Adult Education Responds to Workforce Needs With a Focus on Rider 82

The following three resources were developed by initiatives supported by Texas LEARNS in response to the Texas Legislature’s Rider 82 mandate for the development of demand-driven workplace literacy and basic skills curricula for adult learners. All three titles can be downloaded on the Workforce Partnerships Web page accessible from the home page of either TCALL or Texas LEARNS.

Charting A Course: Responding to the Industry-Related Instructional Needs of the Limited English Proficient
Tondre-El Zorkani, Barbara (August 2005; Revised February 2006). Houston, TX: Texas LEARNS. Online version. This summary report of findings was assembled in an effort to chart a course for Texas LEARNS’ response to Rider 82 (79^th State Legislative Session). Adult Education’s response to the legislative mandate, labor market information, input from business and industry, and interagency dialogue focuses on that segment of the Texas worker population hardest to serve – the limited English proficient. It concludes with recommendations to Adult Education and its workforce partners for an interdependent response to the state’s needs for a workforce with access to a continuum of education and training opportunities. The report provides the foundation for development of curricular responses to Rider 82 in three industry clusters: healthcare, manufacturing, and sales and service. It is also the cornerstone for professional development opportunities being offered to Adult Educators throughout the state.

Charting A Course -- Handbook One: Planning & Implementation Tips for Program Planners and Administrators, Modules 1-4
Tondre-El Zorkani, Barbara (October 2007). Houston, TX: Workplace Literacy Resource Center State Leadership Project. Online version. For program planners and administrators just beginning to venture into workforce-related adult basic education instruction, this first in a set of two handbooks offers planning and implementation tips in four modules: One - Determining Program Capacity, Services, and Solutions; Two - Marketing Adult Education Services as Workforce Solutions; Three - Facilitating a Team of Stakeholders to Provide a Continuum of Services; and Four - Defining and Agreeing Upon Mutual, Achievable Goals and Objectives. Handbook One includes templates for a budgetary worksheet, statement of confidentiality, letter of agreement, and checklists for the employer, the program administrator, and the instructor. Originally published in draft version in July 2007, this October 2007 update includes some updated Web links.

Charting A Course -- Handbook Two: Workplace Savvy for Workforce-Related Instruction, Modules 5-6
Tondre-El Zorkani, Barbara (October 2007). Houston, TX: Workplace Literacy Resource Center State Leadership Project. Online version. Handbook Two complements Modules 1-4 offered in Handbook One, but is intended for instructors. Modules 5 (Identifying Adult Learners’ Work-Related Proficiencies and Needs) and 6 (Delivering Instruction Responsive to Identified Needs) include: checking your workforce savvy (an inventory for instructors); language competencies for the workplace; ten ways to make your classroom workforce-friendly; incorporating work-related topics and materials into instruction; things to know about industry and partnerships; connecting NRS (National Reporting System) levels to workforce-related instruction; sample learning activities and work-related instructional scenarios; and VESL (Vocational English as a Second Language) and bridge programs linking ESL and post secondary education/occupational training. Originally published in draft version in July 2007, this October 2007 update includes some updated Web links.

Dialogue Journals: Interactive Writing to Develop Language and Literacy
Peyton, Joy Kreeft (December 2000 Revised). Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education. Teachers of adults often wish that they had more time to communicate with the learners in their classes-to learn about their backgrounds, interests, and needs; to share experiences and information; and to track and document learners’ developing knowledge and abilities. The need to communicate is intensified with adults learning English as a second language (ESL). They bring to the classroom extensive life experience and proficiencies in different languages and cultures. If they are new arrivals to the United States, they are adjusting to a new way of life at the same time that they are learning a new language and beginning to function in a new educational or work setting. This ERIC Q&A describes how to use dialogue journals both to build the learner/teacher relationship and to develop the learner’s language, reading and writing skills.

Improving ESL Learners’ Writing Skills
Bello, Tom (June 1997).Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education. Writing is a continuing process of discovering how to find the most effective language for communicating one’s thoughts and feelings. It can be challenging, whether writing in one’s native language or in a second language. Yet, as adult English as a second language (ESL) learners put their thoughts on paper, see their ideas in print, and share them with others, they find they develop a powerful voice in their new culture. Writing also enhances language acquisition as learners experiment with words, sentences, and larger chunks of writing to communicate their ideas effectively and to reinforce the grammar and vocabulary they are learning in class. This ERIC Digest suggests general approaches to writing and specific activities that can make writing easier and more enjoyable for both learners and teachers.

Journal Writing as an Adult Learning Tool
Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. A journal is a tool for processing the raw material of experience in order to integrate it with existing knowledge and create new meaning, and can be used in many ways to foster reflection and adult learning. This ERIC Practice Application Brief reviews the research and practice literature and describes issues and methods involved in incorporating journal writing in adult education.

Poetry in the Adult ESL Classroom
Peyton, Joy Kreeft and Rigg, Pat (December 1999). Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education. Poetry can be used in adult English as a second language (ESL) classes with all learners, even those with limited literacy and proficiency in English. Learners can read, discuss, and write about poems and how they speak to their life situations. They can also create poems of their own to express their feelings, thoughts, or beliefs. This ERIC Digest discusses ways to select and use poetry in adult language and literacy classes and provides information about poetry collections and resources for further reading.

Successfully Integrating Poetry into the ESOL/Civics Classroom: Ideas and Resources
Gardner, Hillary (March 2005). Long Island City, NY: La Guardia Community College. Gardner shared these ideas with other ESL teachers for a “Sharing Best Practices” training at The City University of New York. Topics include: using poetry to inspire students writing; using poetry in discussion groups; poetry and pronunciation; choosing poems for the ESOL/Civics classroom; leading a class discussion; cross-cultural discussion questions; and more.

Addressing the Needs of Latino Children: A National Survey of State Administrators of Early Childhood Programs: Executive Summary
Buysse, Virginia, et al (2004). Chapel Hill, NC: FPG Child Development Institute. Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S. today. Nationally, Latino parents have participated at lower rates in early childhood education and early intervention services than parents from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. This new study examined the linguistically and culturally relevant practices that state administrators reported were recommended or being used by early education and intervention programs that enrolled Latino children and families. Over 100 administrators of state early childhood programs (child care, Head Start, Part B-Section 619, Part C) in 48 states and the District of Columbia provided input on specific challenges, strategies and beliefs about serving Latino children (birth to 5) and their families. All four groups reported the lack of Latino or bilingual professionals, and insufficient staff preparation and training, as the most urgent challenges in serving the Latino population.

Assessing Adult/Child Storybook Reading Practices
DeBruin-Parecki, Andrea (June 1999). Ann Arbor, MI: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. In this paper, DeBruin-Parecki reviews the existing research on joint storybook reading practices, outlining the behaviors essential for success. She then describes and reports on the efficacy of her assessment instrument, the Adult/Child Interactive Reading Inventory (ACIRI), an observational tool for assessing the joint reading behaviors of both adults and children. The ACIRI is intended to encourage good instruction, authentic and friendly assessment, and guidance for teachers working with parents and children as to where to focus their instructional efforts. The ACIRI evaluates 12 literacy behaviors and was piloted by Even Start teachers, who collected data on 29 mothers and their children in September and again in May. The ACIRI instrument, a single-page matrix for documenting observation of adult and child behaviors, is included as an appendix.

Early Literacy for Inner-City Children: The Effects of Reading and Writing Interventions in English and Spanish During the Preschool Years
Yaden, David B., et al (2001). Ann Arbor, MI: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Article originally featured in “The Reading Teacher” reported on a four-year, longitudinal examination of the effectiveness of a preschool emergent literacy intervention in a skid row child-care facility in downtown Los Angeles. The primary purpose of the project was to provide multiple opportunities for Spanish-speaking four-year-old children to engage in a variety of reading and writing activities within the center, at home and in the surrounding community. Results of the study indicate that not only did preschool children begin their kindergarten year on or above grade level in understanding concepts about print, but both preschool teachers and parents established regular habits of shared book reading and numerous ways for children to write and display their work.

Family Literacy: A Strategy for Educational Improvement
NGA Center for Best Practices (November 2002). Washington, DC: National Governor’s Association. Incorporating family literacy into educational programs for children and adults results in a flexible and comprehensive strategy that can improve educational outcomes. This Issue Brief describes the benefits of and innovative state approaches to family literacy. Those strategies include: encouraging state agencies to collaborate as they plan family literacy services; making family literacy an allowable use of existing education funds; and authorizing specific funds for family literacy.

Implications of Brain Development Research for Even Start Family Literacy Programs
Logue, Mary Ellin (Fall 2000). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education Even Start Program Office. This report from the U.S. Department of Education discusses brain development research and outlines specific applications for parents or caregivers and very young children. The second half of the report has implications for Even Start programs.

Intergenerational Learning and Social Capital: ERIC Digest
Kerka, Sandra (2003). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. Knowledge has been transmitted from one generation to another throughout history, often informally or incidentally. In the last 40 years, more systematic and formal intergenerational programs have arisen, with growing recognition of their integral relationship to lifelong learning and broader social purposes (Hanks and Icenogle 2001). Ideally, the generations derive mutual benefits from participation and the learning is reciprocal. Features of effective intergenerational learning have commonalities with the characteristics of social capital. This Digest examines the relationship between intergenerational learning and social capital and describes research findings and promising programs illustrating how intergenerational programs contribute to learning and the development of social capital.