The Adult Basic Education Teacher's Toolkit

1: Introduction to the ABE Teacher's Toolkit

"Learning is a fluid process of moving forward to the unknown while connecting back to the established knowns." (Goodman, et al., 1986, p. 306).

This manual is designed as a guide for adult basic education teachers who have just entered the field of adult education as well as experienced teachers looking for additional ideas. For all levels of adult education teachers, this manual is useful for developing curriculum with adults who come to the learning setting with very limited literacy skills. The following statement is an underlying assumption of this manual.

Learning and continued motivation of adults to participate in educational programs is best fostered by a problem-solving, exploration process using a student-centered, holistic approach to teaching and learning. This approach requires that course content reflect and build on student interests, knowledge, and experience, and that teaching methods encourage student independence in learning.

Problems with Traditional Approaches to Teaching Literacy Skills

Traditional approaches to teaching, driven by an established curriculum, are founded on a predetermined content. In this setting, teachers deliver the content to the students who are, for the most part, passive receivers of the content. Traditional approaches have not proven to be effective for adult learners with very limited literacy skills.

Educationally disadvantaged adult learners, who face the long process of developing the literacy skills they need to meet the demands of today's technology and information-based society, become discouraged with a curriculum that has no immediate application for them. Such students are likely to leave an educational program before they make any significant gains in literacy skills. An instructional model that builds on learner strengths rather than focusing on deficits offers learners an opportunity to realize immediate success toward goals with personal meaning. Students in such learning environments find learning to be rewarding and are more likely to continue to participate.

Purpose of this Manual

This manual is not intended to suggest there is one way to organize and develop learning opportunities for adults with beginning literacy skills. It is intended to provide examples of and some ideas for providing a learner-centered, participatory, holistic framework for adult learning. Holistic in this context refers to a curriculum that fosters integration of literacy skills. Literacy skills are not taught or learned as discrete, isolated parts; skills are practiced and learned-as a whole process-as they are commonly used outside the classroom. It is hoped that you will begin an exploration of the many avenues of growth that are possible as your adult learners explore their environments, and practice and develop literacy skills in the process.

With this student-centered, participatory approach, there is no predetermined sequence of learning, text, teaching materials, or specific content for you to use. Instead, students practice and develop skills as they encounter the need for them in solving a problem or exploring an issue that is relevant to a certain skill. As an effective teacher, you come to the learning setting prepared to change directions-to respond to immediate student concerns, to use nontraditional materials and resources. You come ready to be a partner in learning rather than a deliverer of specific content. In this environment, you are less in control of the direction learning will take than teachers are who use the more traditional approaches. Students assume greater responsibility for their own learning in an interactive setting. Using the student-centered, participatory approach, both you and the students find learning to be fun, interesting, and exciting.

It is difficult to model a participatory, student-centered approach to teaching and learning in a manual or handbook format. Because there is no dialogue in a printed manual, information flows only one way. Nevertheless, what has been attempted here is to provide a guide to enable you to actively explore a few of the many avenues possible in developing a supportive learning environment for educationally disadvantaged adults. We have attempted the near impossible task of anticipating your questions concerning your work as an adult education facilitator. Where we have failed in this attempt, we hope that the recommended reading list found in Appendix B, Valuable Resources for Further Information and Suggestions, can provide the missing links.

Organization of this Manual

This manual is organized as follows.

• Chapter 1, Introduction to the ABE Teacher's Toolkit.
• Chapter 2, Some Anticipated Questions, addresses some of the questions commonly asked by teachers new to adult education.
• Chapter 3, Facilitating Adult Learning in a Holistic, Participatory Classroom: a Model, begins with one possible scenario of a student-generated learning situation followed by a discussion of numerous opportunities for the practice of literacy skills.
• Chapter 4, The Teacher's Toolbox, gives an overview of chapters, 5, 6, and 7, which make up the Toolbox, and also includes some comprehension, modeling, and thinking skills strategies.
• Chapter 5, Reading Skills Toolbox;
• Chapter 6, Writing Skills Toolbox; and
• Chapter 7, Computing Skills Toolbox; include a collection of specific learning activities for your use and adaptation. You can use these activities to engage your students in the use of literacy skills as they explore themes of interest to them.
• Appendix A, contains the Student Information Sheet, a form to use informally to get an initial estimate of a learner's literacy skills, and additionally includes all the forms presented in the Toolbox chapters.
• Appendix B, Valuable Resources for Further Information and Suggestions, contains a list of resources for further research.
• Appendix C, References, is a list of the names of articles and publications referred to in this manual.
• The Glossary defines educational terms as they are used in this manual.

Other Resources

We encourage you to use many of the excellent resources available for teachers of adult literacy classes to learn more about teaching adult learners. These resources include extensive examples of activities that foster student participation and learning and are far beyond the scope of this manual. As mentioned in the preceding section, Appendix B, Valuable Resources for Further Information and Suggestions, provides recommended titles for further reading. Many of these sources are available at your public library, local college library, or through the Adult Literacy Clearinghouse.

Chapter 2 | Contents