The Adult Basic Education Teacher's Toolkit

Some Anticipated Questions

This chapter attempts to anticipate some of the many questions those of you working with adult learners might have. Undoubtedly, there are many additional questions that have not been addressed. You are encouraged to take advantage of the many other excellent resources available in your search for further information.

Organization of this Chapter

As you go through this chapter, you will see these anticipated questions set off in a shaded box. Following each question is a discussion that offers some answers to that question.

One Student's Example

The following narrative is a real-life example of one student's progress in an adult education class. This example is used as a reference for answers to some of the questions posed in this chapter.

It is not possible nor even desirable to describe the "typical" adult basic education student - each student has unique characteristics, skills, interests, and experiences. Unfortunately, education for the beginning adult student has too often focused on deficits of the learner rather than on strengths - the many skills, interests, and experiences each brings to the classroom.

A more appropriate approach focuses on the strengths and interests of the learners. The adult learner frequently has an extensive vocabulary that can facilitate development of other literacy skills. Bits and pieces of knowledge and skills can be built upon with supporting information as the learner practices reading, writing, and math skills.

Various subcultures, including men and women, use literacy in differing ways. Years of cultural influence have shaped the ways in which literacy is valued and acquired. Teachers of adults must constantly pay attention to individual learners and to interactions among learners in order to ensure that such differences are acknowledged, and included, in planning for effective learning.

Nonreading adults do not depend upon print for learning, communicating information, or accomplishing tasks. They learn with one another, watching and telling each other how to do things. They develop systems for acquiring and preserving information, controlling the flow of information, and assessing the truthfulness. They also develop the capacity for dealing with required literacy tasks. These systems depend on talk, interaction, and mutual exchange. Folks help one another, are proud of their common sense, and learn from experience. They see themselves as collaborators in social networks in which others contribute technical reading or writing skills. (Fingeret, 1990, p. 41)

The skills which adult nonreaders or beginning-level readers have developed in order to cope with the demands of their daily lives provide a natural foundation for developing literacy skills. Mr. P. came to the classroom seeking confirmation of his own instinctive solution to a problem. The group was interested in the problem and wanted to help Mr. P. As a team, the group, including the teacher, defined and solved a real problem. The learning setting that encourages adult learners to learn with one another and share information from experience builds upon their strengths and provides an opportunity for peer support.

Caution: Adult learners do not fall into neat categories. To try to fit them to a program rather than designing a program that meets the unique characteristics of particular learners results in frustration for both students and teachers.

What are some of the immediate concerns of educationally disadvantaged adult learners as they first enter a program?

Beginning level adult learners are particularly reluctant to participate in literacy programs (Darkenwald and Valentine, 1985). Therefore, when an adult with less educational experience takes the initiative to enter a literacy program, it is vital that the initial experience remove any doubt from the student's mind that the program will provide a comfortable place in which to learn.

While the story of Mr. P. is decidedly unique, it also reveals a picture of many of the characteristic concerns of disadvantaged adult learners. The adult with beginning level literacy skills comes to the classroom with many justified reservations and fears. These might include some of the following.

• Will I face further let downs? I have tried before and found that school was hard and made me feel like a failure.
• Will other learners accept me as I am and allow me to join them in classroom activities?
• Will l be learning things I am interested in, or will it just be the same old stuff I can't relate to?
• Can I complete my educational goals, or will I get discouraged and quit?
• I know that I can do lots of things well, but I'm no good at reading, writing, or calculating. Will anyone care about what I can do?
• Tests scare me to death! Will I have to take tests?
• Is coming to class worth the time, effort, and risk to my self-worth?

You can do much to relieve the stress adult learners feel by letting them know that you respect any reservations they might have regarding this new situation and that you value each of them as an individual with many diverse skills and interests. The physical setting and emotional climate must be comfortable, inviting, and conducive to interaction among participants. Consider how the room feels. Is it comfortable? Is it attractive? Is it a place you would want to spend time reading, writing, and working with other learners? If not, what can you do to relieve some of the problems? Often such simple things as having a coffeemaker available and cups from home can make a difference. Arranging the room with tables and chairs for students to sit together in groups rather than the traditional classroom rows is another way to provide a comfortable environment for students.

How do I learn the skill levels of students entering my program?

An informal interview is often the best method to use to learn about students' educational histories, their current use of literacy skills, interests, and reasons for coming to the program. An interview can give you a reasonable first estimate of literacy levels. You might also use a brief application form that identifies approximate literacy levels. (See the Student Information Sheet form in Appendix A.)

Another tool to use in estimating reading levels is an informal reading inventory designed specifically for use with adult students. Such inventories are relatively simple to administer and are less intimidating than most standardized tests. As the adult learner is exposed to opportunities to practice literacy skills, both you and the student can monitor his or her progress. Doing this can ensure the materials used are challenging, but not so difficult that they frustrate the learner.

Should I teach adults in the same ways children are taught?

Adult students come to the classroom with diverse cultures, knowledge, and frequently an extensive vocabulary because they have more life experiences than children have. As a reader attempts to take meaning from text, predictions and guesses arise from his/her cultural background, experiences, and value system. (Newman and Beverstock, 1990).

Adult learners should be assisted in drawing upon their backgrounds, as they practice literacy skills. Building on what is already known makes the tasks of reading, writing, and math more meaningful and less threatening than a curriculum that does not take into account what the learner brings to the learning setting.

The basic skills first approach - reading sounds, reading words out of context, or working isolated number problems with no immediate application - has resulted in many students losing interest in their literacy goals and eventually dropping out of the program. (Means and Knapp, 1991) This reaction is particularly true of adults.

How do I as a teacher of adult learners create an environment in which positive learning experiences can occur?

Those teachers who are willing to abandon traditional teaching methods and to adopt methods and materials that are relevant to the student and the student's approach to learning are more likely to be successful in working with adult students. (Darkenwald, 1986)

Reading, writing, and math are communication skills required to function effectively on a daily basis in today's technologically advanced society. Adult students, therefore, have numerous and varied opportunities to apply and practice these skills in their own personal life contexts. The challenge to the teacher is to identify issues of genuine concern to the learners. Learners reveal these concerns in class discussions, writings, informal conversations with each other or with the teacher, and sometimes, as in Mr. P.'s case, when an issue of immediate concern arises. When skills to be learned have immediate use and meaning to adult learners, the learners become willing partners in the teaching/learning process.

After an area of concern is identified, you can identify activities learners can use to explore the issue. An initial discussion of the issue will reveal what learners already know about the issue and what else they want or need to learn.

Literacy skills can then be practiced in the search for further information in much the same way that adults with more proficient literacy skills use reading, writing and math on a daily basis. Chapter 3, Facilitating Adult Learning in a Holistic, Participatory Classroom - a Model, illustrates one example of this process of defining and exploring an issue while practicing literacy skills.

How do I develop a learning plan that provides the opportunities adults need to participate in the learning process?

A plan for learning can evolve from students as they discuss an area of interest. Information gathering and problem solving naturally rely on reading, writing, and math skills. As students begin to discuss and suggest ways in which they can answer a question or solve a problem, you and your students can set goals and devise plans together. Literacy skills will be practiced as the plan is carried out. This process has been found to be particularly motivating to adults. (Williams and Strange, 1990)

At best, a lesson plan serves as a rough plan for getting from one point to another in the exploration of a learning task. (Glustrom, Knight and Johnson, 1991)

What if the group doesn't work well together?

In some classrooms, the group may have difficulty developing a good working dynamic. It may be necessary to separate into more than one group if needs and interests are too diverse. Each group can work on its own area of concern. Some students may prefer to work independently as did Mr. P. (in the introductory example at the beginning of this chapter) when he first started attending the learning center.

Don't give up on your group too soon, however. As adults have the opportunity to get to know each other through discussions and cooperative activities, they are likely to want to share their experiences. This opportunity to get to know each other is especially desirable for beginning-level learners. The sense of belonging to a group provides much support and is a strong motivational force for many adults. This classroom group may be the only group outside the immediate family the adult student has ever known.

What are the important things to consider in assisting students as they practice reading skills?

Reading is a process in which the reader and print come together for the purpose of creating meaning. Readers bring to the interaction a personal framework for interpreting ideas in print. Consequently, each student constructs the meaning from a passage in his or her own unique way. This individual interpretation must be recognized, respected, and utilized in the learning process.

The purpose of reading instruction is not to stamp out readers' miscues; rather, the purpose is to help students control the reading strategies of sampling, predicting, confirming, and integrating meaning. When students and teachers move from an "uptight model" of reading (Goodman, 1982) an interesting thing happens: Readers gain control of the process; their miscues get better (in other words, they make good substitutions); and the number of miscues diminishes as well.

• a sight word vocabulary - not a predetermined list
• a word identification strategy - efficient and simple
• a comprehension strategy - not a set of skills

Word identification and comprehension strategies include the following.

• sampling from the text - silent reading or reading aloud.
• predicting what the text means using context and word patterns to make guesses.
• confirming or rejecting the predictions and predicting again (checking to see that understanding of new information fits with what is already known).
• correcting and integrating the print information with students' prior knowledge.

The following illustration shows a model of this kind of reading program.*

Figure 2-1. Model of Reading Program *This model taken from Goodman, Yetta and Carolyn Burke. 1980. Reading Strategies: Focus on Comprehension. Richard C. Owen.

Activities that can help the reader develop these strategies can be grouped in the following ways.

• Pre-reading - activities that help learners focus on what they already know about a given topic to be read.
  
• During reading - activities that help students monitor and adjust as they read for meaning.
  
• Post reading - activities that help students recall, organize, and evaluate the information they read.

See Chapter 5, Reading Skills Toolbox, for illustrations of activities that provide practice in reading strategies. Numerous other ideas can be found in the resources listed in the Appendix B, Valuable Resources for Further Information and Suggestions.

Note: In selecting materials for adult beginning-level readers, it is especially important that the materials be of personal interest and relevant to the needs of the reader. Using predictable texts, poetry, and language experience stories increases the probability of success in the initial stages of reading.

Also, remember that while it is important to avoid materials that are too challenging, it is also important not to underestimate adult learners' abilities. The vocabulary and experience many adults bring to the learning setting help them frequently predict word meanings that might seem too difficult.

1. Prewriting activities - identifying purpose and audience, and the type of writing; brainstorming; writing an outline; writing a rough draft.
2. Writing activities - putting the ideas on paper.
3. Revising writing activities - making sure ideas are clearly communicated (checking for clarity, spelling, punctuation, grammar, and organization).

Writing initial thoughts, rewriting, and checking for accuracy of spelling and grammar are steps all writers, regardless of experience, must take to be sure their thoughts make sense to intended readers. Writing for practical purposes - a personal dictionary of vocabulary words; personal journals; forms; notes to a friend, family member, or teacher; grocery lists and so forth, are particularly appropriate as adults begin to practice and improve their writing skills.

What about math?

Unfortunately, math has often been regarded as a separate subject - disconnected from the reading and writing curriculum - a set of rules that divides answers strictly into right and wrong. When math is seen as part of the overall curriculum, math and problem-solving skills become a social task and something that students do, as opposed to something they absorb. Like reading and writing, math is a communication skill. And like words, numbers are the way we express quantitative ideas in print. Both are codes that can be learned. Comprehension is the key. Students solve problems, reason, estimate, and discover ways to compute data as they encounter real life problems.

As with other communication skills, content for learning math skills should come from meaningful contexts. Content that is outdated or not meaningful should be de-emphasized - this includes adding long columns of multi-digit numbers or doing long division. There are more efficient tools, like calculators, for doing these computations and they should be used. Discover how students currently use math at home or on the job and develop plans for practice using this information. Practice in computing skills should have a purpose. Hands-on activities that engage students in the use of measuring tools and other materials from the real world such as newspapers, checkbooks, sales receipts, and so forth, provide opportunities for meaningful practice.

A particularly motivating way to involve students in math activities is to make it possible for students to work together in small cooperative groups. In groups they can explore solutions to problems together, as the class did in the scenario at the beginning of this chapter. Look for math applications when exploring units of study. Any theme can usually include sorting, classifying, comparing, measuring, and using patterns.

Students can observe which steps to take when you go through the thought processes and strategies used in computing out loud. This practice is called modeling. By modeling the processes of math (as with reading and writing), teachers help adults overcome anxieties developed from years of perceived failure. The task becomes less intimidating for students when it is broken down into manageable steps. You will find several examples of modeling in Chapters 4 - 7, the Toolbox chapters.

Have your students keep math journals in which they can write and draw diagrams which help them express ideas about math. Encourage them to write about their feelings and daily experiences with math. See Chapter 7, Computing Skills Toolbox, for an example of keeping a math journal.

Certain skills are considered basic - don't students have to master these basic skills before moving on to more "advanced" work?

A fundamental assumption underlying much of the curriculum in our schools is that certain skills are "basic" and therefore must be mastered before students are given instruction in more "advanced" skills, such as reading comprehension, written composition, and mathematical reasoning. For many students, particularly those most at risk of school failure, one consequence of adherence to this assumption is that instruction focuses on these so-called basics (such as phonetic decoding and arithmetic operations) to the exclusion of reasoning activities, of reading for meaning, or of communicating in written form. (Means and Knapp, p. 283)

Students regarded as educationally disadvantaged do profit from instruction in comprehension, composition, and mathematical reasoning from the very beginning of their education. Students can acquire comprehension, math and writing skills well before they are good decoders of the printed word or before other discrete skills are mastered. A group of national experts in reading, writing, and mathematics education listed the following as problems related to conventional approaches to teaching disadvantaged students.

• Student abilities are underestimated.
• More challenging and interesting work is postponed for too long - in some cases, forever.
• Students are deprived of a meaningful and motivating context for learning or for practicing the skills that are taught.

A student-centered curriculum, on the other hand does the following:

• focuses on complex, meaningful problems such as those which adults face in their daily lives.
• embeds practice of basic skills in the context of real-world tasks.
• uses resources from the student's personal environment and culture as materials for learning.

The teacher's role in a student-centered curriculum is to do the following:

• Model thinking strategies. Think aloud with students as they read a text or solve a math problem, or try to understand how the information fits with prior learning. Help students observe and understand that learning is not "automatic," but requires deliberate reflection on the issue at hand.
• Encourage multiple approaches to learning. Instead of suggesting one "right" way to solve a problem, encourage students to follow different paths to diverse solutions.
• Provide a framework, or "scaffolding" that helps students accomplish complex tasks. Some tasks required of students as they work toward solving problems require the teacher to provide resources, background information, cues, and other support. As students gain independence, you should gradually reduce the amount of framework or scaffolding you provide until students no longer need it.
• Make dialogue the central medium for teaching and learning. Teacher and learner are equal participants in this approach. Specifics of the instructional content emerge from the dialogue that occurs between teacher and student with your help.

What kinds of tests should I use to assess student gains?

No single test, no single observation, no single piece of student work can possibly capture the authentic, continuous, multidimensional, interactive requirement of sound assessment.

Test - the word itself conjures up negative emotions in many of us. Are traditional tests - the kind we usually think of where "right" answers are rewarded and "wrong" answers are the source of scorn - useful in the basic education setting? Many educators argue for a quantitative method of tracking student progress. While standardized tests can provide some information, their primary use is to compare one student with another.

Literacy skills have traditionally been considered to be linear - start at A and progress to Z. As a result, we have labeled adult learners according to a "literacy line." In fact, adults have many skills that can not be described in a linear fashion. An adult non-reader often has developed complex learning strategies. The adult non-reader often has a complex vocabulary, has a wealth of knowledge from experience, and can hold his/her own in a verbal discourse within her own experience or environment equivalent to that of the individuals with more proficient literacy skills.

Note: Where the purpose of assessment is to gain information regarding the individual student's needs in order to plan more effective learning activities, alternative assessment strategies are appropriate.

Discussion and observation can be used as unobtrusive measures of an adult learner's literacy skills. (Vacca & Sparks, 1981) Discussion also provides a way for the instructor to gain information regarding background, interests, and issues of concern to the student. In a discussion with the student, you can learn about the student's use of literacy skills in daily life and can make some initial decisions regarding the student's needs.

Many other "informal" methods of assessment can provide valuable insights into the learner's needs. It is beyond the scope of this publication to describe in detail the numerous informal methods that have proven useful to other teachers. However, one suggestion that has gained wide acceptance is the development of student portfolios. Portfolios can contain the following items:

• informal reading inventories
• surveys of attitudes toward learning
• information regarding reading, writing, and computation habits
• reading, writing, and math journals
• anecdotal records (containing short accounts of interesting or humorous incidents)
• teacher observations
• learning contracts
• proficiency checklists
• study skills inventories

Portfolios can also include other student-generated materials. All of these provide both the teacher and the student evidence of learner achievement and needs. Portfolios also provide evidence of other kinds of student growth such as willingness to take risks, development of creative solutions, and increased skill in self-monitoring of learning. In addition to any required measures of student achievement, the portfolio will contain actual examples of student work, notes from studentcher conferences, and summaries that allow the student to see at a glance what goals have been accomplished and which are next to be achieved. See Chapters 4 - 7, the Toolbox chapters, to learn more about the development of student portfolios and further suggestions for informal assessment.

Always keep in mind that frequent and immediate feedback is important to adult learners as they monitor their own understanding and development of literacy skills. Assessment is a continual process the instructor and the learner can use together to plan effective learning strategies for continued student development. Assessment should reveal the strengths of the learner as well as identifying skills that need further development.

What can I do to help students with learning disabilities?

Learning disabilities are obstructions to learning. People with learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence, but have specific difficulties with basic language processes that affect their abilities to acquire competence in reading, spelling, writing, and mathematics. When talking about reading, you may think of dyslexia, a well-known learning disability. However, learning disabilities can affect areas besides reading, including social skills.

Each year, increasing numbers of adults with learning disabilities are entering literacy programs in this country. Most learning-disabled students have problems with tasks involving processing and storing information. They may have problems with memory, short or long term. However, there is rarely a trained diagnostician available to test and give confirmation of such disabilities to the adult education teacher. It may not matter. As a teacher, you can discern this difference when you have a student whom you expect will not have trouble learning, but he does. In most cases, sound teaching strategies can compensate for the learning dysfunctions. These same teaching strategies are beneficial to all learners.

The following are some suggestions for instruction of adults with learning disabilities.

• Divide tasks into small manageable parts.
• Provide frequent feedback and support.
• Provide opportunities for students to use all modalities (sight, hearing, speaking, touch) as they explore issues.
• Introduce new concepts in concrete ways. It is often easier for learning-disabled students to learn the theory after its practical application.
• Use a directed-reading approach for reading tasks - establish a purpose for reading and review new vocabulary frequently.
• Use color when possible. Visual impact is sharper in color and color coding is an aid to learning.
• Provide opportunities for students to touch and handle materials which relate to ideas you present whenever possible.
• Ensure that students are situated so they can hear well and have a clear view of any visual aids.
• Provide frequent opportunities for students to rehearse or paraphrase what has been learned.
• Maximize opportunities for student to succeed and build self-confidence.
• Review students' progress regularly to emphasize those things they have learned to encourage motivation.

Are there any other tips I should know before I begin?

Here are a few tips worthy of your consideration, Use approaches to teaching that stress alternatives to drill and practice.

• Model thinking strategies. Explicitly and repeatedly model the intellectual processes you are trying to instill. Think aloud while reading a text and trying to understand how the information fits with previously known facts. Think aloud when solving a mathematical puzzle. Demonstrate the trial and error, planning, and revision processes involved in reading, writing, and math.

Note: For too long, we have shown students the final product without demonstrating critical processes required to achieve it.

• Encourage multiple approaches to academic tasks. Instead of teaching the "one right way" to solve a problem, help students discover their own strategies for solving problems. Use open-ended questions or problems with more than one possible solution.
• Provide "scaffolding," or a framework, that provides a guide for students to accomplish complex tasks. Use cues and support information that permit students to solve problems and develop solutions to their learning tasks using a logical, step-by-step procedure.
• Make dialogue the central medium for teaching and learning. In conventional modes of instruction, the key form of communication is transmission; the teacher has the knowledge and transmits it to the students. A dialogue is very different. It is an interchange in which learners are participants, with significant influence on the nature of the exchange, initially between the teacher and a small group of students, later among the students themselves. Specifics of the instructional content emerge in the back-and-forth interchange of ideas.

Chapter 3 | Contents