Return-Path: <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.3/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id NAA09599; Mon, 7 Feb 2000 13:17:47 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 13:17:47 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <s89ec1f8.066@jsi.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Andy Nash" <andy_nash@jsi.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:829] introducing EFF to students and staff X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise 5.2 Status: RO Content-Length: 3253 Lines: 63 Hi, I recently got a very interesting reply (from Marty Duncan, Sumner Adult Ed) to the following question: How do you make EFF accessible to students? Where do you start? How do you present it? Here it is . . . Marty: I start with the purposes and roles. These, as well as the skills and common activities, are incorporated into our initial interview form. I ask people to tell me whether any of the 4 purposes is more important to them than any other. Often, students identify "Bridge to the Future." I ask if any of the 3 roles is most important. Here, I think, "Parent/Family Member" is most often chosen. Asking people to look at what other adults have identified as purposes for their learning helps put the focus immediately on ADULT learning. I like this especially for young adults just coming out of the K-12 system. They're already thinking about jobs and family but often aren't yet thinking of themselves as adults. I gather from their responses that they think it's both eye-opening and encouraging to talk about adult roles and purposes for learning. As we look over the skills and activities, I ask people what they think they're good at and what they think they need to work on. We talk about why and in what context they can demonstrate skill or often find difficulty. For example, a woman identified "Advocate and Influence" as a skill she has demonstrated in working on behalf of her stepchildren, but pointed out that she hated math and couldn't do it in school. She went on to say that "Manage Resources" (household) is one of her strengths and that she's good at solving problems. These were great clues for helping her to use her strengths and approach her math anxiety. It is important to note that before we begin discussing purposes, roles, activities and skills, the prospective student has had ample opportunity in this initial interview/discussion to express reasons for coming to the program, to get information about what our program has to offer, and to express concerns. Trial and error with feedback from adult learners has taught me that it is important not to present the framework in such a way that a student feels "plugged into" or categorized by the framework. The better approach is to show how the learner can use the framework. This works especially well, at the beginning, for self-assessment. End quote On another note - the staff development side of things - I think that the fully-developed standards offer us an opportunity to reflect on some basic beliefs about teaching at the same time that we're learning about EFF. One way to do this is to take one standard and discuss it, in depth, as a staff. Does everyone share the same understanding of "Read with Understanding"? What do we believe about reading and why? Is "Listen Actively" something we should be teaching more generally (not just in ESL classes)? What would that look like? How can we help students "Take Responsibility for Learning" in a way that doesn't blame them if the opportunities aren't there? I think it takes this kind of slow-paced, on-going dialogue to ensure that EFF makes a real difference in practice. What are others finding? Best, Andy Nash EFF Training Coordinator NELRC/World Education
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