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Synergy March 2003 |
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Synergy March 2003 |
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Most important, though, work done by the Manchester Literacy Center and other pilots will ensure that adult participants benefit from best practices that enhance their literacy skills, develop their knowledge and skills to promote their children’s reading development, and become better advocates for their children’s school success. Consciously and unconsciously, parents pass on many skills and habits to their children. Reading with Understanding, the EFF standard at the core of the Appoquinimink pilot, is a learned skill and a vital component for success in today’s information society. It is essential to adults’ roles as workers, community members, and parents. As their children’s first and most persistent reading teachers, parents need to model effective reading practices and interact with their children to recreate a reading environment that will benefit their children throughout their lives. During the last nine months, the Appoquinimink Even Start Pilot team of Joe DiSalvo, Dee Sewell, and Oclivery Jones, and state-level representative Lillian Bryant have participated in three training workshops and received onsite technical assistance from the National EFF Team. Manchester’s focus on Reading with Understanding develops the skills of reading with a purpose, selecting appropriate reading strategies, monitoring comprehension, analyzing the information read, and integrating the information with prior knowledge to address the reading purpose. Adult learners are taught to “read smarter, not harder” through the use of reading strategies. The entire reading process is explicitly taught, modeled, and discussed by adult learners and the instructor. As a follow-up activity, adults are challenged to modify the model and process to use with their children. The EFF Reading Project used the reports of the National Reading Panel (grades K-3) and the Reading Research Working Group (adult education) to define evidence-based reading research. Each of these reports focuses on four key areas of reading instruction -- alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Practitioners will benefit from a professional development model that adds research on effective practices for adults to the existing evidence base on how children learn to read. Updates on the Appoquinimink pilot and the EFF Reading Project workshops have been presented to Delaware’s Adult Education and Family Literacy administrators at their monthly meetings. In addition, each national training session has been videotaped. A final professional development model documenting best practices will be created by the EFF Reading Team for dissemination nationwide. The expected completion date for training materials is September 2003. A free copy of the adult basic education research report is currently available and can be obtained by contacting the U.S. Department of Education at www.ed.gov and requesting, “Research- Based Principles for Adult Basic Education, Reading Instruction.” If you prefer, you may call 1-800-228-8813 to request a copy.
The spotlight will be on Manchester Literacy Center when the EFF Reading Project culminates with each pilot state and the Bureau of Indian Affairs presenting their Interim Tasks at their final workshop in March 2003. The tasks will highlight the work of all sites, their accomplishments, findings, and challenges. Amy Trawick, EFF Reading Project Coordinator, has visited Delaware and the Manchester Literacy Center on two occasions. Trawick indicates that she is “very pleased with the progress that Delaware has made in this program and that the state has come up with some very unique ideas that the EFF Reading Project will be able to share on larger scale implementation of the training.” As a result of this project, the Appoquinimink instructors have become effective change agents in their classrooms. Through planned activities that include direct instruction based on the “Read with Understanding” standard, students have exhibited increased motivation, learned numerous reading strategies, and have raised the bar for themselves and their children in achieving academic success.
Online Tools Ahead David Collings New Web-based tools for ACE Network are on the way. Administrators and teachers have been asking for a way to share ideas and online resources. Through the addition of a threaded discussion board, listservs, and other tools, this will soon be possible. ACE Network recently set up a Web-hosting arrangement with DCANet of Wilmington (www.dca.net). For the past nine years, DCANet has provided award-winning service to companies in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. The new Web pages, discussion software, and listserv tools will be available by the time you read this. Course registration and records areas will be complete in the next few weeks. Please visit www.acenetwork.org for more information on these developments or email your questions to David Collings – david@collings.com. The following services are being installed or constructed for the ACE Network: •Web services for up to three domain names. •WebBoard threaded discussion software that displays a hierarchy of discussion topics and allows document and graphics sharing. See http://forums.akiva.com/~webboardedu/guests for a sample. •Mailman listserv management tools to allow creation and management of multiple listservs for sending group email on special topics. •Web-based staff development course registration for online registration and posting of courses. •Web-based user records, a database of courses taken and hours completed.
New Publication on Reading Instruction in Adult Education Settings Maureen Whelan In October 2002, Research-Based Principles for Adult Basic Education Reading Instruction was produced by RMC Research Corporation and published by the Partnership for Reading. The Partnership for Reading is an initiative of the National Institute for Literacy, U.S. Department of Education, the National Institute of Child Health and Human development, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The author of Research-Based Principles is John Kruidenier, Ed.D., who worked on and with the Reading Research Working Group, a collaboration between the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) and the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL). The impressive list of partners involved in this project emphasizes the importance of reading instruction in adult education programs. It also highlights the fact that adults’ ability to read effectively is critical to their success as parents, workers, and community members. Since there is a scarcity of experimental research on ABE reading instruction, many of the reported findings are labeled “emerging trends.” The information presented is a great source for practitioners to use to help adult learners become effective readers. The report defines reading as a process that comprises various components: alphabetic phonemic awareness and word structure, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The reading panel recommends assessing an adult in each component. Specific reading instruction should be focused, given constraints on an adult learner’s time and effort.
ALPHABETIC PHONEMIC AWARENESS: Phonemes are the set of sounds that make up language, and phonemic awareness encompasses an ability to isolate, blend, or segment these sounds. Emerging trends reveal that adult non-readers have virtually no phonemic awareness and that beginning readers also have poor phonemic awareness, phonics, and word analysis knowledge. Preliminary findings indicate that non-readers and beginning readers may encounter great difficulty in acquiring phonemic awareness skills; for some learning disabled readers, it may prove impossible. The use of phonics and word analysis skills as instructional strategies for low level readers did prove successful in increasing the reader’s ability to understand words. FLUENCY: Fluency is the reader’s ability to rapidly recognize words, phrases, sentences, and longer texts. Adult beginning readers can increase reading achievement through direct instruction in fluency. One best practice involves repeated readings of a text until it is read accurately at a normal rate. In increasing fluency, a reader’s emphasis shifts from decoding individual words to concentrating on the meaning of phrases and passages. Beginning readers sometimes spend so much time decoding words that they lose the meaning of a sentence or paragraph. Other recommended strategies for improving fluency include paired reading, shared reading, and assisted oral reading. VOCABULARY: Beginning readers need vocabulary instruction as a means to increase their comprehension. The reading panel discovered that contextual learning settings such as family literacy and workplace programs were especially successful with vocabulary instruction since vocabulary was based on a recognized need of the learner. One recommended strategy for developing vocabulary is pre-teaching pivotal words prior to the reading assignment. COMPREHENSION: Adult readers appear to benefit from explicit instruction in specific comprehension skills. Often this is accomplished through mini-activities during the reading process. These mini-activities need to be modeled and discussed with adult readers. Recommended strategies to improve comprehension include monitoring understanding as an ongoing process during a reading assignment, cooperative learning, use of graphic organizers, question-solving and question-asking procedures, and summarization. Research also demonstrates the value of multiple-strategies training for ABE students and teachers together. Learning experiences in which the teacher and the adult learner discuss and model effective strategies are very useful in increasing reading skills. Reading effectively is vital in today’s information society. The more strategies teachers can provide to help adults comprehend vast amounts of information, the more successful adults are as workers, community members and parents.
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New GED Tests: Looking Back Paul Hughey
In January of 2002, GED Testing Service released its 2002 series. Delaware offered the new GED test in March 2002 with an 85% pass rate among the initial 20 examinees. And then things got better. Halfway through the 2002 calendar year, the pass rate climbed to 97% with 92 tests completed. By December, 253 tests were complete with a pass rate of 94 percent. As might be expected from these outstanding results, Delaware enjoys one of the highest pass rates among all jurisdictions! Delaware took a multi-pronged approach on behalf of its GED examinees. First, it instituted high standards for Practice Test Centers and provided training and certification for Practice Test Examiners. The goal of these initiatives was to replicate Official GED test conditions, processes, and expectations in the Official Practice Test (OPT). As a result, potential examinees not only demonstrate their competencies in the content areas, they get a dress rehearsal of sorts. While demanding, this preparation lays the groundwork for the rigors of the Official GED Tests. The other key to the success rate is the preparation examinees receive before attempting the OPT. Here, programs and GED Prep teachers in particular deserve the credit. Instructors have responded to the demands of the 2002 GED series with students prepared for the highest academic levels. For the 2002 test, GED Testing Service implemented a new policy that permitted only authorized vendors that met security, technology, and accuracy benchmarks to score the Official Test. Delaware contracted with Oklahoma Scoring Service (OK Scoring), which provides services to the largest number of GED testing jurisdictions. In addition, OK Scoring won the GED Testing Service contract to manage the International Data Base (IDB). The IDB contains all scoring results for every GED2002 test, as well as the demographics and raw statistics. From the IDB the Annual Statistical Report is created. The data contained in this article have been gleaned from that report and represent the first time the GED Annual Statistical Report was created from electronically stored data. To provide jurisdictions with access to test results and to assure the highest security, OK Scoring implemented a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN is like a tunnel through the Internet, similar to the connection between banks and ATMs. The VPN allows each Chief Examiner access to test results for his or her examinees and the Department of Education access to all Delaware results. Similarly, the Chief Examiners and DOE can print transcripts created by accessing the OK Scoring database. Endorsements can only be printed by the Department of Education. The GED 2002 series has been successfully implemented in Delaware. Excellent academic instruction, outstanding practice test processes, and secure scoring have contributed to Delaware’s 94 percent success rate. The success has continued into the 2003 calendar year. As of this publication date, 43 have been completed with a 95 percent success rate. Congratulations to each of you who are part of examinees’ success.
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BACK
TO THE FUTURE Beth Cady
The conference theme, BACK TO THE FUTURE, encompasses many issues that adult education practitioners face. Clearly, at its core, adult education gives a future back to the students by providing the skills and knowledge they need to achieve their goals at work and as members of families and communities. To support this core goal, adult education takes adults back through some basic skills to achieve new competencies in the future. The back-to-basics approach, however, is hardly a return to the classrooms of the past. Instead, current technologies and contemporary research-to-practice are constantly introduced. There is an interesting mix of keynote speakers this year. Dr. Jim McFadden, Director, Office of Occupational & Labor Market Information, will focus on the worker role, examining labor market conditions now and in the future. In exploring what employment statistics mean, Dr. McFadden will also address ways the Office can work more collaboratively with adult education programs. Dr. Nancy Wegge, Positive Impact, may be the only professional speaker in America who uses magic and has a doctorate in adult education. She has experience working in adult education, including literacy, adult basic education, community education and higher education. Her presentation, titled "Working REAL MAGIC Cradle to Grave. . . and Beyond" examines adult learners and the latest techniques for helping them succeed, using interaction and magic. Pat Sine, Director, Office of Educational Technology at the University of Delaware, brings great insight and expertise to maximize and expand technology and use the cyber-classroom effectively. Arthur Fennell, CN8 anchorman, has collected more than 75 awards for journalism and community service in his 22-year career in television. His comments on media literacy will prove most informative. Veteran conference-goers will notice a change this year in length and focus of the concurrent sessions. More time has been added to each presentation (and between sessions) to allow presenters to go beyond information-sharing to application. The emphases on technology and meeting students where they are and where they’re heading offer broad application across programs and levels. As always, the DAACE Conference remains the premier opportunity for adult education practitioners to meet with their colleagues in the state and the vendors who support them with a variety of materials. These networking moments are consistently among what conference attendees value most. If you haven’t been, come see what you are missing. If you are a regular, welcome BACK TO THE FUTURE. You are what makes a conference great!
OAASIS > A Pretty Palm Tree Joanne Heaphy
The Organization of Adult Alumni and Students in Service has been on the move this year, with a staff of 18 part-time workers and one full-time lead worker. This year OAASIS workers are located at all eight James H. Groves Adult High Schools, all nine family literacy sites, and at three ABE sites. OAASIS’s mission is to assist students, and may include mentoring, tutoring, leadership, and financial assistance. To serve the student, OAASIS workers serve and communicate with staff and administrators. OAASIS workers are “front-line” mentors. Since they are Adult Education alumni or current students, other adult learners are more apt and able to discuss issues with them. Mentoring issues can range from transportation or childcare to seeking services from a state department in health or human services. Sometimes just a hello in the hall or a quick pep talk keeps a student coming back. Peer tutoring is one of the duties of an OAASIS worker. Currently workers are tutoring in classrooms or on an individual basis at various sites. When tutoring needs are in high demand, OAASIS workers can locate college students who provide tutoring services for tuition help. During the past year four college students have participated in the tuition/tutor program. The Student Conference is a direct link to student participation in leadership. The workshops held each year help students with classroom and life skills, helping them improve in their roles as workers, family and community members. This year’s (re-scheduled) conference keynote address will be delivered by national motivational speaker Ed Agresta. OAASIS offers a wide range of financial assistance to adult learners. Since the start of the current fiscal year, OAASIS has sponsored over $3,400 in GED and materials fee awards and $1,600 in tuition scholarships. These resources are the result of fundraising events, the most important of which is the Silent Auction at the DAACE conference. OAASIS workers recognize that without the direct support of YOU — administrators, teachers, and support staff — our mission would be difficult to achieve. In appreciation to your dedication to the adult learners and to OAASIS, the first annual OAASIS picnic is being held this June 21, 2003. The picnic will be held at Killens Pond State Park and OAASIS workers will provide the grilling services. More information will be available at the DAACE conference. For more information about OAASIS or OAASIS sponsored events please visit our web page at www.oaasis.org or you can contact student lead worker Nancy Shields at 302-836-4362.
LEARNING IN CONTEXT Fran Tracy-Mumford, Director Adult Education
In January, members of the National Center for the Study of Adult Literacy and Learning (NCSALL) met with adult education and family literacy administrators to discuss research findings on contextual learning. Delaware defines contextual learning as “processing new knowledge/skills through real-life examples so that the learner is able to apply the skill/knowledge to new situations.” According to NCSALL, the three conditions necessary for learning to be contextual are: (1) materials must come from real life, (2) the content must be relevant to a learner need, and (3) the learner must be able to apply the learning. In discussing the implications of this research for teaching and learning in adult education and family literacy programs, it was obvious that contextual lessons are being taught. Examples are found in family literacy PACT activities, in ESL’s use of daily life exercises to teach English language, and in basic skill development through ABE programs’ life skill applications. GED programs apply skills assessed on the GED test in a work, home, and/or community example. While contextual lessons were acknowledged, the question was raised about the State and federal expectations for frequency and approaches. First, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act is clear; federal funding goes only to programs that use contextual approaches. Delaware’s State Plan for Adult Education gives assurances to the U.S. Department of Education that contextual approaches are used. The Plan specifically names Equipped for the Future as the primary contextual approach. The framework for contextualizing instruction has not been resolved. Each year program proposals state how contextual approaches will be implemented. At the March program administrators’ meeting, we will refine and approve a framework for contextualizing instruction. Perhaps, the most important reason for contextualizing instruction is to match learning to how the brain processes new information. A contextual approach is the most effective way for the brain to process new information. The brain filters and discards non-relevant information in the sensory memory. Contextual information captures the brain’s attention and sends the new information to the working memory. In the working memory, context allows the brain to chunk information into purposeful/meaningful groupings and to send it along to the long-term memory for storage and retrieval. Storage by contextual purpose and pattern in the long term memory facilitates retrieval and application. In the sensory memory, context provides a reason for receptors to notice (not filter out as non-relevant information) and send the information to the working memory. In the working memory, conscious attention is given to new information that has a context to the individual and allows the brain to make meaning of it. The brain creates patterns/schemas in long term memory more easily when there is a context. Presenting content in an environment that mirrors real life gives meaning in the brain to new information that facilitates remembering, storage, and retrieval of information for future use. Learning is best accomplished when instructional activities are rooted in natural experience. Contextual approaches simulate real life and foster learning (and memory) because skills are embedded in spatial memory through real-life activity. There will be more information available to programs about contextual teaching and learning and how the use of contextual approaches can facilitate the learning process. 
Administration Recommendations for Adult Education to Congress Carol D'Amico, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
On March 4, 2003 Assistant Secretary Carol D'Amico testified to the House Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness on improving Adult Education for the 21st Century. An excerpt appears below.
The Federal system of support for adult literacy programs has not been able to fully address the gap between the literacy skills needed to effectively function in the labor market and the current level of literacy possessed. Tens of millions of adults do not have the reading, language, computational, or English skills they need to be self-sufficient or to continue to adapt to the changing demands of the global information economy that characterize our Nation's present and future. As a result, my office is approaching reauthorization from two directions. First, we have consulted widely with our constituents to develop a broad vision for how diverse institutions can come together to raise literacy levels and promote better outcomes. Second, we have sought to define the appropriate role of the Federal government in achieving that vision. I advocate expanding our vision by thinking creatively about the literacy education system. A system that includes employers, community agencies, social service agencies, libraries, volunteer literacy providers, and any source that can help prepare students for employment and self-sufficiency through increased opportunities for postsecondary education or training. A quality adult education system would achieve the following:
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