Nailed it!
10 years ago
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Update on Math
Last year, I published several blogs about math instruction and noted there really wasn't much research out there on how to teach math. However, there are recommendations. At the same time I was writing about math, the U.S. Department of Education was publishing a Final Report on the subject of math instruction. Give it a read...
Sunday, May 30, 2010
A One Stop for Parent Education
This blog may seem very bland, but it is an earnest attempt to place in one convenient location a series of excellent resources for a curriculum framework for parent education as well as tools for lesson planning.
Equipped for the Future, the Parent Role
Parent Education Profile, a tutorial
Background and Lessons on PEP from the NYSED
The Adult Child Interactive Reading Inventory (an assessment tool and lesson planning guide)
Family Involvement in Storybook Corner
Some of the Research: Family Involvement Can Support School Success
Access to Research-based Information on Early Childhood, School Age, Teens, etc.
Equipped for the Future, the Parent Role
Parent Education Profile, a tutorial
Background and Lessons on PEP from the NYSED
The Adult Child Interactive Reading Inventory (an assessment tool and lesson planning guide)
Family Involvement in Storybook Corner
Some of the Research: Family Involvement Can Support School Success
Access to Research-based Information on Early Childhood, School Age, Teens, etc.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Workforce Resources
Teachers are always planning, and I want to make that planning a little easier. Here is another blog entry presenting a few resources that may be useful to the Adult Basic Educator.
First, it is important to begin workforce lesson planning with full awareness that Adult Basic Education is funded through the Workforce Investment Act (link is to the Federal law). WIA is intended to support people with low literacy on to the next step of employment or post-secondary training. Of course, there are many issues surrounding how this has been done since the Act began in 1998 and how it should continue to address the employ-ability and vocational training of people with low-literacy-about 14.5% of the nation's population, but that is a discussion for another entry.
Many good resources for workforce lesson planning are available through the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Bureau of Adult Basic Literacy Education's Workforce Education Recourse Center (WERC). The most basic element of workforce education is development of the soft skills of employment, which can be addressed using WERC's Foundation Skills Framework.
Educators can begin workforce lessons by emphasizing the need for basic employ-ability skills, basic workplace knowledge, and basic workplace skills.
In adult literacy, a lot of time is spent helping people with basic workplace skills like being able to read with understanding, compute and solve problems, and use technology. Teachers may not even realize they are already doing workforce education!
As a teacher, you may spend time implementing project-based learning situations. These can easily help students develop basic employ-ability skills like being able to make decisions, work in teams, and self-manage. However, for some teachers, it may be new to promote basic workplace knowledge like quality consciousness, working within structures, understanding finances, and understanding concepts of health and safety as well as processes and products or services. This is a 'big picture' perspective of how people in different roles function as part of a whole and how we can work independently as well as together to improve quality and maintain a safe and productive work environment. Seeing the big picture can motivate people to perform as well as help them foresee and address issues, which makes them efficient and independent workers.
If an educator wants to implement a strong workforce education lesson, he/she will focus on specific vocational skills or knowledge. Instead of speaking generally about the foundation skills, the teacher can emphasize how a basic literacy skill, basic employ-ability skill, or basic workplace knowledge will fit into a specific job and career path.
For example, information technology. Many jobs require workers to be able to use your standard office suite of programs and moderate typing skills. Teachers may take students into a computer lab and show them the basics of MS Word, so they can type a paragraph to demonstrate their ability to write clearly and concisely. Some teachers may also make use of one of a typing program to help their students gain the skills to complete the task. (There are also free typing instruction games online!)
To make this example even more of a workforce lesson, the teacher could begin with a discussion using information on the tasks of Receptionists gathered from O*NET's Code Connector. O*Net is a resource center describing occupations and careers developed by the U.S. Department of Labor and Industry.
Writing clearly and concisely takes on a more meaning for the adult learner when it is placed in the context of workforce application. Typing and clear written expression are important vocational skills. More information on the development of this career can be found on the O*NET Resource Center link to Career Ladders and Latices.
This is just a sample of how adult basic literacy lessons can become workforce lessons. And, yes, many students will not be interested in job as a receptionist. This is where small groups can break out to explore O*Net to learn more about the tasks and skills required of jobs they may find of interest.
For those who are not sure what job they want, students can explore Career Cruising. Connect with a representative from your local CareerLink (r) to get a password. Students can also explore the Commonwealth Workforce Development System (CWDS) to find out what jobs are out there as well as what training opportunities are available.
Please keep in mind that we can not think of workforce education or the acquirement of information technology skills to be as simple as following a laundry list of skills, like being able to use MS Word and surf the net. Lessons must be linked to express how isolated skills fit together, to learn more about how, try reading, Eisenburg and Johnson 2002. In 1992, Einsenburg and Berkowtiz first wrote their informational literacy curriculum, the Big6, which is a type of triarchic instruction that engages analytic, creative, and practical skills.
Please try these websites for your lesson planning. Feel free to post the results!
First, it is important to begin workforce lesson planning with full awareness that Adult Basic Education is funded through the Workforce Investment Act (link is to the Federal law). WIA is intended to support people with low literacy on to the next step of employment or post-secondary training. Of course, there are many issues surrounding how this has been done since the Act began in 1998 and how it should continue to address the employ-ability and vocational training of people with low-literacy-about 14.5% of the nation's population, but that is a discussion for another entry.
Many good resources for workforce lesson planning are available through the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Bureau of Adult Basic Literacy Education's Workforce Education Recourse Center (WERC). The most basic element of workforce education is development of the soft skills of employment, which can be addressed using WERC's Foundation Skills Framework.
Educators can begin workforce lessons by emphasizing the need for basic employ-ability skills, basic workplace knowledge, and basic workplace skills.
In adult literacy, a lot of time is spent helping people with basic workplace skills like being able to read with understanding, compute and solve problems, and use technology. Teachers may not even realize they are already doing workforce education!
As a teacher, you may spend time implementing project-based learning situations. These can easily help students develop basic employ-ability skills like being able to make decisions, work in teams, and self-manage. However, for some teachers, it may be new to promote basic workplace knowledge like quality consciousness, working within structures, understanding finances, and understanding concepts of health and safety as well as processes and products or services. This is a 'big picture' perspective of how people in different roles function as part of a whole and how we can work independently as well as together to improve quality and maintain a safe and productive work environment. Seeing the big picture can motivate people to perform as well as help them foresee and address issues, which makes them efficient and independent workers.
If an educator wants to implement a strong workforce education lesson, he/she will focus on specific vocational skills or knowledge. Instead of speaking generally about the foundation skills, the teacher can emphasize how a basic literacy skill, basic employ-ability skill, or basic workplace knowledge will fit into a specific job and career path.
For example, information technology. Many jobs require workers to be able to use your standard office suite of programs and moderate typing skills. Teachers may take students into a computer lab and show them the basics of MS Word, so they can type a paragraph to demonstrate their ability to write clearly and concisely. Some teachers may also make use of one of a typing program to help their students gain the skills to complete the task. (There are also free typing instruction games online!)
To make this example even more of a workforce lesson, the teacher could begin with a discussion using information on the tasks of Receptionists gathered from O*NET's Code Connector. O*Net is a resource center describing occupations and careers developed by the U.S. Department of Labor and Industry.
Writing clearly and concisely takes on a more meaning for the adult learner when it is placed in the context of workforce application. Typing and clear written expression are important vocational skills. More information on the development of this career can be found on the O*NET Resource Center link to Career Ladders and Latices.
This is just a sample of how adult basic literacy lessons can become workforce lessons. And, yes, many students will not be interested in job as a receptionist. This is where small groups can break out to explore O*Net to learn more about the tasks and skills required of jobs they may find of interest.
For those who are not sure what job they want, students can explore Career Cruising. Connect with a representative from your local CareerLink (r) to get a password. Students can also explore the Commonwealth Workforce Development System (CWDS) to find out what jobs are out there as well as what training opportunities are available.
Please keep in mind that we can not think of workforce education or the acquirement of information technology skills to be as simple as following a laundry list of skills, like being able to use MS Word and surf the net. Lessons must be linked to express how isolated skills fit together, to learn more about how, try reading, Eisenburg and Johnson 2002. In 1992, Einsenburg and Berkowtiz first wrote their informational literacy curriculum, the Big6, which is a type of triarchic instruction that engages analytic, creative, and practical skills.
Please try these websites for your lesson planning. Feel free to post the results!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Even Start Keeps Moving and Improving
It has been nearly a year since my last post. When I wrote last, I was concerned funding for Even Start would be lost. Since that time, I was introduced to a new accountability measure for Even Start, and the Obama Administration renewed funding!
Last May, there were rumors Obama would cut funding to Even Start because it had not shown much improvement through its performance evaluations. I am not sure what evaluations were referenced exactly, but I speculate it may be the 2-year study completed by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Basically,
Even Start is a federally funded program with the goal of stopping the cycle of poverty by helping parents take on their role of first parent and help their child get a better start in school. My argument to this criticism was, is, and has been, that we did not have a good tool to measure what we do AND that we need to have a new conversation about the program model and what can be measured. Additionally, we need more follow-up studies!
Thankfully, we now have a new tool. However, as I have heard in some of the trainings and network sessions I have been to with fellow practitioners, it seems to be taking some time to implement. Some of the challenges are related to questions on how to conduct an intervention with fidelity and how to assess parents who are more comfortable reading in their native languages (languages different from that of the assessor).
If you have not heard of it yet, ACIRI stands for Adult Child Interactive Reading Inventory. It is a relatively new means to assess the ability of a parent to read to his/her child in a way that will improve early literacy skills. It was developed by practitioner and researcher Andrea DeBruin-Parecki, Ph.D. to address the needs of children aged 3-5yrs.
The ACIRI offers a way to look at what I think it the central pivot to Even Start: how the parent engages the child in literacy. I postulate that this may be even more important than the changes in children's early literacy while a family is in the program.
We need to have a larger discussion about the program model and what can actually be measured to show success in Even Start programs. I believe we can implement interventions to help parents adopt the attitudes and behaviors that will keep them in the role of teacher and educational advocate for their child. I think the ACIRI is one may we can assess if they have adopted one set of skills that will help them take on that role.
We have been using the parent education lessons DeBruin-Parecki developed and her observation tool for nearly a year, but we still need to have a full analysis and discussion on the added value as a program. We have seen some parents improve their skills in reading to their children, and we have also seen them become more aware of their role in helping to prepare their child for "the big school." I look forward to hearing more from other programs and researchers across the nation.
Last May, there were rumors Obama would cut funding to Even Start because it had not shown much improvement through its performance evaluations. I am not sure what evaluations were referenced exactly, but I speculate it may be the 2-year study completed by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Basically,
"The evaluation found that the CLIO curricula had statistically significant, positive impacts on some of the hypothesized precursors to the development of children’s early literacy skills, including instructional supports for literacy, child social competence, and parenting skills; but did not have statistically significant impacts on the child language development and literacy outcomes. The evaluation also found that the CLIO parenting curricula did not significantly add value to the CLIO preschool curricula with respect to child outcomes."
Even Start is a federally funded program with the goal of stopping the cycle of poverty by helping parents take on their role of first parent and help their child get a better start in school. My argument to this criticism was, is, and has been, that we did not have a good tool to measure what we do AND that we need to have a new conversation about the program model and what can be measured. Additionally, we need more follow-up studies!
Thankfully, we now have a new tool. However, as I have heard in some of the trainings and network sessions I have been to with fellow practitioners, it seems to be taking some time to implement. Some of the challenges are related to questions on how to conduct an intervention with fidelity and how to assess parents who are more comfortable reading in their native languages (languages different from that of the assessor).
If you have not heard of it yet, ACIRI stands for Adult Child Interactive Reading Inventory. It is a relatively new means to assess the ability of a parent to read to his/her child in a way that will improve early literacy skills. It was developed by practitioner and researcher Andrea DeBruin-Parecki, Ph.D. to address the needs of children aged 3-5yrs.
The ACIRI offers a way to look at what I think it the central pivot to Even Start: how the parent engages the child in literacy. I postulate that this may be even more important than the changes in children's early literacy while a family is in the program.
We need to have a larger discussion about the program model and what can actually be measured to show success in Even Start programs. I believe we can implement interventions to help parents adopt the attitudes and behaviors that will keep them in the role of teacher and educational advocate for their child. I think the ACIRI is one may we can assess if they have adopted one set of skills that will help them take on that role.
We have been using the parent education lessons DeBruin-Parecki developed and her observation tool for nearly a year, but we still need to have a full analysis and discussion on the added value as a program. We have seen some parents improve their skills in reading to their children, and we have also seen them become more aware of their role in helping to prepare their child for "the big school." I look forward to hearing more from other programs and researchers across the nation.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
EVEN START funding cuts
I am terribly disappointed by the potential loss of federal funds to the Even Start program. I think it is an excellent example of a good program with evaluated with bad or unreliable measures. On paper, it may look very ineffective. However, it has tremendous potential.
In a future revision of this quick post, I will add details and links to help explain why I think Even Start should be funded and how its evaluation should be altered.
You can also find more information on this topic in an earlier post.
In a future revision of this quick post, I will add details and links to help explain why I think Even Start should be funded and how its evaluation should be altered.
You can also find more information on this topic in an earlier post.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Support Adult Basic and Literacy Education Funding!!
Friends and fellow activists!
If you are in PA, like me, then please make a phone call today to Senators Specter and Casey, or you can send comments through their websites.
Senator Robert Casey 1-202-224-6324 (phone) 1-202-228-0604 (fax) www.casey.senate.gov/contact
Senator Arlen Specter 1-202-224-4254 (phone) 1-202-229-1220 (fax) www.specter.senate.gov/public
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Green Jobs training in Adult Education
Going green seems to be the wave of the future. Just take a look at the many suggestions on how to go green on Discovery's PlanetGreen or Treehugger.com, where they offer a wide array of suggestions for being green from when you buy toys, to how you select beer, and how you buy a home. Green and Save has also published a guide to help you make being green a family affair. Being green is not just good for the environment, it is also good for home energy savings and hopefully for our national economy. Incorporating environmental sciences into your adult education class may help your students work green as well as live green.
We are learning more about how to live green from the media and a basic mantra of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, but what are green jobs and green work skills?? According to the WE Can Solve It site,
Some adult education programs already offer a curriculum designed to teach basic "soft" job skills. In PA, programs refer to the Workforce Education Research Center's Foundation Skills Framework Resources of basic workplace skills, workplace knowledge, basic enjoyability skills, and lifelong learning skills. Some programs also offer educational services tailored for specific work environments for incumbent workers as part of the PA Workforce Improvement Network program. As unemployment rises with the need for specialized job skills, it is likely many adult education programs will offer opportunities to gain more job-specific skills.
Green jobs are somewhat difficult to define, but they can be found within several of the PA's Workforce Improvement plan's nine clusters including Building and Construction, Advanced Materials and Diversified Manufacturing, Agriculture and Food Production, Logistics and Transportation, Lumber Wood and Paper, and Information and Communication Services and possibly Life Sciences as well as Education. According to the Center for American Progress, investment in green industries have the potential to create a large pool of jobs in 34 states:
Adult education programs may also be able to find ways to receive funds through the H.R.6759 Renew Through Green Jobs Act of 2008. Alternatively, adult education programs may look to partner with new clean energy power companies, such as ethanol plants, or traditional labor companies who want workers with a specific set of 'green' skills at the entry level in order to develop credential programs or supplement work skills lessons.
If you are a teacher looking to introduce information related to green jobs, you may want to start with the list of green jobs on the Green Collar page at UrbanHabitat.org. This site also has an interesting article addressing the green job of cleaning brown fields.
The Blue Green Alliance web site may be a great place to begin looking at ways to introduce green jobs to students who are already interested in joining labor unions. The Blue Green Alliance also holds leadership seminars in various states, so workers have chance to share their experiences and learn from others. The green-friendly discovery company Treehugger posted an article in July 2008 stating that training for solar panels by Solar Enery International, are on the rise.
I have found additional websites advertising training programs for green jobs, such as the Eco-Academy in Philadelphia, which trains people to be home efficiency experts. People can also get training through the Solar Living Institute in California and at the Wind School in Oklahoma. I am sure there are many more out there. If your students are more interested in activism, they can also explore the Green Corps field school for environmental organizing.
It would be worthwhile class time to ask students to search for training opportunities, and then help your students verify the authority of credentials and the quality of any program before they apply.
Not surprisingly, websites are developing to help match workers with employers offering green jobs, such as SustainableBusiness.com, TreeHugger, and the Environmental job Directory, which links to other sites with postings.
You may also want to try the advocacy sites WE Can Solve It site as well as 1Sky for information on being environmentally responsible as well as on green jobs and the green jobs bill. If you use these sites, be ready to hold discussion that will give students an opportunity to debate issues.
Note: This entry is follow up to a previous entry on green jobs in adult education classes. I have expanded on why I think including green job skills will help students as well as a few more resources to supplement curricula. Be sure to check earlier entries.
We are learning more about how to live green from the media and a basic mantra of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, but what are green jobs and green work skills?? According to the WE Can Solve It site,
Green jobs provide healthy environments for workers while helping build a clean economy. These are good jobs involving work that is often familiar. Plumbers, welders, carpenters and others continue to use their skills, but in fields like renewable energy, sustainable agriculture or green building.
Some adult education programs already offer a curriculum designed to teach basic "soft" job skills. In PA, programs refer to the Workforce Education Research Center's Foundation Skills Framework Resources of basic workplace skills, workplace knowledge, basic enjoyability skills, and lifelong learning skills. Some programs also offer educational services tailored for specific work environments for incumbent workers as part of the PA Workforce Improvement Network program. As unemployment rises with the need for specialized job skills, it is likely many adult education programs will offer opportunities to gain more job-specific skills.
Green jobs are somewhat difficult to define, but they can be found within several of the PA's Workforce Improvement plan's nine clusters including Building and Construction, Advanced Materials and Diversified Manufacturing, Agriculture and Food Production, Logistics and Transportation, Lumber Wood and Paper, and Information and Communication Services and possibly Life Sciences as well as Education. According to the Center for American Progress, investment in green industries have the potential to create a large pool of jobs in 34 states:
The U.S. can create two million jobs and reduce the unemployment rate to 4.4 percent over two years by investing in the green economy
Adult education programs may also be able to find ways to receive funds through the H.R.6759 Renew Through Green Jobs Act of 2008. Alternatively, adult education programs may look to partner with new clean energy power companies, such as ethanol plants, or traditional labor companies who want workers with a specific set of 'green' skills at the entry level in order to develop credential programs or supplement work skills lessons.
The Blue Green Alliance web site may be a great place to begin looking at ways to introduce green jobs to students who are already interested in joining labor unions. The Blue Green Alliance also holds leadership seminars in various states, so workers have chance to share their experiences and learn from others. The green-friendly discovery company Treehugger posted an article in July 2008 stating that training for solar panels by Solar Enery International, are on the rise.
I have found additional websites advertising training programs for green jobs, such as the Eco-Academy in Philadelphia, which trains people to be home efficiency experts. People can also get training through the Solar Living Institute in California and at the Wind School in Oklahoma. I am sure there are many more out there. If your students are more interested in activism, they can also explore the Green Corps field school for environmental organizing.
It would be worthwhile class time to ask students to search for training opportunities, and then help your students verify the authority of credentials and the quality of any program before they apply.
Not surprisingly, websites are developing to help match workers with employers offering green jobs, such as SustainableBusiness.com, TreeHugger, and the Environmental job Directory, which links to other sites with postings.
You may also want to try the advocacy sites WE Can Solve It site as well as 1Sky for information on being environmentally responsible as well as on green jobs and the green jobs bill. If you use these sites, be ready to hold discussion that will give students an opportunity to debate issues.
Note: This entry is follow up to a previous entry on green jobs in adult education classes. I have expanded on why I think including green job skills will help students as well as a few more resources to supplement curricula. Be sure to check earlier entries.
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