Charting a Course: Responding to the Industry-Related
Adult Basic Education Needs of the Texas Workforce
Handbook Two: Workplace Savy for Workforce-related Instruction
Modules #5 & 6

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Introduction: How Did We Get Here and Where Are We Going?

Out of federal funds appropriated in Strategy A.2.5, Adult Education and Family Literacy, the Commissioner shall allocate an amount not to exceed $850,000 in fiscal year 2006 for the development of a demand-driven workplace literacy and basic skills curriculum. The Texas Workforce Commission shall provide resources, industry-specific information, and expertise identified as necessary by the Texas Education Agency to support the development and implementation of the curriculum. Education Rider 82, 79th State Legislative Session, 2005

This handbook is one of two developed to assist adult educators in Texas in delivering instruction responsive to the workforce-related language, literacy, and basic skills needs of Texas’ emerging, incumbent, and displaced workers. Handbook # 1 deals primarily with the planning process during which program administrators determine program capacity, identify local labor force needs, measure the strength of local partnerships, and develop mutual, achievable goals and objectives. Handbook # 2 focuses on instructional delivery in response to identified needs.

Whether you are involved in delivering instruction intended for a specific employer or group of employees, or you are trying to address the workforce-related needs of the learners in your traditional adult education classes, you will want to be aware of the resources, tools and support available to Texas programs. It is important for instructors to have a working knowledge of the process of planning, implementing, and sustaining a successful instructional response. Some program administrators will elect to involve instructional coordinators and/or instructors in the planning process, thereby ensuring a strong correlation between identified needs and curriculum and instruction. Make yourself available to such opportunities – the experiences will be invaluable.

Resources Available to Your Local Program … Know Where to Find Them

A primer text and desk reference, Joan Friedenberg’s Workplace ESL: A Simple Guide to Program Planning and Implementationhas been made available to every adult education program administrator. A limited number of additional copies are available upon request from Texas LEARNS. The information contained in this text is based on an analysis of programs serving over 10,000 language minority workers at over 100 workplaces throughout the U.S. Although the guide was developed with English language learners in mind, it is an excellent tool for planning and implementing a variety of work-related instructional programs. It includes general information about setting goals and objectives, curriculum development, teaching strategies, and instructional materials that may prove helpful to you, the instructor. Copies are also available for checkout from the TCALL Clearinghouse library.

Charting a Course:  Responding to the Industry-Related Instructional Needs of the Limited English Proficient (Tondre, 2006) is a summary report of findings in response to Education Rider 82.  It provides direction to Texas LEARNS in its support of curricular responses to assist adult learners in accessing employment in three sectors:  health care, manufacturing, and sales and service.  The two page executive summary provides an overview of the study and recommendations. Access the full report on the TCALL website at Charting A Course: Responding to the Industry-Related Instructional Needs of the Limited English Proficient.

The Workplace Literacy Resource Center State Leadership Project is responsible for the development of curricular responses to Education Rider 82. The lead institution in this initiative is El Paso Community College. Curricular modules related to healthcare, manufacturing, and sales and service have been developed for adults with limited English language skills. A preliminary “soft launch” has been completed, and modules have undergone revision and further development based on feedback from learners and instructors. Statewide pilots occurred in the spring and summer of 2007. The curricular modules are designed to be replicated and adapted to the needs of adult education programs across the state. These will be available to programs following the completion of pilot initiatives and final revisions.

Charting a Course: Responding to the Industry-Related Adult Basic Education Needs of the Texas Workforce, Handbook # 1: Planning and Implementation Tips for Program Planners and Administrators. Your program administrator should have a copy of this handbook. If given the opportunity, you are encouraged to participate in the training for both handbooks. At the very least, ask to review Handbook # 1.

SHOP TALK is a series sponsored by Texas LEARNS to highlight promising practices and address issues, concerns, and questions related to meeting the adult education needs of Texas’ emerging, incumbent, and displaced workers. The entire series can be accessed from the SHOP TALK web page.

The WorkforceLitTex Discussion List is sponsored and maintained by TEA/Texas LEARNS and the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy and Learning (TCALL) Clearinghouse, in collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Its purpose is to encourage collaborative planning and to exchange promising practices. The discussion list is open to all interested parties. You are encouraged to subscribe by contacting TCALL at lschroeder@tamu.edu.

Finally, the Texas Adult Education Content Standards and Benchmarks, were released in June 2007. Version 1.1, June 2008 is now available on the TCALL website at http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/taesp/guide08/cover.html.  During writing teamwork sessions occurring over the past two and a half years, applicability of the standards and benchmarks to the workplace was taken into consideration. Five of the Equipped for the Future (EFF) Standards for Adult Learning serve as the springboard for development of the Texas Adult Education Content Standards and Benchmarks for English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and Adult Secondary Education.

Similarly, the EFF Standards - which encompass the SCANS Skills - also serve as the foundation for a number of the work readiness credentials and certificates that have emerged in recent years. With EFF as the common denominator, writing teams were asked to examine the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential to success in the workplace. The teams cross-referenced those tasks workers in entry-level jobs need to be able to do with the standards and benchmarks they had developed, and identified those with strong work-related components as well as areas where further development is needed. The Texas Adult Education Content Standards and Benchmarks are available on the TCALL website. Development of work-related responses continues.

Since no handbook can contain an unlimited number of sample learning activities, additional references and resources are cited at the end of the publication, many with easy access to websites related to workforce/workplace instruction.