I think that over the years, as teachers have worked on various projects, they understand the content standards at a deeper level.  The  Standards in Action  pilot helped us realize we need to continue to do more analyzing of the standards and have discussions with our teachers about what the individual language indicators mean, and how they can evaluate students performance based on the standards taught.  It has been a shift in thinking from planning lessons based on activities and matching standards to fit with the activities, to planning performance activities that align with the standards.

 

I think our instructional specialist play an important role in guiding teachers through this process.  Developing and implementing lesson plans can be a difficult skill for inexperienced teachers to master.

 

I also encourage instructional specialist to begin with a small pilot that includes teachers who want to improve their instruction.  This way they can work out the kinks, review the data, and encourage others to join in the following year.  I think it really helps to have teachers who can say to their peers, this really works!

 
Karen Lisch Gianninoto
ESL and Professional Development Specialist 
MSDE
200 W. Baltimore St. 
Baltimore, MD
410-767-4150
410-479-4542
410-924-1529

________________________________

From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of James H Andre/FS/VCU
Sent: Fri 6/13/2008 5:53 PM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 976] Re: ImplementingState Adult EducationContentStandards: Louisiana



I would agree, Bill, that the resistance, at least at the instructional level, comes from instructors' perceptions of how standards have been implemented and not from the standards themselves. 

In Virginia, our adult education content standards for GED and ESOL are still in the formative stages, but we anticipate final publishing soon. We have begun professional development to introduce standards and help programs throughout the state devise plans to align curricula and assessment with standards. During trainings, time is allotted to discuss perceptions of standards. Participants, many of whom have taught in the K-12 system, appreciate knowing what students should know and be able to do within a defined content area and agree that standards improve learner outcomes and provide a level playing field for all learners. Although they understand the influence of standards on curriculum and assessment, their resistance emerges when they think about instruction. "I don't want anyone telling me how to teach," seems to be the perception fueling the resistance. We spend a good amount of time during the training discussing how standards affect what we teach but not how we teach. Using a black box model* that follows the student cycle from intake to goal attainment, participants identify the importance of aligning curriculum, assessment, and standards and the effected elements of each stage of the cycle. We identify the "black box" as the uniqueness, the magic--the instruction-- that each teacher brings to the classroom to transform curriculum into student learning. What to teach remains independent of how to do it. 

*adapted from Mark O'Shea's From Standards to Success: A Guide for School Leaders 

Jim Andre'
Program Development Specialist
Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
www.valrc.org 




William R Muth/FS/VCU <wrmuth at vcu.edu> 
Sent by: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov 

06/13/2008 03:51 PM 
Please respond to
specialtopics at nifl.gov


To
specialtopics at nifl.gov 
cc
Subject
[SpecialTopics 972] Re: Implementing State        Adult        EducationContentStandards: Louisiana	

		





Good question, Paul - I've experienced this resistance from both perspectives, as a prison-based  ABE teacher and as an agency administrator. For me the problem is closely tied to trust and intention. In the early days of strategic planning (1989-1992), there was a great grass roots effort to engage all staff at all levels (the age of "the retreat" was upon us!) While it was often messy and misunderstood, the level of engagement  was high. Second-wave strategic planning took lots of short cuts and, in essence, just asked folks to comment on the "received" plans from the early years. Third-wave just asked the wardens to comment on second wave, etc.  Each iteration becoming more estranged from (and less accepted by) the grass roots. To some degree, this is a problem of scale. As our agencies grow in mass, the gulfs of mistrust grow proportionately. 

So, like resistance to strategic plans, maybe resistance to standards has less to do with the standards themselves, and more with implementation and the level of participation employed to gather staff input, quell fear, and address misunderstandings. 
Bill Muth 
 
   


<JURMO at ucc.edu> 
Sent by: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov 

06/12/2008 07:51 PM 

Please respond to
specialtopics at nifl.gov

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<specialtopics at nifl.gov> 
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Subject
[SpecialTopics 964] Re: Implementing State Adult        EducationContentStandards: Louisiana	


		





Thanks to everyone so far for the informative discussion about the Why's
and How's of standards as a tool for reforming adult basic education at
the state level.  My guess is that some readers who are new to the
notion of "standards" might be wary of being forced to use some
standards developed by others.  (Or some might have had a bad experience
with "standards.") 

Rather than seeing standards as a framework of content and best
practices that programs can adapt to the particular learners they serve,
some might feel that standards are something rigid and irrelevant or too
cumbersome.  Several people in this discussion have mentioned
"resistance to change" as a challenge in the development of standards-
based systems.  Does anyone want to comment on what the sources of such
resistance are and strategies for responding to this resistance? 

Paul Jurmo
Union County College
New Jersey

-----Original Message-----
From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David J. Rosen
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:43 PM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 961] Implementing State Adult
EducationContentStandards: Louisiana

Colleagues,

Please continue to post questions for Judy Franks, Pam Blundell and  
Miriam Kroeger. Don't be shy now : - )

Thursday I would like to welcome Raye Nell Spillman who will report  
on her experience in implementing adult education content standards  
in Louisiana. Raye Nell will answer the same questions I asked Pam,  
Judy and Miriam to address and perhaps, if she wishes, add other  
information based on the questions we have asked other guests .

For those who have just joined the discussion, and others, you will  
find the messages already posted in the discussion archives at

http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/specialtopics/2008/date.html


David J. Rosen
Special Topics Discussion Moderator
djrosen at comcast.net






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