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From: Meta W Potts <metawpotts@uswest.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:1178] EFF Blue Book and classroom application
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With the concern in mind of practitioners regarding the need for
practical, useful information about the implementation of EFF, I sat
down with two adult education teachers recently and looked at the "Blue
Book," Equipped for the Future Content Standards, expressly for the
purpose of determining how to make this book more accessible as a
classroom tool.
We outlined the tasks that are required of practitioners and divided the
book accordingly as follows:
1. Intake and Orientation
We think that the one-page role maps, pages 9-11 provide a sound
framework for "what adults do" and make the case for context as we
focus on the content of the standards. We think the digest of the
standards in the Appendix is sufficient for the orientation phase and
the discussion of content.
2. Goal Setting
Since hundreds of people in a cross section of the nation defined the
purposes for learning, we think that page 6 can begin the goal-setting
process. Then, teachers and students, together, can look at the more
detailed role maps in Appendix A to select and define specific goals
for each learner, examining what skills are needed to reach these goals,
and speculating on what we will be able to do when we acquire those
skills. We would take time, too, to define the student's assets,
selected from these maps, which gives a "strengths model perspective" to
our task, and helps to answer the question, "what can I already do that
will help me reach new goals?"
3. Classroom Implementation
We would read and discuss and ask questions about the pages 65-85 in
order to gain from others' classroom experiences and to get multiple
perspectives on Teaching and Learning with EFF. And then, considering
the elements of curriculum planning, we would use the Standards, pages
21-55 as the focus for Content; the Common Activities, Appendix A for
the Context; Life-roles applications from the maps in the Appendix A for
the design of methods, choosing materials to coincide with student and
teacher plans for mastery of content.
4. Assessment
Recognizing that state standards may mandate particular assessment
tools, and understanding that there is not yet an EFF Assessment, we
would still adhere to the Guiding Principles: What we want our
Assessment Framework to Include, pages 57-64 as our focus. We decided
that projects provide sustained student performance, which
Dennie Palmer Wolf, Project Zero at Harvard called "the beating heart of
learning."
5. Transition
Knowing that transition for adults is just as important as transition
for children, we would revisit the role maps, reflecting upon the
accomplishments of students and their desires to reach for more. We
would devote time for further guidance and counseling based upon the
many possibilities outlined on those role maps.
As many teachers begin to look at EFF as the basis for their classroom
approach, they are anxious to acquire the tools that will help them do
their jobs efficiently and effectively. We know those tools will soon
be published, but until then, we think this analysis might help to ease
the anxieties of implementation for many.
All the Best,
Meta Potts
Glendale, AZ
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