Adult Education and Technology: Video as a Writing Prompt

Many teachers wonder how they can use technology in the classroom. One way is to use a short video as a writing prompt. I saw this idea in a recent entry on a blog I follow,
Adult Education and Technology, by educational tech enthusiast Marian Thacher.

The video she selected as an example is a montage of cats being silly.

I suggest finding something shorter then 2 minutes and linear in progression--one short progression of an event, not a series of unrelated events. However, you can make that call depending on what you think will work best for your students.

There are many videos on Youtube, and you can select things by looking for subject content relevant to your current class material or themes.

If bringing in video is not an option, you can use photographs. I suggest images from magazines or picture/coffee table books.

Additionally, you do not need to have students write their responses. If you are teaching ESL students, you can have them talk about the videos. Voice of America has great podcasts on short demonstrations. This will build listening and speaking skills.

Activities for ESL/EFL Students

The Internet TESL Journal collected a variety of materials on one site, Activities for ESL/EFL Students (English Study).
Here, you can access activities ranked according to difficulty as well as online crossword puzzles students can do on their own and audio as well as video podcasts.

Voice of America Audio for ESL/EFL: Podcast RSS Feed

Many of the ESL teachers I know want more content that develops listening and speaking skills.
This site from Voice of America, Audio for ESL/EFL, offers podcast programs in an RSS feed, so you should get new material often!

ABLE Resource Center

YES! There are a wide array of resources available at the ABLE Resource Center!

You can find lessons plans, access journals, and request materials. There is a link to things specific to teachers and tutors as well as a link to everything new from the Adult Basic Literacy Education Bureau!!

NIFL- Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers

Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers

Peer Tutoring - Eric Digest

Are you interested in incorporating peer tutoring into your classroom? Maybe you are already using this strategy, and you want to develop ways to assess effectiveness. Please see this report in the ERIC Digest to give you the basics.

Small groups in Adult Literacy - a report

Maybe you are thinking about using small groups in your classroom. Perhaps you already are. Please see this report on Small groups in Adult Literacy and Basic Education from the ERIC digest. The article reviews why to use small groups, the disadvantages, characteristics of effective small groups, and considerations for implementation.

Formulas & Tables at Math.com

Here is a necessary resource for all teachers of basic math, Math.com Formulas & Tables. The format is not the best, as you must print the whole web page to get the tables, rather than click and have access to a nice, printer friendly version.

Math Wars and Assessment in Mathematics

If you are looking for ways to improve your math curricula for adults, it may be useful to understand the historic "math wars," prompted in 1983, as with many education reform debates with the report, A Nation at Risk, and various arguments for assessment and standards-based math curricula.

In the document Assessing Students' Math Learning, published by the Educational Development Center, Inc., you will find a review of the standards-based curriculum, which includes mundane notes such as the inclusion of a rubric and evaluating proficiency. The document begins by noting innovative recommendation from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 1989 to include activities for students to work together, for students to spend less time on memorization and more time on concepts, to have activities that use concrete objects to model mathematical situations, and to give opportunities for students to explain math knowledge in speech and writing. The standards were revised and re-released in April, 2000.

In the article, Making peace in the math wars," by Kathy Stanford (2000), we hear more about the formation of math standards and how they have influenced the adult education math standards in the state of Massachusetts.

According to Stanford, the rift causes the math war is a philosophical difference between constructivists and behavioralists. The NCTM standards promote a curriculum based on the assumption that knowledge is contructed during new experiences when individuals develop their own knowledge base for understanding. Behavioralists disagree and argue learning is acquired through drills and practice.

Not everyone is a fan of the NCTM recommendations which learn toward constructivist math or discovery learning. In a letter to the News-Leader.com, on September 16, 2008, one parent/teacher wrote:

Communities all over the U.S. are in the process of, or already have, thrown out these time wasting and failing programs. The parents in Columbia, along with 50 professors from University of Missouri and other schools, have started a petition and are pushing hard to have a traditional math program brought back in to their schools. They have had constructivism longer than SPS are seeing math test scores fall precipitously due to it.

The Standards-based math has been adopted by schools with the help of funing from the National Science Foundation (NSF) since 1991. In a more thorough argument, as Barry Garelick also pummels the discovery learing method in his feature article, An A-mazing approach to math, which also offers an account of the politics of the math wars in terms. Garelick also points out the simple problem with the discovery learning to math approach, when applied in the elementary grades, students do not internalize the basic facts which make more complicated computations a breeze, for example: with the question of "what is 8 times 7," a child may add 8 seven times rather than rattle off the expected 56.

In terms of how constructivist theory applies to an adult math curriculum, Stafford says her "zeal" has diminished with time and experience; however, she reminds us that and andragogy for the adult learner should work to bring mediate the broad base of life experiences and knowledge with class content.

Despite this push for connecting the concept to the practical application, I think there is still a voice for the traditional approach of drilling, where the need to acquire the base of knowledge to approach a problem is needed in order construct the knowledge of how to use the concept.

The question that stands before teachers I know is how to tailor the necessary drill to acquire facts to resistant students?

Even Start Funding Controversy-2006

What is all the fuss about funding Even Start programs? As one might suspect, the argument lies in the lack of conclusive evidence for effectiveness. Since first funded in 1989, programs have not been able to demonstrate that integrating adult education, parent education, early childhood education, and a focus on interactive literacy activities are able to increase learning outcomes.

You can read more about the debate in the 2006 report, Even Start: The Funding Controversy, from the Congressional Research Service.

The third national evaluation of Even Start programs found that parents did not participate long enough to receive enough instruction to affect learning outcomes and recommended efforts to improve the quality and content of language instruction in addition to efforts to improve evaluation.

From my perspective, one of the flaws in the assessment of Even Start programs are the measures of success. One measure is the increase in interactive literacy hours. However, while time on a task has been shown, or is believed, to be an effective predictor of content/skill success (Fisher & Berliner 1985; Brophy, 1988), the amount of time spent on a developing literacy, I posit, will vary in effectiveness depending on the age of the child and the quality of the activity. Consider, if you are not fulling comprehending the time spent on a tast, are you learning???

I also argue that the ability of the parent to comprehend the significance of interactive literacy activities will be a predictor of continued application. Programs also do not often have the resources to follow up with families. Surely, the efforts of establishing life-long learning habits of interactive literacy will have a long-term effect if they are internalized and reproduced continuously even after the intervention and any subsequent follow-ups.

I agree with supporters that the need to offer family literacy programs to disadvantaged is too important to cut funding. I also agree that more efforts need to be made to offer technical support and identify and promote best practices in model programs. However, the true measure of the success of the program will come with a better measure of learning outcomes.
This is my 2 cents.

Please call your Sentator and Congressperson and tell them you believe that building life-long literacy skills will give disadvantaged families the opportunity to break the cycles of poverty. Tell them to fund Even Start!


Brophy, J. E. (1988). Educating teachers about managing classrooms and students. Teaching and Teacher Education, 4, 1, 3.

Fisher, C. W., & Berliner, D. C. (Eds.). (1985). Perspectives on instructional time. New York: Longman.

U.S.A. Learns

The National Institute for Literacy has developed a series of online courses, for free, to support English language acquisition. The content not only supports listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, but also
U.S.A. Learns offers students basic information related to American civic life, such as holidays and our clothes size system, etc.

Research-Based Principles for Designing Mathematics Instruction

I have finally found a site presenting Research-Based Principles for Designing Mathematics Instruction.
Please examine the contents and post your response.

A couple of our teachers recently went to a math workshop where the presenters told them there was not much research on developing math curriculum, or a least, nothing conclusive. Still, it is nice to have a sense of what is out there...

MyPyramid.gov - Inside the Pyramid for Preschoolers

Here is a new website from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It offers information for helping parents create nutritional meals for their children. Here is a link to the pages for preschoolers. There is a lot more that could work in GED, ESL, or Family Lit, too.

Instructional Consultation Teams

Here is a fantastic site on the processes for working together as teams to support special needs and at-risk students. The University of Maryland trio of Gravois, Rosenfield, and Gotfredson have compiled a great body of information on instructional teams.

USDA Nutrition Handouts

Are you looking for handouts to supplement a lesson addressing health and nutrition? Please check out this link to the USDA's resource center.

The handouts are colorfull, full or bullet points, and offer many suggestions for following the 2005 Recommendations.

IAE- Teaching Speaking, Listening, and Writing

Please check out the International Academy's publication on IAE- Teaching Speaking, Listening, and Writing for a discussion on the principles guiding instruction.

ESL Companion: Structure -Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority

Australia's Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority offers the ESL Companion: Structure to help guide classroom practice. For me, one of the most appealing aspects of how they present the standards is the chart indicating the relationship of curriculum focus, learning outcomes, and indicators to the content areas of Listening and Speaking, Reading, and Writing.

Please examine and offer feedback on the usefulness of their discussion of the curriculum focus and lesson ideas.

Early Learning - training video for New Child Care Certification

Some of you may be interested in watching the training video for New Child Care Certification. You can find it at a Penn State site on Early Learning.

At this site, you will also find more juicy information about the New Child Care Facility Regulations!
The regulations became effective on September 22, 2008.

Equipped for the Future - EFF Fundamentals

Looking for an underlying philosophy to ground your curriculum? Try Equipped for the Future - EFF Fundamentals

fieldwork_builds_learning.pdf (application/pdf Object)

fieldwork_builds_learning.pdf (application/pdf Object)