, F: 212-512-2610 www.caalusa.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071001/60398fd5/attachment.html From tsticht at znet.com Tue Oct 2 16:36:47 2007 From: tsticht at znet.com (tsticht at znet.com) Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:36:47 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1006] Milestones in Adult Literacy Message-ID: <1191357407.4702abdf72746@webmail.znet.net> October 2, 2007 Milestones in the History of Adult Literacy Education Tom Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education In a number of venues in the last few years I have presented a speech entitled "The Shoulders on Which We Stand." This presentation has reviewed a number of great adult literacy educators who have worked to teach reading to adults from the time of the Civil War to World War II. After the presentation I have often been asked for references to any papers I have written about this history of adult literacy education, and I have provided a reference to papers on the www.nald.ca library web pages. But those papers do not include any photographs or other graphics that I use in my presentation. Now the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) has produced a new electronic newspaper series called QEd. This e-newspaper is available on the www.nifl.gov web site. The QEd will present a series of five e-papers on the scientific evidence for adult literacy educators. Additionally, the series will provide a series of brief notes from my presentation on The Shoulders on Which We Stand called Milestones. According to the first issue, "Milestones features some of the exceptional people who have been part of the long history of adult literacy education in the United States. It also illustrates the movement toward integrating professional wisdom and scientific approaches in teaching reading to adults." In the NIFL newsletter in addition to text there are photos or other graphics that those who have attended my presentation have asked about. Now you can acquire a series of historical Milestones with text and photos that can be used to inspire adult educators in their work by letting them see that they are part of a long term effort by some people just like themselves. These are people dedicated to helping adults learn to read and write and they provide The Shoulders on Which We Stand today. The text of the first Milestone follows. "HARRIET A. JACOBS: LITERACY AND LIBERATION by Tom Sticht One of the earliest accounts of teaching an adult to read comes from the slave Harriet A.Jacobs (1813-1897).Even though it was unlawful to teach slaves to read,Jacobs ?owner ?s daughter taught her to read and write.In 1861,after she became a free woman,Jacobs wrote "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself "(Jacobs,1987/1861).In the book she tells how she helped an older black man,a slave like her,learn to read:"I taught him his A,B,C ?his progress was astonishing ?At the end of six months he had read through the New Testament and could find any text in it." Later,Jacobs taught literacy to former slaves in the Freedmen ?s schools during Reconstruction following the Civil War." You will find a photo of Harriet Jacobs in the first issue of the QEd. Collect all five issues of the QEd for a nice illustrated set of Milestones of adult literacy education in the United States. Thomas G. Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education 2062 Valley View Blvd. El Cajon, CA 92019-2059 Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133 Email: tsticht at aznet.net From kbeall at onlyinternet.net Wed Oct 3 12:19:54 2007 From: kbeall at onlyinternet.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 12:19:54 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1007] New Issue of The Change Agent--"Taking Action to Stay in School" Message-ID: <012201c805d9$3c2c08a0$020ba8c0@your4105e587b6> ANNOUNCING -- A brand new issue of The Change Agent -- "Taking Action to Stay in School" How do students support each other to stay in school? How do they work together to find personal and collective solutions to the problems that make it hard for them to stay in school? How do they inspire, motivate, and encourage each other to balance a multitude of demands so that they can stay in school? In this issue, you'll find powerful writings by students and teachers, ready-to-use lesson plans, poetry, math, policy analysis, hands-on activities, and more. There are several cartoons that are great to use at any level but are especially helpful in the ESOL classroom. SUBSCRIBE NOW by visiting our web site ( www.nelrc.org/changeagent) or calling 617-482-9485 ext. 491. ORDER IN BULK so that all your students can have their own copy of this inspiring issue. SUPPORT THE ONGOING WORK of The Change Agent to make social justice part of the adult education classroom. **************** Kaye Beall World Education 6760 West Street Linn Grove, IN 46711 Tel: 765-717-3942 Fax: 617-482-0617 kaye_beall at worlded.org http://www.worlded.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071003/eaed0667/attachment.html From kelly at gcflearnfree.org Thu Oct 4 09:56:00 2007 From: kelly at gcflearnfree.org (Kelly Potter Markham) Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:56:00 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1008] Free Online Resource Message-ID: <000b01c8068e$4c205850$e46108f0$@org> Good morning, My name is Kelly Potter and I work for a free, online training website, GCFLearnFree.org. We are a free program b/c we are funded by Goodwill Industries of Eastern NC. Our goal is to provide learning opportunities for people so they can acquire the skills they need to be succeed. I've been reading this discussion list for about a year now, but have never posted before. I'm excited that now I have some worth posting about! Since 1999 GCFLearnFree.org has offered free computer training online. This training includes topics such as Open Office, Computer Basics, Internet Basics, and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Publisher. We're currently in the process of revitalizing our computer training curriculum to include video lessons along with our text-based lessons. Just this week we launched a new project, which we call Everyday Life. It is geared toward adult basic education, ESL students, and learners that need to acquire functional literacy skills. Some of our initial lessons include how to use an ATM, complete a bank deposit slip, use bus maps, and complete a job application. Our interactive lessons are not intended to teach vocabulary and reading skills, but rather to provide learners with a safe environment where they can practice new skills without real-world consequences and the fear of failure. Our goal with these lessons was to create a realistic environment that learners would relate to. Some of the lessons are intentionally easy, and we will be adding lessons in the future to increase the difficulty level. So far, we've used local literacy centers as a resource and as a source of user testing. If you have a moment, please take a look at our Everyday Life curriculum and let me know what you think. You do have to create an account on our website to view the lessons; however, it is free and the only personal information we ask is your email address. We don't share your information with others and we'll only send you information about the site if you opt-in for the newsletter. Please post your thoughts to the list, or you can email me directly at kelly at gcflearnfree.org. I'm interested in any feedback you have about our Everyday Life project and hope that it will be a resource you can use with your learners. Thank you, Kelly Potter www.GCFLearnFree.org The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! GCFLearnFree.org 321 W. Hargett Street Raleigh, NC 27601 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071004/288ef43f/attachment.html From tbeyene at juno.com Thu Oct 4 19:21:52 2007 From: tbeyene at juno.com (tbeyene at juno.com) Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 23:21:52 GMT Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1009] Re: Free Online Resource Message-ID: <20071004.162152.5460.0@webmail03.vgs.untd.com> Kelly, I checked out your free on-line eduction website, and am now registered. It is great, very great for beginners. Keep up the excellent work!! And thank you for directing us to your website! I look forward to the time when you will come up with educational DVDs of the same contents. --Temesghen -- "Kelly Potter Markham" wrote: Return-Path: Received: from mx14.dca.untd.com (mx14.dca.untd.com [10.171.44.44]) by maildeliver08.vgs.untd.com with SMTP id AABDSK8EPA5MCFL2 for (sender ); Thu, 4 Oct 2007 07:28:30 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail.nifl.gov (mail.nifl.gov [66.101.212.170]) by mx14.dca.untd.com with SMTP id AABDSK8EPAM2Z6C2 for (sender ); Thu, 4 Oct 2007 07:28:29 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail.nifl.gov (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by mail.nifl.gov (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2297311BA9 for ; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 10:28:29 -0400 (EDT) X-Original-To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Delivered-To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Received: from gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com (gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com [63.134.207.9]) by mail.nifl.gov (Postfix) with SMTP id 6F06E11AFD for ; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:55:22 -0400 (EDT) Received: from maila7.webcontrolcenter.com (unverified [216.119.106.105]) by gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com (SurgeMail 3.8k4) with ESMTP id 35679523-1777422 for ; Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:09:03 -0700 Received: from mhn.org [209.42.196.66] by maila7.webcontrolcenter.com with SMTP; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 06:54:47 -0700 From: "Kelly Potter Markham" To: Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:56:00 -0400 Message-ID: <000b01c8068e$4c205850$e46108f0$@org> MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook 12.0 Thread-Index: AcgGjkuFh7pXcBneR16kxiiQwnmHmA== Content-Language: en-us X-Mailman-Approved-At: Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:27:56 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1008] Free Online Resource X-BeenThere: focusonbasics at nifl.gov X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.9 Precedence: list Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List List-Id: The Focus on Basics Discussion List List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="===============1839963678==" Sender: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov Errors-To: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov X-ContentStamp: 19:9:3381855369 X-MAIL-INFO:477d30113039b5553971793934749df11dc9fdd094514014d43531c4dd41c4d4550dd47d303d19c4217dc441cd91e991e1f5e0e4b0e059a0008db059616134842910f9cdb150a595d5d091e924ad3d813195a02020406dc9ed407d40c4c455c47d7db53019112500b4943511c96175655150d43524d165310140c41d113d44f54d4d3d4d848410a595cdaded14d901e979b51104e074010dc08034d9a1bd040df90d052995d5a50d10a01119bd954490e9b05d641090e1e9cdf170e0f9e1e4216175f0 X-UNTD-Peer-Info: 66.101.212.170|mail.nifl.gov|mail.nifl.gov|focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov X-UNTD-UBE:-1 Good morning, My name is Kelly Potter and I work for a free, online training website, GCFLearnFree.org. We are a free program b/c we are funded by Goodwill Industries of Eastern NC. Our goal is to provide learning opportunities for people so they can acquire the skills they need to be succeed. I?ve been reading this discussion list for about a year now, but have never posted before. I?m excited that now I have some worth posting about! Since 1999 GCFLearnFree.org has offered free computer training online. This training includes topics such as Open Office, Computer Basics, Internet Basics, and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Publisher. We?re currently in the process of revitalizing our computer training curriculum to include video lessons along with our text-based lessons. Just this week we launched a new project, which we call Everyday Life. It is geared toward adult basic education, ESL students, and learners that need to acquire functional literacy skills. Some of our initial lessons include how to use an ATM, complete a bank deposit slip, use bus maps, and complete a job application. Our interactive lessons are not intended to teach vocabulary and reading skills, but rather to provide learners with a safe environment where they can practice new skills without real-world consequences and the fear of failure. Our goal with these lessons was to create a realistic environment that learners would relate to. Some of the lessons are intentionally easy, and we will be adding lessons in the future to increase the difficulty level. So far, we?ve used local literacy centers as a resource and as a source of user testing. If you have a moment, please take a look at our Everyday Life curriculum and let me know what you think. You do have to create an account on our website to view the lessons; however, it is free and the only personal information we ask is your email address. We don?t share your information with others and we?ll only send you information about the site if you opt-in for the newsletter. Please post your thoughts to the list, or you can email me directly at kelly at gcflearnfree.org. I?m interested in any feedback you have about our Everyday Life project and hope that it will be a resource you can use with your learners. Thank you, Kelly Potter www.GCFLearnFree.org The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! GCFLearnFree.org 321 W. Hargett Street Raleigh, NC 27601 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071004/c0bda12b/attachment.html From kelly at gcflearnfree.org Fri Oct 5 09:55:37 2007 From: kelly at gcflearnfree.org (Kelly Potter Markham) Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 09:55:37 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1010] Additional Information about GCFLeanFree.org Message-ID: <002b01c80757$68feb010$3afc1030$@org> Thanks to everyone who took a look at our site, www.GCFLearnFree.org, yesterday. Throughout the day, several of you emailed me and let me know that we were having some issues with our Join Now/Create an Account process. We just launched our redesigned site on Monday, and while we thought we had all the "bugs" worked out, a few were discovered yesterday. I think we have it all fixed and it should work correctly now. If you have any difficulties with creating a free account, please let me know! If you have not already taken a look at our new Everyday Life program, I encourage you to do so. We currently have 17 interactive lessons available, but will be releasing many, many more topics in the future. Current lessons include using an ATM, completing a bank deposit form, filling out a job application, using a bus map, and much more. I highly recommend you complete the short Tutorial before you begin. The lessons make a lot more sense after completing the tutorial, and you can understand how low-literacy learners would be instructed to complete the lessons. You will want to view the lessons with the sound on your computer turned on. Lessons have audio and text directions. Some of you may be interested in our Computer Training section, as well. Here we cover topics such as Computer Basics, Internet Safety, OpenOffice, and Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and more. Our Computer Training lessons are primarily text and screenshot-based, so may not be appropriate for all learners; however, we are moving to a video-based lesson format with supplemental text. You can take a look at our Publisher 2003 lessons to get a better idea of how we will develop future topics. If it sounds like our site may be of use to you or your learners, please take a look at it. It is a completely free resource! And don't worry, when you create an account with us, we will never share your information with others or email you unless you opt-in for the newsletter. If you have any feedback, please let me know. We are especially interested in what literacy professionals think of these initial lessons and any topics that you think would be worthwhile for us to cover in our next round of production. Thanks for your time. Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071005/043a1b41/attachment.html From kelly at gcflearnfree.org Fri Oct 5 12:46:20 2007 From: kelly at gcflearnfree.org (Kelly Potter Markham) Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 12:46:20 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1011] Educational DVDs of GCFLearnFree.org Message-ID: <007901c8076f$4279c520$c76d4f60$@org> Temesghen, Thanks for the positive words about the site. You mentioned educational DVDs. We're actually working on that right now. We've had a lot of interest from the prison system about it since inmates don't have Internet access. The idea is that many inmates have been in prison since before ATMs and debit card machines, so many of our lessons would help with acclimating them to society. The other lessons would be helpful as well, since there are many low-literacy learners in the prison system. What is your interest in the DVDs? Do your learners have limited Internet access? It would be helpful for us to determine what other audiences would benefit from the DVDs if we decide to produce them and distribute them for free. Thanks, Kelly Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071005/7a5fc8fe/attachment.html From JHouck at iel.spokane.edu Fri Oct 5 14:13:42 2007 From: JHouck at iel.spokane.edu (Houck, Jenny) Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:13:42 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1012] Re: Free Online Resource References: <20071004.162152.5460.0@webmail03.vgs.untd.com> Message-ID: <0E73093072A5F541A3090981064974A90333AC91@IEL-EX.iel.spokane.cc.wa.us> Kelly, I also checked out the website and found it very useful. Our campus has now transitioned to Office 2007. When will you have training available for this update? Also, I didn't see training available for Blackboard, but it might be a helpful addition, as many students are pursuing online degrees. Thanks for sharing!! Jenny Houck Computer Lab Instructor Institute for Extended Learning jhouck at iel.spokane.edu ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of tbeyene at juno.com Sent: Thu 10/4/2007 4:21 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1009] Re: Free Online Resource Kelly, I checked out your free on-line eduction website, and am now registered. It is great, very great for beginners. Keep up the excellent work!! And thank you for directing us to your website! I look forward to the time when you will come up with educational DVDs of the same contents. --Temesghen -- "Kelly Potter Markham" wrote: Return-Path: Received: from mx14.dca.untd.com (mx14.dca.untd.com [10.171.44.44]) by maildeliver08.vgs.untd.com with SMTP id AABDSK8EPA5MCFL2 for (sender ); Thu, 4 Oct 2007 07:28:30 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail.nifl.gov (mail.nifl.gov [66.101.212.170]) by mx14.dca.untd.com with SMTP id AABDSK8EPAM2Z6C2 for (sender ); Thu, 4 Oct 2007 07:28:29 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail.nifl.gov (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by mail.nifl.gov (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2297311BA9 for ; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 10:28:29 -0400 (EDT) X-Original-To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Delivered-To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Received: from gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com (gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com [63.134.207.9]) by mail.nifl.gov (Postfix) with SMTP id 6F06E11AFD for ; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:55:22 -0400 (EDT) Received: from maila7.webcontrolcenter.com (unverified [216.119.106.105]) by gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com (SurgeMail 3.8k4) with ESMTP id 35679523-1777422 for ; Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:09:03 -0700 Received: from mhn.org [209.42.196.66] by maila7.webcontrolcenter.com with SMTP; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 06:54:47 -0700 From: "Kelly Potter Markham" To: Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:56:00 -0400 Message-ID: <000b01c8068e$4c205850$e46108f0$@org> MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook 12.0 Thread-Index: AcgGjkuFh7pXcBneR16kxiiQwnmHmA== Content-Language: en-us X-Mailman-Approved-At: Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:27:56 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1008] Free Online Resource X-BeenThere: focusonbasics at nifl.gov X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.9 Precedence: list Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List List-Id: The Focus on Basics Discussion List List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="===============1839963678==" Sender: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov Errors-To: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov X-ContentStamp: 19:9:3381855369 X-MAIL-INFO:477d30113039b5553971793934749df11dc9fdd094514014d43531c4dd41c4d4550dd47d303d19c4217dc441cd91e991e1f5e0e4b0e059a0008db059616134842910f9cdb150a595d5d091e924ad3d813195a02020406dc9ed407d40c4c455c47d7db53019112500b4943511c96175655150d43524d165310140c41d113d44f54d4d3d4d848410a595cdaded14d901e979b51104e074010dc08034d9a1bd040df90d052995d5a50d10a01119bd954490e9b05d641090e1e9cdf170e0f9e1e4216175f0 X-UNTD-Peer-Info: 66.101.212.170|mail.nifl.gov|mail.nifl.gov|focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov X-UNTD-UBE:-1 Good morning, My name is Kelly Potter and I work for a free, online training website, GCFLearnFree.org. We are a free program b/c we are funded by Goodwill Industries of Eastern NC. Our goal is to provide learning opportunities for people so they can acquire the skills they need to be succeed. I've been reading this discussion list for about a year now, but have never posted before. I'm excited that now I have some worth posting about! Since 1999 GCFLearnFree.org has offered free computer training online. This training includes topics such as Open Office, Computer Basics, Internet Basics, and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Publisher. We're currently in the process of revitalizing our computer training curriculum to include video lessons along with our text-based lessons. Just this week we launched a new project, which we call Everyday Life. It is geared toward adult basic education, ESL students, and learners that need to acquire functional literacy skills. Some of our initial lessons include how to use an ATM, complete a bank deposit slip, use bus maps, and complete a job application. Our interactive lessons are not intended to teach vocabulary and reading skills, but rather to provide learners with a safe environment where they can practice new skills without real-world consequences and the fear of failure. Our goal with these lessons was to create a realistic environment that learners would relate to. Some of the lessons are intentionally easy, and we will be adding lessons in the future to increase the difficulty level. So far, we've used local literacy centers as a resource and as a source of user testing. If you have a moment, please take a look at our Everyday Life curriculum and let me know what you think. You do have to create an account on our website to view the lessons; however, it is free and the only personal information we ask is your email address. We don't share your information with others and we'll only send you information about the site if you opt-in for the newsletter. Please post your thoughts to the list, or you can email me directly at kelly at gcflearnfree.org. I'm interested in any feedback you have about our Everyday Life project and hope that it will be a resource you can use with your learners. Thank you, Kelly Potter www.GCFLearnFree.org The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! GCFLearnFree.org 321 W. Hargett Street Raleigh, NC 27601 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 8922 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071005/9aa095e0/attachment.bin From calmingeffects at yahoo.com Sat Oct 6 12:49:47 2007 From: calmingeffects at yahoo.com (ms. smith...!!!) Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 09:49:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1013] Re: (no subject) In-Reply-To: <007901c8076f$4279c520$c76d4f60$@org> Message-ID: <665110.95153.qm@web54604.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Kelly, So glad you have asked. I formerly taught in the prison system and because of the Guards fear of computers, they block off everything to the incarcerated, so although they like to say it is a security concern the fact of the matter is it is the CO's concerns that are addressed when DVD's are not allowed. The truth of the matter is, although they espouse introducing the inmates to society, if the majority of the guards don't understand the complexities of the values or inter-workings of the computers then the incarcerated will NEVER be given that opportunity. During my tenure ( as a business - computer instructor) I tried to purchase software which would show the inmates how he Internet functions without actually going outside on the Internet, this was highly discouraged and frowned upon. I felt it was a vital tool for inmates as most entry level employment opportunities consisted of applying for employment via some type of computer kiosk....Also the fact as you mentioned, that my students needed to be somewhat familiar with ATMS and other systems in 0rder to be integrated into the greater society, was a concern which the administration would have rather forgotten. Today however my concern is with my adult students who are enrolled in an unconventional program ( GRASP- Giving rural students a study program)where their access to regularly scheduled classes is impossible due to work scheduling constraints or inability to secure home assistance for loved ones, or their inability to secure transportation on a consistent basis. This program offers my students a self taught program where assignments are distributed bi-weekly and the work is assessed and evaluated by me with feedback. The students are permitted to ask for one on one tutoring if necessary to prepare for their GED exams, and of course they are Tabe tested as to their progress on a regular basis. Many of my students are poor and cannot afford computers, or have no access to the local library. A vast majority of my students as time goes on, do seem to have computer access if not with older windows systems. I really would like to know if DVD disks for learning with adults are available for basic skills. A program where a mom might be able to quit and take care of a child and then comeback and continue would be ideal. The subjects which seem to give my students the most problems are Math- Algebra, fractions, percentages/ Reading- comprehension/ Writing- synonyms, punctuation and paragraph structure. Thanks for your interest Kelly Potter Markham wrote: Temesghen, Thanks for the positive words about the site. You mentioned educational DVDs. We?re actually working on that right now. We?ve had a lot of interest from the prison system about it since inmates don?t have Internet access. The idea is that many inmates have been in prison since before ATMs and debit card machines, so many of our lessons would help with acclimating them to society. The other lessons would be helpful as well, since there are many low-literacy learners in the prison system. What is your interest in the DVDs? Do your learners have limited Internet access? It would be helpful for us to determine what other audiences would benefit from the DVDs if we decide to produce them and distribute them for free. Thanks, Kelly Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to calmingeffects at yahoo.com. The happiest people don't always have the best of everything: but they make the best of everything.........Be happy, be kind, practice charity.... > . --------------------------------- Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071006/14b60a4b/attachment.html From kelly at gcflearnfree.org Mon Oct 8 08:46:29 2007 From: kelly at gcflearnfree.org (Kelly Potter Markham) Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 08:46:29 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1014] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 25, Issue 5 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <002a01c809a9$402811f0$c07835d0$@org> Jenny, Thanks for the suggestion about Blackboard as a topic. We keep a running list of requested topics and one begins to gather a lot of interest, we will work on producing content for it. You also asked about Office 2007. That one has garnered a lot of interest, so we're beginning work on it right now. Our production team is small (that would be me and one other person on the computer training side), so it is slow moving sometimes. We're going to knock out Vista first, and then start production on the Office 2007 topics. It will be mid-2008 before all of those are available, but we'll start rolling out lessons as they become available, rather than waiting to release an entire class. Thanks for your interest in the site. We'll be adding new lessons to the Everyday Life side and computer training section throughout the year, so check back often to see what's new! Thanks, Kelly Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2007 12:00 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 25, Issue 5 Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to focusonbasics at nifl.gov To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov You can reach the person managing the list at focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." Today's Topics: 1. [FocusOnBasics 1010] Additional Information about GCFLeanFree.org (Kelly Potter Markham) 2. [FocusOnBasics 1011] Educational DVDs of GCFLearnFree.org (Kelly Potter Markham) 3. [FocusOnBasics 1012] Re: Free Online Resource (Houck, Jenny) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 09:55:37 -0400 From: "Kelly Potter Markham" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1010] Additional Information about GCFLeanFree.org To: , , Message-ID: <002b01c80757$68feb010$3afc1030$@org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Thanks to everyone who took a look at our site, www.GCFLearnFree.org, yesterday. Throughout the day, several of you emailed me and let me know that we were having some issues with our Join Now/Create an Account process. We just launched our redesigned site on Monday, and while we thought we had all the "bugs" worked out, a few were discovered yesterday. I think we have it all fixed and it should work correctly now. If you have any difficulties with creating a free account, please let me know! If you have not already taken a look at our new Everyday Life program, I encourage you to do so. We currently have 17 interactive lessons available, but will be releasing many, many more topics in the future. Current lessons include using an ATM, completing a bank deposit form, filling out a job application, using a bus map, and much more. I highly recommend you complete the short Tutorial before you begin. The lessons make a lot more sense after completing the tutorial, and you can understand how low-literacy learners would be instructed to complete the lessons. You will want to view the lessons with the sound on your computer turned on. Lessons have audio and text directions. Some of you may be interested in our Computer Training section, as well. Here we cover topics such as Computer Basics, Internet Safety, OpenOffice, and Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and more. Our Computer Training lessons are primarily text and screenshot-based, so may not be appropriate for all learners; however, we are moving to a video-based lesson format with supplemental text. You can take a look at our Publisher 2003 lessons to get a better idea of how we will develop future topics. If it sounds like our site may be of use to you or your learners, please take a look at it. It is a completely free resource! And don't worry, when you create an account with us, we will never share your information with others or email you unless you opt-in for the newsletter. If you have any feedback, please let me know. We are especially interested in what literacy professionals think of these initial lessons and any topics that you think would be worthwhile for us to cover in our next round of production. Thanks for your time. Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071005/043a1b41/at tachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 12:46:20 -0400 From: "Kelly Potter Markham" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1011] Educational DVDs of GCFLearnFree.org To: Message-ID: <007901c8076f$4279c520$c76d4f60$@org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Temesghen, Thanks for the positive words about the site. You mentioned educational DVDs. We're actually working on that right now. We've had a lot of interest from the prison system about it since inmates don't have Internet access. The idea is that many inmates have been in prison since before ATMs and debit card machines, so many of our lessons would help with acclimating them to society. The other lessons would be helpful as well, since there are many low-literacy learners in the prison system. What is your interest in the DVDs? Do your learners have limited Internet access? It would be helpful for us to determine what other audiences would benefit from the DVDs if we decide to produce them and distribute them for free. Thanks, Kelly Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071005/7a5fc8fe/at tachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:13:42 -0700 From: "Houck, Jenny" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1012] Re: Free Online Resource To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Message-ID: <0E73093072A5F541A3090981064974A90333AC91 at IEL-EX.iel.spokane.cc.wa.us> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Kelly, I also checked out the website and found it very useful. Our campus has now transitioned to Office 2007. When will you have training available for this update? Also, I didn't see training available for Blackboard, but it might be a helpful addition, as many students are pursuing online degrees. Thanks for sharing!! Jenny Houck Computer Lab Instructor Institute for Extended Learning jhouck at iel.spokane.edu ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of tbeyene at juno.com Sent: Thu 10/4/2007 4:21 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1009] Re: Free Online Resource Kelly, I checked out your free on-line eduction website, and am now registered. It is great, very great for beginners. Keep up the excellent work!! And thank you for directing us to your website! I look forward to the time when you will come up with educational DVDs of the same contents. --Temesghen -- "Kelly Potter Markham" wrote: Return-Path: Received: from mx14.dca.untd.com (mx14.dca.untd.com [10.171.44.44]) by maildeliver08.vgs.untd.com with SMTP id AABDSK8EPA5MCFL2 for (sender ); Thu, 4 Oct 2007 07:28:30 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail.nifl.gov (mail.nifl.gov [66.101.212.170]) by mx14.dca.untd.com with SMTP id AABDSK8EPAM2Z6C2 for (sender ); Thu, 4 Oct 2007 07:28:29 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail.nifl.gov (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by mail.nifl.gov (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2297311BA9 for ; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 10:28:29 -0400 (EDT) X-Original-To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Delivered-To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Received: from gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com (gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com [63.134.207.9]) by mail.nifl.gov (Postfix) with SMTP id 6F06E11AFD for ; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:55:22 -0400 (EDT) Received: from maila7.webcontrolcenter.com (unverified [216.119.106.105]) by gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com (SurgeMail 3.8k4) with ESMTP id 35679523-1777422 for ; Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:09:03 -0700 Received: from mhn.org [209.42.196.66] by maila7.webcontrolcenter.com with SMTP; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 06:54:47 -0700 From: "Kelly Potter Markham" To: Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:56:00 -0400 Message-ID: <000b01c8068e$4c205850$e46108f0$@org> MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook 12.0 Thread-Index: AcgGjkuFh7pXcBneR16kxiiQwnmHmA== Content-Language: en-us X-Mailman-Approved-At: Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:27:56 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1008] Free Online Resource X-BeenThere: focusonbasics at nifl.gov X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.9 Precedence: list Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List List-Id: The Focus on Basics Discussion List List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="===============1839963678==" Sender: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov Errors-To: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov X-ContentStamp: 19:9:3381855369 X-MAIL-INFO:477d30113039b5553971793934749df11dc9fdd094514014d43531c4dd41c4d4 550dd47d303d19c4217dc441cd91e991e1f5e0e4b0e059a0008db059616134842910f9cdb150 a595d5d091e924ad3d813195a02020406dc9ed407d40c4c455c47d7db53019112500b4943511 c96175655150d43524d165310140c41d113d44f54d4d3d4d848410a595cdaded14d901e979b5 1104e074010dc08034d9a1bd040df90d052995d5a50d10a01119bd954490e9b05d641090e1e9 cdf170e0f9e1e4216175f0 X-UNTD-Peer-Info: 66.101.212.170|mail.nifl.gov|mail.nifl.gov|focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov X-UNTD-UBE:-1 Good morning, My name is Kelly Potter and I work for a free, online training website, GCFLearnFree.org. We are a free program b/c we are funded by Goodwill Industries of Eastern NC. Our goal is to provide learning opportunities for people so they can acquire the skills they need to be succeed. I've been reading this discussion list for about a year now, but have never posted before. I'm excited that now I have some worth posting about! Since 1999 GCFLearnFree.org has offered free computer training online. This training includes topics such as Open Office, Computer Basics, Internet Basics, and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Publisher. We're currently in the process of revitalizing our computer training curriculum to include video lessons along with our text-based lessons. Just this week we launched a new project, which we call Everyday Life. It is geared toward adult basic education, ESL students, and learners that need to acquire functional literacy skills. Some of our initial lessons include how to use an ATM, complete a bank deposit slip, use bus maps, and complete a job application. Our interactive lessons are not intended to teach vocabulary and reading skills, but rather to provide learners with a safe environment where they can practice new skills without real-world consequences and the fear of failure. Our goal with these lessons was to create a realistic environment that learners would relate to. Some of the lessons are intentionally easy, and we will be adding lessons in the future to increase the difficulty level. So far, we've used local literacy centers as a resource and as a source of user testing. If you have a moment, please take a look at our Everyday Life curriculum and let me know what you think. You do have to create an account on our website to view the lessons; however, it is free and the only personal information we ask is your email address. We don't share your information with others and we'll only send you information about the site if you opt-in for the newsletter. Please post your thoughts to the list, or you can email me directly at kelly at gcflearnfree.org. I'm interested in any feedback you have about our Everyday Life project and hope that it will be a resource you can use with your learners. Thank you, Kelly Potter www.GCFLearnFree.org The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! GCFLearnFree.org 321 W. Hargett Street Raleigh, NC 27601 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 8922 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071005/9aa095e0/at tachment-0001.bin ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics End of FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 25, Issue 5 ******************************************** From tsticht at znet.com Mon Oct 8 14:34:58 2007 From: tsticht at znet.com (tsticht at znet.com) Date: Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:34:58 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1015] A Veteran's Day Message Message-ID: <1191868498.470a78528cf6c@webmail.znet.net> A Message for Veteran's/Remembrance Day November 11, 2007 Love, Literacy, & Liberty: Songs in the Literacy Lessons of the World Wars Tom Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Cora Wilson Stewart, founder of the Midnight Schools of Kentucky for illiterate adults, recognized that many of the men from the hills and hollows of her county would be called to war as illiterates. She saw the need to teach these men to read and write before they left their families and other loved ones for distant shores in countries they knew nothing about. So she created The Soldier's First Book and got the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) to use it in their education programs for soldiers. Later, the YMCA used a new book called Camp Reader for American Soldiers to teach literacy to thousands of men who entered into World War I as illiterate or non-English speaking soldiers. This book incorporated a number of songs that were used to help men learn to read and to maintain their morale while they were miles from home. A footnote on one page of the Camp Reader advised teachers to "Sing with class. Have pupils follow printed text as they sing. For writing lessons have pupils copy stanza 1 from script and write stanza 2 from print." One of the songs used to teach literacy and keep up the morale of the literacy students was from England, and the chorus went like this: Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, And smile, smile, smile, While you?ve a lucifer to light your fag, Smile, boys, that?s the style. What?s the use of worrying? It never was worth while, so Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag, And smile, smile, smile. Another song helped the soldier literacy learners think of their loved ones and how they were fighting to keep them safe. The chorus was: There's a long, long trail a-winding Into the land of my dreams, Where the nightingales are singing And a white moon beams: There's a long, long night of waiting Until my dreams all come true; Till the day when I'll be going down That long, long trail with you. The thought of returning from war to be with loved ones seems to always be on the minds of soldiers. During World War II over 250,000 illiterate or non-English speaking men were taught literacy in Special Training Units of the U.S. Army before being sent into battle. One innovation introduced in the literacy training programs was the use of a cartoon strip featuring fictional soldiers Private Pete and his sidekick Daffy. These cartoons were usually two page spreads in a special newspaper for literacy students called Our War. Our War editors understood that the hearts and minds of the troops were on family and friends, often girl friends, back home. The cartoons sometimes told stories about visits with girl friends and included scenes in which Private Pete and friends were singing songs. One popular song of the time was aimed at making separations between the soldiers and their sweethearts more bearable. In the August 1943 issue of Our War the cartoon strip was about a letter Private Pete got from another soldier friend of his who told about how he was going overseas. A cartoon frame shows him and a group of his buddies travelling in the back of an Army truck singing a song called Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree: Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me Anyone else but me, anyone else but me No! No! No! Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me Till I come marchin' home Don't go walkin' down Lover's Lane with anyone else but me Anyone else but me, anyone else but me No! No! No! Don't go walkin' down Lover's Lane with anyone else but me Till I come marchin' home In Our War for March 1944 Private Pete and Daffy are spending a quiet Sunday in camp. They take in a movie, and afterward Daffy says, "This winds up a great day, Pete. I feel like singing, too!" A group of soldiers is then shown sitting in the barracks singing: When the lights go on again all over the world And the boys are home again all over the world And rain or snow is all that may fall from the skies above A kiss won't mean "goodbye" but "Hello to love" When the lights go on again all over the world And the ships will sail again all over the world Then we'll have time for things like wedding rings and free hearts will sing When the lights go on again all over the world Whether we call it Veteran's Day in the United States, or Remembrance Day in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, we remember and honor the millions of those who fought for liberty and freedom in times of the World Wars. We recall the heartfelt songs they sang, the words of which hundreds of thousands learned to read only after becoming soldiers. We think of the mums, dads, sisters, brothers, and sweethearts whose love sustained the soldiers in wars long ago and, sadly, in wars of today. We still wait "Till they come marchin' home" and "A kiss won't mean "goodbye" but "Hello to love." Thomas G. Sticht International Consultant in Adult Education 2062 Valley View Blvd. El Cajon, Ca 92019-2059 Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133 Email: tsticht at aznet.net NOTE: In the past colleagues have asked that I send these brief pieces out well ahead of Veteran's/Remembrance Day for those who want to include it in their newsletters for November. So here it is. I should note that I have included segments of songs longer than those that appear in the military materials of World Wars I and II with the idea that adult literacy educators may want to follow the advice from World War I and use the songs in classrooms in learning about Veteran's/Remembrance Day. From Gina.Lobaccaro at state.de.us Tue Oct 9 12:11:37 2007 From: Gina.Lobaccaro at state.de.us (Lobaccaro Gina (DOC)) Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 12:11:37 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1016] A CD Internet Tutorial - for Correctional Ed Students In-Reply-To: <665110.95153.qm@web54604.mail.re2.yahoo.com> References: <007901c8076f$4279c520$c76d4f60$@org> <665110.95153.qm@web54604.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Message-ID: If anyone is looking for a good CD for teaching computer and Internet skills to incarcerated students without Interne access (for the students) go to http://www.jegsworks.com/Lessons/ and take a look at Jan's Computer Literacy. It is all available on a CD and it is very inexpensive and comprehensive. Gina Lobaccaro "For business reasons, I must preserve the outward sign of sanity." --Mark Twain Gina Lobaccaro Sussex Correctional Institution Prison Education Department PO Box 500 Georgetown, DE 19947 Office (302) 856-5282 x 6204 Fax (302) 856-5642 gina.lobaccaro at state.de.us ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of ms. smith...!!! Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2007 12:50 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1013] Re: (no subject) Kelly, So glad you have asked. I formerly taught in the prison system and because of the Guards fear of computers, they block off everything to the incarcerated, so although they like to say it is a security concern the fact of the matter is it is the CO's concerns that are addressed when DVD's are not allowed. The truth of the matter is, although they espouse introducing the inmates to society, if the majority of the guards don't understand the complexities of the values or inter-workings of the computers then the incarcerated will NEVER be given that opportunity. During my tenure ( as a business - computer instructor) I tried to purchase software which would show the inmates how he Internet functions without actually going outside on the Internet, this was highly discouraged and frowned upon. I felt it was a vital tool for inmates as most entry level employment opportunities consisted of applying for employment via some type of computer kiosk....Also the fact as you mentioned, that my students needed to be somewhat familiar with ATMS and other systems in 0rder to be integrated into the greater society, was a concern which the administration would have rather forgotten. Today however my concern is with my adult students who are enrolled in an unconventional program ( GRASP- Giving rural students a study program)where their access to regularly scheduled classes is impossible due to work scheduling constraints or inability to secure home assistance for loved ones, or their inability to secure transportation on a consistent basis. This program offers my students a self taught program where assignments are distributed bi-weekly and the work is assessed and evaluated by me with feedback. The students are permitted to ask for one on one tutoring if necessary to prepare for their GED exams, and of course they are Tabe tested as to their progress on a regular basis. Many of my students are poor and cannot afford computers, or have no access to the local library. A vast majority of my students as time goes on, do seem to have computer access if not with older windows systems. I really would like to know if DVD disks for learning with adults are available for basic skills. A program where a mom might be able to quit and take care of a child and then comeback and continue would be ideal. The subjects which seem to give my students the most problems are Math- Algebra, fractions, percentages/ Reading- comprehension/ Writing- synonyms, punctuation and paragraph structure. Thanks for your interest Kelly Potter Markham wrote: Temesghen, Thanks for the positive words about the site. You mentioned educational DVDs. We're actually working on that right now. We've had a lot of interest from the prison system about it since inmates don't have Internet access. The idea is that many inmates have been in prison since before ATMs and debit card machines, so many of our lessons would help with acclimating them to society. The other lessons would be helpful as well, since there are many low-literacy learners in the prison system. What is your interest in the DVDs? Do your learners have limited Internet access? It would be helpful for us to determine what other audiences would benefit from the DVDs if we decide to produce them and distribute them for free. Thanks, Kelly Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to calmingeffects at yahoo.com. The happiest people don't always have the best of everything: but they make the best of everything.........Be happy, be kind, practice charity.... > . ________________________________ Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071009/ff49e992/attachment.html From JHouck at iel.spokane.edu Tue Oct 9 14:46:58 2007 From: JHouck at iel.spokane.edu (Houck, Jenny) Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 11:46:58 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1017] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 25, Issue 5 In-Reply-To: <002a01c809a9$402811f0$c07835d0$@org> References: <002a01c809a9$402811f0$c07835d0$@org> Message-ID: <0E73093072A5F541A3090981064974A9047C0030@IEL-EX.iel.spokane.cc.wa.us> Thanks, Kelly. Best wishes in this venture! -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kelly Potter Markham Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 5:46 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1014] Re: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 25, Issue 5 Jenny, Thanks for the suggestion about Blackboard as a topic. We keep a running list of requested topics and one begins to gather a lot of interest, we will work on producing content for it. You also asked about Office 2007. That one has garnered a lot of interest, so we're beginning work on it right now. Our production team is small (that would be me and one other person on the computer training side), so it is slow moving sometimes. We're going to knock out Vista first, and then start production on the Office 2007 topics. It will be mid-2008 before all of those are available, but we'll start rolling out lessons as they become available, rather than waiting to release an entire class. Thanks for your interest in the site. We'll be adding new lessons to the Everyday Life side and computer training section throughout the year, so check back often to see what's new! Thanks, Kelly Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2007 12:00 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: FocusOnBasics Digest, Vol 25, Issue 5 Send FocusOnBasics mailing list submissions to focusonbasics at nifl.gov To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov You can reach the person managing the list at focusonbasics-owner at nifl.gov When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of FocusOnBasics digest..." Today's Topics: 1. [FocusOnBasics 1010] Additional Information about GCFLeanFree.org (Kelly Potter Markham) 2. [FocusOnBasics 1011] Educational DVDs of GCFLearnFree.org (Kelly Potter Markham) 3. [FocusOnBasics 1012] Re: Free Online Resource (Houck, Jenny) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 09:55:37 -0400 From: "Kelly Potter Markham" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1010] Additional Information about GCFLeanFree.org To: , , Message-ID: <002b01c80757$68feb010$3afc1030$@org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Thanks to everyone who took a look at our site, www.GCFLearnFree.org, yesterday. Throughout the day, several of you emailed me and let me know that we were having some issues with our Join Now/Create an Account process. We just launched our redesigned site on Monday, and while we thought we had all the "bugs" worked out, a few were discovered yesterday. I think we have it all fixed and it should work correctly now. If you have any difficulties with creating a free account, please let me know! If you have not already taken a look at our new Everyday Life program, I encourage you to do so. We currently have 17 interactive lessons available, but will be releasing many, many more topics in the future. Current lessons include using an ATM, completing a bank deposit form, filling out a job application, using a bus map, and much more. I highly recommend you complete the short Tutorial before you begin. The lessons make a lot more sense after completing the tutorial, and you can understand how low-literacy learners would be instructed to complete the lessons. You will want to view the lessons with the sound on your computer turned on. Lessons have audio and text directions. Some of you may be interested in our Computer Training section, as well. Here we cover topics such as Computer Basics, Internet Safety, OpenOffice, and Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and more. Our Computer Training lessons are primarily text and screenshot-based, so may not be appropriate for all learners; however, we are moving to a video-based lesson format with supplemental text. You can take a look at our Publisher 2003 lessons to get a better idea of how we will develop future topics. If it sounds like our site may be of use to you or your learners, please take a look at it. It is a completely free resource! And don't worry, when you create an account with us, we will never share your information with others or email you unless you opt-in for the newsletter. If you have any feedback, please let me know. We are especially interested in what literacy professionals think of these initial lessons and any topics that you think would be worthwhile for us to cover in our next round of production. Thanks for your time. Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071005/043a1b4 1/at tachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 12:46:20 -0400 From: "Kelly Potter Markham" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1011] Educational DVDs of GCFLearnFree.org To: Message-ID: <007901c8076f$4279c520$c76d4f60$@org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Temesghen, Thanks for the positive words about the site. You mentioned educational DVDs. We're actually working on that right now. We've had a lot of interest from the prison system about it since inmates don't have Internet access. The idea is that many inmates have been in prison since before ATMs and debit card machines, so many of our lessons would help with acclimating them to society. The other lessons would be helpful as well, since there are many low-literacy learners in the prison system. What is your interest in the DVDs? Do your learners have limited Internet access? It would be helpful for us to determine what other audiences would benefit from the DVDs if we decide to produce them and distribute them for free. Thanks, Kelly Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071005/7a5fc8f e/at tachment-0001.html ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 11:13:42 -0700 From: "Houck, Jenny" Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1012] Re: Free Online Resource To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" Message-ID: <0E73093072A5F541A3090981064974A90333AC91 at IEL-EX.iel.spokane.cc.wa.us> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Kelly, I also checked out the website and found it very useful. Our campus has now transitioned to Office 2007. When will you have training available for this update? Also, I didn't see training available for Blackboard, but it might be a helpful addition, as many students are pursuing online degrees. Thanks for sharing!! Jenny Houck Computer Lab Instructor Institute for Extended Learning jhouck at iel.spokane.edu ________________________________ From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of tbeyene at juno.com Sent: Thu 10/4/2007 4:21 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1009] Re: Free Online Resource Kelly, I checked out your free on-line eduction website, and am now registered. It is great, very great for beginners. Keep up the excellent work!! And thank you for directing us to your website! I look forward to the time when you will come up with educational DVDs of the same contents. --Temesghen -- "Kelly Potter Markham" wrote: Return-Path: Received: from mx14.dca.untd.com (mx14.dca.untd.com [10.171.44.44]) by maildeliver08.vgs.untd.com with SMTP id AABDSK8EPA5MCFL2 for (sender ); Thu, 4 Oct 2007 07:28:30 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail.nifl.gov (mail.nifl.gov [66.101.212.170]) by mx14.dca.untd.com with SMTP id AABDSK8EPAM2Z6C2 for (sender ); Thu, 4 Oct 2007 07:28:29 -0700 (PDT) Received: from mail.nifl.gov (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by mail.nifl.gov (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2297311BA9 for ; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 10:28:29 -0400 (EDT) X-Original-To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Delivered-To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Received: from gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com (gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com [63.134.207.9]) by mail.nifl.gov (Postfix) with SMTP id 6F06E11AFD for ; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:55:22 -0400 (EDT) Received: from maila7.webcontrolcenter.com (unverified [216.119.106.105]) by gwa2.webcontrolcenter.com (SurgeMail 3.8k4) with ESMTP id 35679523-1777422 for ; Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:09:03 -0700 Received: from mhn.org [209.42.196.66] by maila7.webcontrolcenter.com with SMTP; Thu, 4 Oct 2007 06:54:47 -0700 From: "Kelly Potter Markham" To: Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 09:56:00 -0400 Message-ID: <000b01c8068e$4c205850$e46108f0$@org> MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Microsoft Office Outlook 12.0 Thread-Index: AcgGjkuFh7pXcBneR16kxiiQwnmHmA== Content-Language: en-us X-Mailman-Approved-At: Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:27:56 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1008] Free Online Resource X-BeenThere: focusonbasics at nifl.gov X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.9 Precedence: list Reply-To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List List-Id: The Focus on Basics Discussion List List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="===============1839963678==" Sender: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov Errors-To: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov X-ContentStamp: 19:9:3381855369 X-MAIL-INFO:477d30113039b5553971793934749df11dc9fdd094514014d43531c4dd41 c4d4 550dd47d303d19c4217dc441cd91e991e1f5e0e4b0e059a0008db059616134842910f9cd b150 a595d5d091e924ad3d813195a02020406dc9ed407d40c4c455c47d7db53019112500b494 3511 c96175655150d43524d165310140c41d113d44f54d4d3d4d848410a595cdaded14d901e9 79b5 1104e074010dc08034d9a1bd040df90d052995d5a50d10a01119bd954490e9b05d641090 e1e9 cdf170e0f9e1e4216175f0 X-UNTD-Peer-Info: 66.101.212.170|mail.nifl.gov|mail.nifl.gov|focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.go v X-UNTD-UBE:-1 Good morning, My name is Kelly Potter and I work for a free, online training website, GCFLearnFree.org. We are a free program b/c we are funded by Goodwill Industries of Eastern NC. Our goal is to provide learning opportunities for people so they can acquire the skills they need to be succeed. I've been reading this discussion list for about a year now, but have never posted before. I'm excited that now I have some worth posting about! Since 1999 GCFLearnFree.org has offered free computer training online. This training includes topics such as Open Office, Computer Basics, Internet Basics, and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Publisher. We're currently in the process of revitalizing our computer training curriculum to include video lessons along with our text-based lessons. Just this week we launched a new project, which we call Everyday Life. It is geared toward adult basic education, ESL students, and learners that need to acquire functional literacy skills. Some of our initial lessons include how to use an ATM, complete a bank deposit slip, use bus maps, and complete a job application. Our interactive lessons are not intended to teach vocabulary and reading skills, but rather to provide learners with a safe environment where they can practice new skills without real-world consequences and the fear of failure. Our goal with these lessons was to create a realistic environment that learners would relate to. Some of the lessons are intentionally easy, and we will be adding lessons in the future to increase the difficulty level. So far, we've used local literacy centers as a resource and as a source of user testing. If you have a moment, please take a look at our Everyday Life curriculum and let me know what you think. You do have to create an account on our website to view the lessons; however, it is free and the only personal information we ask is your email address. We don't share your information with others and we'll only send you information about the site if you opt-in for the newsletter. Please post your thoughts to the list, or you can email me directly at kelly at gcflearnfree.org. I'm interested in any feedback you have about our Everyday Life project and hope that it will be a resource you can use with your learners. Thank you, Kelly Potter www.GCFLearnFree.org The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! GCFLearnFree.org 321 W. Hargett Street Raleigh, NC 27601 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Oct 10 10:17:34 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:17:34 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1018] Community Literacy Journal: Appalachian Literacies Message-ID: <470CA6BE0200002D00003EFB@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I thought you might like to know about this journal issue coming out this month... All the best, Julie *********************** The next issue of the Community Literacy Journal comes out in October (this month) -- a special issue on Appalachian Literacies -- and other upcoming titles for 2007-08 are listed below: http://communityliteracy.org/ * Issue 2.1 Fall 2007 Titles Special Guest Editors: Appalachian Literacies: Katie Vande Brake and Kim Holloway, of King College in Bristol, Tennessee, Articles Marcia Ribble "Developing Teacher Literacy in Appalachian Contexts" Erica Locklear "Narrating Socialization: Linda Scott DeRosier's Memoirs" Jacqueline Preston "There Again, Common Sense: Rethinking Literacy Through Ethnography" Tracy Hamler Carrick "Bootlegging Literacy Sponsorship, Brewing Up Institutional Change" Sara Webb-Sunderhaus "A Family Affair: Competing Sponsors of Literacy in Appalachian Students' Lives" Roberts and Clabough "Writing for a Place: A Writers Workshop for McDowell County, West Virginia" Todd Snyder "The Webster County Blues: An Exploration of the Educational Attitudes of a Poor Appalachian Community" And Book & Media Reviews ================== * Issue 2.2 Spring 2008 Titles Kim Lenters Programming Family Literacy: Tensions and Directions Eli Goldblatt Community Literacy in Philadelphia: The Throughput Method Beth Flynn Student Resistance at the University of San Carlos, Guatemala Lauren Rosenberg Rewriting Ideologies of Literacy: A Study of Writing by Newly Literate Adults Shannon Carter Repairing Inmates Through H.O.P.E.: Incarcerated Literacy and the Myth of Progressivism And Book & Media Reviews =================== * Issue 3.1 Fall 2008 Titles Our issue 3.1, Fall 2008, will be a special issue dedicated to papers presented at the National Community Literacy Summit in Washington, D.C. in the spring of 2007. The issue will be guest edited by Tanya Shuy, National Institute for Literacy Program Director, who helped plan and facilitate this first Summit, with the goal of "bringing together more than 80 community leaders, scholars, and literacy experts to begin a national dialogue on improving and expanding literacy efforts at the community level." Tanya has edited a special issue of Scientific Studies of Reading (2006) and works with national groups, literacy workers, and coalitions to assist in the sustainable development of collaborations and research agendas. We think this issue of the CLJ will be an important opportunity to learn about emerging research and the range of community literacy experiences in federal, academic, and provider contexts. And Book & Media Reviews Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Wed Oct 10 10:21:23 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:21:23 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1019] Discussion next week on Health Literacy List: Patient/Provider Communication Message-ID: <470CA7A30200002D00003EFF@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am very pleased to announce a panel discussion next week on the health literacy list, which may interest some of you! In honor of Health Literacy Month, the list will host this discussion on communication between patients and health care providers. The panel will include adult learners, literacy teachers, health care providers, and a health educator. They will discuss the challenges and supports to communicating with health care providers for adults with lower literacy skills. They will also discuss how literacy teachers can collaborate with health systems and help to prepare their students for more effective heatlh communication. For more information about this discussion please go to: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/healthliteracy/07healthcommunication.html Please feel free to forward this message to colleagues who you think may be interested in this discussion! (Subscription info is available at the link above.) All the best, Julie Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From mthacher at otan.us Wed Oct 10 14:25:37 2007 From: mthacher at otan.us (Marian Thacher) Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:25:37 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1020] Technology Strand at COABE Message-ID: The Adult Literacy and Technology Network will sponsor a technology strand at COABE next year, April 28-May 1 in St. Louis. There will be at least one lab with Internet, so proposals for hands-on sessions are welcome. We hope that many of you will submit proposals about the unique and exciting things you are doing with technology in your classrooms and beyond. This is your chance to share your projects and experience on a national level, to network with others and find your fellow travelers, and to put faces with some of the names you've seen on the NIFL list. This strand is in addition to the Distance Learning strand. When you submit your proposal, under Educational Focus, check the box for Technology/Distance Learning. We will figure out which is which. Technology proposals will be forwarded to ALTN for review. Proposals are due Oct. 31. Go to http://www.coabeconference.org/ to submit your proposal online. Thanks! Marian ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marian Thacher, OTAN P.O. Box 269003 Sacramento, CA 95826-9003 (916) 228-2597 www.otan.us -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071010/651844e0/attachment.html From Jgeary at nkcsd.k12.mo.us Thu Oct 11 10:24:19 2007 From: Jgeary at nkcsd.k12.mo.us (Janet Geary) Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 09:24:19 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1020] Re: Technology Strand at COABE In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <470DEBC2.F273.0007.0@gw.nkcsd.k12.mo.us> Marian, Thanks for sending this out. We appreciate all the help we can get soliciting proposals. See you in St. Louis. Janet "Change is the end result of all true learning" Leo Buscaglia Janet Geary Director, Community Education Services North Kansas City School District 3100 NE 83rd Street Suite 2400 Kansas City, MO 64119 816-413-5460 (phone) 816-413-5465 (fax) >>> "Marian Thacher" 10/10/2007 1:25 PM >>> The Adult Literacy and Technology Network will sponsor a technology strand at COABE next year, April 28-May 1 in St. Louis. There will be at least one lab with Internet, so proposals for hands-on sessions are welcome. We hope that many of you will submit proposals about the unique and exciting things you are doing with technology in your classrooms and beyond. This is your chance to share your projects and experience on a national level, to network with others and find your fellow travelers, and to put faces with some of the names you've seen on the NIFL list. This strand is in addition to the Distance Learning strand. When you submit your proposal, under Educational Focus, check the box for Technology/Distance Learning. We will figure out which is which. Technology proposals will be forwarded to ALTN for review. Proposals are due Oct. 31. Go to http://www.coabeconference.org/ to submit your proposal online. Thanks! Marian ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marian Thacher, OTAN P.O. Box 269003 Sacramento, CA 95826-9003 (916) 228-2597 www.otan.us ================================ Confidentiality Notice for North Kansas City Schools: This correspondence and any attachments are for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential or privileged information. Any unauthorized use, disclosure, or distribution is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient(s), please contact the sender and destroy all copies of the original message. From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Oct 19 11:39:21 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:39:21 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1021] Wanted: teacher and learner expertise to share with health professionals Message-ID: <4718976A0200002D00004184@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hello Everyone, The health literacy list is in the middle of a discussion about communicating clearly between patients and health care providers (including doctors, nurses, radiologists, nutritionists, pharmacists and many others.) I have always believed that health care providers could learn a lot from teachers who work with adult learners, and from adult learners themselves. So I want to invite you all to share your thoughts and experiences in communicating about health and medical care, and propose an activity to do with your classes to explore these communication issues. We would like to share stories from adult learners with the health professionals on the discussion list. These can be about experiences communicating with health care providers, or challenges in navigating the health system and environment. We will at some point have a follow-up to this discussion and highlight more student/patient stories. We are also collecting them for the Health Page on the ALE Wiki. You can see what we have so far at this link: http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Health_Literacy (Click on "Stories from learners and patients") Here is a link to information about this week's discussion and guest speakers: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/healthliteracy/07healthcommunication.html You can find out more about the health literacy discussion list, read the recent discussion, and subscribe for free at this link: www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/healthliteracy Below are some questions to ask yourselves and your learners, and some guidelines for a writing activity. Please feel free to send in your thoughts or stories to this list, or you can join the health list briefly to join the discussion. (The discussion goes through Monday the 22nd, but we always welcome comments at any time!) Thanks so much, Julie P.S. FOB has addressed health before in the following issues and articles: Issue 5C: Literacy and Health http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=149 A Conversation with FOB: Learning How to Teach Health Literacy http://www.ncsall.net/?id=995 Navigating Healthcare http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1156 ********************** These are questions to think about: 1. When you walk out of a doctor?s office after an appointment, how do you feel about what the doctor told you? 2. What makes it hard for you to understand what your doctor is saying? 3. Do you ask the questions that you want to ask your doctor? Why or why not? 4. How well do you understand the written brochures that you get from doctors? Do you use them by looking at them later? Why or why not? 5. What helps to make all of these things easier? 6. If you could make a list of suggestions for your doctor, or for the clinic or hospital, what would you say? (These are suggestions for how they could make it easier for you to understand what is happening with your health, and what you need to do to stay healthy.) Here are some guidelines for a class writing activity for anyone who is interested: To write a story: 1. Introduce yourself. You can decide what to say, but here are some ideas of what you could include: ? where your home is ? what you do ? who lives with you ? why you care about your family?s health ? how long you have been studying English or reading and writing. 2. Think of an experience when you were in an appointment, and you walked out feeling like you did not really understand what happened, or what you were supposed to do. It could be a doctor?s appointment, or some other specialist. (For example, getting some kind of test or x-ray, or meeting with a nutritionist.) Write about what happened, and why you feel that the information was not clear to you. This doesn?t have to be long, and you can have your teacher or someone else help with the writing, but it should be your writing and your own words. It doesn?t have to be perfect! (No one will check the spelling and grammar. We just want to hear about your experience.) ******************************* Thanks again! Please let me know if you do this activity and how it went! Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From MMaralit at NIFL.gov Wed Oct 24 16:11:02 2007 From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo) Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:11:02 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1022] NEW: News and Notes from the National Institute for Literacy Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B180C4DF4@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov> October 24, 2007 Welcome News and Notes from the National Institute for Literacy: The National Institute for Literacy this week welcomed its Advisory Board. Our 10-member, presidentially appointed Board met in Washington, DC on Tuesday, October 23 and on Wednesday, October 24. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) hosted day one of the two-day meeting. And on Wednesday, the meeting was convened at the Institute's headquarters. On Tuesday, October 23, I shared with the Board highlights and accomplishments of the Institute's 2006-2007 fiscal year in my Director's Report. I am pleased to share a copy with you as an attachment to this email. The report is also available at: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications/directors_report07.pdf. WHAT'S NEW AT THE INSTITUTE * Now Available-Adolescent Literacy Report: On October 23, the Institute issued "What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy," a 61-page report developed by an Interagency working group comprised of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute for Literacy. The report is designed to support the needs of middle and high school classroom teachers, administrators and parents in search of basic information about how to build the reading and writing skills of adolescents. To download the report: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications/adolescent_literacy07.pdf. * Take part in a Survey on PD: The Institute's Regional Resource Center grantees are conducting an online survey on the professional development needs of adult education practitioners across the country. The Professional Development Needs Assessment survey was released in August 2007 and will conclude on November 9. Survey results will help inform the Institute and its Literacy Information and Communications System (LINCS) Regional Resource Centers about the dissemination of materials and training products it produces; and help identify new professional development resources needed in the field. To access the survey: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/news_events/PDsurvey07.html * National Ad Placement: Look for the Institute's "Literacy Begins at Home" full-page color advertisement in the November issue of Essence, the premier lifestyle magazine for African-American women. Through its new partnership with Essence and the ESSENCE CARES national mentoring initiative, the Institute is creating literacy awareness and providing expert resources to parents and the magazine's 1.5 million subscribers. This national ad placement, a first for the Institute, carries the slogan-"Literacy Begins at Home: Give Your Children the Gift of a Lifetime.... Teach them to Read." The Institute's insert for parents, released in time for the start of the school year, was also distributed in Essence. The insert, a handy checklist for parents of toddlers through third graders, provided information about literacy, reading, and the Institute to 1.5 million subscribers, households, and readers! To download a copy of the insert: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/news_events/essence_insert.html. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- NOTE: For the latest news, updates and publications, subscribe to the National Institute for Literacy's Announcement List: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/announce As of October 24, 2007, the Institute has started a new list to share information about new and on-going programs and projects, we invite you to subscribe to subscribe to this list. If you have any questions or comments, please email info at nifl.gov. Thank you. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071024/deff5b21/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: directors_report07.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 146633 bytes Desc: directors_report07.pdf Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071024/deff5b21/attachment.obj From jgreiner at proliteracy.org Tue Oct 30 11:53:23 2007 From: jgreiner at proliteracy.org (Jane Greiner) Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:53:23 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1023] Serving Young Adults in Your Programs Message-ID: Hello everyone, Just a reminder that this Friday is the last day to sign up for the online short-course for instructors "Young Adult Education: Strategies and Materials" hosted by ProLiteracy America. See below for details on this course and it's companion course for program administrators: "Young Adult Education: Program Design." Stephanie Korber from the Center for Literacy will facilitate both courses, drawing on the Center's pioneering initiative in serving out-of-school youth reading at the beginning and pre-intermediate literacy levels. Hope to see you there! All the best, Jane Jane Greiner Professional Development Coordinator ProLiteracy America jgreiner at proliteracy.org 315.422.9121 ext. 283 ************************************************************************ Young Adult Education: Strategies and Materials Topic Area: Online Courses: Serving Young Adults Course Dates: November 5-16, 2007; Course Webinar November 16, 2:00-3:00 p.m. (EDT). Course materials available November 5. You may be the last connection between a young adult and a secondary education credential. Are you ready? Course Description Students aged 16-21 years are entering adult education classrooms at an unprecedented rate, and they are changing the classroom dynamics. These students have different expectations than their older counterparts; they are motivated by different goals, gravitate toward different materials, and participate in different activities. What are you doing to accommodate the learning needs of the younger students you see in your classrooms? This course explores the characteristics of younger students and considers strategies for engaging them in learning. You'll examine the differences between older and younger students and how these differences impact learning. You'll learn how to select materials that pique younger students' interest, create motivating activities, and apply new strategies to your own classroom. Objectives At the end of this course, you will be able to: * Identify both challenging and beneficial characteristics of younger learners * Determine appropriate materials for younger learners * Critique lesson plans designed for youth * Create an activity for a homogenous or heterogeneous age group using youth-friendly materials and strategies Course Format and Schedule: facilitated, online During this two-week course you will engage in self-paced activities and readings, as well as asynchronous discussions with the facilitators and course participants. The course will close with a live Webinar on November 16, 2:00-3:00 p.m. (EDT). Course Facilitator: Stephanie Korber, Center for Literacy Estimated Completion Time: 4 hours Price: $59 Register at: http://www.newreaderspress.com/default.aspx?cat=prof&hid=303&pid=PLASY10F ********************************************* Young Adult Education: Program Design Topic Area: Online Courses: Serving Young Adults Course Dates: November 26-December 3, 2007; Course Webinar December 3, 2:00-3:00 p.m. (EDT). Course materials available November 26. Every school day, nearly 7,000 students drop out of high school. Are you ready for them? Course Description Students aged 16-21 years are enrolling in adult education programs in increasing numbers, challenging adult literacy program administrators to meet the unique needs of this audience. What impact do younger learners have on your program? Have you made changes to maintain the quality of your program in light of this recent demographic shift? How do you manage finite resources to meet their needs? In this course, you will think about the benefits and challenges younger learners present for your program. You'll consider how high quality programs adapt to incorporate a younger population, and you'll plan steps to move your program forward. Objectives By the end of this course, you will: * Understand why younger learners are entering adult education programs * Identify common characteristics of younger learners as related to adult education programming * Describe quality program models for serving young adult learners * Describe key decisions for program development * Name changes to your program that will support high quality service for younger learners Course Format and Schedule: facilitated, online During this week-long course you will engage in self-paced activities and readings, as well as asynchronous discussions with the facilitator and course participants. The course will close with a live Webinar on December 3, 2:00-3:00 p.m. (EDT). Course Facilitator: Stephanie Korber, Center for Literacy Estimated Completion Time: 4 hours Price: $59 Register at: http://www.newreaderspress.com/default.aspx?cat=prof&hid=303&pid=PLASY20F **************************************************************************** To register, click on the links within the descriptions above, OR go to www.proliteracy.org and click on Professional Development. Select the appropriate topic area on the left navigation bar, then select the course title. Questions? Please call 315-422-9121 ext. 367, or e-mail prodev at proliteracy.org. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071030/d648f831/attachment.html From mburt at cal.org Wed Oct 31 13:33:20 2007 From: mburt at cal.org (Miriam Burt) Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:33:20 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1024] New from CAELA: CAELA Guide for Adult ESL Trainers In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7E0B624DDF68104F92C38648A4D93D8F032A15E1@MAIL.cal.local> I announced the following resource this morning on the adult English language learner list, and I apologize in advance for some of you who may be seeing it now for the second time. However, this is the Professional Development Discussion list, so I think the resource merits a posting to this list as well. CAELA Guide for Adult ESL Trainers The CAELA Guide for Adult ESL Trainers was prepared for professional developers and training staff to use in training novice and experienced teachers of adult English language learners. This guide contains resources for preparing and implementing professional development activities such as * Coaching * Peer mentoring * Study circles * Workshops for local program staff It also provides information on * Using the CAELA Web site as a resource for professional development activities; and * References for additional training materials. Topics selected for inclusion in the CAELA Guide for Adult ESL Trainers are based on the needs articulated by the 24 states that participated in the CAELA initiative - funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education - to increase state capacity for providing professional development to local adult ESL program staff. The materials were developed, piloted, and revised over a 3-year period (2004-2007). To access the complete guide in pdf format, go to http://www.cal.org/caela/scb/CAELAGuide.pdf To access sections of the guide in pdf format, go to http://www.cal.org/caela/scb/guide.html Finally, the focus of the guide is on providing technical assistance on the content and strategies practitioners need when teaching adult English language learners, rather than all adult learners. Hope some of you find it helpful. Thanks. Miriam *********** Miriam Burt Center for Adult English Language Acquisition Center for Applied Linguistics 4646 40th Street NW Washington, DC 20016 (202) 362-0700 (202) 363-7204 (fax) mburt at cal.org (email) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071031/0c4de594/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Thu Nov 1 10:36:15 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2007 10:36:15 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1025] Read, Rattle and Roll Community Literacy Conference Message-ID: <4729AC1F0200002D00004409@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I'm passing on this conference announcement which may be of interest to some of you: All the best, Julie ********************* Greetings Literacy Leaders and Advocates: We are so looking forward to seeing you at the National Community Literacy Conference in Memphis. You can find information, as well as registration forms up on the Literacy Powerline website: www.literacypowerline.com ?s contact: Hannah Mallon hannahmallon at gmail.com or phone 979 289 5175 *********************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From jschneider at eicc.edu Thu Nov 1 18:07:18 2007 From: jschneider at eicc.edu (Schneider, Jim) Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 17:07:18 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1026] Re: Read, Rattle and Roll Community Literacy Conference In-Reply-To: <4729AC1F0200002D00004409@bostongwia.jsi.com> Message-ID: <208D21E3AC92D449A31336961A46FB870A1E93AE@eiccd-exch1.eiccd.net> Julie, or Anyone... Could individuals/organizations that have had interactions with Literacypowerline please provide some comment/feedback on the organization and their conferences/programming? At a glance it certainly appears to be addressing issues that need addressing... But I've never heard of it and would appreciate information from anyone who has. Thanks, Jim Schneider Asst. Dean Scott Community College Davenport, IA -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 9:36 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1025] Read,Rattle and Roll Community Literacy Conference Hi Everyone, I'm passing on this conference announcement which may be of interest to some of you: All the best, Julie ********************* Greetings Literacy Leaders and Advocates: We are so looking forward to seeing you at the National Community Literacy Conference in Memphis. You can find information, as well as registration forms up on the Literacy Powerline website: www.literacypowerline.com ?s contact: Hannah Mallon hannahmallon at gmail.com or phone 979 289 5175 *********************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. From jataylor at utk.edu Fri Nov 2 10:01:39 2007 From: jataylor at utk.edu (Taylor, Jackie) Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2007 10:01:39 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1027] Professional Development Quality Standards Discussion Message-ID: <0913EC48F2B05C4FBE4878BAFCABBFEC0127B33E@KFSVS2.utk.tennessee.edu> Dear Colleagues, Have you ever attended a professional development (PD) activity and wondered why you spent your time participating? Have you ever attended professional development and felt that your practice significantly improved because of it? Join the Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List for a three-part discussion of quality professional development that will culminate in finalizing a set of PD quality standards that AALPD will use to advance quality professional development in the field. Subscribe: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment When: November 12 - 30th (Quiet week November 19-23) History: http://tinyurl.com/36raut Additional Resources: http://tinyurl.com/3xd5c8 Please see below for details. For a web-based version of the announcement, visit: http://tinyurl.com/32k3zr I hope you will join us! Best, Jackie Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator, jataylor at utk.edu Part I: Quality Professional Development When: November 12 - 16 What makes quality professional development? Join us to discuss what subscribers identify as quality PD, and to explore the benefits and issues with building a professional development system based on quality standards. * What are characteristics of quality professional development? * How do you know it when you see it? * What is the value added in having PD standards? * What are the drawbacks? * PD Providers: Are standards really going to help you provide better PD? * Practitioners: Are standards really going to help you identify quality PD? Part II: Reflection Week When: November 19 - 23 AALPD will disseminate a set of quality professional development standards and indicators that the AALPD PD Standards Committee has drafted. This is a quiet week to: 1. Reflect on the quality characteristics generated by list subscribers during Part I. 2. Review the AALPD draft PD Standards. Ask yourself the questions listed in Part III below, to prepare. Part III: AALPD Professional Development Quality Standards When: November 26 - 30 Join us to discuss the draft AALPD PD Quality Standards. Based on this important discussion, a final draft of the AALPD PD Quality Standards will be sent to the AALPD Membership for an up or down vote. A final version will be placed on the AALPD Website, and will become the foundation for a program and state self-assessment tool to advance quality professional development in our field. Discussion Questions Include (but are not limited to): * How well does this draft measure up with what subscribers have indicated is quality professional development? * From this draft: * What are the most important PD standards or indicators from your perspective? * What are the most important standards to advance PD in your area/state? * What PD Standards would be easy to implement? * What would be hard to implement? * Is there anything missing? * Is there anything that isn't clear? * What would need to be in place in order to make these standards possible? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------- >From the Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD) Standards Committee and Executive Board http://www.aalpd.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071102/42305c5f/attachment.html From ALCDGG at langate.gsu.edu Fri Nov 2 13:03:28 2007 From: ALCDGG at langate.gsu.edu (Daphne Greenberg) Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:03:28 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1028] Re: Read, Rattle and Roll Community Literacy Conference Message-ID: <472B2020.919D.0031.0@langate.gsu.edu> Jim, Literacy Powerline is an organization that supports literacy coalitions around the country, and helps to build community literacy plans. Literacy Powerline was influential in helping to form coalitions in many communities-some examples are Buffalo, Baton Rouge, and Fort Worth. I think that if you go to the following website: www.literacypowerline.com you will find a lot of helpful information. Margaret Doughty's contact information is also on the website. She is an amazing leader, someone who has helped communities "get it together". She has a wealth of ideas, tips and suggestions. If you and your colleagues can go to this conference, I highly recommend it. It is probably THE conference to go to, if you are interested in community literacy building. I have highly recommended it to folks in my community! Daphne Greenberg Georgia State University >>> "Schneider, Jim" 11/1/2007 6:07 PM >>> Julie, or Anyone... Could individuals/organizations that have had interactions with Literacypowerline please provide some comment/feedback on the organization and their conferences/programming? At a glance it certainly appears to be addressing issues that need addressing... But I've never heard of it and would appreciate information from anyone who has. Thanks, Jim Schneider Asst. Dean Scott Community College Davenport, IA -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Julie McKinney Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2007 9:36 AM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1025] Read,Rattle and Roll Community Literacy Conference Hi Everyone, I'm passing on this conference announcement which may be of interest to some of you: All the best, Julie ********************* Greetings Literacy Leaders and Advocates: We are so looking forward to seeing you at the National Community Literacy Conference in Memphis. You can find information, as well as registration forms up on the Literacy Powerline website: www.literacypowerline.com ?s contact: Hannah Mallon hannahmallon at gmail.com or phone 979 289 5175 *********************** Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jschneider at eicc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to doughtyhrc at aol.com. From cristinesmith at comcast.net Fri Nov 2 15:59:06 2007 From: cristinesmith at comcast.net (Cristine Smith) Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2007 15:59:06 -0400 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1029] Read, Rattle and Roll Community Literacy Conference Message-ID: <005401c81d8a$d3be1000$bc797780@provost.ads.umass.edu> Thought I'd chime in here. Having worked in adult basic education and literacy for over 20 years here in the U.S., I have worked with Margaret Doughty, who is the force behind LiteracyPowerline, for many years and she is an (if not THE) extremely highly-regarded expert in literacy coalitions, community literacy, and support for community collaborations engaged in literacy. She was a key player in the LiteracyUSA coalition network, and works with many literacy coalitions and foundations involved in literacy nationally. This conference looks great for anyone who is involved in or thinking about founding a literacy coalition or collaboration, and knowing Margaret, I would recommend whatever she promotes. Best.Cris Cristine Smith Assistant Professor Center for International Education University of Massachusetts 285 Hills House South Amherst, MA 01003 413-545-2731 cristine at educ.umass.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071102/79857518/attachment.html From DoughtyHRC at aol.com Sun Nov 4 11:23:02 2007 From: DoughtyHRC at aol.com (DoughtyHRC at aol.com) Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2007 11:23:02 EST Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1030] Re: Read, Rattle and Roll Community Literacy Conference Message-ID: Daphne and Cris - thanks for the kind words. I am very fortunate to work with some of the most amazing literacy collaborations and inspired foundations around the country and excited by the new energy in community literacy. Are any of you on the list going to be attending the ProLiteracy Conference this week? We are running a community literacy workshop series and would love to meet you and introduce you to the coalition leaders presenting the sessions. Will look forward to seeing you there and/or at the READ, RATTLE and ROLL Conference in Memphis in March, 2008. Margaret ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071104/af994198/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 4878 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071104/af994198/attachment.jpe From calmingeffects at yahoo.com Sun Nov 4 20:26:41 2007 From: calmingeffects at yahoo.com (ms. smith...!!!) Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2007 17:26:41 -0800 (PST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1031] Re: Educational DVDs of GCFLearnFree.org In-Reply-To: <007901c8076f$4279c520$c76d4f60$@org> Message-ID: <307194.10019.qm@web54602.mail.re2.yahoo.com> Dear Kelly, Yes as a former business/computer teacher in the NYS prison system....showing our students how the internet worked was one of my primary goals...I could talk about it forever but to show or have them become familiar with the process of course due to security concerns was impossible....considering that most of the entry level positons in this country especially in retail now have computer kiosk's where you actually apply using a computer, to get a simulation would certainly go a long way to help students become prepared for reentry into our communities. Regards Mary Ann Kelly Potter Markham wrote: Temesghen, Thanks for the positive words about the site. You mentioned educational DVDs. We?re actually working on that right now. We?ve had a lot of interest from the prison system about it since inmates don?t have Internet access. The idea is that many inmates have been in prison since before ATMs and debit card machines, so many of our lessons would help with acclimating them to society. The other lessons would be helpful as well, since there are many low-literacy learners in the prison system. What is your interest in the DVDs? Do your learners have limited Internet access? It would be helpful for us to determine what other audiences would benefit from the DVDs if we decide to produce them and distribute them for free. Thanks, Kelly Kelly Potter Markham Instructional Designer, GCFLearnFree.org kelly at GCFLearnFree.org Visit http://www.GCFLearnFree.org today to learn the computer training and life skills you need to succeed! The freedom to learn what you want, when you want, absolutely free! ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to calmingeffects at yahoo.com. The happiest people don't always have the best of everything: but they make the best of everything.........Be happy, be kind, practice charity.... > . __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071104/5e4e6727/attachment.html From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Tue Nov 6 10:03:16 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Tue, 06 Nov 2007 10:03:16 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1031] News Flashes from WE LEARN Message-ID: <47303BE40200002D00004518@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I'm passing on this update from WE LEARN (Women Expanding: Literacy Education Action Resource Network) www.litwomen.org/welearn.html Please read on! Best, Julie ************ News Flashes, November 2007 1) 2008 Conference Call for Proposals 2) Call for writings for Women's Perspectives 3) 5th Anniversary Celebration opens with Undoing the Silence 4) Calendar Cover Contest! 5) Fall Newsletter --------------- 1) 2008 Conference Call for Proposals WE LEARN 5th Annual (Net)Working Gathering & Conference on Women & Literacy Building Alliances / Construyendo Alianzas http://www.litwomen.org/conference.html March 7- 8, 2008 Fordham Univ. at Lincoln Center in New York City, NY Co-Sponsored with WE LEARN by Fordham University Graduate School of Education ** The Call for Proposals is now available -- both poster & form are available in English and Spanish. ** DEADLINE for Application: Nov. 30, 2007 Please apply using the Internet form. http://www.litwomen.org/conferences/2008/props08.html Sponsorship, advertiser, and exhibitor information also available: http://www.litwomen.org/conferences/2008/sponsors.pdf Registration and hotel information will be available by the end of November. ----------------------- 2) Call for writings for Women's Perspectives #3 (2008) / Women & Money Call for Writings by Adult Basic/Literacy Education Students -- Writers must be adult literacy/basic education students attending classes or working with a tutor. For details and forms go to: http://www.litwomen.org/perspectives.html Women's Perspectives #3: Women and Money will showcase writings by adult literacy/basic education students across all levels. Student writers are encouraged to reflect and to write on the theme of women and their experiences with finances, class, security, income, and other everyday issues related to women?s lives as affected by money. All forms of writings accepted: Stories ? personal or creative, Poems, Opinion essays, Advice, Budget or Action Plans. Original artwork about this theme will also be accepted. Lesson Planning Ideas & Worksheet also available: www.litwomen.org/perspectives.html Deadline: January 18, 2008 ----------------------- 3) 5th Anniversary Celebration opens with a special workshop: Undoing the Silence: Bringing New Writers to Powerful Voice On November 2, 2007, WE LEARN launched our 5th anniversary celebration year with a workshop in Boston facilitated by Louise Dunlap, author of Undoing the Silence: Six Tools for Social Change Writing. This event, attended by ABE/ESOL students and teachers as well as community people, was designed to prepare students to write for Women's Perspectives #3. Louise shared practical writing tools to help reluctant writers to get past their internal censors. WE LEARN has developed a packet that shares components of that workshop with WE LEARN members and supporters. It includes a DVD of the "panel of experts" -- Boston-based writers, educators, and activists who provided important information and perspectives related to women and money, and their personal experiences of writing about them. For more details, visit: http://www.litwomen.org/undoing.html ------------------------- 4) Calendar Cover Contest! We are celebrating the 5 year anniversary of WE LEARN! We invite you to share in the creation of a calendar that marks this special occasion by submitting your original artwork and/or writing. We are looking for quotes (from teachers & students), poetry, classroom ideas, photos from WE LEARN events, drawings, short reviews of recommended women-centered literacy materials or curriculum resources (and how you've used them), or any other reflections on your experiences with WE LEARN that have inspired you. Design the cover for the calendar and win a bookstore gift certificate! All submissions due by December 31, 2007! All proceeds from the calendar to benefit the work of WE LEARN. ------------------------- 5) Fall Newsletter YeWomen Expanding: Literacy Education Action Resource Network www.litwomen.org/welearn.html 182 Riverside Ave. Cranston, RI 02910 401-383-4374 welearn at litwomen.org Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org Fri Nov 9 10:53:02 2007 From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie McKinney) Date: Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:53:02 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1032] English for Action seeks Director Message-ID: <47343C0E0200002D00004611@bostongwia.jsi.com> Hi Everyone, I am sending on this job listing from Alicia Pantoja at English for Action. They are looking for a director. Please read on if you are interested, or forward this to anyone you think may be interested. Thanks, Julie ****************************** Dear friends, Please share the attached job description with as many passionate, talented,and experienced friends, as possible. please think of any list serve, website, etc, where we could post this description, also. EFA is growing in beautiful ways and we are in great need of an executive director. THANK YOU for taking the time to forward this. Much love and appreciation, Alicia * English for Action* * Executive Director Job Description* * Organizational Background* English for Action (EFA) is a grassroots non-profit organization pursuing a mission to create participatory educational programs for Latino immigrant families and community members with the goal of achieving meaningful and community-based social change. Rooted in the Providence, RI neighborhood of Olneyville, EFA is committed to positive social change in the greater Providence community. EFA's participatory philosophy drives both its organizational structure and its teaching methodologies. In the classroom, EFA facilitators and learners are equal partners, working collaboratively to develop curriculum that reflect learners' issues and life experiences. EFA's programs utilize innovative tools- such as the visual arts, theater of the oppressed and action projects - to link language learning, leadership development, community-building and to engage adults and younger learners in dialogue, reflection and collaboration. Founded in 1999 by two Brown University students and 10 immigrant families, EFA has grown and today operates five ducational programs that engage more than 100 immigrant families and residents and more than 35 volunteers each year. * Job Description* English for Action seeks a passionate, energetic and creative full-time executive director to provide leadership to the rganization as it seeks to increase sustainability and community impact. The responsibilities of the executive director include the following: * * Program Management and Support :* Oversee all programs, services and activities. Work with staff to ensure that EFA's mission is being carried out in accordance with the strategic plan. Promote an organizational culture that is participatory, inclusive and open. Ensure the highest levels of quality and service by inspiring staff to perform at their peak. * * Fiscal Management :* Ensure that EFA is fiscally sound and that the budget supports programs. Present and interpret budgets to the board. Maintain records that allow for accuracy and ease of applying for grants and reporting expenses appropriately. Provide timely and accurate fiscal reports to funders. * * Administrative Management : * Recruit talented, qualified, and energetic staff. Manage, mentor and supervise full- and part-time program staff and ensure they are fulfilling their work plans and receiving appropriate professional development support through regular staff meetings, staff retreats, trainings and individual check-ins around their professional development plans. * * Relationship Building: * Build on EFA's reputation as a grass roots, innovative and professional organization. Work with individuals and organizations ithin the community and to develop and foster meaningful collaborations to better serve our learners. Build on vital relationships donors. Develop and lead the implementation of the organization's public relations plan. Be an advocate for EFA's mission, model, and programs. * * Fund Development: * Develop and sustain a diverse funding base to support the organization's programs and to provide for growth. Continue to seek opportunities for obtaining new grants, foundation relationships, and for increasing corporate and individual giving. * * Board Development: *informed and energized board. Serve ex-officio on board committees. Provide opportunities to board members to contribute creatively to the goals of the organization. Provide the board appropriate program and fiscal reports. Assist in identifying and recruiting new candidates to create a balanced and actively involved team. Foster regular communication between board and staff. * Minimum Qualifications:* ? Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in education, social work, nonprofit management, or related field. ? Bilingual in English and Spanish. ? At least 3 years work experience in a leadership position, preferably for a non-profit organization, including management of staff and volunteers. Ability to lead people, set goals, establish priorities, maintain focus and get results, while working to engage others in participatory decision making. ? Proven success in resource development, including experience in grant writing, event planning, and working with individual donors. ? A proven commitment to adult education, literacy, immigration,and other social justice issues as they relate to the Latino community. ? Ability to work in a team oriented, highly participatory environment with a sense of inclusiveness in decision making. Ability to be flexible and be available for evening and weekend work as appropriate. Ability to work with a minimum amount of privacy in an environment where interruptions may be frequent. * Additional Preferred Qualifications* ? Experience in adult education and familiarity with popular education strongly preferred. ? Experience with effective evaluation systems for grant-funded programs. ? Experience in social activism. ? Demonstrated experience building strong relationships with a variety of people, including clients, staff members, community leaders, donors, board members, funders and the community at large. ? Experience with managing budgets and preparing fiscal reports for the board and funders. ? Excellent communications skills including written, inter-personal, and public speaking * Reporting: *The executive director reports to the Board of Directors. * Salary:* Commensurate with experience. Medical benefits and 4 weeks paid vacation. * Start Date:* January 21st, 2008 * Process: *Applications accepted on a rolling basis. Interviews will begin on/around December 4th, 2007. Interested candidates should forward their resume and cover letter to: * EFA.Search at gmail.com* or Search Committee, English for Action, P.O. Box 29405, Providence, RI, 02909. * Please note, in preparing their application materials, candidates are strongly encouraged to learn more about EFA's mission, philosophy, programs, staff, history, and the Olneyville community by visiting EFA's Web site,* www.englishforaction.org <* http://www.englishforaction.org/ *> . Please direct all inquiries to *EFA.Search at gmail.com*. -- Alicia Pantoja Education Director English for Action P.O. Box 29405 Providence, RI 02909 401.421.3181 www.englishforaction.org "Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral." -Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom "El lavarse las manos del conflicto entre el poderoso y el despoderado significa aliarse con el poderoso y no significa permanecer neutral" --Paulo Freire, Pedagogia de la Libertad "laughable laughter is catacl and forgetting" Julie McKinney Discussion List Moderator World Education/NCSALL jmckinney at worlded.org From b.garner4 at verizon.net Tue Nov 20 16:33:11 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:33:11 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1033] FOB on Numeracy Message-ID: <23506862.18556241195594391768.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net> Dear List Members, I am in the process of planning an issue of "Focus on Basics" on numeracy. If you've done any research on numeracy recently (teacher, action, academic, whatever) and think it might make a good article for the issue, please let me know. You can share it on list or contact me off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net If you know of any teachers or programs doing a spectacular job with numeracy, please let me know, on or off list. If there are any issues relating to numeracy that you think should be addressed in the issue, please let me know. If you would like to be on the editorial board for the issue, please let me know. Requirement: experience teaching math, willingness to read and share thoughts about articles as they go through their draft stages, ability to participate in about 10 conference calls stretched out over a three or four month period. We offer a small stipend for both writing and editorial board participation, which in no way compensates you for the time you will put in. I look forward to hearing from you, Thanks! Barb Garner Editor, "Focus on Basics" From mathewssb at earthlink.net Mon Nov 26 11:04:34 2007 From: mathewssb at earthlink.net (mathewssb at earthlink.net) Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:04:34 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1034] Re: FOB on Numeracy Message-ID: <32693957.1196093074434.JavaMail.root@elwamui-darkeyed.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Barb, I teach ABE, GED and AHS Mathematics at Florida Community College at Jacksonville. I am interested in serving on your editorial board. Let me know what I need to do to be considered for this position. Thanks, Sarae (Sunny) Mathews, Ed.D. Adult Studies FCCJ - South Campus -----Original Message----- >From: Barbara Garner >Sent: Nov 20, 2007 4:33 PM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1033] FOB on Numeracy > >Dear List Members, > >I am in the process of planning an issue of "Focus on Basics" on numeracy. > >If you've done any research on numeracy recently (teacher, action, academic, whatever) and think it might make a good article for the issue, please let me know. You can share it on list or contact me off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net > >If you know of any teachers or programs doing a spectacular job with numeracy, please let me know, on or off list. > >If there are any issues relating to numeracy that you think should be addressed in the issue, please let me know. > >If you would like to be on the editorial board for the issue, please let me know. Requirement: experience teaching math, willingness to read and share thoughts about articles as they go through their draft stages, ability to participate in about 10 conference calls stretched out over a three or four month period. > >We offer a small stipend for both writing and editorial board participation, which in no way compensates you for the time you will put in. > >I look forward to hearing from you, >Thanks! >Barb Garner >Editor, "Focus on Basics" >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to mathewssb at earthlink.net. From sara_jorgensen at ccab.org Mon Nov 26 13:02:42 2007 From: sara_jorgensen at ccab.org (Sara Jorgensen) Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:02:42 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1035] Re: FOB on Numeracy References: <23506862.18556241195594391768.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: Barbara, How long are the conference calls and at what time of the day would they be? The Downtown Learning Center has an excellent numeracy program and is run by Avril Osborne DeJesus. She does a spectacular hands-on math assessment with hundreds of students in this centrally located program in Brooklyn, New York. She also has an incredible curriculum tweaked and used by teachers and tutors alike and they host a "Math Fair" after they complete 6 week units requiring each student to present a project that encapsulates a concept learned. Sara -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 4:33 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1033] FOB on Numeracy Dear List Members, I am in the process of planning an issue of "Focus on Basics" on numeracy. If you've done any research on numeracy recently (teacher, action, academic, whatever) and think it might make a good article for the issue, please let me know. You can share it on list or contact me off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net If you know of any teachers or programs doing a spectacular job with numeracy, please let me know, on or off list. If there are any issues relating to numeracy that you think should be addressed in the issue, please let me know. If you would like to be on the editorial board for the issue, please let me know. Requirement: experience teaching math, willingness to read and share thoughts about articles as they go through their draft stages, ability to participate in about 10 conference calls stretched out over a three or four month period. We offer a small stipend for both writing and editorial board participation, which in no way compensates you for the time you will put in. I look forward to hearing from you, Thanks! Barb Garner Editor, "Focus on Basics" ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to sara_jorgensen at ccab.org. From jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu Mon Nov 26 13:50:47 2007 From: jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu (Joanne Kantner) Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:50:47 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1036] Re: FOB on Numeracy In-Reply-To: <23506862.18556241195594391768.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: <200711261848.MAA21351@kishwaukeecollege.edu> Hello Barb, I have been doing several presentations on the cultural cognitive differences in notations, algorithms, logic processes, and mathematical values. I would be happy to write an article for practioners to help them reflect on the myth of mathematics as universal. Also would you be willing to announce that the International Adults Learning Mathematics conference is being held this year in the USA? I have attached the call for papers which contains the date, location, and website for more information. I look forward to hearing from you, Joanne Kantner Adult Student Connections Adult & Continuing Education Department of Mathematics Kishwaukee College 21193 Malta Road Malta, IL 60150 Phone: (815) 825.2086 Ext. 343 Fax: (815) 825.2605 Email: jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 3:33 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1033] FOB on Numeracy Dear List Members, I am in the process of planning an issue of "Focus on Basics" on numeracy. If you've done any research on numeracy recently (teacher, action, academic, whatever) and think it might make a good article for the issue, please let me know. You can share it on list or contact me off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net If you know of any teachers or programs doing a spectacular job with numeracy, please let me know, on or off list. If there are any issues relating to numeracy that you think should be addressed in the issue, please let me know. If you would like to be on the editorial board for the issue, please let me know. Requirement: experience teaching math, willingness to read and share thoughts about articles as they go through their draft stages, ability to participate in about 10 conference calls stretched out over a three or four month period. We offer a small stipend for both writing and editorial board participation, which in no way compensates you for the time you will put in. I look forward to hearing from you, Thanks! Barb Garner Editor, "Focus on Basics" ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu. From mathewssb at earthlink.net Mon Nov 26 17:01:04 2007 From: mathewssb at earthlink.net (mathewssb at earthlink.net) Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:01:04 -0500 (GMT-05:00) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1037] Re: FOB on Numeracy Message-ID: <28093808.1196114465511.JavaMail.root@elwamui-milano.atl.sa.earthlink.net> I didn't see an attachment. I am interested in attending the IALM conference - need the particulars ... where, when, costs ... in order to apply for travel monies. Thanks, Sarae (Sunny) Mathews, Ed.D. -----Original Message----- >From: Joanne Kantner >Sent: Nov 26, 2007 1:50 PM >To: b.garner4 at verizon.net, 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1036] Re: FOB on Numeracy > >Hello Barb, >I have been doing several presentations on the cultural cognitive >differences in notations, algorithms, logic processes, and mathematical >values. I would be happy to write an article for practioners to help them >reflect on the myth of mathematics as universal. > >Also would you be willing to announce that the International Adults Learning >Mathematics conference is being held this year in the USA? I have attached >the call for papers which contains the date, location, and website for more >information. > >I look forward to hearing from you, > > >Joanne Kantner >Adult Student Connections >Adult & Continuing Education >Department of Mathematics >Kishwaukee College >21193 Malta Road >Malta, IL 60150 >Phone: (815) 825.2086 Ext. 343 >Fax: (815) 825.2605 >Email: jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 3:33 PM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1033] FOB on Numeracy > >Dear List Members, > >I am in the process of planning an issue of "Focus on Basics" on numeracy. > >If you've done any research on numeracy recently (teacher, action, academic, >whatever) and think it might make a good article for the issue, please let >me know. You can share it on list or contact me off list at >b.garner4 at verizon.net > >If you know of any teachers or programs doing a spectacular job with >numeracy, please let me know, on or off list. > >If there are any issues relating to numeracy that you think should be >addressed in the issue, please let me know. > >If you would like to be on the editorial board for the issue, please let me >know. Requirement: experience teaching math, willingness to read and share >thoughts about articles as they go through their draft stages, ability to >participate in about 10 conference calls stretched out over a three or four >month period. > >We offer a small stipend for both writing and editorial board participation, >which in no way compensates you for the time you will put in. > >I look forward to hearing from you, >Thanks! >Barb Garner >Editor, "Focus on Basics" >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu. > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to mathewssb at earthlink.net. From jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu Tue Nov 27 11:02:11 2007 From: jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu (Joanne Kantner) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:02:11 -0600 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1038] Re: FOB on Numeracy In-Reply-To: <28093808.1196114465511.JavaMail.root@elwamui-milano.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <200711271600.KAA17796@kishwaukeecollege.edu> Great Conferences integrating equity, social justice, and mathematics learning A Declaration of Numeracy: Empowering Adults through Mathematics Education 15th International Conference 2008 Monday June 30th - Thursday July 3rd Chestnut Hill College Philadelphia CALL FOR PAPERS for ALM15 PROPOSAL FORM is at the Adults Learning Mathematics Website http://www.alm-online.net/ DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION 22TH FEBRUARY 2008 Another great conference and website is Radical Mathematics Creating Balance in an Unjust World 2008 Conference on Math Education and Social Justice http://www.radicalmath.org/conference Location: Long Island University . Brooklyn, NY Dates: Friday, April 4th - Sunday, April 6th 2008 Joanne Kantner Adult Student Connections Adult & Continuing Education Department of Mathematics Kishwaukee College 21193 Malta Road Malta, IL 60150 Phone: (815) 825.2086 Ext. 343 Fax: (815) 825.2605 Email: jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of mathewssb at earthlink.net Sent: Monday, November 26, 2007 4:01 PM To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1037] Re: FOB on Numeracy I didn't see an attachment. I am interested in attending the IALM conference - need the particulars ... where, when, costs ... in order to apply for travel monies. Thanks, Sarae (Sunny) Mathews, Ed.D. -----Original Message----- >From: Joanne Kantner >Sent: Nov 26, 2007 1:50 PM >To: b.garner4 at verizon.net, 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' > >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1036] Re: FOB on Numeracy > >Hello Barb, >I have been doing several presentations on the cultural cognitive >differences in notations, algorithms, logic processes, and mathematical >values. I would be happy to write an article for practioners to help >them reflect on the myth of mathematics as universal. > >Also would you be willing to announce that the International Adults >Learning Mathematics conference is being held this year in the USA? I >have attached the call for papers which contains the date, location, >and website for more information. > >I look forward to hearing from you, > > >Joanne Kantner >Adult Student Connections >Adult & Continuing Education >Department of Mathematics >Kishwaukee College >21193 Malta Road >Malta, IL 60150 >Phone: (815) 825.2086 Ext. 343 >Fax: (815) 825.2605 >Email: jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu > >-----Original Message----- >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] >On Behalf Of Barbara Garner >Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 3:33 PM >To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1033] FOB on Numeracy > >Dear List Members, > >I am in the process of planning an issue of "Focus on Basics" on numeracy. > >If you've done any research on numeracy recently (teacher, action, >academic, >whatever) and think it might make a good article for the issue, please >let me know. You can share it on list or contact me off list at >b.garner4 at verizon.net > >If you know of any teachers or programs doing a spectacular job with >numeracy, please let me know, on or off list. > >If there are any issues relating to numeracy that you think should be >addressed in the issue, please let me know. > >If you would like to be on the editorial board for the issue, please >let me know. Requirement: experience teaching math, willingness to read >and share thoughts about articles as they go through their draft >stages, ability to participate in about 10 conference calls stretched >out over a three or four month period. > >We offer a small stipend for both writing and editorial board >participation, which in no way compensates you for the time you will put in. > >I look forward to hearing from you, >Thanks! >Barb Garner >Editor, "Focus on Basics" >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu. > > >---------------------------------------------------- >National Institute for Literacy >Focus on Basics mailing list >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics >Message sent to mathewssb at earthlink.net. ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to jkantner at kishwaukeecollege.edu. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Call for Papers ALM15.doc Type: application/msword Size: 41984 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071127/ec1df65e/attachment.doc From tjdclaire at cox.net Tue Nov 27 18:41:40 2007 From: tjdclaire at cox.net (tjdclaire) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:41:40 -0700 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1039] Re: FOB on Numeracy In-Reply-To: <23506862.18556241195594391768.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: <20071127234117.RPZC14792.fed1rmmtao104.cox.net@fed1rmimpo03.cox.net> Barb, I would be interested in being a member of the editorial board. I have been an ABE/GED instructor for the past 13, almost 14 years and before that taught eighth grade science and/or earth science for eight years. I always told my students that you can be a mathematician without knowing any science, but you can't be a scientist without knowing any math. In addition,I am the local Adult Numeracy Network representative (not that this position requires much on my part). I have been in a program called Teachers Investigating Adult Numeracy (TIAN)for the past year. Arizona is one of four states involved with this program. We are working with Mary Jane Scmitt whom I have encountered a number of times at numeracy workshops at COABE conferences. If there is any information I can provide, let me know. Claire Ludovico -----Original Message----- From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 2:33 PM To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1033] FOB on Numeracy Dear List Members, I am in the process of planning an issue of "Focus on Basics" on numeracy. If you've done any research on numeracy recently (teacher, action, academic, whatever) and think it might make a good article for the issue, please let me know. You can share it on list or contact me off list at b.garner4 at verizon.net If you know of any teachers or programs doing a spectacular job with numeracy, please let me know, on or off list. If there are any issues relating to numeracy that you think should be addressed in the issue, please let me know. If you would like to be on the editorial board for the issue, please let me know. Requirement: experience teaching math, willingness to read and share thoughts about articles as they go through their draft stages, ability to participate in about 10 conference calls stretched out over a three or four month period. We offer a small stipend for both writing and editorial board participation, which in no way compensates you for the time you will put in. I look forward to hearing from you, Thanks! Barb Garner Editor, "Focus on Basics" ---------------------------------------------------- National Institute for Literacy Focus on Basics mailing list FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics Message sent to tjdclaire at cox.net. From b.garner4 at verizon.net Wed Nov 28 08:03:48 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 07:03:48 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1040] Focus on Basics on Numeracy Update Message-ID: <27003647.8128351196255028672.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net> Thanks to everyone who is contacting me on and off the list about the upcoming issue of "Focus on Basics" on numeracy. I am taking a few days to gather all the responses, after which I will get back to everyone. Regards, Barb Garner Editor, "Focus on Basics" From b.garner4 at verizon.net Wed Dec 5 13:25:16 2007 From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner) Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:25:16 -0600 (CST) Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1041] Focus on Basics on LD available Message-ID: <31996765.64277261196879116290.JavaMail.root@vms125.mailsrvcs.net> Learning disabilities is the topic of a new issue of "Focus on Basics", now available at www.ncsall.net (click on "Focus on Basics" near the top of the right column on the homepage). Articles range from neurology and dyslexia to legal issues related to serving students with learning disabilities, to best practices shared by skilled teachers, to three states' approaches to serving students with learning disabilities, to addressing the needs of ESOL learners, to technology, to transitions to college, to changing practice at the program and classroom level: there's something for everyone. Read on! Barb Garner, Editor From MMaralit at NIFL.gov Tue Dec 11 10:14:38 2007 From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo) Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:14:38 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1042] January 11 Webcast: Reading Assessment Part 2 Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B180C5088@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov> ** SAVE THE DATE: Reading Assessment Webcast, Part 2 ** >From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults Part 2: Specific Instructional Strategies for Fluency and Vocabulary WHEN: Friday, January 11, 2008 TIME: 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Eastern Time 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM Central Time 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM Mountain Time 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM Pacific Time Please join us on Friday, January 11, 2008 for Part 2 of "From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults" webcast. This follow-up webcast will focus on specific instructional strategies for two other components of reading, fluency and vocabulary. The presenters will show how all four components provide a natural framework for assessing adult students' reading ability, and how assessment results can lead seamlessly to a program of instruction to improve students' reading. For more information, please go to: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/assesspractice2/webcast0111.html (Registration will be available by January 3, 2008.) This seventy-minute webcast is a part two for the webcast presented on September 28, 2007: From Assessment to Practice-Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults . The main purpose of the first webcast was to present a compelling rationale for the use of research-based principles for adult reading instruction. The presenters used two components of reading, word analysis and comprehension, as examples to illustrate research-based practices, focusing on specific instructional strategies derived from the research. For more information, please contact info at nifl.gov or call 202-233-2025 or visit us online at: http://www.nifl.gov/. Thanks, Jo Maralit mmaralit at nifl.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071211/bde80783/attachment.html From mcnutt at utk.edu Fri Dec 14 13:27:00 2007 From: mcnutt at utk.edu (McNutt Jr, William R) Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:27:00 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1043] Position Announcement Message-ID: <0913EC48F2B05C4FBE4878BAFCABBFEC015BCCA7@KFSVS2.utk.tennessee.edu> The Center for Literacy Studies, located within the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, is seeking an onsite Director to begin Spring, 2008. The mission of the Center for Literacy Studies is to support and advance literacy education across the lifespan. The Center conducts research, professional development, program evaluation and other work within family, community, and workplace literacy contexts. The Director oversees the work of the Center, raises funds through grants and contracts, writes grant proposals and develops budgets, approves expenditures of funds, and negotiates subcontracts. The Director also hires and discharges personnel, acts as principal investigator for grants, provides direct project oversight for some grants, and oversees a staff of thirty to assure project work is conducted in accordance with contractual agreements with outside funders A full copy of the position announcement and initial contact instructions can be found at http://www.cls.utk.edu/director.htm . Thank you, Bill McNutt Technology Coordinator, UT Center for Literacy Studies From MMaralit at NIFL.gov Mon Dec 17 09:59:06 2007 From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo) Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:59:06 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1044] January 11 Webcast: Register Now References: <0122B345-3693-4B80-99C2-AE93BDC64E31@comcast.net> <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B15382EB7@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov> Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B180C50F1@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov> ** REGISTRATION OPEN FOR Reading Assessment Webcast, Part 2 ** >From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults Part 2: Specific Instructional Strategies for Fluency and Vocabulary WHEN: Friday, January 11, 2008 TIME: 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Eastern Time 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM Central Time 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM Mountain Time 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM Pacific Time Please join us for Part 2 of "From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults" webcast. This follow-up webcast will focus on specific instructional strategies for two other components of reading, fluency and vocabulary. The presenters will show how all four components provide a natural framework for assessing adult students' reading ability, and how assessment results can lead seamlessly to a program of instruction to improve students' reading. REGISTRATION NOW OPEN To register and for more information, please go to: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/assesspractice2/webcast0111.html Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email and a reminder email before the event. This seventy-minute webcast is a part two for the webcast presented on September 28, 2007: From Assessment to Practice-Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults . The main purpose of the first webcast was to present a compelling rationale for the use of research-based principles for adult reading instruction. The presenters used two components of reading, word analysis and comprehension, as examples to illustrate research-based practices, focusing on specific instructional strategies derived from the research. For more information, please contact info at nifl.gov or call 202-233-2025 or visit us online at: http://www.nifl.gov/. Thanks, Jo Maralit mmaralit at nifl.gov From kbeall at onlyinternet.net Mon Dec 17 15:31:04 2007 From: kbeall at onlyinternet.net (Kaye Beall) Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:31:04 -0500 Subject: [FocusOnBasics 1045] New issue of Focus on Basics published by World Education Message-ID: <002101c840eb$bf382880$030ba8c0@D14J7YD1> The new issue of "Focus on Basics" is now available at www.worlded.org. Published by World Education, the theme is Learning Disabilities. Articles include: - An update on the neurobiology of dyslexia - A look at legal issues related to LD and what they mean for programs - The evolution of an ABE teacher and her practice, a program and its practices, and states and their policies, all as they relate to learning disabilities - ESOL and LD, theory and practice - Assistive technology - Transitioning students with learning disabilities to college Soon you'll be able to discuss the articles with the authors and your colleagues on this list. Watch for notices soon. Regards, Barb Garner Editor -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/attachments/20071217/da80639f/attachment.html