Literacy Links

Equipped For The Future

Equipping Teachers & Administrators for EFF

by Janell Baker, North Harris College

In the Texas State Plan for Adult Education and Family Literacy, the Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (AEPDC) is committed to providing "technical assistance to adult education programs in integrating the Equipped for the Future framework. "What is the Consortium?" The Consortium has begun the process that will enable us to accomplish this activity. Last February, the newly established Equipped for the Future National Center at the University of Maine sponsored a three-day workshop to begin certification of trainers to facilitate staff development leading to implementation of the Equipped for the Future (EFF) framework in more classrooms across the country. Three AEPDC members, Victoria Hoffman, Lynee Bennett, and I attended that training. In May, I attended another conference sponsored by the California Literacy Campaign to observe how California planned to expand the number of literacy programs using EFF. Then, in December, Lynee and I, as well as four other AEPDC members, attended yet another conference on EFF in Cincinnati.

All four of the TEA-sponsored Professional Development Centers will be involved in assisting adult education programs to develop a deeper knowledge of EFF. We are discussing ways to effectively disseminate information for integrating the EFF framework into our diverse adult education programs in Texas. AEPDC wants to make the training available to as many teachers as possible who are interested in using the framework in their classroom, as well as providing the necessary technical assistance and support critical to the success of the program.

What is EFF?

Equipped for the Future is a way of organizing and understanding what adults need to know and be able to do for the success in life. Aside from being required in the Texas State Plan, the EFF framework has been used successfully in a number of adult education programs in Texas and several other states in both ESL and ABE/GED classes. In the research and development phase of the EFF framework, four purposes (Access, Voice, Independent Action, and Bridge to the Future) were identified as reflective of what adult students felt they needed to be successful and to take control of their own learning. The framework aims to enable adults to achieve these four purposes in the context of their adult roles as family members, community members, and workers, as well as to become independent, life-long learners. After review of the skills and knowledge required for effective performance in each role, 13 common activities were identified as the context in which adult students develop these skills.

Next in the EFF development process came the four "Generative Skills" that support all 13 of these common activities. Generative skills are defined as "integrated skill processes that are durable over time, in the face of changes in technology, work processes, and societal demands." [Refer to Equipped for the Future Content Standards, p.15.] These four generative skill areas are Communication, Decision-Making, Interpersonal, and Life-long Learning. Subsequently, the four generative skills can be subdivided into 16 specific EFF standards which are shown on the skills wheel. [Refer to Equipped for the Future Content Standards, page 21. -- *For your FREE copy of this publication, call the Adult Literacy Clearinghouse at (800) 441-7323.] These standards reflect a clear, consistent description of what adults need to be able to do in order to achieve their purposes and role-related goals. They were developed under the criteria that they must accurately reflect what adults need to know and be able to do; be reflective of broad consensus; be specific enough to guide instruction and assessment; be measurable; define multiple levels of performance for which students to strive; and be written clearly enough for all stakeholders to understand.

These sixteen EFF standards define the core knowledge and skills that adults need in order to effectively carry out their roles as family members, community members, and workers. They reflect the knowledge and skills that would allow adults to:

• Gain access to information and ideas (Access);
• Communicate with the confidence that their message makes sense and can be understood by others (Voice);
• Make decisions that are based on solid information and reached through thoughtful analysis, consideration of options, and careful judgment (Independent Action); and
• Keep on learning so they won't be left behind (Bridge to the Future).

Curriculum can then be developed around specific goals and purposes based upon genuine reasons why adult students enroll in an adult education class. The student, with guidance from the teacher, determines what skills need to be developed and the degree of proficiency needed in any particular skill based on their specific goals and purposes. They are able to identify their own strengths and needs and to monitor and document their own progress. They also recognize how the skills they are developing will transfer across roles and from one context to another.

As a first step in this process, the Professional Development Centers want to make sure that professional staff of all adult education co-ops are familiar with the EFF framework and the potential benefits of using it in the classroom. In order to accomplish this, we have planned a series of regional workshops that will give an overview of the EFF framework and how it relates to goal setting, as well as its use in lesson planning.

These workshops will start with assisting teachers in activities that will result in setting realistic goals with their students. The session will give teachers a look at goal setting in relation to accountability and program improvement; how it relates to student retention; and using goal setting to achieve student progress. Utilizing student goals, teachers working in groups will plan lessons reflecting the requirements of these goals and ensuring that the student is successful in meeting those goals. Lesson planning will be modeled and teachers will receive several handouts and forms that can be used immediately to assist with the goal setting process and lesson planning.

The next step will be to identify programs and teachers who are interested in participating in the program. The Consortium will recruit teachers interested in assessing and developing their own skills as teachers. We would like to encourage teachers who are or want to be creative in building a curriculum that responds to students' goals and prepares adults for real-world applications of skills. A TETN conference will be held later in the semester with details on how to participate in the program.

Finally, during the spring semester, we will be identifying individuals to be coaches/mentors to teachers who are new to the EFF framework, providing them with ongoing technical assistance and support. 

About the Author

Janell Baker is the Coordinator of the ABE/ASE Professional Development Center at North Harris College, a special project funded by the Texas Education Agency. She has been involved in adult education as an ABE/GED teacher, curriculum developer, and a program manager. She has facilitated numerous workshops on career options and job search skills both at the college level and in a dislocated worker program. Janell holds an MA degree in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Industrial Psychology from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Her interests outside of work include a love for history and all aspects of archaeology from study and lectures to participating in digs. She is also learning more about the stock market through active participation in a local investment club

What IS the Consortium?

The Adult Education Professional Development Consortium (AEPDC) is a collaborative professional development infrastructure serving adult education practitioners in Texas. These professional development projects work together to implement a comprehensive coordinated system of professional development to meet the diverse training needs of teachers and administrators. Projects collaborate on a number of initiatives, including the Administrators' Initiative, Institutes for the Development of Educators of Adults (Project IDEA), the New Teacher's Initiative, and the Adult Education Credential Project. This across-project coordination is part of each project's objectives, results in cost-effectiveness, and facilitates coherence in professional development efforts statewide.

Consortium member projects are:

• ABE/ASE Professional Development Centers
  • The Region XX Education Service Center
  • North Harris Montgomery College District
• English as a Second Language Professional Development Centers
  • Texas A&M University at Kingsville
  • The University of Texas at San Antonio
• Project IDEA - Institutes for the Development of Educators of Adults (El Paso Community College)
• Adult Literacy Clearinghouse (Texas A & M University at College Station)
• Technology in Adult Education: Project INTER-ALT - Interactively Advancing Literacy through Technology (Southwest Texas State University)
• New Teacher Professional Development Project (Southwest Texas State University)
• Adult Education Credential Project (Southwest Texas State University)
• Workforce Literacy Training and Technical Assistance Project (El Paso Community College)
• Project VITAL - Volunteers in Training for Adult Literacy. (Southwest Texas State University)

For more information on all the projects and links to individual project Web sites, check out "Professional Development".

EFF Standards include four fundamental categories of skills that adults need to draw from to carry out the key activities that are central to their primary roles:

Communication Skills

• Read With Understanding
• Speak So Others Can Understand
• Listen Actively
• Observe Critically

Decision Making Skills

• Solve Problems and Make Decisions
• Plan
• Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate

Interpersonal Skills

• Cooperate With Others
• Guide Others
• Advocate and Influence
• Resolve Conflict and Negotiate

Lifelong Learning Skills

• Take Responsibility for Learning
• Learn Through Research
• Reflect and Evaluate
• Use Information and Communications Technology

[Source: Equipped for the Future Content Standards, p. 17. **Get your FREE copy of this publication by calling the Adult Literacy Clearinghouse (800) 441-7323.]