Return-Path: <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id f5CLTIf23044; Tue, 12 Jun 2001 17:29:18 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 17:29:18 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <000b01c0f386$78ef74a0$72fb3ad0@oemcomputer> 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: "Bonnie Odiorne" <bodiorne@c4k.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:1684] Re: "Terry Kinzel" <horsecp@televar.com>: RE: How is EFF being used in adult literacy? X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 4301 Lines: 83 Bonnie, To me this "rambling" was quite useful, since it rather reflects the multiple paths that have brought me to EFF... I've been familiar with Chaos theory for a long time, and recognize its beauty. And I saw some of that beauty on the faces of my students today. I'd been "doing" EFF without "doing EFF," if you get my drift. In other words, practicing it as much as possible and in as structured a way as possible without the vocabulary or the role maps or the standards or the skills wheel or... I felt that this was a group who would be put off by all that. So when the posters came and I was putting them up I had a bit of trepidation. But they looked at them silently, taking them in, as they do. And there was a dawning realization in their eyes that this was IT!, that they were seeing in a structured, "validating" format what they'd discovered "on their own." And that was worth fluttering of butterflies' wings and hurricanes... Bonnie Odiorne Families Forward Through Technology Computers 4 Kids bodiorne@c4k.org ----- Original Message ----- From: Bonnie Fortini <bfortini@acad.umm.maine.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2001 11:41 AM Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:1677] Re: "Terry Kinzel" <horsecp@televar.com>: RE: How is EFF being used in adult literacy? > I keep getting the sense that people see EFF as a pro forma tool that is > to be implemented upon students by teachers and upon teachers by workshop > facilitators. That's an understandable conclusion if a person's > introduction to EFF is from such a concentrated experience. The piece > that might be of help in all of this is the history of the EFF process > which is summarized in the blue book but not included in any detail in > workshops where time is precious. If there was a way to impart the sense > of discovery that the process involved it might help explain EFF and make > it less intimidating and more pertinent. > > EFF has been called an iterative process which doesn't truly communicate > the amount of information that was gathered, sifted, and sent back to the > field. What is also significant to note is that there were few, if any, > preconceptions as to what "answers" would come out of it all. For many of > us it was the first time we were given the opportunity to truly research > an issue which implies that there might be a failure factor involved. We > knew that we could learn from any failures so were able to forge ahead. > For those who are familiar with the current thinking on Chaos theory, that > given enough random events, patterns will emerge, that closely describes > the beginning of EFF. Out of the whirlwind of discussions and the > torrents of information, we began to see bits and pieces crystallize. > Much care was taken to not force or prejudge anything. Eventually things > fell into places where they made sense. For example, those generative > skills were the ones that we found we were using in the process of > uncovering the generative skills. So not only do they pertain to the role > maps, the adult students, the instructors, administrators, and programs, > but they pertain to the EFF process as well. > > Perhaps the thing to keep in mind is that the skills, the activities, the > framework, the role maps, the components of the standards, all of it, was > uncovered, discovered, distilled, identified, or validated from existing > examples, methodologies, exemplars, standards, and so on. In the buzzword > of the day we "crosswalked" with everything that could be found. > > So, in a manner of speaking, EFF is a common thread to life in general, > and in that respect is hard to avoid, even without consciously trying to > connect to it. The skills are things that people do anyway, and the > better they are at them the more chance they have for successfully > reaching their goals. > > I have no idea if this rambling will be a help or a hinderance in the > discussion that has been going on. I still encourage people to > "recognize" EFF in their own lives rather than attempt to "learn" EFF. If > I can help with the discussion further, I would be glad to do so, on or > off the listserve. > > Good luck, > Bonnie > > B. Fortini > Machais A&CE/CWCABEC > RR#1, Box 12-A > Machias, ME 04654 > > >
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