Hi Bonnie, I agree, but have also seen that many times (before the
developmental level) ESL instructors don't expect or give students
activities that require  even the most basic "critical thinking skills".
 As soon as students reach a level at which they can investigate,
organize, communicate, debate and challenge ideas in cooperative group
or partner work they need to be developing skills in this area.  Shared
problem solving of all sorts allows students to both demonstrate and
view how they and others approach tasks.  Often instructors confuse the
difficulty of the language with the actual difficulty of the problem. 
Students aren't challenged to think more only to improve how they
express what they are thinking.
I'll be interested to hear what you learn working with the next level.
Evelyn

Evelyn S. Woods
Director ESL Projects
Continuing Education
Isothermal Community College
Polk Campus
1255 W Mills St
Columbus NC 28722
ph: (828)894-3092  fax:(828)894-3095

>>> bonniesophia at adelphia.net  >>>

Ajit,

You are so right. It took me until my methologies class required for
ESOL
Adult Ed certification to realize that not everyone "naturally" has
'critical thinking' skills, for lack of a better overall term, just
because
I couldn't remember not having those skills. And they can be taught. As
I'm
finding in the position I'm in now, where I reach those already in
college
in remediation/developmental courses (for which they do get credit),
it's
hard to get students to reflect on how they reflect, as it were, to be
aware
of the strategies they use, let alone choose the best one for a given
assignment. Just now I'm teaching a composition class which is not
developmental, so it will be interesting to see the differences between
those and the students I've seen and will still see in the Writing
Center,
completely unaware of the ways of thinking required in putting together
a
coherent essay. One caveat; in writing, especially, not every culture
views
"good writing" in the same say; the American five-paragraph essay is not
a
universal. I really believe intuitively that the EFF framework comprises
a
lot of the skills needed for college transition, and properly
integrated,
there is not the need for a gap between what's 'basic' and what's
'higher
level proficiency.'

Best regards,

Bonnie 

 

 

  _____  

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Ajit
Gopalakrishnan
Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 9:27 AM
To: 'The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List'
Subject: [ContentStandards 267] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?

 

I am glad that this discussion on teaching beyond the GED has continued
into
the next week. Let me jump back in!

 

I don't see the skills to enter college/work that are needed in addition
to
those required for passing the GED as "beyond the basics". To me, they
are
still basic skills that all high school graduates (whether K-12 or adult
ed)
should be proficient in prior to graduation.

 

That said, it is not good enough for me to simply accept that some of
these
skills (a few of which may be highly abstract) are necessary only to
pass
"gatekeeper" postsecondary entrance examinations and have no relevance
for
life or work. Instead of simply accepting this, I believe that we should
push for the alignment of knowledge measured in such entrance exams with
the
student's proposed course of study and interested profession.

 

The relevance is absolutely there but needs to be made explicit. In the
CASAS system for example, higher level reading/math test items don't
become
abstract but retain their connection to relevant priority competencies.
However, few students including GED graduates achieve these higher
levels of
proficiency.

 

People also tend to forget abstract knowledge if there is not some
application. Computer training is a classic example. Millions are spent
on
teaching people how to utilize every feature within Microsoft products
and
three weeks later, the individual may remember 20% of the content -
often
the 20% that is used regularly.

 

The transition ability gap is real and can be bridged with both rigor
and
relevance.

 

Ajit Gopalakrishnan

CT

 

 

 

  _____  

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006 9:53 AM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 246] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?

 

Donna,

 

You raise some interesting points about the GED and whether the focus of
instruction and assessment should go beyond preparation for the GED.  It
sounds like you believe that metacognitive skills -
reasoning/thinking/analyzing skills- are also very important.  I know
there
is some level of tension in the field when you have learners and/or
programs
stressing achievement of the GED in as short a time as possible as the
ultimate goal vs. "preparing the adult learner for today's economy" as
you
have suggested.  What do others think about this?  What is our role as
instructors?

 

Aaron

 

 

  _____  

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Donna Chambers
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006 8:53 AM
To: 'The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List'
Subject: [ContentStandards 239] Re: Questions
onCASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project

Ajit,

 

Thanks for your very thoughtful response.  You and Jane both clarified
your
comment. I see that states who are dealing with adult high school
completion
programs should also look at the content standards that must be measured
for
K12 requirements for the individual state. These may be in addition to
CASAS
standards.

 

As you mentioned, the GED as an goal/outcome for many learners can be
achieved without the learner having mastered skills that are measured by
the
Level D CASAS assessment.  This poses a concern when the individual
learner's need is to become more gainfully employed and go to college or
any
other  postsecondary training.  Must we then prepare the individual to
go
beyond the GED?  This may mean that the focus of instruction and
assessment
be on reasoning/thinking/analyzing skills so that  the learner
understands
concepts such as in math, not just manipulating formulas. 

 

The quandary arises from the definition of "basic skills".  My work in
adult
education has always lead me to focus on what adults need to know and be
able to do to survive.  What math, reading and writing skills must a
learner
need to adequately function as a parent, citizen and worker?  However,
my
recent work has required that I look closer at what adults need to know
and
be able to do and this closer look changes the picture somewhat.  The
list
of skills I would have come up with five years ago, today becomes the
very
basic skills.  What adults need to know today goes beyond these basics.
When the question  becomes "What does an adult need to know in order to
pass
a test that the employer requires or the Accuplacer Test in order to
move
into credit bearing college classes, etc?" the list changes.  Why does
an
adult GED student need to know how to demonstrate the symbolic
manipulation
of polynomial expressions or analyze properties of three dimensional
geometric shapes when they can pass the GED without knowing this?  The
answer is simple, even if we know that all students are not going to
college. Because developing these concepts helps a student develop
necessary
reasoning/thinking skills and positions the student to advance in
his/her
education if they so choose.  Looking at and working toward this big
picture
better prepares students for success as they exit our programs.

 

My work in RI and Massachusetts has caused me to look  closely at
current
K12 standards and align these standards with ABE/ASE instruction since
both
states require competency determination in the K12 standards to earn a
high
school diploma.  Rather than focusing on the lower levels to move
forward,
we as instructors are looking at the whole picture.  What understanding
of
number sense must the student have from the beginning level that will
prepare that student to understand the number sense concepts at the
higher
level?   We are looking across all levels in introducing content
standards
that begin to develop good thinking skills  and  integrating all the
content
areas.  This does not necessarily change the content standards, but does
require that we look at the instruction differently.  How can we
integrate
the instruction to assure that concepts are learned in a way that can be
applied to any life and/or academic situation. If we see our job as
preparing the adult learner for today's economy, we must consider all
students at every level capable of developing the thinking skills
necessary
to meet whatever goal they want to achieve.  

 

Thanks, 

Donna Chambers

 

 

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Ajit <mailto:agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com>  Gopalakrishnan 

To: 'The <mailto:contentstandards at nifl.gov>  Adult Education Content
Standards Discussion List' 

Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 11:09 PM

Subject: [ContentStandards 228] Re: Questions on
CASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project

 

Hi Donna,

 

It is nice to hear from you. I can see how my email would have led to
your
question. I accidentally hit the send button before I had fully finished
composing my email!

 

I said:

 


>>I would imagine that many states will adopt them while others may need

to
reference 9-12 high school standards especially for their adult high
school
diploma programs.

 

I would have added "also" after "may" in the above sentence. I meant to
say
that reference to 9-12 high school standards may also be necessary in
addition to the basic skill content standards.

 

The basic skills of reading, writing, math, listening, and speaking are
the
focus of most adult education efforts. In addition to helping learners
improve their basic skills, the adult credit diploma programs also help
learners to earn high school credits toward graduation. The curricula in
these programs tend to mirror that of the regular high school.
Therefore, in
addition to the basic skill content standards, adult credit diploma
programs
may be expected to have additional content standards in areas like
science,
social studies, arts (visual/performing), world languages, etc.

 

I hope this clarifies my comment. The content standards that CASAS is
developing most definitely address the expectations for secondary levels
functioning with respect to the basic skills. CASAS assessments also
measure
student abilities well into the adult secondary levels. The High Adult
Secondary NRS level for reading and math begins at 246 on the CASAS
scale.
Level D CASAS assessments measure student performance into the high 250s
(may be even a little higher). As an aside, the GED test which is a
goal/outcome for many learners is attainable to those functioning at
lower
NRS levels i.e. the ABE High Intermediate and the Low Adult Secondary
levels. Many of these learners squeak through the GED with minimal pass
scores but then face challenges with postsecondary entrance/success. I
would
anticipate that students with higher abilities (i.e. the High Adult
Secondary level - CASAS scale 246 and higher) are even better prepared
to
enter/succeed in postsecondary situations.

 

You raise a whole other topic with high school exit testing. It raises
questions about:

(i)                 which of the standards are measured on these exit
tests
(i.e. just basic skills or also science, social studies, etc.);

(ii)               how they are measured (e.g. selected response versus
constructed response; problem solving-applied performance focus versus
non-contextual/abstract academic subcomponent focus); and 

(iii)             the level of mastery that is expected (10th, 11th, or
12th
or even 9th grade standards).

 

 Ajit

Ajit Gopalakrishnan 

 

 


  _____  


From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Donna Chambers
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 8:32 AM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 218] Re: Questions on CASAS
BasicSkillsContentStandards Project

 

Ajit wrote that states may need to reference 9-12 high school standards
for
their adult high school diploma programs.  Does this mean that CASAS
does
not align with common 9-12 standards at the low and high ASE levels?  Is
the
intention to do so, especially with the math standards?  This is an
important concern for states that are dealing with high stakes testing
for
competency determination in issuing diplomas.  Thanks.  

 

Donna Chambers

 

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Ajit <mailto:agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com>  Gopalakrishnan 

To: 'The <mailto:contentstandards at nifl.gov>  Adult Education Content
Standards Discussion List' 

Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 8:09 PM

Subject: [ContentStandards 217] Re: Questions on CASAS Basic
SkillsContentStandards Project

 

Aaron asked: 


>>> Are the Consortium partners planning to adopt a common set of 

content standards?  

Here are some thoughts from a state perspective. 

Connecticut is a member of the CASAS National Consortium and the CASAS
Policy Council. Several CASAS states have a strong history of working
together on various aspects of the assessment development process (e.g.
competency validation, item writing, field-testing, assessment research)
as
well as adopting common standards (e.g. the CASAS competency list,
assessment series, training expectations, and local/state assessment
policies).

It was the National Consortium of States that requested CASAS to
coordinate
the effort to develop these basic skill content standards. in order to
better support teachers to integrate competencies and content standards
into
their instruction. 

For over a year now, the reading and listening content standards
developed
as part of this project have been disseminated to practitioners in
Connecticut with the goal of enhancing the teaching and learning
process. 

I would imagine that many states will adopt them while others may need
to
reference 9-12 high school standards especially for their adult high
school
diploma programs.

 

CASAS is first a consortium of states 

We hope to adopt the standards that are being developed here. 

 

-----Original Message----- 
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M

Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 2:00 PM 
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov 
Subject: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic Skills
ContentStandards Project 

We have over 50 new subscribers to the list- so welcome to you all. 
Hopefully to get us started as I know it's not fun to be the first 
poster! - I have some of my own questions for the CASAS team with us for

this week's discussion. 

In addition to the content standards for CA, NY, MA, AZ, MD, and FL that

you mention reviewing as part of this project, can you tell us what 
other state and National adult education content standards were 
reviewed?  Are the Consortium partners planning to adopt a common set of

content standards?  Based on the outcomes of this project, will the 
CASAS assessments need to be updated or modified? 

Thks, 
Aaron 

 

Aaron Kohring 
Coordinator, LINCS Literacy & Learning Disabilities Special Collection 
(http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu/) 
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards 
Discussion List
(http://www....nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards
<http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards> ) 
Coordinator, Equipped for the Future Websites (http://eff.cls.utk.edu/) 

Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee 
EFF Center for Training and Technical Assistance 
Phone:(865) 974-4109 main 
      (865) 974-4258 direct 
Fax:  (865) 974-3857 
e-mail: akohring at utk.edu 
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