[NIFL-4EFF:1550] take responsibility for learning

From: Eileen Eckert (eileeneckert@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed May 02 2001 - 14:13:14 EDT


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From: "Eileen Eckert" <eileeneckert@hotmail.com>
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Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:1550] take responsibility for learning
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I've been thinking about Lisa's request that we use the standard "plan" to 
create a staff development plan for understanding and using EFF. While I 
recognize the system-wide need to create staff development activities that 
meet the needs of a number of people, I also observe that most of us work 
alone or with just a few other people, and we need to have lots of informal 
learning opportunities.

So rather than using the standard "plan," I used "take responsibility for 
learning"  and tried to model using EFF to plan my own learning around EFF 
and identify what I need from "the system" to meet my goals. Here's the 
result so far:

Standard: Take Responsibility for Learning
Components:
--Establish learning goals that are based on an understanding of my current 
and future learning needs.
My understanding now is that for programs that are inherently contextual 
(workplace literacy, family literacy, pre-employment, EL/Civics) it makes 
sense to focus on the primary role in planning instruction, while for more 
traditionally academic programs, it makes sense to start with the standards. 
But, my question is: how can I use EFF to help teachers create learning 
activities and assessments that fit into the larger picture of student goals 
and program outcomes? So, that becomes my goal:  to use EFF to help teachers 
create learning activities and assessments that fit into the larger picture 
of student goals and program outcomes.

--Identify own strengths and weaknesses as a learner and seek out 
opportunities that help build self-concept as a learner.
Strengths: I am creative and collaborative, so I work best in discussion 
with other people to discover ways to approach real classroom challenges. I 
do great when I can observe a program or teacher and have a discussion about 
how to apply EFF to actual situations, then have some time to reflect and 
come back and review. Listservs are okay for this, but real meetings, site 
visits, and consultations are best. CHALLENGE TO THE SYSTEM: PROVIDE 
RESOURCES AND STRUCTURE FOR VISITS AND CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN PROGRAMS AND 
PRACTITIONERS, AND FIND WAYS TO SHARE THE LEARNING.
Weaknesses: Creativity can get out of hand--I need reality checks in the 
form of questions: how does this accomplish your goal, do you have the 
resources to accomplish this, can you get this done in the time you have, 
etc.

--Become familiar with a range of learning strategies to acquire and retain 
knowledge.
I know about the listserv and about some publications and programs to 
access. I can also learn more from reading and talking to others in the 
field. It would help me if there were weekly or monthly posts to the list 
about learning activities that worked (with the why and how to included), 
websites or books to check out, and other tips. Regular meetings or 
discussions with others working with teachers and programs to implement EFF 
would help too.

As I work through this, I realize I can only really use the first 2 or 3 
components to plan learning activities. I will have to re-visit them on an 
ongoing basis, and I can only use the other components as I proceed; I can't 
anticipate them.

I don't know if that helps anyone else recognize their needs, or if it helps 
trainers plan.
Eileen
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