Professional
Development Workshop Descriptions
Section C-D
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FISH Training for the Adult Education Classroom
Presenters: Susan Pittman & Bonnie Vondracek
Contact Hours: 3
Audience: Adult Education Teachers
Activity Overview:
The FISH! Philosophy provides a blueprint for creating a common language, vision, and structure to foster awareness of choices and goals in the educational setting. Through shared ownership, educators should work with students to identify what kind of classroom they want to create. Research shows that when students have a voice and control in what takes place in the classroom, they are more apt to live by the standards and are more motivated to learn. Building a strong classroom community enables students to feel connected to this community of learners, therefore more committed to what takes place in the classroom. When students feel connected and are motivated, they inherently want to do well. The principles of The FISH! Philosophy give students the framework and a common language to learn about positive relationships, practice “being there” and choosing an attitude conducive to learning, and discover the joy of becoming lifelong learners!
Objectives:
The purpose of this workshop is to facilitate the building of a more productive learning culture through helping teachers envision:
- The school year as one in which the workplace is fun and playful each day, filled with an ocean of possibilities and more opportunities for learning in the classroom
- Themselves as individuals who make their students’ day, each and every day, so that students are more productive and engaged in the learning process
- Themselves and their students as really being present at all times so they are focused on what is happening in the classroom rather than distractions from their own lives
- The attitude they would like to have every day - an attitude that is upbeat and positive and doesn’t sweat the small stuff
Reference Resources:
Kohn, A. (1997). The Limits of Teaching Skills. Reaching Today’s Youth (No. 4) Bloomington, Ind: National Educational Service.
Stolp, S. (1994) Leadership for School Culture. ERIC Digest, Number 91.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (2002). What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do. Arlington, VA: National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Glasser, M.D., (1998). The Quality School, Managing Students without Coercion. New York: Harper Perennial.
Kriete, R. (2003). “Start the Day with Community.” Educational Leadership 61 (No. 1): 68-70. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Danielson, C. (1996). Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press
Instructional Activities:
Teachers will work in groups and complete a number of activities focusing on each of the four principles of the FISH philosophy. Teachers will have an opportunity to learn strategies for incorporating Play into lesson plans and activities.
Retaining and Motivating the Adult Learner
Presenters: Susan Pittman & Bonnie Vondracek
Contact Hours: 6
Audience: Adult Education Teachers
Activity Overview:
Throughout the country, adult education programs struggle with student retention. Unfortunately, many students are in class one day and then never appear again. This workshop will focus on how to keep students motivated, even when they struggle to make progress in their learning environment. During the session, participants will have an opportunity to explore some of the latest research findings on learner persistence, as well as look at how to improve their delivery system and encourage and students to “stay the course.”
Each participant will receive a resource guide with research articles, strategies, and techniques that can be used to improve learner persistence in adult education programs.Objectives:
During this workshop, teachers will:
- Examine the latest research on student persistence and motivation to determine implications for program management.
- Examine factors that promote student persistence
- Examine how adapting instruction to students’ learning styles can impact persistence and achievement
- Explore a variety of instructional strategies to address those factors.
Reference Resources:
Adult Learner Retention Revisited (Kerka, S. 1995)
http://www.cete.org/acve/docgen.asp?tbl=archive&ID=A002
Adult Students: Recruitment and Retention M. Wonacott, Practice Application Brief No. 18, ERIC Clearinghouse of Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, 2001. Reviews research on adult learner persistence and provides guidelines for recruiting and retaining adult learners. http://www.cete.org/acve/docgen.asp?tbl=pab&ID=108
Build Motivation by Building Learner Participation (Garner, B. 1998) http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/fob/1998/barb.htm
Considerations for Setting Realistic NRS Goals Provides considerations and examples for setting realistic NRS goals related to employment, postsecondary education, and GED.
Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn: A Comprehensive Guide for Teaching All Adults R.J. Wlodkowski, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998 Revised edition offers culturally responsive practical advice and strategies to enhance adults’ motivation to learn. Looks at theory and research on how motivation affects instruction and highlights the integration of motivational strategies into lesson plans. Available for purchase from Wiley Publishing
Getting into Groups (Pritza, M. 1998) http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/fob/1998/pritza.htm
Getting to Class and Completing a Semester is Tough, pg. 12 (Sticht, T. et al. 1998) http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/teach/lp_c.pdf
Group Goal Setting Activities: An Approach from Youth Service Corps Provides various options for helping students set realistic goals. http://www.sabes.org/resources/adventures/vol4/4pece.htm
Improving Retention in Adult Basic Education and Recommended Strategies for Effective Instructional and Counseling Interventions (Quigley, B. 1997) http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Pubs/0600-3.htm
National Adult Education Honor Society Includes information on the history, student eligibility, inducting students, getting started, benefits, and nomination process. http://www.naehs.org/Default.htm
NCSALL’s Adult Persistence Study
- Persistence among Adult Basic Education Students in Pre-GED Classes (Comings, J. Parrella, A, & Soricone, L. 1999) http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/report12.htm
- Helping Adults Persist: Four Supports, pg. 6 (Comings, J. Parrella, A, & Soricone, L. 2000) http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/teach/lp_d.pdf
- Sponsors and Sponsorship, pg 13 (Comings, J. & Cuban, S. 2002) http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/teach/lp_d.pdf
- The K-12 School Experiences of High School Dropouts, pg. 4 (Reder, S. & Strawn, C. 2001) http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/teach/lp_c.pdf
- Stopping Out, Not Dropping Out, pg. 7 (Belzer, A. 1998) http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ncsall/teach/lp_c.pdf
Instructional Activities:
Teachers will work in groups and complete a series of activities that focus on the primary factors which encourage student persistence and attainment in the adult education classroom. Teachers will have an opportunity to calculate the retention rate of a sample class and make determinations about what factors impacted student persistence. Teachers will look at the impact of modifying instruction to address specific learning styles of students. They will also learn how to assist students in establishing realistic short- and long-term goals, an important factor in student persistence.
Addressing the Complete Teaching/Learning Cycle
Presenters: Andy Nash and Sara Dinsdale
Contact Hours: 12
Audience: ESL Teachers and Program Administrators
Activity Overview:
The aim of this workshop is to explore the ways that the EFF teaching/learning cycle can guide teachers through a process of identifying student needs; building responsive, standards-based lessons; and developing assessment tools that provide teacher and student with useful information. Participants will practice specific strategies for each phase of this cycle and plan how these will transfer to their own teaching contexts.
Objectives:
- Participants will know several strategies for identifying student needs
and goals
- Participants will be able to use a process for building standards-based
lessons
- Participants will have strategies for developing informal assessments that
provide information about students’ ability to apply what they’ve
learned
- Participants will know how to use the EFF teaching/learning cycle to guide
curriculum development that includes all of these stages
References:
CAELA resources – workshop handouts, website http://www.cal.org/caela/
Texas draft standards EFF website: http://eff.cls.utk.edu, particularly the EFF toolkit: http://eff.cls.utk.edu/toolkit
Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse
Instructional Activities:
We will begin the session by introducing the EFF teaching/learning cycle. This will provide a framework for the subsequent segments, which address the stages of the cycle: identifying student needs; building responsive, standards-based lessons; and developing assessment tools that provide teacher and student with useful information.
During each stage, participants will:
- identify their own experience and knowledge
- read and discuss research summaries on the topic
- experience modeled activities and strategies
- discuss implications for their own practice
- reflect on and discuss this approach to teaching and learning
