From djrosen at comcast.net  Sun Jan  1 18:32:33 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2006 18:32:33 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Literacy List Updated
Message-ID: <65423178-F949-450B-92AE-F5626C4E9B91@comcast.net>

Colleagues,

For several years, as a volunteer service, I have published the  
Literacy List, a large online collection of free Adult Basic  
Education and English language (ELL/ESL/ESOL) Web sites, electronic  
discussion lists ("listservs"), and other Internet resources for  
adult basic skills learners, teachers and tutors.

I have just updated it, removing a few outdated links and adding new  
ones.  Please have a look.  If you know of a good free Web site  
resource which you think should be added, please let me know.  The  
Literacy List gets better as a result of teachers sharing their  
favorite online resources.

You will find the Literacy List now in two locations:

	http://alri.org/literacylist.html

or

	http:newsomeassociates.com (Select Publications at the Bottom of the  
Page)

All the best in 2006.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net


From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Jan  4 10:29:34 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2006 10:29:34 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] NAAL/Proliteracy Webcast on January 6
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060104102824.03ddd278@pop.utk.edu>


This is a reminder about an important webcast scheduled for Friday,
January 6, from 10:30 - noon.

The results of the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy have
finally been released -- but what do the figures really tell us and
how do we tell our communities and the news media what the numbers
mean in terms of adult learners and adult basic education? Join
ProLiteracy Worldwide's Marsha Tait, senior vice president of public
affairs and Rochelle Cassella, director of marketing and corporate
communications for a presentation and question and answer session on
analyzing and interpreting the 2003 NAAL. This webcast is sponsored
by California Library Literacy Services, in cooperation with
ProLiteracy Worldwide.

Friday, January 6, 10:30 am - Noon - FREE

To participate live, go to

http://rurallibraries.org/webcasts/01-06-06/

and take these three easy steps:

1. Test your computer (using the "Wizard" link at the bottom of the
page)
2. Download and print Speaker Slides and Handouts
3. Register for webcast

If you can't join us live, come view the archive afterwards at

http://rurallibraries.org/webcasts/01-06-06/

The agenda will include:
* An analysis of the NAAL report
* Suggestions about how to talk to the media about it
* Some ideas about next steps we can all take to ensure good public
relations and public awareness about literacy issues

About the Technology: A webcast is where the presenters are in a
studio broadcasting live over the Internet, so you don't have to
travel - you can participate at your desktop computer. Some
libraries or literacy programs may want to project the webcast on a
screen in a conference room, so that several participants can watch
together.

If you have any questions, please contact Dan Theobald at 415-431-0329
or dtheobald at i2icom.com <mailto:dtheobald at i2icom.com
-- 
Dan Theobald
Principal Consultant
i2i Communications
3716 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415-431-0329
FAX: 415-626-9499
dtheobald at i2icom.com
www.i2icom.com


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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Jan  4 13:38:11 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2006 13:38:11 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] NAAL/Proliteracy Webcast on January 6
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060104102824.03ddd278@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060104133727.03b407f0@pop.utk.edu>

Please be aware that the times posted below are PST.  Sorry for any confusion.
Aaron

At 10:29 AM 1/4/2006 -0500, you wrote:

>This is a reminder about an important webcast scheduled for Friday,
>January 6, from 10:30 - noon.
>
>The results of the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy have
>finally been released -- but what do the figures really tell us and
>how do we tell our communities and the news media what the numbers
>mean in terms of adult learners and adult basic education? Join
>ProLiteracy Worldwide's Marsha Tait, senior vice president of public
>affairs and Rochelle Cassella, director of marketing and corporate
>communications for a presentation and question and answer session on
>analyzing and interpreting the 2003 NAAL. This webcast is sponsored
>by California Library Literacy Services, in cooperation with
>ProLiteracy Worldwide.
>
>Friday, January 6, 10:30 am - Noon - FREE
>
>To participate live, go to
>
>http://rurallibraries.org/webcasts/01-06-06/
>
>and take these three easy steps:
>
>1. Test your computer (using the "Wizard" link at the bottom of the
>page)
>2. Download and print Speaker Slides and Handouts
>3. Register for webcast
>
>If you can't join us live, come view the archive afterwards at
>
>http://rurallibraries.org/webcasts/01-06-06/
>
>The agenda will include:
>* An analysis of the NAAL report
>* Suggestions about how to talk to the media about it
>* Some ideas about next steps we can all take to ensure good public
>relations and public awareness about literacy issues
>
>About the Technology: A webcast is where the presenters are in a
>studio broadcasting live over the Internet, so you don't have to
>travel - you can participate at your desktop computer. Some
>libraries or literacy programs may want to project the webcast on a
>screen in a conference room, so that several participants can watch
>together.
>
>If you have any questions, please contact Dan Theobald at 415-431-0329
>or dtheobald at i2icom.com <mailto:dtheobald at i2icom.com
>--
>Dan Theobald
>Principal Consultant
>i2i Communications
>3716 16th Street
>San Francisco, CA 94114
>415-431-0329
>FAX: 415-626-9499
>dtheobald at i2icom.com
>www.i2icom.com
>
>
>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)
>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
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Insitute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Jan  5 16:40:57 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2006 16:40:57 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Upcoming Discussion Announcement- Teaching and
 Assessing with EFF
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060105163315.015b72a0@pop.utk.edu>


Announcement

Please join the National Institute for Literacy Assessment Discussion List 
(http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Assessment) for a discussion on

Teaching and Assessing with EFF

Date: January 9 through 13, 2006

Guests: Aaron Kohring, Peggy McGuire, Regie Stites, and EFF Center Staff 
and Consultants.

Aaron Kohring is a Research Associate at the Center for Literacy Studies, 
University of Tennessee, and is Coordinator of the Equipped for the Future 
Websites and Moderator of the NIFL Content Standards Discussion List.

Peggy McGuire, M.A., is a Senior Research Associate and Equipped for the 
Future National Consultant at the Center for Literacy Studies, The 
University of Tennessee.

Regie Stites, Ph.D., is Program Manager of the Literacy and Lifelong 
Learning, Center for Education Policy, SRI International in Menlo Park, 
CA.  Dr. Stites assists EFF in planning assessment development and 
validation processes.

Our discussion will focus on the EFF Assessment Framework, and how EFF 
assessments are developed for classroom use.

Suggested preparations for this discussion:

Go to the homepage of the EFF Collection at
http://eff.cls.utk.edu/default.htm
Ask yourself: what do I know about EFF?

Click on Standards (left-hand toolbar)
(http://eff.cls.utk.edu/assessment/standards.htm)
Ask yourself: what are standards? what's the difference between EFF 
standards and competencies?

Click on Guides (left-hand toolbar)
http://eff.cls.utk.edu/assessment/guides.htm
Ask yourself: what are EFF Performance Continua and how can I use this in 
my classroom?

Click on Assessment Resource Collection (square red button)
(http://eff.cls.utk.edu/assessment/default.htm)
Ask yourself: what makes EFF assessments different from other types of 
assessment?

Click on Assessment Tools (left-hand toolbar)
(http://eff.cls.utk.edu/assessment/assessment_tools.htm)
Ask yourself: is the Read With Understanding Assessment appropriate for my 
students' needs?

Thought-provokers:

1. Pick any EFF standard, read its definition, and imagine what it would 
look like if you were actually assessing the application of the integrated 
skill process described in the standard's definition.

2. How often do you feel a need to look for evidence that learning has 
happened? How does the nature of the evidence you are looking for change as 
you look for learning within the space of one class session, one week, one 
week, one course, one year, and so on.

Please join us!

marie cora
Moderator, NIFL Assessment Discussion List, and
Coordinator/Developer LINCS Assessment Special Collection at
http://literacy.kent.edu/Midwest/assessment
marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jan  9 14:46:19 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2006 14:46:19 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] NAAL Webcast archived
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060109144356.03d7d310@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) Web cast that was held 
with California libraries this past Friday is now archived and can be 
accessed at
http://rurallibraries.org/webcasts/01-06-06/

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Jan 10 09:16:00 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 09:16:00 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Content Standards for ESOL
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060110090849.03d97ff0@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings to all and Happy New Year,

I hope the holidays were restful and enjoyable for everyone.

I thought this bibliographic resource might be of interest to 
subscribers.  The Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) has 
developed an online resource for Adult Content Standards in ESL: 
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/bibliographies/constanbib.html

Do any of you currently use any of these resources for ESL 
instruction?  What standards do you find are a best fit for the ESOL 
population?

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Jan 10 16:27:47 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:27:47 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Fwd: Re: [Assessment] EFF Discussion Begins
	Today!
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060110162423.03bf1588@pop.utk.edu>

This is cross-posted for your information from this week's guest discussion 
on the Assessment Discussion List.  You can still participate by signing on 
at: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Assessment

Messages will also be archived later.

Aaron

>Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2006 15:50:15 -0800
>From: Regie Stites <regie.stites at sri.com>
>Subject: Re: [Assessment] EFF Discussion Begins Today!
>Sender: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov
>To: The Assessment Discussion List <assessment at nifl.gov>
>Reply-to: The Assessment Discussion List <assessment at nifl.gov>
>Organization: SRI International
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>List-Id: The Assessment Discussion List <assessment.nifl.gov>
>
>Marie and all,
>Thanks for invitation to participate in this discussion.  I have some 
>initial thoughts in response to your question about the complexity of 
>EFF  in comparison to competencies.  I want to ponder a bit more before 
>responding to the second part your question about how EFF is different 
>from other standards?  (Thanks to my EFF colleagues Aaron Kohring and 
>Peggy McGuire for comments and suggestions on an earlier draft of 
>this.  I'm sure they will have more of their own thoughts to add as the 
>discussion continues).
>
>The EFF Standards are grounded in different conceptualizations of adult 
>performance and adult learning than competency-based education (CBE).  EFF 
>is based on an understanding of expertise (high-level human performance) 
>that comes out of cognitive science research and theory developed in the 
>late 1970s and elaborated in the 1980s and 1990s.  CBE is based on a 
>somewhat different (and earlier) model of human performance that stems 
>from cognitive psychology and industrial/organizational psychology 
>research and theory from the 1960s.  The CBE model is fairly simple.  It 
>assumes that human performance can be understood as the ability to 
>accomplish tasks.  It is basically focused on the question "What should 
>people be able to do?"  Researchers studied human performance in various 
>contexts and analyzed the tasks that people performed in those 
>contexts.  Through large-scale surveys (such as the Adult Performance 
>Level study - APL) tasks were identified and through task analysis tasks 
>were placed in a hierarchy from simple to complex. This is the basis for 
>the scaled lists of CASAS competencies that are the foundation for CASAS 
>tests.  Items on CASAS tests are designed to simulate as closely as 
>possible, the tasks that people perform in work and life. Through careful 
>design of test items and analysis of test results (using Item Response 
>Theory - IRT), CASAS has been able to provide a clear picture of the 
>relative difficulty of each item (test question) used in the CASAS tests.
>
>EFF's model of human performance goes several steps beyond this analysis 
>of the relative difficulty of tasks. EFF focuses on the question "What 
>should people know and be able to do?"  To address this question EFF 
>researchers developed descriptions of the underlying knowledge, skills, 
>and strategies, as well as levels of fluency (ease) and independence that 
>adults use as they apply each EFF Standard (each Standard defined as a 
>purposeful application of an integrate skill process) in performing 
>increasingly more challenging tasks.   Looking at more of the cognitively 
>complexity involved in using  skills like Reading With Understanding and 
>Conveying Ideas in Writing is what makes the EFF model appear more 
>complicated than CBE and CASAS competencies model.  This complexity has 
>the advantage of providing more detailed guidance for learning, 
>instruction, and assessment.  In a competency-based approach, the question 
>of how someone is able to accomplish a task is left open.  The manner in 
>which knowledge, skills, and abilities are applied to accomplishing a task 
>is not addressed directly.  By contrast, cognitive science approaches 
>(such as that guiding EFF) let us lift the lid of the black box of human 
>performance to better understand (and teach and assess) the knowledge, 
>skills, and strategies that adult learners need to be successful in 
>performing a wide range of tasks in a wide range of contexts.
>Regie Stites
>SRI International
>
>Marie Cora wrote:
>>
>>Good morning, afternoon, and evening to you all.
>>
>>I'm pleased to welcome Peggy, Aaron, Regie, and EFF Center Staff to our
>>discussion.  I've been thinking about this over the weekend, and I have
>>a couple of questions to start us off:
>>
>>For our guests:
>>
>>-The EFF Standards are complex in terms of what they try to capture in a
>>performance.  Is this was makes them different from competencies?  Or
>>perhaps even different from other standards?
>>
>>For subscribers:  I found the "thought-provokers" really helped me to
>>focus on a piece of this big picture so I could get a handle on it.  Did
>>anyone try #1 below?  Or perhaps if there are EFF users on the List, you
>>might comment on this activity.  As for #2 below - I found this question
>>helpful because it did make me consider how often and in what ways I
>>would look for achievement over time, and it also made me think that I
>>would necessarily look for such incremental gains via classroom
>>assessment rather than with a high stakes test.
>>
>>1.  Pick any EFF standard, read its definition, and imagine what it
>>would look like if you were actually assessing the application of the
>>integrated skill process described in the standard's definition.
>>
>>2.  How often do you feel a need to look for evidence that learning has
>>happened?  How does the nature of the evidence you are looking for
>>change as you look for learning within the space of one class session,
>>one week, one month, one course, one year, and so on.
>>
>>Anyway, that's what I was thinking about.  How about you?  Please post
>>your questions and comments!
>>Thanks,
>>marie
>>Assessment Discussion List Moderator
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>-------------------------------
>>National Insitute for Literacy
>>Assessment mailing list
>><mailto:Assessment at nifl.gov>Assessment at nifl.gov
>>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>><http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
>>
>
>
>
>
>-------------------------------
>National Insitute for Literacy
>Assessment mailing list
>Assessment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Jan 11 08:06:23 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 08:06:23 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Join or Renew Membership with AALPD for 2006!
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060111080307.03032c90@pop.utk.edu>

Posted on behalf of Jackie Taylor.

Dear Colleague:
Are you interested in getting more involved with adult literacy professional
development? If so, then I hope you will join or renew membership with the
Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD) for 2006:
http://www.aalpd.org/membership_form.cfm

While you are joining or renewing membership this month, you will also have
the opportunity to:

1) Vote on this year's slate of officers (by January 31)
2) Vote on the top 6 priorities for AALPD (by January 31)

Membership with AALPD is *free*. If you'd like more information about joining
AALPD, then please see below. Thanks! Jackie Taylor, List Moderator, Adult
Literacy Professional Development, jataylor at utk.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Why should you join or renew your membership?

Renewing Membership:

As we grow and expand, we need updated information about our members in order
to advocate effectively for professional development and provide members with
the best possible services. So, we are asking everyone to renew their
memberships by registering as an AALPD member in January of each year.

***Please take a moment to update your membership information and *vote* for
this year's slate of officers and the top 6 AALPD priorities by visiting:
http://www.aalpd.org/membership_form.cfm

New Membership/Prospective Members:

If you are not yet a member, are you interested in:
- getting more involved with adult literacy professional development?
- contributing your voice along with other advocates of adult literacy PD?
- taking part in establishing (in the eyes of policy makers) the legitimacy of
a national association of practitioners committed to adult literacy
professional development?

We invite you to become a formal member of the Association of Adult Literacy
Professional Developers (AALPD). Membership in AALPD is *free* and open to
adult educators interested or working in professional development in adult
literacy. Individuals join AALPD by completing and submitting the Membership
Form:
http://www.aalpd.org/membership_form.cfm
=============================================================

Vote While You Join or Renew Membership

1) **Members Vote for Slate of Officers by January 31st**
On the membership page, you can also VOTE for the current slate of nominated
AALPD officers (Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary-Treasurer).
http://www.aalpd.org/membership_form.cfm

2) **Vote on the Top 6 Priorities for AALPD**
This year, the AALPD Executive Board is identifying top priorities for AALPD.
Ideas for AALPD activities were gathered both from individuals in the field
and by the board. Update your membership at:
http://www.aalpd.org/membership_form.cfm and scroll to the bottom of the page
to vote on the top 6 AALPD priorities.
=============================================================

Why should you become a member of AALPD?

* It's free!
* You can vote for AALPD officers and on special issues that arise (Only AALPD
members will be eligible to vote).
* We will send you the latest information about upcoming trainings, events and
resources.
* You can have input into the design of next year's COABE pre-conference
session.
* You can contribute your voice to our advocacy efforts.
* You can help to establish AALPD's legitimacy in the eyes of policy makers by
demonstrating a strong membership of concerned practitioners committed to
professional development.

Thank you for joining or renewing your membership with AALPD. We're glad to
have you on board!

On behalf of the AALPD Executive Board,

Jackie Taylor
Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator
jataylor at utk.edu
=====================================================================
The Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD) is a
national group for professional developers in adult literacy. As a special
interest group within COABE (Commission on Adult Basic Education), AALPD meets
at COABE Conferences and other professional development events. AALPD is a
member of the National Coalition for Literacy.
=====================================================================



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Jan 12 10:07:45 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 10:07:45 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Education Week report on Standards in Public
	Education
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060112100249.03c6b5f0@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

Education Week has released a report on standards-based education for 
public (K-12) education (see below).  What might we learn from this report 
to inform the use/implementation of Adult Content Standards?

Announcement:

"Quality Counts 2006," the 10th edition of EDUCATION WEEK's annual report 
card on public education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 
now available online for FREE for a limited time. To access the report, go to:

http://www.edweek.org/qc06

This year's report, "Quality Counts at 10: A Decade of Standards-Based 
Education," examines the overall impact of state efforts to carry out 
standards-based education over the past decade, exploring the relationship 
between those changes and student learning gains.

In this special edition of "Quality Counts," you'll also find:
* personal views by five prominent policy observers on what standards-based 
policies have accomplished;
* detailed state-by-state reports--available online only--showing how 
states have performed on major education-policy indicators, plus state 
report cards; and
* extensive data tables (provided in PDF and Excel formats) tracking 
states' progress in student achievement, standards and accountability, 
teacher quality, school climate, and school finance.

http://www.edweek.org/qc06

Also, stay tuned this month for a series of live online chats based on 
"Quality Counts 2006" and issues surrounding standards-based education.

"Quality Counts" is free to registered users until February 4, 2006. Simply 
go to http://www.edweek.org/qc06 and login to get your 30 days of free access.

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Jan 13 09:38:39 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 09:38:39 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Fwd: [Assessment] Seeking evidence on CBE or EFF
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060113093759.03b52e00@pop.utk.edu>

This message is cross posted from the Assessment Discussion List.
Aaron

>Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 06:01:59 -0500
>From: Marie Cora <marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com>
>Subject: [Assessment] Seeking evidence on CBE or EFF
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>
>The following post is from Tom Sticht.
>
>
>
>January 12, 2006
>
>Competency- or Standards-Based Education for Adult Literacy Education:
>Faith-Based or Evidence-Based?
>
>Tom Sticht
>International Consultant in Adult Education
>
>In the K-12 system standards-based education has been around now for the
>last decade, and has been reinforced by President Bush's No Child Left
>Behind program. Unfortunately, data from the National Center for
>Education
>Statistics released this year indicate that from 1971 up to 2004, a
>graph
>of average scores on the NAEP for 9, 13, or 17 year olds for the thirty
>year period from 1971 to 2004, on a scale ranging from 200 to around 320
>scale scores, shows that 9 year olds increased from 208 in 1971 to 215
>in
>1980, then fell to 209 in 1990 and then rose again to 219 in 2004. This
>is
>only 4 scale score points higher than in 1980.  This is evidence of ups
>and
>downs over a thirty year period but no real improvement. There is a more
>pronounced lack of evidence of any average improvement in reading for 13
>and 17 year olds over this period.
>
>The lack of evidence for gains by 9 year olds is made even more
>apparent,
>and disappointing,  when the data for 9 year olds at differing
>percentiles
>of achievement are examined. In 1971 students at the 90th percentile
>scored
>260, then rose gradually to 266 in 1990 and then fell to 264 in 2004.
>Nine
>year olds at the 50th percentile scored as indicated above. Really
>poorly
>reading students, those at the 10th percentile scored 152 in 1971, then
>rose to 165 in 1980 and then rose again to 169 in 2004, though the
>latter
>was not statistically greater than 25 years ago in 1980.
>
>Thirteen year olds  at the 10th percentile scored 208 in 1971, rose to
>213
>in 1988, and then fell to 210 in 2004. The least able 17 year old
>readers,
>those at the 10th percentile, scored 225 in 1971, rose to 241 in 1988,
>and
>then fell to 227 in 2004.
>
>Though there were some improvements in the scores for 9 year old
>African-Americans and Hispanics from 1988, scores for 13 year olds were
>flat and they actually dropped for 17 year olds. Hence there is little
>evidence for the practical impact of standards-based education on the
>reading skills of various ethnic groups in over the last decade and a
>half.
>
>The data for the three decades from 1971 to 2004 do not show substantial
>increases in reading achievement for 9, 13, or 17 year olds at various
>percentile ranks, even for the decade after the start of standards-based
>education. The NCES data do show that as children go up through primary,
>elementary, and secondary school, they do get better at reading across
>the
>percentile spectrum. But in 2004 the bottom ten percent of 17 year olds
>scored below the median for 13 year olds, and were just 6 scale score
>points above the median for 9 year olds. These poorly scoring students
>will
>no doubt be those who will later discover the real life importance of
>literacy and will enter into adult basic education to try to gain skills
>needed to support themselves and their families.
>
>Mathematics
>Regarding mathematics, there were gains for 9 and 13 year olds across
>the 30
>year period starting in 1971, but no evidence that the implementation of
>standards-based education in the decade of the 1990s up to the present
>made
>any acceleration in the rate of improvement which started before the
>standards-based education movement. And for 17 year old
>African-Americans
>there were declines in mathematics from 1990 to 2004 and declines for
>Hispanics from 1992 to 2004.
>
>Overall, the NCES long term trend data for reading and mathematics do
>not
>support the claim that standards-based education over the last decade
>has
>had a positive effect on student achievement in these curricula areas.
>
>Efforts to implement either competency-based or standards-based
>education
>in adult literacy education over the last quarter system have also
>produced
>no evidence to support these reforms. There has been no evaluation of
>the
>Equipped for the Future (EFF) effort and the Comprehensive Adult Student
>Assessment System (CASAS) with its competency-based education (CBE)
>approach has produced no evidence that programs implementing CBE are
>more
>effective than programs that do not implement CBE.
>
>At the present time, then, the movement to implement either CBE or EFF
>content standards education in adult literacy education is progressing
>as a
>faith-based rather than an evidence-based movement.
>
>Thomas G. Sticht
>International Consultant in Adult Education
>2062 Valley View Blvd.
>El Cajon, CA 92019-2059
>Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
>Email: tsticht at aznet.net
>
>
>
>
>-------------------------------
>National Insitute for Literacy
>Assessment mailing list
>Assessment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Jan 13 18:59:05 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (akohring)
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 18:59:05 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] New Grant Writing Discussion
Message-ID: <43C89CE0@webmail.utk.edu>

From: "Sylvia Lieshoff" <slieshoff at famlit.org>
Date: January 13, 2006 1:40:58 PM EST
To: <familyliteracy at nifl.gov>
Subject: New Grant Writing Discussion
Reply-To: <slieshoff at famlit.org>

Participate in the VLC Effective Grant Writing Discussion Forum?

Does your organization rely on grants to pay for staffing, training, new
equipment, and other organizational operations? Do you find it 
increasingly challenging to target funders, develop successful grant 
proposals, and provide effective project reporting and evaluation? From 
January 17 - 27, Verizon Literacy Campus (VLC) will offer a moderated 
discussion on the VLC Discussion Forum about the following facets of 
the grant writing process:

Research: finding appropriate funding sources
Relationship: building connections and associations with your funder
Request: writing and submitting the proposal
Reporting: evaluating your grant project and demonstrating accountability 
to your funder

The guest moderator for this discussion will be Jim Aiello, development
officer for ProLiteracy Worldwide. During the nine-day period, questions
will be posted on the Forum for participants to discuss. As moderator, Jim
will answer and pose additional questions and topics for participants. At
the end of the period, this discussion will be archived on the VLC site.?

You can access the discussion by doing the following anytime beginning
January 17:
To read the messages posted to the Effective Grant Writing forum:
1. Go to www.literacycampus.org.
2. Click on "Discussion Forums" in the upper left menu bar.
3. Click on "For Program Staff".

To respond to messages in the Effective Grant Writing discussion:
Follow steps 1 and 2 above.

If you are a new user, click on "Register" and complete the form displayed
on your screen. Please note that you can control whether or not your 
e-mail address is displayed in your postings.

If you have already registered for a VLC Discussion Forum:
1. Click on "Log In" and enter your user information.
2. Go to the Discussion Forum page at:
http://www.literacycampus.org/discussion/index.asp
3. Click on "For Program Staff". You will see several topics displayed.
4. Click on "Effective Grant Writing". You will see a welcome message 
from Jim Aiello containing information about this discussion as well as
instructions for accessing helpful resources in the VLC Library.

New topics about grant writing will be posted regularly during the nine 
days of this moderated discussion. You are free to post responses to the
questions or to post new topics for the participants to discuss.?

Please remember to visit the Discussion Forum page frequently to see 
new questions and postings.

Additional resources will be made available in the VLC Library as
supplemental background and information.

Sylvia C. Lieshoff
Verizon Literacy Campus: www.literacycampus.org

Aaron Kohring
Research Associate
University of Tennessee, Center for Literacy Studies
Phone:(865)974-4109
Fax:(865)974-3857
e-mail: akohring at utk.edu



From kabeall at comcast.net  Mon Jan 16 18:48:30 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 18:48:30 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] New from NCSALL--Review of Adult Learning and
	Literacy, Volume 6
Message-ID: <005501c61af7$5b247cc0$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

The newest volume of the Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice (Vol. 6, 2006) is now available from NCSALL. For more information, please visit the NCSALL Web site at http://www.ncsall.net. 



It includes chapters on: 

?         demographic change and low-literacy Americans

?         the role of vocabulary in adult basic education (ABE)

?         implications of research on spelling for ABE

?         issues in teaching speaking skills to adult ESOL learners

?         the preparation and stability of the ABE teaching workforce

?         the adult literacy system in Ireland

?         broad-based organizing as a vehicle for promoting adult literacy

 

To order the Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 6, visit Erlbaum?s Web site (https://www.erlbaum.com/shop/tek9.asp?pg=search&mode=regular). 
To order Volume 6 at a 30% discount from NCSALL, go to our Order Form (http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1002); limited quantities available.

 

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Jan 17 09:40:03 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 09:40:03 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Live Chat: Rethinking National Standards
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060117093718.03e06120@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

Education Week is hosting an online chat regarding the Quality Counts 
report that I referenced last week.
Aaron

Join us Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time, for an 
online chat with guest Diane Ravitch on national standards, curricula, and 
tests.

In a commentary piece published in EDUCATION WEEK's recently released 
QUALITY COUNTS 2006 report, "Quality Counts at 10: A Decade of 
Standards-Based Education," Ravitch contends that standards-based education 
reform has been compromised because each of the 50 states sets its own 
standards and monitors its own progress, creating mixed messages about what 
students should know and be able to do and incentives for the states to 
lower existing standards so as to demonstrate "progress."

Ravitch argues that adopting national standards is the best way to solve 
the problem of inconsistent standards and to prevent states from lowering 
passing scores on state exams to show progress.

Read Diane Ravitch's Commentary:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/01/05/17ravitch.h25.html

This chat will focus on the impact that adopting national standards could 
have on standards-based reform, and address how the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress could serve as a blueprint for national standards.

Please join us for this special live Web chat.
http://www.edweek-chat.org

Submit advance questions here:
http://www.edweek-chat.org/question.php3

No special equipment is needed to participate in this text-based chat. A 
complete transcript will be posted shortly after the chat is completed.



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Jan 17 16:08:10 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 16:08:10 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] non-reader who wants info on adult ed
	(clarification)
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060117160530.03d9b770@pop.utk.edu>

This is a posted clarification on behalf of Cesar Watts.

Thank you for your reply but let me clarify my request, as I'm actually 
looking for different information. The learner that I referenced in my 
previous request is actually looking for resources that she can use to 
educate herself, and in turn, educate her children on her own. She is not 
interested in participating in or attending any formal programs. Do you 
have any advice about information that I can share with her (for example, 
internet sites with literacy lesson plans for adults/children, reference 
books, etc.)?

Cesar Watts
Read Out Loud Hotline Coordinator


Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 10:59 AM

Subject: non-reader who wants info on adult ed

Dear Friends:
Do you have any advice for me to share with an adult non-reader(native 
english speaker) who is interested in obtaining information about basic 
reading and writing? A woman called me the other day and she is interested 
in educating herself and supporting her children's emerging literacy 
skills. I can help her out in relation to children's literacy, but wasn't 
sure where to send her for adult education information, as she has very low 
literacy skills.

Cesar Watts
Read Out Loud Hotline Coordinator
DC LEARNs
www.readoutloud.org
www.dclearns.org
1-866-732-3688


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)
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



From bhuson at hotmail.com  Wed Jan 18 17:45:25 2006
From: bhuson at hotmail.com (Betty)
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 14:45:25 -0800
Subject: [ContentStandards] non-reader who wants info on adult
	ed(clarification)
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060117160530.03d9b770@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <BAY102-DAV120AFDA28159BE485E8CB6C21D0@phx.gbl>

Aaron,

You may want to check out this site: http://alri.org/literacylist.html

Betty Huson
Literacy Coordinator
Colusa County Library
738 Market Street
Colusa  CA  95932
530.458.0373
bam1 at citlink.net
bhuson at hotmail.com
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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jan 23 10:55:26 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 10:55:26 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] new resources for Teaching Adults to Read
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060123104953.03c6de40@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

The Partnership for Reading has 2 new resources available on Reading 
instruction: http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/adult.html

Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for 
Teachers (December 2005)
This book seeks to build adult literacy instructors' knowledge of 
scientifically based reading research and provide basic guidance on how to 
use it in the classroom.

Teaching Adults to Read (Fall 2005)
The emerging principles and trends explicated in Research-Based Principles 
for Adult Basic Education Reading Instruction are here distilled into a 
short booklet. Teaching Adults to Read addresses each component of 
reading-alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension-from the 
teacher's perspective, defining each term, highlighting its importance, 
describing how it is assessed, and exploring its implications for teachers.

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jan 23 16:39:40 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 16:39:40 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Career Opportunities at the National Institute
	for Literacy
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060123163820.03c4cd50@pop.utk.edu>

The National Institute for Literacy is launching projects in new areas and
seeks additional staff members, including those with expertise in early
literacy, English language acquisition, and workforce and basic skills
development. Other positions include: Associate Directors for Communication
and Programs, Contract Specialists, Human Resources Officer, Budget and
Policy Analyst. For more information on career opportunities with the
National Institute for Literacy and how to apply please visit:
http://www.nifl.gov and click on Career Opportunities.

Please review instruction on How to Apply. Incomplete applications will not
be accepted. Questions regarding these positions should be submitted to
staff_search at nifl.gov <mailto:staff_search at nifl.gov> Note: Applications
will be accepted until 3:00 p.m. February 10, 2006.


Shelly Coles
National Institute for Literacy


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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jan 23 17:06:11 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 17:06:11 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Discussion of State Professional Development
	Systems
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060123170132.03c48b50@pop.utk.edu>

Posted on behalf of Jackie Taylor, Moderator for the Adult Literacy 
Professional Development Discussion List.


Colleagues:
The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List is hosting a
disscussion of "State Professional Development Systems," featuring
professional development offered both regionally in New England and in the
following states: California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York,
Ohio, and Rhode Island. Colleagues from all states are invited to participate
and share their work or experiences with state PD! To participate, subscribe
by visiting: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment

See below for the list of guests participating. I hope you will be able to
join us! Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List
Moderator, jataylor at utk.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Topic: State Professional Development Systems
Discussion Dates: January 30 ? February 10
Guest Facilitator: Cassie Drennon Bryant, President, Cassandra Drennon &
Associates, Inc.
To participate: Subscribe by visiting:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment

General Overview:

Join our guests to discuss a broad range of topics on how state professional
development (PD) systems work, including (but not limited to): funding,
leadership, structure, provision of PD, policy, state initiatives, assessment
and evaluation, continuous improvement, and other related issues.

The discussion is open to anyone who would like to share their work or
experiences with state PD. Guests from the following seven states and one
region will be joining us in discussion and participating on behalf of their
professional development entities/organizations:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUESTS

New England
Silja Kallenbach, Coordinator, New England Literacy Resource Center
(NELRC)/World Education

California
Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D., Principal Research Analyst and California Adult
Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO) Director, American
Institutes for Research

Erik Jacobson, Research Analyst, American Institutes for Research/CALPRO

Wendi Maxwell, Education Programs Consultant, California Department of
Education

Florida
Teresa G. Bestor, State Director of Adult Education and Compliance Monitoring,
Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Education, Florida Department of
Education

Debra Hargrove, Coordinator, Florida TechNet

Massachusetts
Mina Reddy, Director, System for Adult Basic Education Support (SABES) Central
Resource Center, World Education

Steve Reuys, Director, Adult Literacy Resource Institute/Greater Boston SABES
Regional Support Center

George Kohout, Director, SABES Western Regional Support Center and has worked
for five years as Technology Coordinator

New Mexico
Nick Evangelista, Executive Director, New Mexico Adult Education Association

New York
Ira Yankwitt, Director of the New York City Regional Adult Education Network
(NYC RAEN), Literacy Assistance Center

Ohio
Jeff Fantine, Director of the Central/Southeast ABLE Resource Center at Ohio
University, participating on behalf of the Ohio ABLE Resource Center Network

Rhode Island
Janet Isserlis Project Director, Literacy Resources/RI
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To participate, subscribe by visiting:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment

See you on the list! Best, Jackie Taylor



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Jan 25 14:53:26 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 14:53:26 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] News update on standards-based events and
 trainings from EFF Center
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060125144912.03b98678@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

Here is a news update on events and standards-based trainings from the 
Equipped for the Future (EFF) Center.

Aaron

Equipped for the Future First Monday
January February 2006

Happy New Year to all!

Report on the New Destinations to Literacy, Learning and Life: A National 
Conference on Adult Education
December 14-15, 2005, Trump Plaza Hotel, Atlantic City, NJ

We are pleased to announce that this conference, coordinated with our 
partners the New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission, was a 
great success. Both the number of proposals submitted, in response to the 
Request for Proposals, and the subsequent number of conference participants 
exceeded our original expectations for this event. The 507 participants 
registered for December 14th and the 284 registered for December 15th 
represented twenty-one states and two countries in addition to the United 
States Canada and India. Twenty- one EFF sessions were conducted over the 
course of the 2 days. The EFF plenary session, which provided an 
entertaining view of EFF's past, present and future, received a rave review.

New Jersey is posting the presenters' slides as they receive them. To view 
these materials on their website, www.njsetc.net, go to Current News/Events 
and then to Conference and Events.

Hope to see you there next year.

The EFF Leadership and Capacity Building Initiative

The programs involved in this EFF Leadership and Capacity Building 
Initiative, a project funded by The UPS Foundation, have completed their 
program improvement stories, which will be posted on the Program Leadership 
and Improvement Special Collection website beginning in early February. 
Shortly after the first story is posted, the PLI Discussion List will host 
two of the program team leaders as guest speakers. For more information and 
to read these stories, you can subscribe to the PLI Discussion List and 
receive the announcements and exact dates for the "airing" of the stories.

There are actually two ways that folks can subscribe to the Program 
Leadership and Improvement Discussion List.
1. Go to the PLI Special Collection web site at http://pli.cls.utk.edu and 
click the "Click Here to Join the PLI Discussion List" button in the middle 
of the page.
2.Go directly to the discussion list sign-up page at 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Programleadership

Update on EFF Discussion List

The EFF Discussion List hosted by the National Institute for Literacy has 
been renamed the Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List.
(http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)

The intent is to broaden the discussion on Content Standards in the adult 
literacy field. We hope the list will provide opportunities for you to post 
questions, issues, concerns, and discoveries that you would like to share 
and get feedback about and will serve as a gateway for locating information 
and resources regarding adult education content standards.

Aaron Kohring, moderator for this list, encourages you to join the list if 
you are not already subscribed (see link above) and to continue to 
contribute your questions, comments, and concerns related to Adult 
Education Content Standards issues including adopting/adapting/developing 
Standards, using EFF Standards or other Standards for instruction and 
assessment, and other related topics.

If you have a particular burning question that you would like raised, feel 
free to post it to the list or contact Aaron directly at akohring at utk.edu.

EFF Professional Development/Training Update
January 11-12 New Jersey Math Training
January 17-19 Oregon, Teaching Adult Intermediate Readers
January 19 20 Oklahoma, Math Training, Session 2 of 3
January 27 Maine, Using Authentic Math Materials, Session 1
January 26 27 Rhode Island, Pawtucket Adult Education Program, Session 1
January 23 February 17Tennessee, Math Online Course
January 30 February 3Oklahoma, Site visits
February 3 Maine, Using Authentic Materials, Session 2
February 7 Rhode Island, Math Training, Session 2
February 8 9 District of Columbia, Site visit
February 17 District of Columbia, Math Training, Session 1
February 23 24 Rhode Island, Pawtucket Adult Education Program, Session 2
February 28 Rhode Island, ESL Training, Session 1



Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Jan 31 08:29:35 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:29:35 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Live Chat- What's Next for Standards-Based
	Reform?
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060131082054.03bdca28@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

See below for information regarding a live chat on suggested next steps for 
standards-based reform in public education.

I was particularly struck by the sentence that says "Mr. Smith argues that 
the nation needs to embark on a second phase of standards-based education 
reform with a better performance-accountability system that sets meaningful 
performance standards for students, provides adequate resources to succeed, 
and provides help to low-performers while rewarding success."

Does this statement apply to the adult education system?

Aaron

************************************************************************
Live Chat From edweek.org

When: Wed., Feb. 1, 3p.m., Eastern time

Where: http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15864a141653a377773113a2

Topic: QC06: What's Next for Standards-Based Reform?

Join Marshall S. Smith, program director for education at the William and 
Flora Hewlett Foundation, for this engaging live chat on standards-based 
reform. In his recent Commentary for "Quality Counts at 10: A Decade of 
Standards-Based Education" Mr. Smith argues that the nation is making 
substantial and promising gains in student achievement, but that the gains 
are not enough.
Mr. Smith argues that the nation needs to embark on a second phase of 
standards-based education reform with a better performance-accountability 
system that sets meaningful performance standards for students, provides 
adequate resources to succeed, and provides help to low-performers while 
rewarding success.

What do you think? Get your questions in now.
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15864a141653a377773113a1

For background, read Mr. Smith's Commentary:
"What's Next?:
Our Gains Have Been Substantial, Promising, But Not Enough"
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15864a141653a377773113a0
from "Quality Counts at 10: A Decade of Standards-Based Education."

Post your questions beforehand, here:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15864a141653a377773113a1

No special equipment other than Internet access is needed for this 
text-based chat. A complete transcript will be posted shortly after the 
completion of the chat.



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Jan 31 08:41:11 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 08:41:11 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Welcome to the Adult Education Content Standards
 Discussion List!
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060131083248.03d6aff0@pop.utk.edu>

Welcome to the Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List!   As 
there have been many new subscribers to the list in the past few weeks, I 
wanted to say an extra hello.

We hope you will find that the postings on this list contribute to your 
professional development. If you are new to the list, I'd encourage you to 
post a brief message introducing yourself, your program, and your 
interests.  Or if you simply have a burning question, feel free to post it 
to our colleagues on the list.

*** A note to all subscribers, the email address to send messages to the 
list has been updated.  Please use this address when sending messages: 
contentstandards at nifl.gov

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Feb  6 10:22:31 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 06 Feb 2006 10:22:31 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] English language discussion on adolescent
	learners
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060206101922.03da9ad0@pop.utk.edu>

For those working with standards and English language learners, the 
following discussion may be of interest to you.
Regards,
Aaron


***************************************************

The Adult English Language Learners is planning an online discussion on
adolescent learners in adult ESL/ESOL classes from February 8-14, 2006.
To join the English language list, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html and follow the
directions for subscribing.
*********
Adolescent English language learners (ELLs) are a growing population in
secondary schools and a steady presence in postsecondary (adult)
education programs. Many of you have experienced the unique
characteristics and needs that adolescent ELLs present in the adult ESL
classroom. Like their adult counterparts, some of these adolescents may
be undocumented or may not have high literacy or education levels in
their native languages. They may be trying to juggle work, education,
community, and family responsibilities both here and in their native
countries. Some may be struggling with cross-generational reunification
issues. Others may have been born and raised in the U.S. but failed to
succeed in traditional K-12 schooling. Despite their varied educational,
social, and cultural backgrounds, these adolescents have one thing in
common - their developmental stage and related needs may set them apart
from the adult students in your classes.

As high school exit criteria grow more demanding in the United States,
students with limited or interrupted schooling are finding it difficult
to graduate within the timeframes traditionally allocated for high
school study. As a result, these students are turning to adult education
to earn high school diplomas, increase their job skills, and improve
their English language proficiency. On February 8-14 Sarah Young, author
of Adolescent Learners in Adult ESL Classes,
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/adolescent.html will lead
a discussion and respond to questions about this topic.

Sarah is an instructor at the Arlington Education and Employment Program
(REEP) in Arlington, Virginia. She is also an adult ESL content
specialist at the Center for Applied Linguistics where she works on
several projects related to adolescent and adult English language
learners.

On February 8, Sarah will summarize some of the issues related to
adolescents studying in adult ESL/ESOL classrooms (e.g., who these
learners are and why they are in adult ESL/ESOL classes, what
instructional strategies may work well with this population, what types
of educational opportunities may be available).

To review the topic before the discussion, please read brief (above),
which includes an extensive bibliography.

We hope you will share your own experiences, advice, and comments,
before, during, and after the days that Sarah leads the discussion and
fields questions.

If questions or comments are raised before next Tuesday, I will forward
them to Sarah.

You may also send comments or questions to me off the list at
lterrill at cal.org

Lynda Terrill
English Language Discussion List
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition Center for Applied
Linguistics
4646 40th St, NW
Washington, DC
lterrill at cal.org
tel 202-362-0700
fax 202-363-7204
http://www.cal.org/caela




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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Feb  7 09:38:44 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2006 09:38:44 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Review of Adult Literacy Education
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060207093708.03d36410@pop.utk.edu>


Posted on behalf of Tom Sticht
***************************************************************************

Collegues: I have been asked to prepare a chapter for a Handbook on Literacy
that will be published by Cambridge University Press. Following is a brief
title and outline that I am currently using to think about the work. Some
questions I have for you follow below after the outline of topics:

"Adult Literacy Education in Industrialized Nations
Thomas Sticht

In several industrialized nations activities are underway to extend the
right to basic literacy education to adults. Having for many decades
provided a variety of programs, many arising from charitable work by
religious groups and others, activities are today underway to transform
these many local, independently acting programs into systems of
state-supported, free education for adults across the life span. This paper
discusses activities in three industrialized nations under five categories:

1. Scale of Need: determining how many adults are in need of adult literacy
education.

2. Access to Provision: determining how many adults are aware of, have
access to and enroll in adult literacy education provision.

3. Nature of Provision: determining the nature of the delivery system for
meeting the needs of adult literacy provision, including the use of
information and communication technology (ICT).

4. Quality of Provision: determining the nature of and need for improved
instructional quality, including teacher qualifications and establishing
content and outcome standards for programs.

5. Accountability of Provision: improving methods for determining
achievements of programs in terms of student learning outcomes and broader
impacts for the adult, family, workplace and community.

The paper will acquaint readers with issues, challenges, and
accomplishments arising from this movement to transform local adult
literacy education programs into national systems of adult education in
industrialized nations."

Questions: I want to review the best work I can to flesh out the chapter so
I am asking for any references you think I should read in pursuit of this
work.

What are two or three of the most important books, papers, research studies,
policy papers, etc. that you think have contributed to your thinking and/or
practice in adult literacy education in your nation?

What are the two or three most important trends to have emerged in adult
literacy education in your nation in the last quarter century?

What direction do you see adult literacy education taking in your nation in
the next ten years or so?

What is the most important research in adult literacy education that you
have come across that has influenced educational practice in your nation?

Thanks for any responses you may have to these questions or any other
directions that you think I should consider going in the development of
this chapter. You can respond on the list or directly to me at
tsticht at aznet.net.

Thanks,
Tom Sticht


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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Feb  7 09:47:06 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2006 09:47:06 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] National Reading Conference
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060207094604.03bfc728@pop.utk.edu>


**************************
National Reading Conference ? J. Michael Parker Award

The National Reading Conference (NRC) ? 56th Annual Meeting will take place 
in Los Angeles, CA, from November 29 to December 2, 2006. The conference 
covers a wide range of literacy related topics, including sessions on adult 
literacy. Information about the annual meeting is available at 
http://www.nrconline.org/. I encourage adult literacy researchers to join 
the dialogue at the meeting and to consider submitting proposals

In addition, to encourage research on adult literacy, NRC has established 
the J. Michael Parker Award. This award is given to graduate students and 
untenured professors who present research on adult learning or education at 
the annual meeting. More information and submission guidelines are 
available in the meeting?s Call for Proposals - 
http://www.nrconline.org/pdf/2006callforproposals.pdf

Erik Jacobson
Chair, J. Michael Parker Award Committee
National Reading Conference


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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Feb  8 10:04:21 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 08 Feb 2006 10:04:21 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Questions for Discussion on Struggling ESOL
	Learners
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060208100147.03d8bec8@pop.utk.edu>

See below for more information on an upcoming discussion on the Focus on 
Basics Discussion List.
Aaron
********************************************************************

Hi All!

I invite you to join us next week on the Focus on Basics list, for a
discussion about ESOL learners who seem "stuck".

When: Wed, Feb. 15th - Wed, Feb 22nd
Where: On the Focus on Basics Discussion List (You can subcribe
for the week and then unsubscribe.) Go to:
www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

Who and What:
Robin Schwarz, a longtime LD specialist, researcher and ESOL tutor,
will discuss her recent article, "Taking a Closer Look at Struggling ESOL
Learners ", about ESOL learners who seem "stuck", and how we can find
the real reasons for their struggles and find ways to get them back on
track.

You can find this article at:
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=994

Following are some questions to think about as we prepare to discuss
this article. If you have staff meetings coming up, I encourage you to
use them as a chance to discuss the following questions as they relate
to your center or program.

Discussion Questions

1. Stories: Have you had struggling learners in your program? How
common do you think this problem is? Do you want to share a story of a
learner you have worked with, and tell us how you were able to find out
the issue, and what you did to help?

2. Physical Disabilities: How do we screen for them and what
specific
accommodations can we make in the class or program for them?

3. Intake/Counseling Procedures: What does your center or program do
for a routine intake? What is the procedure to address a learner who is
not progressing? How well do you get at factors such as physical and
health problems, living situations, amount and nature of literacy
skills, nature of the primary language and cultural communication
style?

4. Responding: Once there is a reason discovered for a learner's
struggles, how well-equipped are you to respond to the problem? How do
you learn how to accommodate a hearing or visual problem? What do you do
for the learner with anxiety or depression? Do you have access to a
consulting teacher, or someone knowledgeable in the complexities of a
given culture's communication style (as in the example of the
Sudanesemen in the article)?

5. Staff Training/Professional Development: What kind of training do
we all need in order to ensure that our intake procedures are complete
and appropriate? What kind of training will help us to respond an
effective way?

6. Did This Article Change Something You Do? Share with us anything
that you changed, did, started, or stopped as a result of reading this
article. Why? What result did you get?

7. What Connections Did You Make With This Article? Even if you did not
change anything, did it ring a bell or hit home to you in some way?

We'll see you next week for the discussion!
Julie


Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Feb 10 08:37:47 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 08:37:47 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Celebrating Black History Month February 2006
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060210082742.03bf8c00@pop.utk.edu>

Posted on behalf of Tom Sticht in Celebration of Black History Month.

Is anyone using opportunities such as this in their planning process for 
teaching and learning?  How does a standards-based approach fit into that 
process?

Aaron

******************************************************************************

Celebrating Black History Month February 2006

Three Black Ladies of Adult Literacy Education
In the Struggle for Social Justice in the United States

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

In Black History Month we celebrate the history of African-Americans in the
United States. In this history, nothing is more important than the struggle
of slaves, freedmen, and oppressed African-Americans to learn to read and
write and to use these literacy skills to obtain their civil rights.
In this history, three great African-American ladies stand out from
thousands of others because of the remarkable circumstances under which
they labored to help African-Americans gain the dignity and confidence they
needed to stand up for their rights. This is a brief summary of some of the
contributions of these three African-American ladies of literacy and
liberty.

Suzie (Baker) King Taylor (1848-unknown)

Susie (Baker) King Taylor was born a slave in Savannah, Georgia in 1848. She
was raised by her grandmother who sent her and one of her brothers to the
home of a free women to learn to read and write, even though it was against
the law for slaves to learn to read and write. As she explained in her 1902
book, "We went every day with our books wrapped in paper to prevent the
police or white persons from seeing them." (Taylor in Lerner, 1972)
During the Civil War the Union Army initiated the practice of enlisting
freed African-Americans. But it was soon apparent that there were problems
in using these men as soldiers. Among other problems, it was difficult for
officers to communicate with illiterate former slaves. So promotion and
advancement in the army was difficult for the African-American soldiers.
Many of them blamed this situation on their lack of education. In response
to these needs, many officers initiated programs of education for the
former slaves.

One officer, Colonel Thomas W. Higginson of the 33rd U. S. Colored Troops,
appointed the chaplain as the regimental teacher. Higginson reportedly saw
men at night gathered around a campfire, "spelling slow monosyllables out
of a primer, a feat which always commands all ears, " and he observed that,

"Their love of the spelling book is perfectly inexhaustible,
-they stumbling on by themselves, or the blind leading the
blind, with the same pathetic patience which they carry into
everything. The chaplain is getting up a schoolhouse,
where he will soon teach them as regularly as he can.
But the alphabet must always be a very incidental
business in a camp." (Cornish, 1952).

One of the people whom the chaplain engaged in teaching soldiers of the 33rd
to read and write was Susie King Taylor (Blassingame, 1965). She went with
the regiment to Florida where she reported that "I learned to handle a
musket very well while in the regiment and could shoot straight and often
hit the target. I assisted in cleaning the guns and used to fire them off,
to see if the cartridges were dry, before cleaning and re-loading , each
day. I thought this was great fun." (Taylor in Lerner, 1972, p. 101).

Describing something of the conditions under which she worked, Taylor said,
"Outside of the Fort were many skulls lying about; I have often moved them
one side out of the path.The comrades and I would have wondered a bit as to
which side of the war the men fought on, some said they were the skulls of
our boys; some said they were the enemies; but as there was no definite
way to know, it was never decided which could lay claim to them. They were
a gruesome sight, those fleshless heads and grinning jaws, but by this time
I had become used to worse things and did not feel as I would have earlier
in my camp life. ?(Taylor in Lerner, 1972)

According to Taylor, "I taught a great many of the comrades in Company E to
read and write when they were off duty, nearly all were anxious to learn.
My husband taught some also when it was convenient for him. I was very
happy to know my efforts were successful in camp also very grateful for the
appreciation of my services. I gave my services willingly for four years and
three months without receiving a dollar." (Taylor in Lerner, 1972)

Throughout the Civil War, thousands of teachers, some modestly paid and many
volunteers, worked often under very arduous conditions, such as described
above by Suzie King Taylor, to educate the newly freed slaves who came to
fight for the preservation of the United States of America. In just the
Union Army?s Department of the Gulf (Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama,Texas) by 1864 there were 95 schools with 9,571 children and 2,000
adults being taught by 162 teachers. By the war?s end it was estimated some
20,000 African-American troops had been taught to read "intelligently"
(Blassingame, 1965).

Harriet A. Jacobs (1813-1897)

Harriet A. Jacobs was born a slave. But even though it was unlawful to teach
slaves to read, Jacob?s mistress, the daughter of her owners, taught her to
read and write. As she reached puberty, Jacob?s master started to make
moves on her for sexual favors and subjected her to other abuses. So she
ran away and hid at her grandmother?s house. She hid in a garret between
the ceiling and roof that was about seven feet wide, nine feet in length
and only three feet high at the highest point. She hid there for seven
years!

In 1861, Jacobs wrote a book entitled, "Incidents in the life of a slave
girl written by herself." In it she tells the story of her work to help an
older black man, a slave like her, learn to read so he could reach for a
greater reward for himself at the end of his life. In Jacob?s own words of
her time:

"I knew an old black man, whose piety and childlike trust in God were
beautiful to witness. At fifty-three years old he joined the Baptist
church. He had a most earnest desire to learn to read. He thought he should
know how to serve God better if he could only read the Bible. He came to me,
and begged me to teach him. He said he could not pay me, for he had no
money; but he would bring me nice fruit when the season for it came. I
asked him if he didn?t know it was contrary to law; and that slaves were
whipped and imprisoned for teaching each other to read. This brought the
tears into his eyes. "Don?t be troubled, Uncle Fred," said I. "I have no
thoughts of refusing to teach you. I only told you of the law, that you
might know the danger, and be on your guard."

He thought he could plan to come three times a week without its being
suspected. I selected a quiet nook, where no intruder was likely to
penetrate, and there I taught him his A, B, C. Considering his age, his
progress was astonishing. As soon as he could spell in two syllables he
wanted to spell out words in the Bible. The happy smile that illuminated
his face put joy into my heart. After spelling out a few words he paused,
and said, "Honey, it ?pears when I can read dis good book I shall be nearer
to God. White man is got all de sense. He can larn easy. It ain?t easy for
ole black man like me. I only want to read dis book, dat I may know how to
live; den I hab no fear ?bout dying."

I tried to encourage him by speaking of the rapid progress he had made. "Hab
patience, child," he replied. "I larns slow." At the end of six months he
had read through the New Testament, and could find any text in it.":End
Quote

The Freedmen?s Schools. Later in her life, after achieving her freedom,
Jacobs taught school for former slaves in what were called the Freedmen?s
Schools. These schools were set up after the Civil War when the U. S.
Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands as
the primary agency for reconstruction. This agency was placed under the
jurisdiction of the War Department and was popularly known as the
Freedmen?s Bureau. The Freedmen?s Bureau provided education for freed
former slaves engaging teachers who were primarily from voluntary
organizations such as the American Missionary Association. Collectively
these organizations became known as Freedmen?s Aid Societies. Between 1862
and 1872, fifty-one anti-slavery societies, involving some 2,500 teachers
and over 2,000 schools, were conducting education for freedmen. The
Freedmen?s Bureau was disbanded in 1872 for lack of political support
(Morris, 1981).

Septima Poinsette Clark (1898-1987)

Septima Poinsette Clark has been called the "Queen Mother? of the Civil
Rights Movement in the United States. Clark taught black soldiers at Fort
Jackson in South Carolina to read and write in the 1930s. Later she
conducted workshops at the Highlander Folk school in Tennessee where one of
her students was Rosa Parks. Later Clark started citizenship schools with
Dr. Martin Luther King at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Septima Clark was an innovator in teaching adult reading and writing within
the functional context of the civil rights movement to free
African-Americans from the oppression of those wanting to deny them full
citizenship. Her methods included using "real life" materials for teaching
adults to read (Clark, 1986). On January 7, 1957, Clark and her teachers
started the first Citizenship School serving adult African-Americans on
Johns Island in South Carolina. Clark (1962) recalled that when the
teachers asked the students what they wanted to learn, the answer was that,
"First, they wanted to learn how to write their names. That was a matter of
pride as well as practical need. (p. 147).

In teaching students to write their names Clark instructed teachers to carve
student?s names into cardboard. Then, according to Clark (1962), "What the
student does is trace with his pencil over and over his signature until he
gets the feel of writing his name. I suppose his fingers memorize it by
doing it over and over; he gets into the habit by repeating the tracing
time after time." (p.148). She went on to say, "And perhaps the single
greatest thing it accomplishes is the enabling of a man to raise his head a
little higher; knowing how to sign their names, many of those men and women
told me after they had learned, made them FEEL different. Suddenly they had
become a part of the community; they were on their way toward first-class
citizenship." (p. 149).

Speaking of a cleaning woman who asked to be taught to read and write in the
Citizenship School on Johns Island, South Carolina, so that she might
prepare herself to vote, Septima Poinsette Clark wrote:

"This woman is but one of those persons whose stories I could tell. One will
never be able, I maintain, to measure or even to approximate the good that
this work among the adult illiterates on this one island has accomplished.
How can anybody estimate the worth of pride achieved, hope accomplished,
faith affirmed, citizenship won? These are intangible things but real
nevertheless, solid and of inestimable value."

Working with Dr. Martin Luther King at the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference Clark took the simple adult literacy educator?s method for
teaching adults to write their names and eventually trained 10,000 teachers
to teach literacy so that African-Americans could gain the vote. Altogether,
the Citizenship Schools got nearly 700,000 African-American adults
registered to vote in the South, providing political muscle to the Civil
Rights Movement of the 1960s!

Black History Month owes a lot of its existence to the work of these three
great Black ladies, and of course many other African-American educators not
noted here, who labored under conditions of duress to help slaves, freedmen,
and those African-Americans living under oppression in the middle of the
20th century to acquire literacy. Armed with literacy, African-Americans
throughout the United States won the struggle for civil rights.

But the struggle goes on. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)
of 2003 showed that 67 percent of African-American adults scored at the
Basic or Below Basic literacy levels for prose tasks. But in fiscal year
2003, African-Americans made-up only 20 percent of adults enrolled in the
Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS) of the United States. Clearly
then, at the outset of the 21st century there is a continuing need for
political action to support African-American and other adult literacy
educators in their efforts to bring literacy and social justice for all.
The work goes on; and

We SHALL overcome!

References

Blassingame, J. W. (1965). The Union Army as an educational institution for
Negroes, 1862-1865. Journal of Negro Education, 34, 152-159.

Clark, Septima P. (1962). Echo in my soul. New York: E. P. Dutton & C0.
Cornish, D. T. (1952). The Union Army as a school for Negroes. Journal of
Negro history, 37, 368-382.

Cornish, D. T. (1952). The Union Army as a school for Negroes. Journal of
Negro History, 37, 368-382.

Jacobs, H. A. (1987). Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by
herself. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published
in 1861).

Lerner, G. (Ed.) (1972). Black women in white America: A documentary
history. New York: Pantheon Books-Random house.

Morris, R.C. (1981). Reading, ?Riting, and Reconstruction: The Education of
Freedmen in the South, 1861-1870. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.


Thomas G. Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
2062 Valley View Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92019-2059
Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
Email: tsticht at aznet.net




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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Feb 14 14:58:32 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2006 14:58:32 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Struggling ESOL Learners: Discussion starts
	tomorrow
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060214145718.03280e70@pop.utk.edu>


For those who are interested: the discussion of Struggling ESOL Learners
starts tomorrow on the Focus on Basics Discussion List. Please join
Robin Schwarz and the rest of us to discuss her article in Focus on
Basics, Vol. 8A.

To read the article: "Taking a Closer Look at Struggling ESOL Learners"
go to:
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=994

If you are not subscribed to the FOB list, you can subscribe at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

Below are the questions we posted last week to get us thinking about the
article and how it relates to the work we do.

Discussion Questions

1. Stories: Have you had struggling learners in your program? How
common do you think this problem is? Do you want to share a story of a
learner you have worked with, and tell us how you were able to find out
the issue, and what you did to help?

2. Physical Disabilities: How do we screen for them and what specific
accommodations can we make in the class or program for them?

3. Intake/Counseling Procedures: What does your center or program do
for a routine intake? What is the procedure to address a learner who is
not progressing? How well do you get at factors such as physical and
health problems, living situations, amount and nature of literacy
skills, nature of the primary language and cultural communication style?

4. Responding: Once there is a reason discovered for a learner's
struggles, how well-equipped are you to respond to the problem? How do
you learn how to accommodate a hearing or visual problem? What do you do
for the learner with anxiety or depression? Do you have access to a
consulting teacher, or someone knowledgeable in the complexities of a
given culture's communication style (as in the example of the Sudanese
men in the article)?

5. Staff Training/Professional Development: What kind of training do we
all need in order to ensure that our intake procedures are complete and
appropriate? What kind of training will help us to respond an effective
way?

6. Did This Article Change Something You Do? Share with us anything
that you changed, did, started, or stopped as a result of reading this
article. Why? What result did you get?

7. What Connections Did You Make With This Article? Even if you did not
change anything, did it ring a bell or hit home to you in some way?

We'll see you tomorrow for the discussion!
Julie

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Feb 14 16:07:04 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:07:04 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] COABE Conference 2006
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060214160517.0314f9d8@pop.utk.edu>

Posted on behalf of COABE
**********************************************************

COABE 2006 Conference Reminder

Commission on Adult Basic Education National Conference
Houston, Texas

April 26, 2006 Pre-Conference Sessions
April 27-29, 2006 Plenary and Breakout Sessions

The COABE 2006 National Conference will be held at the beautiful Westin
Galleria and Westin Oaks complex in the heart of uptown Houston, April
26-29, 2006. Experts in the education field will offer pre-conference and
conference sessions in five special tracks: Improving Teaching and Learning
Outcomes, Integrating Technology and Instruction, Linking Research to
Practice, Promoting Adult Educators as Leaders, and Advancing Change through
Adult Education. Other sessions in general adult education interest areas
will present outstanding and innovative practices in basic literacy, basic
numeracy, workforce development, family literacy, English as a Second
Language, volunteer/community-based literacy, and correctional education.

Go to http://www.coabe06.org/regis.htm to register today!



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)
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



From george.demetrion at lvgh.org  Tue Feb 14 16:50:52 2006
From: george.demetrion at lvgh.org (George Demetrion)
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:50:52 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Integrated Reading Theory & Successive
	Approximation
Message-ID: <681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE71212BBC6@hal9000.lvgh.prv>

Integrated Reading Theory and the Role of Successive Approximation
?
This discussion between colleagues initially on the AAACE-NLA list points to the pragmatic usefulness of the four-part approach to reading instruction of alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary development, and comprehension as advocated in the Partnership for Reading's Put Reading First report. (I make a distinction between literacy and reading wherein the latter is a subset of the former--discussion for another day). In combination these components draw upon and draw out a range of analytic and synthetic skill development leading toward the acquisition of knowledge.? I take no issue with Tom Sticht's technical critique of the?"components" of the reading process. If I were doing a formal research paper I would look most discriminatingly on the findings of the report and would be seeking to distinguish the bath from the bathwater in terms of discerning the difference between the important, the unimportant, and the inaccurate. Whatever flaws there may be in this four-point definition, it does offer the important advantage of significant practical utility in discussions with volunteer tutors in explaining the various components of the balanced reading approach.? 
?
I've discussed some of this in a previous AAACE-NLA note.? What I want to emphasize here is the importance of both stimulus-response behaviorist and intuitive-inferential constructivist approaches in learning to read as a both/and rather than an either/or phenomenon.? As in learning anything complex, mastering the basics in this case, of how print literacy works, is indispensable.? In this respect, an emphasis on the regularities of written English is?a proper focus of initial instruction, while introducing the exceptions later.? Otherwise, phonics can only be taught episodically based on need as it arises.? 

BTW, this approach may be effective with many learners, which strong phonemic advocates sometimes deny even as many whole language advocates tend to downplay the viability of systematic phonics for some (more than a few, I would argue).? Even still, a program that focused only on phonemic instruction, or one that required phonemic mastery before moving on to other aspects of the reading process (including the utilization of whole language and balanced methodologies), would, in my estimation, be extremely short sighted.? Thus, for example, a dismissive approach to sight word instruction, is, in my view, unwarranted, even as I grant?the obvious point that sight word instruction alone is unsatisfactory.? Both phonemic awareness and sight word instruction build on stimulus-response behaviorist mechanisms that draw schematically on different aspects of print language.? In schematic terms, both individual sounds (and syllables) and words represent isolated chunks of information that individuals can process whole, as both are separate and real parts of print-based language mastery.? 
?
Where I think some phonemic advocates get it wrong is in viewing the phonic unit (the letter or blend) as the underlying basis for mastering written language.? No doubt the written code is based on the alphabetic principle, but what has to be considered also is the highly symbolic nature of the alphabetic principle?in which there is no relationship between the sound and the meaning of what is being signified.? While stimulus-response exercises can, and often do help in developing some level of automaticity without which fluent reading cannot occur, this type of approach is extremely limited in itself in the development of reading, which also requires much practice in fluency at the level of instruction that is appropriate for an individual's current reading ability.? In a comprehensive reading program sight words, which can easily be incorporated at least into short term memory also facilitate automaticity in which the unit of focus here is the whole word rather than the individual sounds (mastered through segmentation and bending).? It would be folly, indeed, to eliminate this approach to reading instruction, which, as I gather, some phonemic purists are arguing because sight word instruction interferes with the more "fundamental" need of mastering the sight-sound code.? 

The alphabetic principle, notwithstanding, I don't think this is the way the mind works and in this respect, Frank Smith's discussion of schema theory should be carefully considered. One needs to make a careful distinction between the alphabetic principle without which we cannot have a written language system as we know it, and the ways in which print-based literacy is mastered.? In this respect, both phonemic-based and sight word instruction contribute toward automaticity, but so do, various scaffolding approaches to fluency (such as assisted reading methodologies) and work on comprehension and meaning-making and the role of world knowledge in facilitating the reading of texts at higher levels than "typically" accessible on based on reading levels alone as an abstract principle.
?
Mastery, then, requires a combination of much explicit practice and skill development focus of a variety of types (stimulus-response behaviorism), inference-making scaffolding support in all areas of language development, including phonemic awareness, but extending to fluency, vocabulary development, comprehension, meaning making, and unconscious assimilation over time, in which, in the scheme of things, learning to read is as much caught as specifically taught.? How these factors apply with specific individuals is variable, though one might reasonably conclude that a balanced, or integrated perspective attuned to specific learning styles and needs, is, practically speaking, the best that we can do.? 
?
While full mastery often remains elusive working toward successive approximation throughout the entire leaning-teaching process has a lot of merit as a symbolic representation of "the best that we can do" at any given time in place.? Keeping students as fully engaged as possible at the nexus of their learning curves through methodologies, approaches, materials, and support systems that draw out as much as reasonably can be accomplished at a given time and place may be the most efficacious approach feasible in the expectation and realization, also that the process will take considerable time even as (or more appropriately, because) learning is happening all the way through.? In the process certain principles and approaches may emerge as more salient than others.? However,?if we move too far beyond this experimental approach (which we must to a degree in order to develop solid principles) we may find ourselves within the realm of dogma rather than at the cutting edge of science and practice with our students paying the price in the process.
?
No doubt, solid and durable knowledge about adult reading pedagogy still remains somewhat rudimentary even as we know more than a little.

George Demetrion
?
?
?





From kabeall at comcast.net  Wed Feb 15 12:24:35 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 12:24:35 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] New from NCSALL--Program Administrators'
	Sourcebook
Message-ID: <006a01c63254$b1b775f0$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

If you administer an adult education program, you face a wide variety of challenges:

*         How can you help students make "level" gains?

*         How can you help students gain the skills they need to reach their goals?

*         How can you help students stay in programs long enough to meet their goals?

*         How can you prepare and retain good teachers?

*         How can you document the successes of your program?

 

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) conducted research relevant to these questions. The Program Administrators? Sourcebook (December 2005) is designed to give you, as a program administrator, direct access to research that may help you address the challenges you face in your job.

 

Written by Jackie Taylor, Cristine Smith, and Beth Bingman in collaboration with five local program administrators, this sourcebook presents NCSALL?s research findings in short sections related to key challenges that program administrators face in their work as managers of adult education programs. It also presents the implications of these research findings for program structure and services, as well as some strategies for implementing change based on these implications. 

 

To download the Program Administrators' Sourcebook, visit NCSALL's Web site: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1035

 

To order the Program Administrators' Sourcebook at $10.00/copy, go to the NCSALL Order Form (http://www.ncsall.net/?id=674); limited quantities available.

 

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Feb 21 08:27:10 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 08:27:10 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Teacher professional development and State
	Standards
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060221082609.03c0d008@pop.utk.edu>

This message is posted on behalf of Katrina Hinson.  Any comments or feedback?
Aaron

**************************************************************

>Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 16:34:09 -0800
>From: Katrina Hinson <khinson at future-gate.com>
>Subject: Re: [ProfessionalDevelopment] FW: teacher professional development
>Sender: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
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>Reply-to: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
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><http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment>,
>         <mailto:professionaldevelopment-request at nifl.gov?subject=subscribe>
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>  <http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment>,
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>List-Id: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
>         <professionaldevelopment.nifl.gov>
>
>I'm a huge proponent of having trained teachers and professional 
>development and in light of one of Robin's coments below - I"m curious - 
>how many states actually have some kind of certification or training 
>that's required of ABE/Adult Educators beyond a Bachelors degree of some kind?
>
>What kind of training is out there for Adult Educators to become certified 
>and how/where would a state begin to even implement such a process?
>
>As an additional question - how many states actually have ABE Standards or 
>ESL standards in terms of what is taught as well as guidellines and 
>resources that lend itself to actually teaching the material?
>
>Regards
>Katrina Hinson
>
> >>> jataylor at utk.edu 02/19/06 5:39 PM >>>
>PD Colleagues:
>This message was posted by Guest Participant Robin Schwarz to the Focus On
>Basics Discussion List. It is part of an ongoing discussion of Struggling 
>ESOL
>Learners. In light of our recent PD discussions, I thought you might find it
>of interest.
>
>Comments, anyone? Jackie
>
> >===== Original Message From The Focus on Basics Discussion List
><focusonbasics at nifl.gov> =====
>Hi --this is in response to the person from Oregon or Washington and to Janet
>Isserlis on another list, both of whose topic was teacher professional
>development and the fear of overloading teachers with information.
>
>This topic is near and dear to my heart. As I indicated in another posting
>today, it is surprising to me that the field of ESL does not seem to prepare
>teachers for the sort of really hard-core learning problems that several
>readers and responders have mentioned.
>
>In another message on one of the NIFL lists the notion of profesisonal
>development qualification standards for teachers in adult education was
>mentioned.
>
>Frankly, what I often see is that it is too common that teachers in adult
>education and adult ESOL education are woefully unqualified to do what they
>do. Then learners suffer. My article in FOB indicated that in some of those
>cases, teachers were simply not prepared to ask the right questions or to
>consider the key issues in adult ESOL learners' situations that significantly
>impact the learners' progress in their settings.
>
>Those of you who know me, know that I get pretty passionate on this topic. I
>believe, as do my business partners, Laura Weisel and Al Toops, we are
>supposed to be in business for the learners, not for the tutors and teachers
>in our programs. In other words, it is not the needs and limitations of the
>teachers or tutors that should drive decisions or policies about how our
>programs run but rather the needs of our learners. I have advocated for years
>that there need to be minimal qualifications for hiring teachers or tutors to
>teach adult ESOL learners. I can write an entire book-- and someday will-- of
>stories like those in the article where the learner was somehow blamed for no
>progress when in truth the learner's teacher had no idea how to address the
>learner's real needs.
>
>I agree strongly with Janet that it is essential that the nature of learning
>challenges-- of all kinds, including language learning challenges-- be
>constantly put out to teachers and required reading for them. Though I am 
>sure
>no program is going to fire its tutors because I say so, I certainly hope you
>will consider a far more stringent approach to requiring that those 
>already in
>your employ inform themselves about adult learners and adult ESOL learning,
>about the very most basic principles of language instruction, about the
>culture of their learners. etc. Also, program administrators have everything
>to gain by requiring more training for tutors and better experience and
>qualifications for teachers. In the end, they will be more effective and
>programs with have better outcomes. The NCSALL research project on learner
>persistence (2005 --at NCSCALL.net) indicated that when tutors were better
>trained, not only were learners happier and tended to persist longer, but
>tutors also persisted because they did not feel so helpless in helping those
>with significant learning needs.
>
>Somewhere recently I saw reference to the suggestion or proposal that adult
>education teachers be subject to qualification much as K-12 teachers are. 
>This
>can only be a good thing for our learners.
>
>And as for LD issues, I know for a well-documented fact that having a 
>tutor or
>teacher who is well meant and kind but does not "get" LD and language 
>learning
>challenges is actually worse for the learner than just sitting in a class and
>trying to absorb something.
>
>Just as for learners, having high expectations for teachers and tutors is
>critical to having an effective program.
>
>As a start for ESOL and learning challengs, programs might want to look at 
>the
>handbook : Taking Action: A Handbook for Instructors of Adult ESOL Learners
>with Learning Dissablities" produced and distrbuted by the Minnesota Learning
>Disabilities Association (visit www.ldaminnesota.org to find it). This walks
>teachers through the topic of LD and an approach to determining if other
>problems might be at the root of learning difficulties.
>
>There is also a great handbook for tutors teaching reading to 
>English-speaking
>adults called The Adult Reading Toolkit ( ART)
>
>Both of these are designed for tutors and teachers who have little prior
>knowledge on the topic--and they are extremely user-friendly and beautifully
>thought out. --And no, I don't have any financial interest in them......
>
>
>Robin
>
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Focus on Basics mailing list
>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
>ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
>ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment

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)
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



From sidna.holloway at gmail.com  Tue Feb 21 10:59:17 2006
From: sidna.holloway at gmail.com (Sidna Holloway)
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 10:59:17 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Teacher professional development and State
	Standards
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060221082609.03c0d008@pop.utk.edu>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060221082609.03c0d008@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <aa80aa50602210759i3f1985eaic7eb2a3241cca889@mail.gmail.com>

I would like to add the following thoughts:  We are in the process of
establishing a literacy program within the context of EFF at our worksite.
I think that learning would have a much deeper meaning...make a greater
impression...when adults learner can apply it within the context of their
work environment.
I am in total agreement w/certification.  As a personal example...I work
within the federal government.  Presenting credentials was replaced by
experience.  I do have a Master's degree and am currently working on a PhD
in post secondary and adult education. Yet, that highly respected degree
doesn't tell anyone that I meet the minimum standards to teach in my
specialty.  It only indicates that I have met the standards for my degree
and was successful im my training to THINK at that level.  The standards are
assumed.  In my case the decision of my employer to select me was based on
what I did in the past.  In my  work environment, adults who are having
difficulty with such barriers as spoken and written language, ESOL/LD mental
and physical disabilities would be sent to me and I would be expected to
provide them the services they need.  In these cases the services would be
substandard because (1) I don't have the training and (2) I don't have the
credentials needed to meet the yet to be identified standard(s).  (I hope I
have offended anyone...I am not trying to diminish anyone's work and
effort...
Berst Regards
SidnaAnn Holloway


On 2/21/06, Aaron Kohring <akohring at utk.edu> wrote:
>
> This message is posted on behalf of Katrina Hinson.  Any comments or
> feedback?
> Aaron
>
> **************************************************************
>
> >Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 16:34:09 -0800
> >From: Katrina Hinson <khinson at future-gate.com>
> >Subject: Re: [ProfessionalDevelopment] FW: teacher professional
> development
> >Sender: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
> >To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov, jataylor at utk.edu
> >Reply-to: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
> >  <professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
> >X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 7.0
> >X-BeenThere: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
> >Delivered-to: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
> >X-Original-To: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
> >X-Future-Gate-MailScanner-Information: Please contact the ISP for more
> >         information
> >X-Future-Gate-MailScanner: Found to be clean
> >X-Future-Gate-MailScanner-SpamCheck: not spam, SpamAssassin (score=-4.683
> ,
> >         required 5, autolearn=not spam, ALL_TRUSTED -3.30, AWL
> > 0.09,    BAYES_00 -2.60,
> >  INVALID_MSGID 1.13)
> >X-MailScanner-From: khinson at future-gate.com
> >X-Mailman-Approved-At: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 21:17:43 -0500
> >X-Spam-Status: hits=1.711 tests=INVALID_MSGID,UNPARSEABLE_RELAY ver=3.1.0
> >X-Spam-Level: x
> >X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.53 on 160.36.0.85
> >X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.6
> >List-Post: <mailto:professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
> >List-Subscribe:
> ><http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment>,
> >         <mailto:professionaldevelopment-request at nifl.gov
> ?subject=subscribe>
> >List-Unsubscribe:
> >  <http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment>,
> >         <mailto:professionaldevelopment-request at nifl.gov
> ?subject=unsubscribe>
> >List-Archive: <http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment>
> >List-Help: <mailto:professionaldevelopment-request at nifl.gov?subject=help>
> >List-Id: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
> >         <professionaldevelopment.nifl.gov>
> >
> >I'm a huge proponent of having trained teachers and professional
> >development and in light of one of Robin's coments below - I"m curious -
> >how many states actually have some kind of certification or training
> >that's required of ABE/Adult Educators beyond a Bachelors degree of some
> kind?
> >
> >What kind of training is out there for Adult Educators to become
> certified
> >and how/where would a state begin to even implement such a process?
> >
> >As an additional question - how many states actually have ABE Standards
> or
> >ESL standards in terms of what is taught as well as guidellines and
> >resources that lend itself to actually teaching the material?
> >
> >Regards
> >Katrina Hinson
> >
> > >>> jataylor at utk.edu 02/19/06 5:39 PM >>>
> >PD Colleagues:
> >This message was posted by Guest Participant Robin Schwarz to the Focus
> On
> >Basics Discussion List. It is part of an ongoing discussion of Struggling
> >ESOL
> >Learners. In light of our recent PD discussions, I thought you might find
> it
> >of interest.
> >
> >Comments, anyone? Jackie
> >
> > >===== Original Message From The Focus on Basics Discussion List
> ><focusonbasics at nifl.gov> =====
> >Hi --this is in response to the person from Oregon or Washington and to
> Janet
> >Isserlis on another list, both of whose topic was teacher professional
> >development and the fear of overloading teachers with information.
> >
> >This topic is near and dear to my heart. As I indicated in another
> posting
> >today, it is surprising to me that the field of ESL does not seem to
> prepare
> >teachers for the sort of really hard-core learning problems that several
> >readers and responders have mentioned.
> >
> >In another message on one of the NIFL lists the notion of profesisonal
> >development qualification standards for teachers in adult education was
> >mentioned.
> >
> >Frankly, what I often see is that it is too common that teachers in adult
> >education and adult ESOL education are woefully unqualified to do what
> they
> >do. Then learners suffer. My article in FOB indicated that in some of
> those
> >cases, teachers were simply not prepared to ask the right questions or to
> >consider the key issues in adult ESOL learners' situations that
> significantly
> >impact the learners' progress in their settings.
> >
> >Those of you who know me, know that I get pretty passionate on this
> topic. I
> >believe, as do my business partners, Laura Weisel and Al Toops, we are
> >supposed to be in business for the learners, not for the tutors and
> teachers
> >in our programs. In other words, it is not the needs and limitations of
> the
> >teachers or tutors that should drive decisions or policies about how our
> >programs run but rather the needs of our learners. I have advocated for
> years
> >that there need to be minimal qualifications for hiring teachers or
> tutors to
> >teach adult ESOL learners. I can write an entire book-- and someday
> will-- of
> >stories like those in the article where the learner was somehow blamed
> for no
> >progress when in truth the learner's teacher had no idea how to address
> the
> >learner's real needs.
> >
> >I agree strongly with Janet that it is essential that the nature of
> learning
> >challenges-- of all kinds, including language learning challenges-- be
> >constantly put out to teachers and required reading for them. Though I am
> >sure
> >no program is going to fire its tutors because I say so, I certainly hope
> you
> >will consider a far more stringent approach to requiring that those
> >already in
> >your employ inform themselves about adult learners and adult ESOL
> learning,
> >about the very most basic principles of language instruction, about the
> >culture of their learners. etc. Also, program administrators have
> everything
> >to gain by requiring more training for tutors and better experience and
> >qualifications for teachers. In the end, they will be more effective and
> >programs with have better outcomes. The NCSALL research project on
> learner
> >persistence (2005 --at NCSCALL.net) indicated that when tutors were
> better
> >trained, not only were learners happier and tended to persist longer, but
> >tutors also persisted because they did not feel so helpless in helping
> those
> >with significant learning needs.
> >
> >Somewhere recently I saw reference to the suggestion or proposal that
> adult
> >education teachers be subject to qualification much as K-12 teachers are.
> >This
> >can only be a good thing for our learners.
> >
> >And as for LD issues, I know for a well-documented fact that having a
> >tutor or
> >teacher who is well meant and kind but does not "get" LD and language
> >learning
> >challenges is actually worse for the learner than just sitting in a class
> and
> >trying to absorb something.
> >
> >Just as for learners, having high expectations for teachers and tutors is
> >critical to having an effective program.
> >
> >As a start for ESOL and learning challengs, programs might want to look
> at
> >the
> >handbook : Taking Action: A Handbook for Instructors of Adult ESOL
> Learners
> >with Learning Dissablities" produced and distrbuted by the Minnesota
> Learning
> >Disabilities Association (visit www.ldaminnesota.org to find it). This
> walks
> >teachers through the topic of LD and an approach to determining if other
> >problems might be at the root of learning difficulties.
> >
> >There is also a great handbook for tutors teaching reading to
> >English-speaking
> >adults called The Adult Reading Toolkit ( ART)
> >
> >Both of these are designed for tutors and teachers who have little prior
> >knowledge on the topic--and they are extremely user-friendly and
> beautifully
> >thought out. --And no, I don't have any financial interest in them......
> >
> >
> >Robin
> >
> >
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------
> >National Institute for Literacy
> >Focus on Basics mailing list
> >FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------
> >National Institute for Literacy
> >Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
> >ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov
> >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment
> >----------------------------------------------------
> >National Institute for Literacy
> >Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
> >ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov
> >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment
>
> 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)
> 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
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



--
SidnaAnn Holloway
When one helps another
Both are strong
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From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Feb 21 16:36:43 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 16:36:43 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Upcoming Technology List discussion
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060221163522.03c754c8@pop.utk.edu>


****************************
Hello NIFL discussion list colleagues,

Audio and video resources have been used in adult education instruction for
many years, but the introduction of CDs, DVDs, the Internet, and other
electronic technologies has greatly expanded their availability and raise
many questions about implementation, support annd training.

I'm pleased to announce that David Collings, Technology Coordinator for the
Adult and Community Education Network in Delaware, and Alex Quinn,
Executive Director of the Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA), will join
the NIFL Technology list as guests to lead a discussion on
current and emerging uses of media in adult ed. instruction in the
classroom and at a distance. Their discussion will take place next week
from Tuesday, February 28th through Friday March 3rd. Some of the areas
they will cover on this topic include: teacher training, technical support
for teachers and learners, the challenges of their use, media distribution,
and emerging uses and tools foor delivery of media.

You are encouraged to participate, ask questions, and share you experience
and knowledge.
To join the NIFL Technology and Literacy discussion list please subscribe
by going to:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Technology

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have questions.

Regards,
Mariann


Mariann Fedele
Coordinator of Professional Development,
Literacy Assistance Center
Moderator,
NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List
32 Broadway 10th Floor
New York, New York 10004
212-803-3325
mariannf at lacnyc.org
www.lacnyc.org



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Feb 22 15:41:47 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:41:47 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Teacher professional development and State
 Standards
In-Reply-To: <aa80aa50602210759i3f1985eaic7eb2a3241cca889@mail.gmail.com
 >
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060221082609.03c0d008@pop.utk.edu>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060221082609.03c0d008@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060222153348.03dc6e70@pop.utk.edu>

Sidna,

Thank you for your thoughts on certification.  You make a good point on how 
hiring decisions may be made not just on credentials based on education but 
also on experience.

Perhaps there is a role for state professional development systems to play 
in certification or preparation of adult educators?  And in light of the 
movement toward adopting, adapting, or developing content standards and 
aligning them with instruction, curriculum, and assessment- what 
implications are there for preparing adult education providers to use 
standards in instructional settings for teaching, learning, and assessing??

Aaron

At 10:59 AM 2/21/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>I would like to add the following thoughts:  We are in the process of 
>establishing a literacy program within the context of EFF at our 
>worksite.  I think that learning would have a much deeper meaning...make a 
>greater impression...when adults learner can apply it within the context 
>of their work environment.
>I am in total agreement w/certification.  As a personal example...I work 
>within the federal government.  Presenting credentials was replaced by 
>experience.  I do have a Master's degree and am currently working on a PhD 
>in post secondary and adult education. Yet, that highly respected degree 
>doesn't tell anyone that I meet the minimum standards to teach in my 
>specialty.  It only indicates that I have met the standards for my degree 
>and was successful im my training to THINK at that level.  The standards 
>are assumed.  In my case the decision of my employer to select me was 
>based on what I did in the past.  In my  work environment, adults who are 
>having difficulty with such barriers as spoken and written language, 
>ESOL/LD mental and physical disabilities would be sent to me and I would 
>be expected to provide them the services they need.  In these cases the 
>services would be substandard because (1) I don't have the training and 
>(2) I don't have the credentials needed to meet the yet to be identified 
>standard(s).  (I hope I have offended anyone...I am not trying to diminish 
>anyone's work and effort...
>Berst Regards
>SidnaAnn Holloway
>
>
>On 2/21/06, Aaron Kohring <<mailto:akohring at utk.edu>akohring at utk.edu> wrote:
>This message is posted on behalf of Katrina Hinson.  Any comments or 
>feedback?
>Aaron
>
>**************************************************************
>
> >Date: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 16:34:09 -0800
> >From: Katrina Hinson 
> <<mailto:khinson at future-gate.com>khinson at future-gate.com>
> >Subject: Re: [ProfessionalDevelopment] FW: teacher professional development
> >Sender: 
> <mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov>professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov 
>
> >To: 
> <mailto:professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov, 
>   <mailto:jataylor at utk.edu>jataylor at utk.edu
> >Reply-to: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
> > 
> <<mailto:professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
> >X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 7.0
> >X-BeenThere: 
> <mailto:professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
> >Delivered-to: 
> <mailto:professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
> >X-Original-To: 
> <mailto:professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
> >X-Future-Gate-MailScanner-Information: Please contact the ISP for more
> >         information
> >X-Future-Gate-MailScanner: Found to be clean
> >X-Future-Gate-MailScanner-SpamCheck: not spam, SpamAssassin (score=-4.683,
> >         required 5, autolearn=not spam, ALL_TRUSTED -3.30, AWL
> > 0.09,    BAYES_00 -2.60,
> >  INVALID_MSGID 1.13)
> >X-MailScanner-From: <mailto:khinson at future-gate.com>khinson at future-gate.com
> >X-Mailman-Approved-At: Sun, 19 Feb 2006 21:17:43 -0500
> >X-Spam-Status: hits=1.711 tests=INVALID_MSGID,UNPARSEABLE_RELAY ver=3.1.0
> >X-Spam-Level: x
> >X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.53 on <http://160.36.0.85>160.36.0.85
> >X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.6
> >List-Post: <mailto:professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov >
> >List-Subscribe:
> ><<http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment>http://www 
> .nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment>,
> >         <mailto: 
> professionaldevelopment-request at nifl.gov?subject=subscribe>
> >List-Unsubscribe:
> > 
> <<http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment  
>  >,
> > 
> <mailto:professionaldevelopment-request at nifl.gov?subject=unsubscribe>
> >List-Archive: < http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment>
> >List-Help: <mailto:professionaldevelopment-request at nifl.gov?subject=help>
> >List-Id: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
> > 
> <<http://professionaldevelopment.nifl.gov>professionaldevelopment.nifl.gov>
> >
> >I'm a huge proponent of having trained teachers and professional
> >development and in light of one of Robin's coments below - I"m curious -
> >how many states actually have some kind of certification or training
> >that's required of ABE/Adult Educators beyond a Bachelors degree of some 
> kind?
> >
> >What kind of training is out there for Adult Educators to become certified
> >and how/where would a state begin to even implement such a process?
> >
> >As an additional question - how many states actually have ABE Standards or
> >ESL standards in terms of what is taught as well as guidellines and
> >resources that lend itself to actually teaching the material?
> >
> >Regards
> >Katrina Hinson
> >
> > >>> <mailto:jataylor at utk.edu>jataylor at utk.edu 02/19/06 5:39 PM >>>
> >PD Colleagues:
> >This message was posted by Guest Participant Robin Schwarz to the Focus On
> >Basics Discussion List. It is part of an ongoing discussion of Struggling
> >ESOL
> >Learners. In light of our recent PD discussions, I thought you might 
> find it
> >of interest.
> >
> >Comments, anyone? Jackie
> >
> > >===== Original Message From The Focus on Basics Discussion List
> ><<mailto:focusonbasics at nifl.gov>focusonbasics at nifl.gov > =====
> >Hi --this is in response to the person from Oregon or Washington and to 
> Janet
> >Isserlis on another list, both of whose topic was teacher professional
> >development and the fear of overloading teachers with information.
> >
> >This topic is near and dear to my heart. As I indicated in another posting
> >today, it is surprising to me that the field of ESL does not seem to 
> prepare
> >teachers for the sort of really hard-core learning problems that several
> >readers and responders have mentioned.
> >
> >In another message on one of the NIFL lists the notion of profesisonal
> >development qualification standards for teachers in adult education was
> >mentioned.
> >
> >Frankly, what I often see is that it is too common that teachers in adult
> >education and adult ESOL education are woefully unqualified to do what they
> >do. Then learners suffer. My article in FOB indicated that in some of those
> >cases, teachers were simply not prepared to ask the right questions or to
> >consider the key issues in adult ESOL learners' situations that 
> significantly
> >impact the learners' progress in their settings.
> >
> >Those of you who know me, know that I get pretty passionate on this 
> topic. I
> >believe, as do my business partners, Laura Weisel and Al Toops, we are
> >supposed to be in business for the learners, not for the tutors and 
> teachers
> >in our programs. In other words, it is not the needs and limitations of the
> >teachers or tutors that should drive decisions or policies about how our
> >programs run but rather the needs of our learners. I have advocated for 
> years
> >that there need to be minimal qualifications for hiring teachers or 
> tutors to
> >teach adult ESOL learners. I can write an entire book-- and someday 
> will-- of
> >stories like those in the article where the learner was somehow blamed 
> for no
> >progress when in truth the learner's teacher had no idea how to address the
> >learner's real needs.
> >
> >I agree strongly with Janet that it is essential that the nature of 
> learning
> >challenges-- of all kinds, including language learning challenges-- be
> >constantly put out to teachers and required reading for them. Though I am
> >sure
> >no program is going to fire its tutors because I say so, I certainly 
> hope you
> >will consider a far more stringent approach to requiring that those
> >already in
> >your employ inform themselves about adult learners and adult ESOL learning,
> >about the very most basic principles of language instruction, about the
> >culture of their learners. etc. Also, program administrators have 
> everything
> >to gain by requiring more training for tutors and better experience and
> >qualifications for teachers. In the end, they will be more effective and
> >programs with have better outcomes. The NCSALL research project on learner
> >persistence (2005 --at NCSCALL.net) indicated that when tutors were better
> >trained, not only were learners happier and tended to persist longer, but
> >tutors also persisted because they did not feel so helpless in helping 
> those
> >with significant learning needs.
> >
> >Somewhere recently I saw reference to the suggestion or proposal that adult
> >education teachers be subject to qualification much as K-12 teachers are.
> >This
> >can only be a good thing for our learners.
> >
> >And as for LD issues, I know for a well-documented fact that having a
> >tutor or
> >teacher who is well meant and kind but does not "get" LD and language
> >learning
> >challenges is actually worse for the learner than just sitting in a 
> class and
> >trying to absorb something.
> >
> >Just as for learners, having high expectations for teachers and tutors is
> >critical to having an effective program.
> >
> >As a start for ESOL and learning challengs, programs might want to look at
> >the
> >handbook : Taking Action: A Handbook for Instructors of Adult ESOL Learners
> >with Learning Dissablities" produced and distrbuted by the Minnesota 
> Learning
> >Disabilities Association (visit 
> <http://www.ldaminnesota.org>www.ldaminnesota.org to find it). This walks
> >teachers through the topic of LD and an approach to determining if other
> >problems might be at the root of learning difficulties.
> >
> >There is also a great handbook for tutors teaching reading to
> >English-speaking
> >adults called The Adult Reading Toolkit ( ART)
> >
> >Both of these are designed for tutors and teachers who have little prior
> >knowledge on the topic--and they are extremely user-friendly and 
> beautifully
> >thought out. --And no, I don't have any financial interest in them......
> >
> >
> >Robin
> >
> >
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------
> >National Institute for Literacy
> >Focus on Basics mailing list
> ><mailto:FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> ><http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics>http://www.nifl.gov/m 
> ailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
> >
> >----------------------------------------------------
> >National Institute for Literacy
> >Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
> ><mailto:ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov> ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov
> >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> ><http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment>http://www. 
> nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment
> >----------------------------------------------------
> >National Institute for Literacy
> >Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
> ><mailto:ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov> ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov
> >To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> ><http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment>http://www. 
> nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment
>
>Aaron Kohring
>Coordinator, LINCS Literacy & Learning Disabilities Special Collection
>(<http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu/>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/>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: <mailto:akohring at utk.edu>akohring at utk.edu
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
><mailto:ContentStandards at nifl.gov>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
><http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
>
>
>
>--
>SidnaAnn Holloway
>When one helps another
>Both are strong
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Feb 27 15:48:15 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 15:48:15 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Discussion on ESOL beginner class techniques
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060227154614.03c40328@pop.utk.edu>

Posted on behalf of the Focus on Basics Discussion List.
*******************************************************************************

Hi All,

Another guest discussion on the Focus on Basics List:
Tues. Feb 28th - Mon. March 6th.

A team of researchers/authors from the Lab School will discuss their
articles from the recent FOB issue on ESOL Research (Vol. 8A).

This discussion will include information about the Lab School itself,
and several research projects that were done there involving
student-to-student language and interaction, and a modified reading
technique in beginning level adult ESOL classes. Many of the topics
overlap, so it will be great to have these researchers lead the
discussion as a team.

The articles and authors include:

The "Lab School"
By Steve Reder
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=987

Same Activity, Different Focus [Pair Activities]
By Kathryn Harris
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=988

A Conversation with FOB: Modified Sustained Silent Reading
By Sandra Banke and Reuel Kurzet
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=990

Rewarding Conversations
By Betsy Kraft
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=991

Spontaneous Conversations: A Window into Language Learners' Autonomy
By Dominique Brillanceau
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=992

Turn Taking and Opening Interactions
By John Hellermann
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=993

Please take a look at the articles and join us for this discussion!
(If you are not subscribed to the FOB list, you can subscribe at:
www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics )
Sorry for the short notice, but we had a rare window of availability
open!
Julie

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org



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)
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



From kabeall at comcast.net  Tue Feb 28 12:53:37 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2006 12:53:37 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] New from NCSALL--Practitioner Research,
	Practitioner Knowledge
Message-ID: <002901c63c8f$e72131a0$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

Visit the new Practitioner Research, Practitioner Knowledge section of
NCSALL's Web site at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=967. Find out how
practitioners learn about new research and then inquire about how this
research might be used in their own practice. 

 

Teachers in the Northwest Practitioner Knowledge Institute learned about ESL
research, made a change in their own practice, documented what happened when
they made the change, and shared this knowledge in final reports. They
developed and documented "practitioner knowledge" developed from learning
about others' research. 

 

Teachers in the Minnesota Practitioner Research in Reading Project and the
Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network learned about others'
research and also conducted research of their own. After learning about new
research findings in reading or learner persistence, these teachers
developed a research question on one of these topics, planned an
intervention or change in their own practice, collected data on what
happened as a result, analyzed these data and reported their findings.

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Mar  1 10:36:26 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2006 10:36:26 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Fwd: COABE Conference 2006: Hotel Information
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060301103343.03c27748@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

I am forwarding some additional information on the COABE conference (see 
below).

You may also want to be aware of a pre-conference on April 26th entitled: 
Who needs Adult Education Content Standards? State and National Initiatives.
Presented by Federico Salas, Texas LEARNS

Description: Adult educators will share experiences in moving toward 
standards-based education and offer "lessons learned".  Topics include a 
discussion of the reasons for and advantages of adopting content standards, 
generating buy-in from the field, developing content standards and 
indicators, reviewing and piloting drafts, and finally professional 
development for implementing the standards.

Aaron

>Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:51:35 -0500
>From: COABE <COABE at literacyprogram.org>
>Subject: COABE Conference 2006: Hotel Information
>To:
>X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0)
>X-Spam-Status: hits=0.135 tests=AWL,HTML_MESSAGE,TO_CC_NONE ver=3.1.0
>X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.53 on 160.36.0.81
>
>"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w = 
>"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1 = 
>"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags">
>
>COABE Conference 2006
>
>Hotel Information
>
>The 2006 COABE Conference will be held at the beautiful Westin Galleria 
>and Westin Oaks complex.  Located within the prestigious Galleria shopping 
>and entertainment complex in uptown Houston, this facility boasts the 
>world's largest hotel lobby. The distance between the two hotels is only 
>500 feet and conference attendees enjoy and benefit from the 3-5 minute 
>walk through the Galleria shopping mecca.
>
>Hotel Rates
>
>  $85.00 - single and double
>  $15.00 for each additional person in the room
>  $25.00 for additional bedding
>
>You must mention you are attending the COABE Conference to obtain the $85 
>rate. One night deposit per room reservation is required prior to cut-off 
>date. Deposit will be returned with 48-hour cancellation notice. 17% 
>current state & local tax rate.
>
>**As of January 2006 both Westin hotels are 100% smoke-free. There are no 
>smoking rooms or areas in either hotel.
>
>Hotel Reservations
>
>Important Information!!! The Westin Oaks Hotel still has available rooms. 
>To register go to the <http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/GC0406>Westin 
>Oaks Conference Registration Information page by copying and pasting the 
>link below into your web browser.
>
><http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/booking/reservation?id=0411182538&key=AF52A>http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/booking/reservation?id=0411182538&key=AF52A
>
>You can also contact the hotel directly at 713-960-8100 reservation, 
>Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, central time. In addition, if you have your 
>exact check in and check out dates and the credit card information, you 
>may contact Christine Lee, Reservations Group Coordinator, The Westin 
>Galleria & Westin Oaks, 5060 West Alabama, Houston, Texas 77056.
>
><http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/search/hotel_detail.html?requestedChainCode=WI&requestedAffiliationCode=WI&goToRooms=yes&lengthOfStay=1&numberOfRooms=1&numberOfAdults=1&arrivalDate=2005-07-09&departureDate=2005-07-10&rpoi=&propertyID=1054&rcdi=&linkbrand=&fromSearch=22XX&sherlockRatePlanID=&sherlockMiniRate=&sherlockRoomType=&sherlockBedType=&iATANumber=&corporateAccountNumber=&propertyDistance=&propertyDistanceInUnits=&requestType=page&page=&ratePlanName=&roomOccupancyTotal=1>The 
>Westin Oaks Houston
>5011 Westheimer at Post Oak Houston, Texas 77056 United States
>Phone (713) 960-8100 Fax (713) 960-6554
>
><http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/search/hotel_detail.html?propertyID=1053&fromSearch=11XX&linkbrand=&links=all>The 
>Westin Galleria Houston - This hotel is now booked and has no more 
>conference rooms.
>5060 West Alabama Houston, Texas 77056 United States
>Phone (713) 960-8100 Fax (713) 960-6553
>
>Please let us know if you experience any difficulty making your hotel 
>reservations.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>COABE
>
>
>
>

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)
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



From jswing at RADFORD.EDU  Thu Mar  2 12:19:49 2006
From: jswing at RADFORD.EDU (Swing, Jane C)
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2006 12:19:49 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] Annual VAACE Conference
Message-ID: <94408727380148499415989CDE2958780124E0CF@exchange03>

The Virginia Association of Adult and Continuing Education invites you
to

 

Sail into Spring

 

The Virginia Association of Adult and Continuing Education (VAACE)
invites you to attend its annual conference to be held May 3-5 at the
Virginia Beach Resort and Conference Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia.


 

The conference will provide a wonderful opportunity for you to network
and learn about the latest trends and issues facing adult education.
Vendors will be on hand to show off their newest publications along with
tried and true ones. Awards will be presented to some of Virginia's best
adult education practitioners. 

 

The conference planning team is in search of presenters to offer
interesting and relevant sessions for our participants. They know there
are many people doing great work in adult education. Now is the time to
share what you are doing with others. Encourage your peers to share
their work and knowledge through a workshop presentation. The workshop
proposal form is attached to this message.

 

Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn, renew, and relax in a
wonderful setting with colleagues who are facing the same issues,
challenges and rewards.

 

More information about VAACE and this year's conference can be found at
www.vaace.org <http://www.vaace.org/> .

 

 

Jane C. Swing, Director

Office of Adult Education and Literacy Projects

Radford University

PO Box 7015

A 136 Peters Hall

Radford, VA 24142

540-831-6207

FAX 540-831-5779

jswing at radford.edu

 

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From kabeall at comcast.net  Wed Mar  8 08:20:15 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2006 08:20:15 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards] New from NCSALL--Skills for Chronic Disease
	Management
Message-ID: <001c01c642b3$098db960$0c0fca0a@your4105e587b6>

Skills for Chronic Disease Management 

by Rima Rudd, Lisa Soricone, Maricel Santos, Charlotte Nath, and Janet Smith
is now available from NCSALL.

 

The goal of this 15-hour study circle+ is to prepare participants to help
their students develop basic skills needed for chronic disease management.
These skills include reading medicine labels, following directions, and
measuring dosages correctly; using measurement tools to monitor health;
monitoring symptoms and talking to health care professionals the
observations; and making critical decisions about health care.

 

To download the Health Literacy Study Circle+ Facilitator's Guide: Skills
for  Chronic Disease Management, visit NCSALL's Web site:
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1058

 

To order the Health Literacy Study Circle+ Facilitator's Guide: Skills for
Chronic Disease Management at $33.00/copy, go to the NCSALL Order Form:
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=674

 

 

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From kabeall at comcast.net  Mon Mar 13 13:29:07 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 13:29:07 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 70] New from NCSALL--An Evaluation of Focus on
	Basics
Message-ID: <004a01c646cc$03d63340$0302a8c0@your4105e587b6>

"It's not an expensive journal, but has high quality articles with current
research and

techniques. . it helps me stay connected with the profession." says one
reader of Focus on Basics. 

 

The results of a survey on the impact of Focus on Basics on its readers is
available on the NCSALL Web site at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=29#27.  To
order a printed version ($10), go to http://www.ncsall.net/?id=681. (Printed
copies will be available by 3/17/06.)

 

SNEAK PREVIEW: The findings were overwhelmingly upbeat. The 292 readers who
completed the survey report that Focus on Basics has had a positive impact
in the following ways:

. It has influenced their beliefs about adult basic education.

. It has helped them feel connected to the larger education community as
professionals.

. It has contributed to the development of communities of practice.

. It has enabled them to make a connection between research and practice.

. It has provided them with concrete ideas they have used to change their
programs and practice.

 

Four in-depth interviews with professional development providers are
included as well.

 

Read the report to find out more about how the publication is and can be
used as a professional development tool.

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From ROSIEFIUME at aol.com  Mon Mar 13 17:35:34 2006
From: ROSIEFIUME at aol.com (ROSIEFIUME at aol.com)
Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 17:35:34 EST
Subject: [ContentStandards 71] TESOL session on the working conditions of
	ESL professions in Adult Ed
Message-ID: <313.498c.31474db6@aol.com>

I'd like to invite you to attend a very informative session entitled "ABE  
Survey: Equity and Advocacy and Standards: Voices from Adult ESOL Educators"  
which will present the results of a survey conducted by TESOL's Adult Ed  
Interest Section to investigate the working conditions of Adult ESL  professionals 
throughout the U.S. and the world. Grounded  on the TESOL Standards for Adult 
ESOL programs, the survey provides an empirical  basis on  which  to examine 
the status, professionalism, and the quality of ESOL instruction in  the field. 
The survey investigated six major  areas of interest to ESOL professionals in 
adult education:  educational  requirements; employment status and benefits; 
teaching situation; workload  issues; working conditions; professional 
development; ESOL as a career; and  advocacy issues. We conducted the study over two 
years, with a preliminary one  in 2004-05, and a slightly revised version last 
year. We had over 1,000  respondents. The findings offer a revealing picture 
of the working conditions of  ESL professionals in Adult Ed.
In addition to  sharing the study's findings, we plan to have a fruitful 
discussion with  participants and bring some recommendations to our IS business 
meeting on  Wednesday. The session information is below. We look forward to 
seeing  many Adult Ed professionals at the session! 
 
Rosie Maum
 
Title: ABE Survey: Equity and  Advocacy and Standards: Voices from Adult ESOL 
Educators
Presenters: Rosie  Maum and Yilin Sun
Presentation time:  9:15 am ? 11:15 am
Location:  Tampa Convention Center Rm  5

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From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Mar 15 13:08:47 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 13:08:47 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 72] Fwd: [Assessment 236] Re: : A National System
 of Adult Education and Literacy
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060315130008.03d4faa8@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

This message from David Rosen is cross-posted from the Assessment 
Discussion List.  Please note the questions below posed by Marie Cora and 
David's proposal for a National System of Adult Education and Literacy in 
which Standards, Curricula, and Assessments are all aligned.

What do you all think about this proposal?  Does it make sense to have a 
set of National Standards?  How might such a National System impact what we do?

Aaron


>Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:05:24 -0500
>From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
>Subject: [Assessment 236] Re: : A National System of Adult Education and
>         Literacy
>Sender: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov
>To: The Assessment Discussion List <assessment at nifl.gov>
>Reply-to: The Assessment Discussion List <assessment at nifl.gov>
>X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.746.2)
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>List-Id: The Assessment Discussion List <assessment.nifl.gov>
>
>Assessment Colleagues,
>
>Marie wrote:
> > What do we need?  National standards?  Is that the most important
> > thing that will help combat these issues?
> >
> > A different way to capture learning?  What would that look like?
> > Remember that the needs of the funder and public are quite
> > different than the needs of the teacher and student ? and both are
> > legitimate needs.
> >
> > What are your thoughts on these issues?
>
>Ignore for the moment the current political political realities, and
>consider just the merits and faults, not the practicalities, of what
>I propose, a national System of Adult Education and Literacy which
>has three aligned components: National Curriculum Standards, (Free)
>National Curricula, and Standardized Assessments.  Such a system
>could have other components, but for now, I suggest we look at these
>three.
>
>1. Sets of national curriculum standards for: a) adult ESL/ESOL/ELL,
>b) ABE (including adult basic education) c) ASE (adult secondary
>education/GED/EDP/ADP) and d) Transition to College programs ,
>developed through a process which is widely respected by the field.
>(Some would argue that we already have that in Equipped for the Future.)
>
>2. National curricula developed based on those standards and
>available for states to adopt (or adapt) as they choose.  The
>curricula need to be comprehensive, modularized, available in generic
>as well as work-contextualized units, in English but also bilingual
>in Spanish and possibly other languages.  It needs to be available
>free online in units that teachers could download and use in their
>classrooms, that tutors could use with their one-one-one or small
>group instruction, and in self-instructional formats that adult
>learners could use directly online.  (Yes I know how big a task all
>this is.)
>
>3. Standardized assessments developed against the national curriculum
>standards (tests, but also performance-based, direct assessments)
>which have a high degree of validity for measuring the national
>standards.
>
>Some might think that what I propose is too top-down.  I would argue
>that it could be very bottom-up if the field -- and adult learner
>leaders -- are/have been/will be well-represented in setting the
>standards, and if the modules can be be selected to meet specific
>learner goals and contexts as well as to the standards.  A national
>curriculum could be made up of a database of thousands of units of
>instruction (modules, learning objects) which could be very easily
>found and in minutes organized/reorganized to fit learners' goals and
>contexts.  An adult learner or a group who need to improve their
>reading skills and who are interested in the context of parenting
>could easily access standards-based modules on parenting issues with
>reading materials at the right level(s).  A teacher whose students
>worked in health care and who needed to improve their math skills
>could quickly find and download materials/lessons for using numeracy
>in health care settings. A student who wanted to learn online and who
>wanted a job in environmental cleanup work could access standards-
>based basic skills/occupational education lessons in this area,
>accompanied by an online career coach and and online tutor.  These
>examples just hint at the complexity and sophistication of what I
>propose, and will have some shaking their heads at the cost.  But,
>consider that if this is a national curriculum, the costs of
>developing such modules have the benefits of scale, that those
>curricula could be widely used -- and freely available.  (Sorry
>publishers, this could eat into your profits.)
>
>There is more, but I'll stop with this.
>
>Okay, let the questions and brickbats fly.
>
>David J. Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>-------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Assessment mailing list
>Assessment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment

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)
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



From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu  Sat Mar 18 12:52:39 2006
From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Janet Isserlis)
Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 12:52:39 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 73] Re: Fwd: [Assessment 236] Re: : A National
 System of Adult Education and Literacy
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060315130008.03d4faa8@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <C041B317.AD64%Janet_Isserlis@brown.edu>

all

A bottom-up, field (practitioner and learner) - represented set of
standards?  Sounds like EFF, no?  What am I missing here?  We have this
rich, useful resource in EFF.  Are we talking about starting over?
Something different?  Don't we have this already?  Aren't some of us
building on it?

Janet Isserlis

>> 
>> Some might think that what I propose is too top-down.  I would argue
>> that it could be very bottom-up if the field -- and adult learner
>> leaders -- are/have been/will be well-represented in setting the
>> standards, and if the modules can be be selected to meet specific
>> learner goals and contexts as well as to the standards.  



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Mar 20 09:48:00 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 09:48:00 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 74] Fwd: [Assessment 249] Q&A on New Assessments
	by ETS
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060320094458.03d64688@pop.utk.edu>

Spring greetings to all,

See the message below about a Q & A on the Assessment Discussion List next 
week related to ETS's (Educational Testing Service) development of new 
standards-based assessments.

Aaron


>Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:43:25 -0500
>From: Marie Cora <marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com>
>Subject: [Assessment 249]  Q&A on New Assessments by ETS
>Sender: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov
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>Cc: "'Eastland, Julie'" <jeastland at ETS.ORG>
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>Dear Colleagues,
>
>
>
>The Assessment Discussion List will be hosting a Q&A during the week of 
>March 27 on 3 new assessments for adult learning being developed by ETS 
>(Educational Testing Service).  ETS is seeking states to collaborate on 
>the development of these new standards-based assessments.  Presently, 7 
>Charter states have been working with ETS on this project.  ETS is 
>recruiting several more states for the next phase of the project, which 
>includes:
>
>
>    * Developing, reviewing and selecting tasks to be included in the new 
> measures;
>    * Contributing to the development of diagnostic score reports;
>    * Participating in a standard-setting process that will map the tests 
> to the NRS levels;
>    * Piloting the tests with your adult learners;
>    * Creating a test designed by you with your state s learners , 
> teachers , and administrators needs in mind.
>
>
>Julie Eastland, of ETS, will be joining us during the week of March 27 to 
>answer your questions and comments regarding the project.  You can send 
>your questions to the List before the week of March 27, and I will hold 
>them for that week, or you can post your questions and comments during 
>that week.  Julie will be available to respond periodically throughout 
>that week.
>
>
>
>For more information, please see the attachment.
>
>
>
>Thanks and looking forward to your questions and comments.
>
>
>
>marie cora
>
>Assessment Discussion List Moderator
>
>
>
>-------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Assessment mailing list
>Assessment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment

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)
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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From atrawick at charter.net  Mon Mar 20 10:28:54 2006
From: atrawick at charter.net (Amy R. Trawick)
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 10:28:54 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 75] Re: [Assessment 239] Re: : A National System
	of Adult Education andLiteracy
References: <002d01c64782$4b43c150$0402a8c0@frodo><E2DE7379-1A0C-4D94-85E4-203F0F6F5206@comcast.net><44183675.8040303@riral.org>
	<09D7944F-651C-4AC2-B1EA-7F622BA1ABEA@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <00ee01c64c33$0045b810$3002a8c0@ben2ut66kkx7o3>

David, I think this is an intriguing idea.  Lots of issues are whirling 
around in my head, but let's deal with this one first:

Are you proposing the development of national standards or federal 
standards?  It is possible to have a set of national standards, supporting 
curriculum, and standardized assessments--developed and referenced by the 
field as a whole because of the collaborative nature of their development or 
adoption--without having these codified within the federal bureaucracy.  In 
this scenario, the federal government could even provide support through 
funding.  Is this what your getting at, or are you seeing a more hands-on 
role being played by the federal government?

Amy

Amy R. Trawick, M.S. Ed.
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
atrawick at charter.net



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Rosen" <djrosen at comcast.net>
To: <hdooley at riral.org>; "The Assessment Discussion List" 
<assessment at nifl.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 1:09 PM
Subject: [Assessment 239] Re: : A National System of Adult Education 
andLiteracy


Howard,

Thanks for your thoughtful comments.  See my replies below.  I hope
others will join in this discussion, too, from the Assessment list
and from the Content Standards list.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

On Mar 15, 2006, at 10:44 AM, Howard L. Dooley, Jr. wrote:

> I think David has a good, basic overall plan here.  I wouldn't say the
> plan is top-down either.  I think it recognizes that there is push
> today
> to be able to look at success across states and throughout the
> country,
> and for that we need a way to connect our local efforts into a
> national
> system.  Think globally; act locally -- as always the best politics
> and
> the best basis for a system of adult ed.  But my sense is that, right
> now, funders are in favor of such a national system, but most
> practitioners are not.

I wish that funders _were_ in favor of this.  The largest adult
education funder, the U.S. Department of Education, is reluctant to
establish a set of national curriculum standards.  I am not sure why,
but guess that it is because a long-standing tradition that
curriculum standards  in American Education are in the control of
local school committees and state boards of education.  The closest
the USDOE has come to this is funding the development of a
"warehouse" of state curriculum standards,
[ http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/Source/GetStandard.asp ] and
(through the National Institute for Literacy) supporting the
development -- but not the endorsement as national curriculum
standards - of Equipped for the Future. (I am not sure I have that
exactly right so if someone has better information, please let us
know.) The problem, as many people have said, is not that we lack
standards in the U.S., but that we have too many competing sets of
standards.  We lack a set of national standards that everyone uses.

> Because, really, the benefits of such a system
> are largely for the funders, policy makers, and big-picture people;
> for
> the instructor and learner in the classroom, what is the impact of it?
> How does it matter that what I need to learn and am mastering to get a
> job in RI is also what someone needs to learn and master to enter a
> community college in AL?  It may be interesting, but what does it
> matter?

I agree that a system such as I propose would benefit funders.
However, it would also benefit teachers and learners.  A lot of
curriculum -- often very good curriculum -- is developed in programs
and states across the country.  But much of it is not published, and
if it is, is not easily accessed.  It is possible to find some good
curriculum through NIFL LINCS, and in other places on the Web, for
example, but this takes time, a lot of time.  Teachers don't have
much time to search for curriculum.  It would be of great interest to
most teachers if high quality curriculum --ready to download and use
-- and adapt to local needs -- in class tomorrow could _easily be
found_.

Let me give you an example.  As I understand it (folks from Arizona
correct me if I got this wrong) Arizona has a set of state ESOL
standards that are widely used, and respected by ESOL teachers
there.  A couple of ESOL teachers at Pima County Community College
decided that they were useful as far as they went, but they wanted to
have good web-based instruction linked to those standards.  So they
spent hours and hours finding -- and linking -- instruction on a Web
page that they call The Splendid ESOL Web [ http://cc.pima.edu/
~slundquist/index.htm ] When I was doing workshops in Arizona a
couple of years ago, ESOL teachers popped up from across the state to
tell me about The Splendid ESOL Web and how useful it is to them.
This is instructional for us all: a set of standards developed by and
respected by teachers, a set of online instructional resources found
and organized/linked by ESOL Teachers, and widely used by other ESOL
teachers.  This sounds like a model to emulate in national curriculum
development.

Take this a step further.  Suppose we had an agreed-upon format for
developing instructional resources, nothing fancy, one that most
teachers found easy to understand, easy to use, and that was linked
to national standards.  Suppose further that the format referenced
national curriculum standards, that every lesson or module or
learning object built by a teacher referenced a national curriculum
standard.  Then suppose the modules teachers developed were peer-
reviewed and those that were approved were stored in an easily-
accessible Web-based instructional lesson/module/learning objects
database where other teachers could access them by standard, topic,
level, etc.  Some of the elements of what I have described are in
place. For example, the Lesson Plan Builder, developed by OTAN in
California
[ http://www.lessonplanbuilder.org/lessons/ ], has a practical format
for creating lesson plans online, and links them to California (and
nationally used) standards.  OTAN  plans to store these lessons in an
accessible database. When that's done, the teacher's chore of finding
good lesson plans will be easier. Also, I very much like that these
are lesson plans created "bottom up" by teachers (or perhaps even by
teachers and their students together.)

> I also think that many of the standards, curriculum and assessment
> pieces already exist.  If one has the time -- and right now it takes
> time, believe me -- to peruse and ferret the web, you can find a
> wealth
> of excellent curricula that is the start of a "comprehensive,
> modularized [curriculum], available in generic as well as
> work-contextualized units, in English".

Yes, much of it is there -- and it's hard to find.  Some of it is not
there, however.  Try to find work-contextualized online lessons which
students can access directly (not teacher lesson plans but student
lessons online.) I have been searching high and low for these -- in
health care work -- but haven't found much.  Yet, given the good jobs
going begging in health care in New England -- and elsewhere --
wouldn't it be useful if health care workers could do some of their
basic skills learning online and if the instruction were
contextualized or embedded in health care work?

> Much of it "available in free
> online in units that teachers could download and use in their
> classrooms, that tutors could use with their one-one-one or smallgroup
> instruction".  We use several items for our EL Civics, ESL
> listening and
> ABE math curriculua that are from the web.  The weakest link for us is
> "material in self-instructional formats that adult learners can use
> directly online."

Yes, that is the weakest link.

> There's a lot of print stuff that's been transferred
> to the web, put it's not exciting or constructivist enough to engage
> self-directed learners, unless they are high level readers and highly
> self-motivated.

Right you are.

> So, I think we could get there more quickly than we might think, but
> only if most of us really want to get there at all.

Your state, Rhode Island, the first wireless Internet access state,
border-to-border, would be a perfect "testbed" for a system such as I
am proposing.  I think if teachers and tutors understood how useful
this could be they would clamor for it.  Maybe you could get teachers
in Rhode Island to think about this.

>  From a sincere, big-picture kind-of-guy,
> Howard D.


>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> David Rosen wrote:
>
>> Assessment Colleagues,
>>
>> Marie wrote:
>>
>>
>>> What do we need?  National standards?  Is that the most important
>>> thing that will help combat these issues?
>>>
>>> A different way to capture learning?  What would that look like?
>>> Remember that the needs of the funder and public are quite
>>> different than the needs of the teacher and student ? and both are
>>> legitimate needs.
>>>
>>> What are your thoughts on these issues?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Ignore for the moment the current political political realities, and
>> consider just the merits and faults, not the practicalities, of what
>> I propose, a national System of Adult Education and Literacy which
>> has three aligned components: National Curriculum Standards, (Free)
>> National Curricula, and Standardized Assessments.  Such a system
>> could have other components, but for now, I suggest we look at these
>> three.
>>
>> 1. Sets of national curriculum standards for: a) adult ESL/ESOL/ELL,
>> b) ABE (including adult basic education) c) ASE (adult secondary
>> education/GED/EDP/ADP) and d) Transition to College programs ,
>> developed through a process which is widely respected by the field.
>> (Some would argue that we already have that in Equipped for the
>> Future.)
>>
>> 2. National curricula developed based on those standards and
>> available for states to adopt (or adapt) as they choose.  The
>> curricula need to be comprehensive, modularized, available in generic
>> as well as work-contextualized units, in English but also bilingual
>> in Spanish and possibly other languages.  It needs to be available
>> free online in units that teachers could download and use in their
>> classrooms, that tutors could use with their one-one-one or small
>> group instruction, and in self-instructional formats that adult
>> learners could use directly online.  (Yes I know how big a task all
>> this is.)
>>
>> 3. Standardized assessments developed against the national curriculum
>> standards (tests, but also performance-based, direct assessments)
>> which have a high degree of validity for measuring the national
>> standards.
>>
>> Some might think that what I propose is too top-down.  I would argue
>> that it could be very bottom-up if the field -- and adult learner
>> leaders -- are/have been/will be well-represented in setting the
>> standards, and if the modules can be be selected to meet specific
>> learner goals and contexts as well as to the standards.  A national
>> curriculum could be made up of a database of thousands of units of
>> instruction (modules, learning objects) which could be very easily
>> found and in minutes organized/reorganized to fit learners' goals and
>> contexts.  An adult learner or a group who need to improve their
>> reading skills and who are interested in the context of parenting
>> could easily access standards-based modules on parenting issues with
>> reading materials at the right level(s).  A teacher whose students
>> worked in health care and who needed to improve their math skills
>> could quickly find and download materials/lessons for using numeracy
>> in health care settings. A student who wanted to learn online and who
>> wanted a job in environmental cleanup work could access standards-
>> based basic skills/occupational education lessons in this area,
>> accompanied by an online career coach and and online tutor.  These
>> examples just hint at the complexity and sophistication of what I
>> propose, and will have some shaking their heads at the cost.  But,
>> consider that if this is a national curriculum, the costs of
>> developing such modules have the benefits of scale, that those
>> curricula could be widely used -- and freely available.  (Sorry
>> publishers, this could eat into your profits.)
>>
>> There is more, but I'll stop with this.
>>
>> Okay, let the questions and brickbats fly.
>>
>> David J. Rosen
>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>
>> -------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Assessment mailing list
>> Assessment at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
>>
>>
>>
>
> -------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Assessment mailing list
> Assessment at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment

-------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Assessment mailing list
Assessment at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment



From djrosen at comcast.net  Mon Mar 20 12:19:09 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 12:19:09 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 76] Re: [Assessment 239] Re: : A National System
	of Adult Education andLiteracy
In-Reply-To: <00ee01c64c33$0045b810$3002a8c0@ben2ut66kkx7o3>
References: <002d01c64782$4b43c150$0402a8c0@frodo><E2DE7379-1A0C-4D94-85E4-203F0F6F5206@comcast.net><44183675.8040303@riral.org>
	<09D7944F-651C-4AC2-B1EA-7F622BA1ABEA@comcast.net>
	<00ee01c64c33$0045b810$3002a8c0@ben2ut66kkx7o3>
Message-ID: <396730F1-296D-4513-83CE-3E2D057FE023@comcast.net>

Hello Amy.

On Mar 20, 2006, at 10:28 AM, Amy R. Trawick wrote:

> David, I think this is an intriguing idea.  Lots of issues are  
> whirling
> around in my head, but let's deal with this one first:
>
> Are you proposing the development of national standards or federal
> standards?  It is possible to have a set of national standards,  
> supporting
> curriculum, and standardized assessments--developed and referenced  
> by the
> field as a whole because of the collaborative nature of their  
> development or
> adoption--without having these codified within the federal  
> bureaucracy.  In
> this scenario, the federal government could even provide support  
> through
> funding.  Is this what your getting at, or are you seeing a more  
> hands-on
> role being played by the federal government?

I wasn't distinguishing between federal and national, but given the  
political difficulties of making this a federal priority, perhaps I  
should.  I like the idea of national standards which states and  
programs can choose to develop curriculum and standardized  
assessments for.  This would allow this idea to be acted on to some  
extent regardless of whether it was a federal priority. Of course, it  
would get a lot further if the federal government embraced it and put  
significant resources behind it.

Thanks, Amy.

David

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net




> Amy
>
> Amy R. Trawick, M.S. Ed.
> North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
> atrawick at charter.net
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Rosen" <djrosen at comcast.net>
> To: <hdooley at riral.org>; "The Assessment Discussion List"
> <assessment at nifl.gov>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 1:09 PM
> Subject: [Assessment 239] Re: : A National System of Adult Education
> andLiteracy
>
>
> Howard,
>
> Thanks for your thoughtful comments.  See my replies below.  I hope
> others will join in this discussion, too, from the Assessment list
> and from the Content Standards list.
>
> David J. Rosen
> djrosen at comcast.net
>
> On Mar 15, 2006, at 10:44 AM, Howard L. Dooley, Jr. wrote:
>
>> I think David has a good, basic overall plan here.  I wouldn't say  
>> the
>> plan is top-down either.  I think it recognizes that there is push
>> today
>> to be able to look at success across states and throughout the
>> country,
>> and for that we need a way to connect our local efforts into a
>> national
>> system.  Think globally; act locally -- as always the best politics
>> and
>> the best basis for a system of adult ed.  But my sense is that, right
>> now, funders are in favor of such a national system, but most
>> practitioners are not.
>
> I wish that funders _were_ in favor of this.  The largest adult
> education funder, the U.S. Department of Education, is reluctant to
> establish a set of national curriculum standards.  I am not sure why,
> but guess that it is because a long-standing tradition that
> curriculum standards  in American Education are in the control of
> local school committees and state boards of education.  The closest
> the USDOE has come to this is funding the development of a
> "warehouse" of state curriculum standards,
> [ http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/Source/GetStandard.asp ] and
> (through the National Institute for Literacy) supporting the
> development -- but not the endorsement as national curriculum
> standards - of Equipped for the Future. (I am not sure I have that
> exactly right so if someone has better information, please let us
> know.) The problem, as many people have said, is not that we lack
> standards in the U.S., but that we have too many competing sets of
> standards.  We lack a set of national standards that everyone uses.
>
>> Because, really, the benefits of such a system
>> are largely for the funders, policy makers, and big-picture people;
>> for
>> the instructor and learner in the classroom, what is the impact of  
>> it?
>> How does it matter that what I need to learn and am mastering to  
>> get a
>> job in RI is also what someone needs to learn and master to enter a
>> community college in AL?  It may be interesting, but what does it
>> matter?
>
> I agree that a system such as I propose would benefit funders.
> However, it would also benefit teachers and learners.  A lot of
> curriculum -- often very good curriculum -- is developed in programs
> and states across the country.  But much of it is not published, and
> if it is, is not easily accessed.  It is possible to find some good
> curriculum through NIFL LINCS, and in other places on the Web, for
> example, but this takes time, a lot of time.  Teachers don't have
> much time to search for curriculum.  It would be of great interest to
> most teachers if high quality curriculum --ready to download and use
> -- and adapt to local needs -- in class tomorrow could _easily be
> found_.
>
> Let me give you an example.  As I understand it (folks from Arizona
> correct me if I got this wrong) Arizona has a set of state ESOL
> standards that are widely used, and respected by ESOL teachers
> there.  A couple of ESOL teachers at Pima County Community College
> decided that they were useful as far as they went, but they wanted to
> have good web-based instruction linked to those standards.  So they
> spent hours and hours finding -- and linking -- instruction on a Web
> page that they call The Splendid ESOL Web [ http://cc.pima.edu/
> ~slundquist/index.htm ] When I was doing workshops in Arizona a
> couple of years ago, ESOL teachers popped up from across the state to
> tell me about The Splendid ESOL Web and how useful it is to them.
> This is instructional for us all: a set of standards developed by and
> respected by teachers, a set of online instructional resources found
> and organized/linked by ESOL Teachers, and widely used by other ESOL
> teachers.  This sounds like a model to emulate in national curriculum
> development.
>
> Take this a step further.  Suppose we had an agreed-upon format for
> developing instructional resources, nothing fancy, one that most
> teachers found easy to understand, easy to use, and that was linked
> to national standards.  Suppose further that the format referenced
> national curriculum standards, that every lesson or module or
> learning object built by a teacher referenced a national curriculum
> standard.  Then suppose the modules teachers developed were peer-
> reviewed and those that were approved were stored in an easily-
> accessible Web-based instructional lesson/module/learning objects
> database where other teachers could access them by standard, topic,
> level, etc.  Some of the elements of what I have described are in
> place. For example, the Lesson Plan Builder, developed by OTAN in
> California
> [ http://www.lessonplanbuilder.org/lessons/ ], has a practical format
> for creating lesson plans online, and links them to California (and
> nationally used) standards.  OTAN  plans to store these lessons in an
> accessible database. When that's done, the teacher's chore of finding
> good lesson plans will be easier. Also, I very much like that these
> are lesson plans created "bottom up" by teachers (or perhaps even by
> teachers and their students together.)
>
>> I also think that many of the standards, curriculum and assessment
>> pieces already exist.  If one has the time -- and right now it takes
>> time, believe me -- to peruse and ferret the web, you can find a
>> wealth
>> of excellent curricula that is the start of a "comprehensive,
>> modularized [curriculum], available in generic as well as
>> work-contextualized units, in English".
>
> Yes, much of it is there -- and it's hard to find.  Some of it is not
> there, however.  Try to find work-contextualized online lessons which
> students can access directly (not teacher lesson plans but student
> lessons online.) I have been searching high and low for these -- in
> health care work -- but haven't found much.  Yet, given the good jobs
> going begging in health care in New England -- and elsewhere --
> wouldn't it be useful if health care workers could do some of their
> basic skills learning online and if the instruction were
> contextualized or embedded in health care work?
>
>> Much of it "available in free
>> online in units that teachers could download and use in their
>> classrooms, that tutors could use with their one-one-one or  
>> smallgroup
>> instruction".  We use several items for our EL Civics, ESL
>> listening and
>> ABE math curriculua that are from the web.  The weakest link for  
>> us is
>> "material in self-instructional formats that adult learners can use
>> directly online."
>
> Yes, that is the weakest link.
>
>> There's a lot of print stuff that's been transferred
>> to the web, put it's not exciting or constructivist enough to engage
>> self-directed learners, unless they are high level readers and highly
>> self-motivated.
>
> Right you are.
>
>> So, I think we could get there more quickly than we might think, but
>> only if most of us really want to get there at all.
>
> Your state, Rhode Island, the first wireless Internet access state,
> border-to-border, would be a perfect "testbed" for a system such as I
> am proposing.  I think if teachers and tutors understood how useful
> this could be they would clamor for it.  Maybe you could get teachers
> in Rhode Island to think about this.
>
>>  From a sincere, big-picture kind-of-guy,
>> Howard D.
>
>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> David Rosen wrote:
>>
>>> Assessment Colleagues,
>>>
>>> Marie wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> What do we need?  National standards?  Is that the most important
>>>> thing that will help combat these issues?
>>>>
>>>> A different way to capture learning?  What would that look like?
>>>> Remember that the needs of the funder and public are quite
>>>> different than the needs of the teacher and student ? and both are
>>>> legitimate needs.
>>>>
>>>> What are your thoughts on these issues?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Ignore for the moment the current political political realities, and
>>> consider just the merits and faults, not the practicalities, of what
>>> I propose, a national System of Adult Education and Literacy which
>>> has three aligned components: National Curriculum Standards, (Free)
>>> National Curricula, and Standardized Assessments.  Such a system
>>> could have other components, but for now, I suggest we look at these
>>> three.
>>>
>>> 1. Sets of national curriculum standards for: a) adult ESL/ESOL/ELL,
>>> b) ABE (including adult basic education) c) ASE (adult secondary
>>> education/GED/EDP/ADP) and d) Transition to College programs ,
>>> developed through a process which is widely respected by the field.
>>> (Some would argue that we already have that in Equipped for the
>>> Future.)
>>>
>>> 2. National curricula developed based on those standards and
>>> available for states to adopt (or adapt) as they choose.  The
>>> curricula need to be comprehensive, modularized, available in  
>>> generic
>>> as well as work-contextualized units, in English but also bilingual
>>> in Spanish and possibly other languages.  It needs to be available
>>> free online in units that teachers could download and use in their
>>> classrooms, that tutors could use with their one-one-one or small
>>> group instruction, and in self-instructional formats that adult
>>> learners could use directly online.  (Yes I know how big a task all
>>> this is.)
>>>
>>> 3. Standardized assessments developed against the national  
>>> curriculum
>>> standards (tests, but also performance-based, direct assessments)
>>> which have a high degree of validity for measuring the national
>>> standards.
>>>
>>> Some might think that what I propose is too top-down.  I would argue
>>> that it could be very bottom-up if the field -- and adult learner
>>> leaders -- are/have been/will be well-represented in setting the
>>> standards, and if the modules can be be selected to meet specific
>>> learner goals and contexts as well as to the standards.  A national
>>> curriculum could be made up of a database of thousands of units of
>>> instruction (modules, learning objects) which could be very easily
>>> found and in minutes organized/reorganized to fit learners' goals  
>>> and
>>> contexts.  An adult learner or a group who need to improve their
>>> reading skills and who are interested in the context of parenting
>>> could easily access standards-based modules on parenting issues with
>>> reading materials at the right level(s).  A teacher whose students
>>> worked in health care and who needed to improve their math skills
>>> could quickly find and download materials/lessons for using numeracy
>>> in health care settings. A student who wanted to learn online and  
>>> who
>>> wanted a job in environmental cleanup work could access standards-
>>> based basic skills/occupational education lessons in this area,
>>> accompanied by an online career coach and and online tutor.  These
>>> examples just hint at the complexity and sophistication of what I
>>> propose, and will have some shaking their heads at the cost.  But,
>>> consider that if this is a national curriculum, the costs of
>>> developing such modules have the benefits of scale, that those
>>> curricula could be widely used -- and freely available.  (Sorry
>>> publishers, this could eat into your profits.)
>>>
>>> There is more, but I'll stop with this.
>>>
>>> Okay, let the questions and brickbats fly.
>>>
>>> David J. Rosen
>>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>>
>>> -------------------------------
>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>> Assessment mailing list
>>> Assessment at nifl.gov
>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> -------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Assessment mailing list
>> Assessment at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
>
> -------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Assessment mailing list
> Assessment at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to  
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Mar 20 13:18:58 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 13:18:58 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 77] Online Professional Development Opportunities
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060320131735.03c9e740@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

See below for information on some online course offerings including one 
specific to adult education standards: Standards Based Approach to Defining 
and Measuring Results in the AE
Classroom.

Aaron
************************************************************************************************

The Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee, and the Ohio
Literacy Resource Center at Kent State University are proud to announce the
opening of registration for our spring 2006 distance learning courses.
Overviews of each course, as well as the start dates, are outlined below.

Each course is a carefully-paced, facilitated training opportunity for adult
education professionals. Each one has been piloted, reviewed, and offered
previously to excellent reviews.


Bill McNutt
Technology Coordinator, AEProfessional Project
University of Tennessee, Center for Literacy Studies
http://www.aeprofessional.org

More information and registration can be found at:
http://www.aeprofessional.org
__________________________________________________
Adult Education - Teaching Tools
Course begins May 8, 2006
Cost - $149/person
Facilitator: Deb Hargrove
Delivered via the Internet, this six-week course focuses on familiarizing
instructors with teaching tools that will enhance teaching practices
leading to greater learning, retention, and success for adult students. It
offers a wealth of resources and teaching strategies on topics such as
reflective teaching, cooperative/collaborative learning, multiple
intelligences, and contextual instruction. The course will help participants
draw their own connections between current research and teacher practice; it
provides opportunities for practical classroom application, online
collaboration, and sharing best practices with other adult educators-and
much more!
___________________________________________________
Standards Based Approach to Defining and Measuring Results in the AE
Classroom
Course begins April 3, 2006
Cost - $149/person
Facilitator: Peggy McGuire
This EFF online course is designed for the range of practitioners, teachers,
program administrators, professional development providers, state adult
literacy and basic education staff who want and need to understand how
Equipped for the Future supports improvement in the quality and results of
adult basic/literacy/ESOL education through standards and an aligned
assessment and accountability framework. Participants will be able to
explore EFF educational improvement processes and tools in detail as well as
receive structured feedback and support from an EFF facilitator.
___________________________________________________
ESOL Basics
Course begins May 8, 2006
Cost - $149/person
Facilitator: Claire Valier, ESOL Coordinator and Certified CASAS Trainer
Do you need to know the basics of ESOL instruction? Through this online
course, you will learn how to identify characteristics of adult ESOL
learners, effective methods of teaching languages, the four language skills,
and how adults learn another language. Online activities, discussion boards
and assessments will keep you engaged.
___________________________________________________
Integration of Technology into the Adult Education Classroom
Course begins May 8, 2006 Cost - $149/person
Facilitator: Linda Eckert, AE Pro Developer
Have you ever tried to blindly put a puzzle together without knowing what
the final picture will look like? This may be what is happening to you when
you are trying to integrate computer technology into your classroom. This
course will provide quick access to educational resources, lesson plans,
activities, and tools for evaluating educational software, information about
purchasing educational software, and knowledge to help you utilize a variety
of software applications and web-based activities in the classroom. Online
activities, discussion boards and assessments will keep you engaged.
___________________________________________________
Introduction to Learning Disabilities in Adults Course begins April 3,
2006 Cost - $149/person
Facilitator: Staff
Fifty to eighty percent of students in adult education classes have learning
difficulties-many with diagnosed learning disabilities. Delivered via the
Internet, this introductory course, designed for adult education
instructors, will overview types of learning disabilties, various screening
tools to assist in identification, and teaching tools to support identified
learning needs. During this six-week course, participants will be asked to
apply ideas and techniques with their own AE learners.
___________________________________________________
Bill McNutt
Technology Coordinator, AEProfessional Project University of
Tennessee, Center for Literacy Studies http://www.aeprofessional.org




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)
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



From lindakperry at hotmail.com  Tue Mar 21 16:02:07 2006
From: lindakperry at hotmail.com (Linda Perry)
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 21:02:07 +0000
Subject: [ContentStandards 78] Re: [Assessment 239] Re: : A National
 Systemof Adult Education andLiteracy
In-Reply-To: <00ee01c64c33$0045b810$3002a8c0@ben2ut66kkx7o3>
Message-ID: <BAY115-F5BF81F90294E011DC862FA6D80@phx.gbl>

Interesting part of a discussion.  There are Scans competencies that are 
followed in many areas in California and the testing for our program and 
other ESL programs is from CAL, Center for Applied Linguistics, implying 
some applied linguistic guidelines.  ORU recommends that doctoral students 
who have studied for their undergraduate and/or master's degrees in their 
education programs, study in other institutions for their doctorates so they 
don't become ingrown and overly focused on one way of doing things.   The 
idea is that it is broadening and keeps a person open to new and alternative 
ways of teaching. Is David proposing national guidelines?  This is a good 
idea, if it is an open ended recommendation that is regularly reviewed and 
allows for input, research and inclusion of varied approaches.


>From: "Amy R. Trawick" <atrawick at charter.net>
>Reply-To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion 
>List<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
>To: "The Assessment Discussion List" <assessment at nifl.gov>,"The Adult 
>Education Content Standards Discussion List"<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
>Subject: [ContentStandards 75] Re: [Assessment 239] Re: : A National 
>Systemof Adult Education andLiteracy
>Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 10:28:54 -0500
>
>David, I think this is an intriguing idea.  Lots of issues are whirling
>around in my head, but let's deal with this one first:
>
>Are you proposing the development of national standards or federal
>standards?  It is possible to have a set of national standards, supporting
>curriculum, and standardized assessments--developed and referenced by the
>field as a whole because of the collaborative nature of their development 
>or
>adoption--without having these codified within the federal bureaucracy.  In
>this scenario, the federal government could even provide support through
>funding.  Is this what your getting at, or are you seeing a more hands-on
>role being played by the federal government?
>
>Amy
>
>Amy R. Trawick, M.S. Ed.
>North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
>atrawick at charter.net
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "David Rosen" <djrosen at comcast.net>
>To: <hdooley at riral.org>; "The Assessment Discussion List"
><assessment at nifl.gov>
>Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 1:09 PM
>Subject: [Assessment 239] Re: : A National System of Adult Education
>andLiteracy
>
>
>Howard,
>
>Thanks for your thoughtful comments.  See my replies below.  I hope
>others will join in this discussion, too, from the Assessment list
>and from the Content Standards list.
>
>David J. Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>On Mar 15, 2006, at 10:44 AM, Howard L. Dooley, Jr. wrote:
>
> > I think David has a good, basic overall plan here.  I wouldn't say the
> > plan is top-down either.  I think it recognizes that there is push
> > today
> > to be able to look at success across states and throughout the
> > country,
> > and for that we need a way to connect our local efforts into a
> > national
> > system.  Think globally; act locally -- as always the best politics
> > and
> > the best basis for a system of adult ed.  But my sense is that, right
> > now, funders are in favor of such a national system, but most
> > practitioners are not.
>
>I wish that funders _were_ in favor of this.  The largest adult
>education funder, the U.S. Department of Education, is reluctant to
>establish a set of national curriculum standards.  I am not sure why,
>but guess that it is because a long-standing tradition that
>curriculum standards  in American Education are in the control of
>local school committees and state boards of education.  The closest
>the USDOE has come to this is funding the development of a
>"warehouse" of state curriculum standards,
>[ http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/Source/GetStandard.asp ] and
>(through the National Institute for Literacy) supporting the
>development -- but not the endorsement as national curriculum
>standards - of Equipped for the Future. (I am not sure I have that
>exactly right so if someone has better information, please let us
>know.) The problem, as many people have said, is not that we lack
>standards in the U.S., but that we have too many competing sets of
>standards.  We lack a set of national standards that everyone uses.
>
> > Because, really, the benefits of such a system
> > are largely for the funders, policy makers, and big-picture people;
> > for
> > the instructor and learner in the classroom, what is the impact of it?
> > How does it matter that what I need to learn and am mastering to get a
> > job in RI is also what someone needs to learn and master to enter a
> > community college in AL?  It may be interesting, but what does it
> > matter?
>
>I agree that a system such as I propose would benefit funders.
>However, it would also benefit teachers and learners.  A lot of
>curriculum -- often very good curriculum -- is developed in programs
>and states across the country.  But much of it is not published, and
>if it is, is not easily accessed.  It is possible to find some good
>curriculum through NIFL LINCS, and in other places on the Web, for
>example, but this takes time, a lot of time.  Teachers don't have
>much time to search for curriculum.  It would be of great interest to
>most teachers if high quality curriculum --ready to download and use
>-- and adapt to local needs -- in class tomorrow could _easily be
>found_.
>
>Let me give you an example.  As I understand it (folks from Arizona
>correct me if I got this wrong) Arizona has a set of state ESOL
>standards that are widely used, and respected by ESOL teachers
>there.  A couple of ESOL teachers at Pima County Community College
>decided that they were useful as far as they went, but they wanted to
>have good web-based instruction linked to those standards.  So they
>spent hours and hours finding -- and linking -- instruction on a Web
>page that they call The Splendid ESOL Web [ http://cc.pima.edu/
>~slundquist/index.htm ] When I was doing workshops in Arizona a
>couple of years ago, ESOL teachers popped up from across the state to
>tell me about The Splendid ESOL Web and how useful it is to them.
>This is instructional for us all: a set of standards developed by and
>respected by teachers, a set of online instructional resources found
>and organized/linked by ESOL Teachers, and widely used by other ESOL
>teachers.  This sounds like a model to emulate in national curriculum
>development.
>
>Take this a step further.  Suppose we had an agreed-upon format for
>developing instructional resources, nothing fancy, one that most
>teachers found easy to understand, easy to use, and that was linked
>to national standards.  Suppose further that the format referenced
>national curriculum standards, that every lesson or module or
>learning object built by a teacher referenced a national curriculum
>standard.  Then suppose the modules teachers developed were peer-
>reviewed and those that were approved were stored in an easily-
>accessible Web-based instructional lesson/module/learning objects
>database where other teachers could access them by standard, topic,
>level, etc.  Some of the elements of what I have described are in
>place. For example, the Lesson Plan Builder, developed by OTAN in
>California
>[ http://www.lessonplanbuilder.org/lessons/ ], has a practical format
>for creating lesson plans online, and links them to California (and
>nationally used) standards.  OTAN  plans to store these lessons in an
>accessible database. When that's done, the teacher's chore of finding
>good lesson plans will be easier. Also, I very much like that these
>are lesson plans created "bottom up" by teachers (or perhaps even by
>teachers and their students together.)
>
> > I also think that many of the standards, curriculum and assessment
> > pieces already exist.  If one has the time -- and right now it takes
> > time, believe me -- to peruse and ferret the web, you can find a
> > wealth
> > of excellent curricula that is the start of a "comprehensive,
> > modularized [curriculum], available in generic as well as
> > work-contextualized units, in English".
>
>Yes, much of it is there -- and it's hard to find.  Some of it is not
>there, however.  Try to find work-contextualized online lessons which
>students can access directly (not teacher lesson plans but student
>lessons online.) I have been searching high and low for these -- in
>health care work -- but haven't found much.  Yet, given the good jobs
>going begging in health care in New England -- and elsewhere --
>wouldn't it be useful if health care workers could do some of their
>basic skills learning online and if the instruction were
>contextualized or embedded in health care work?
>
> > Much of it "available in free
> > online in units that teachers could download and use in their
> > classrooms, that tutors could use with their one-one-one or smallgroup
> > instruction".  We use several items for our EL Civics, ESL
> > listening and
> > ABE math curriculua that are from the web.  The weakest link for us is
> > "material in self-instructional formats that adult learners can use
> > directly online."
>
>Yes, that is the weakest link.
>
> > There's a lot of print stuff that's been transferred
> > to the web, put it's not exciting or constructivist enough to engage
> > self-directed learners, unless they are high level readers and highly
> > self-motivated.
>
>Right you are.
>
> > So, I think we could get there more quickly than we might think, but
> > only if most of us really want to get there at all.
>
>Your state, Rhode Island, the first wireless Internet access state,
>border-to-border, would be a perfect "testbed" for a system such as I
>am proposing.  I think if teachers and tutors understood how useful
>this could be they would clamor for it.  Maybe you could get teachers
>in Rhode Island to think about this.
>
> >  From a sincere, big-picture kind-of-guy,
> > Howard D.
>
>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > David Rosen wrote:
> >
> >> Assessment Colleagues,
> >>
> >> Marie wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>> What do we need?  National standards?  Is that the most important
> >>> thing that will help combat these issues?
> >>>
> >>> A different way to capture learning?  What would that look like?
> >>> Remember that the needs of the funder and public are quite
> >>> different than the needs of the teacher and student ? and both are
> >>> legitimate needs.
> >>>
> >>> What are your thoughts on these issues?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >> Ignore for the moment the current political political realities, and
> >> consider just the merits and faults, not the practicalities, of what
> >> I propose, a national System of Adult Education and Literacy which
> >> has three aligned components: National Curriculum Standards, (Free)
> >> National Curricula, and Standardized Assessments.  Such a system
> >> could have other components, but for now, I suggest we look at these
> >> three.
> >>
> >> 1. Sets of national curriculum standards for: a) adult ESL/ESOL/ELL,
> >> b) ABE (including adult basic education) c) ASE (adult secondary
> >> education/GED/EDP/ADP) and d) Transition to College programs ,
> >> developed through a process which is widely respected by the field.
> >> (Some would argue that we already have that in Equipped for the
> >> Future.)
> >>
> >> 2. National curricula developed based on those standards and
> >> available for states to adopt (or adapt) as they choose.  The
> >> curricula need to be comprehensive, modularized, available in generic
> >> as well as work-contextualized units, in English but also bilingual
> >> in Spanish and possibly other languages.  It needs to be available
> >> free online in units that teachers could download and use in their
> >> classrooms, that tutors could use with their one-one-one or small
> >> group instruction, and in self-instructional formats that adult
> >> learners could use directly online.  (Yes I know how big a task all
> >> this is.)
> >>
> >> 3. Standardized assessments developed against the national curriculum
> >> standards (tests, but also performance-based, direct assessments)
> >> which have a high degree of validity for measuring the national
> >> standards.
> >>
> >> Some might think that what I propose is too top-down.  I would argue
> >> that it could be very bottom-up if the field -- and adult learner
> >> leaders -- are/have been/will be well-represented in setting the
> >> standards, and if the modules can be be selected to meet specific
> >> learner goals and contexts as well as to the standards.  A national
> >> curriculum could be made up of a database of thousands of units of
> >> instruction (modules, learning objects) which could be very easily
> >> found and in minutes organized/reorganized to fit learners' goals and
> >> contexts.  An adult learner or a group who need to improve their
> >> reading skills and who are interested in the context of parenting
> >> could easily access standards-based modules on parenting issues with
> >> reading materials at the right level(s).  A teacher whose students
> >> worked in health care and who needed to improve their math skills
> >> could quickly find and download materials/lessons for using numeracy
> >> in health care settings. A student who wanted to learn online and who
> >> wanted a job in environmental cleanup work could access standards-
> >> based basic skills/occupational education lessons in this area,
> >> accompanied by an online career coach and and online tutor.  These
> >> examples just hint at the complexity and sophistication of what I
> >> propose, and will have some shaking their heads at the cost.  But,
> >> consider that if this is a national curriculum, the costs of
> >> developing such modules have the benefits of scale, that those
> >> curricula could be widely used -- and freely available.  (Sorry
> >> publishers, this could eat into your profits.)
> >>
> >> There is more, but I'll stop with this.
> >>
> >> Okay, let the questions and brickbats fly.
> >>
> >> David J. Rosen
> >> djrosen at comcast.net
> >>
> >> -------------------------------
> >> National Institute for Literacy
> >> Assessment mailing list
> >> Assessment at nifl.gov
> >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> > -------------------------------
> > National Institute for Literacy
> > Assessment mailing list
> > Assessment at nifl.gov
> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
>
>-------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Assessment mailing list
>Assessment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards




From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Mar 27 14:16:02 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:16:02 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 79] Fwd: [Assessment 268] Re: More questions for
	ETS
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060327141359.03e18c08@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

I am cross-posting this message from the Assessment Discussion List.  You 
may be interested in the answers that Julie Eastland has provided on ETS's 
work in assessments.

Aaron


>Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 11:22:29 -0500
>From: "Eastland, Julie" <jeastland at ETS.ORG>
>Subject: [Assessment 268] Re: More questions for ETS
>Sender: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov
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>
>Hi Everyone,
>I will be available periodically this week to answer the questions that 
>are posted.
>
>1. Are these assessments that students will take on-line?
>
>Yes. They will be developed for on-line use. The students will take the 
>assessments on-line, and the assessments will be scored and scaled in 
>real-time on -line and immediately produce score reports, which 
>institutions can release directly to the student and/or teacher. There 
>will be a tutorial developed for students to access if they need 
>assistance with basic computer skills such as using a mouse and 
>highlighting, and the tutorial will also allow students to become familiar 
>with the item types that will be seen on the test.
>
>2. Aren t these assessments based on EFF (Equipped for the Future)?  What 
>if my state does not use EFF?
>
>Yes, they are based on the EFF Reading and Math frameworks, and will use 
>real-life materials to assess student knowledge and proficiency in those 
>areas. We will work with participants to align the tests to meet the NRS 
>requirements, which should make the tests useful even in states where the 
>EFF frameworks are not utilized.
>
>3. What does a state need to do in order to join the project?
>
>A state would need to commit to the next phase of the project (a 2 year 
>period), which would mean signing a Memorandum of Understanding with ETS, 
>agreeing to attend development meetings, and piloting all of the tests 
>(reading with Understanding, Reading Components, and Using Math to Solve 
>Problems)  with a minimum of 330 adult test candidates. The cost of 
>piloting is expected to be $10,000 per state. If your state is interested, 
>I would encourage you to contact me directly for more information about 
>this effort - I would be happy to share a copy of the MOU with you..
>
>4. If my state joins this project, does that mean we must then use these 
>assessments?  If we don t join this project, can my state access these 
>assessments anyway, even if we were not in the development project?
>
>If your state decides to join this project, you will not be required to 
>use the assessments beyond the pilot stage. If you are involved in the 
>pilot stage, you will have input into the development of the tests, 
>including score reports. If you were not in the development project, the 
>tests will be made available for purchase after the development phase. At 
>this time, we anticipate the final costs of the test to be approximately 
>$10 per test.
>
>I look forward to further discussion this week.
>Best regards,
>Julie
>
>________________________
>Julie K. Eastland
>Program Administrator
>Center for Global Assessment
>Educational Testing Service
>Rosedale Rd.
>Princeton, NJ 08541
>jeastland at ets.org
>
>________________________________
>
>From: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov 
>[<mailto:assessment-bounces at nifl.gov>mailto:assessment-bounces at nifl.gov] 
>On Behalf Of Marie Cora
>Sent: Monday, March 27, 2006 11:08 AM
>To: assessment at nifl.gov
>Subject: [Assessment 265] More questions for ETS
>
>
>Hello everyone,
>
>
>
>I have received a few questions to be posted for the discussion:
>
>
>
>
>
>-Are these assessments that students will take on-line?
>
>
>
>-Aren t these assessments based on EFF (Equipped for the Future)?  What if 
>my state does not use EFF?
>
>
>
>-What does a state need to do in order to join the project?
>
>
>
>-If my state joins this project, does that mean we must then use these 
>assessments?  If we don t join this project, can my state access these 
>assessments anyway, even if we were not in the development project?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>If you have questions, please feel free to send your question to me for 
>posting or feel free to post it yourself.
>
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>marie cora
>
>Assessment Discussion List Moderator
>
>
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------
>This e-mail and any files transmitted with it may contain privileged or 
>confidential information.
>It is solely for use by the individual for whom it is intended, even if 
>addressed incorrectly.
>If you received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender; do not 
>disclose, copy, distribute,
>or take any action in reliance on the contents of this information; and 
>delete it from
>your system. Any other use of this e-mail is prohibited.
>
>Thank you for your compliance.
>--------------------------------------------------
>-------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Assessment mailing list
>Assessment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Mar 28 08:54:57 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 08:54:57 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 80]  What are States doing with Standards?
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060328084809.03d4a858@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

After reflecting on postings from the past week on National Standards, I 
reviewed questions that subscribers have sent to me about Standards, in 
general.  The most common question appears to be: What are States currently 
doing with Standards?

What is the process that States have gone through when developing or 
creating Standards, adopting or adapting existing Standards (such as 
Equipped for the Future or other Standards), or combining/linking 2 or more 
sets of standards?  What have been the major challenges in this 
process?  What have been the benefits?  What changes have you seen in your 
adult literacy programs as a result of the process?

Are any States willing to share with us?

Thanks,
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)
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



From RSherman at air.org  Tue Mar 28 09:19:58 2006
From: RSherman at air.org (Sherman, Renee)
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 09:19:58 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 81] Re: What are States doing with Standards?
Message-ID: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D701859FD9@dc1ex3.air.org>

The Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse project,funded by the
Office of Vocational and Adult Education, was designed to help states
progress in the development, and alignment of state content standards.
Under that project, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) developed
a Process Guide for Establishing Adult Education Content Standards.  The
guide outlines processes for moving toward fully integrated
standards-based education, including planning, developing, reviewing and
implementing standardards.  It was based on field research as well as
the literature on standards development and can be found at the AECSW
Web site at http://adultedcontentstandards.org   In addition, the AECSW
site is a repository for state and national adult education content
standards in Reading, Mathematics and English Language Acquisition. The
warehouse also allows users to search and retrieve standards documents,
explore specific content within any given set of standards, and generate
reports to show multiple standards within a discipline.  While the
project has ended, the warehouse continues to be updated as new states
develop standards in the above disciplines. 

Renee Sherman

American Institutes for Research 
1000 Thomas Jefferson, NW 
Washington, DC 20007-3541 
202-403-5327 
rsherman at air.org 


-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aaron Kohring
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 8:55 AM
To: AE Content Standards
Subject: [ContentStandards 80] What are States doing with Standards?

Greetings all,

After reflecting on postings from the past week on National Standards, I
reviewed questions that subscribers have sent to me about Standards, in
general.  The most common question appears to be: What are States
currently doing with Standards?

What is the process that States have gone through when developing or
creating Standards, adopting or adapting existing Standards (such as
Equipped for the Future or other Standards), or combining/linking 2 or
more sets of standards?  What have been the major challenges in this
process?  What have been the benefits?  What changes have you seen in
your adult literacy programs as a result of the process?

Are any States willing to share with us?

Thanks,
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)
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

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards




From MKroege at ade.az.gov  Tue Mar 28 10:27:51 2006
From: MKroege at ade.az.gov (Kroeger, Miriam)
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 08:27:51 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 82] Re: What are States doing with Standards?
Message-ID: <1DE339C47662EC4E992656C5E72AABC401BF2380@prodmail2.prod.root>


Arizona has had Content and Performance Standards for Adult Education
since 1999.  The process started in 1998.  We have standards in Reading,
Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, Citizenship, ESOL (renamed ELAA-
English Language Acquisition for Adults in 2005), and we added
Technology in 2005.  We've also revised the standards (except
Citizenship- waiting for the new test from USCIS, and Technology -
they're new enough.)  The fact that we've already revised our standards
should be a hint to others.  They need to be living documents that
respond to teacher and learner feedback, and you have to have the
leadership that will support the fact that they are dynamic and those
dynamics need to be continuously looked at and, when necessary, time,
talent and the field need to be involved in updating and revising.  

Renee Sherman talked about the Standards Warehouse and the guide that
was developed.  The guide should be "must reading" for states
undertaking standards development.  I wish we had one when we started.
And the warehouse itself is so valuable.  The taxonomies related to the
content areas allow you to see how various states have addressed ideas,
concepts and skills in those content areas.  No small accomplishment!!
And it's almost as if this conversation about content standards has to
be aligned to the conversation that is happening on the assessment list,
because assessment should be aligned to standards.

-Miriam Kroeger
Arizona  

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aaron Kohring
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 6:55 AM
To: AE Content Standards
Subject: [ContentStandards 80] What are States doing with Standards?

Greetings all,

After reflecting on postings from the past week on National Standards, I
reviewed questions that subscribers have sent to me about Standards, in
general.  The most common question appears to be: What are States
currently doing with Standards?

What is the process that States have gone through when developing or
creating Standards, adopting or adapting existing Standards (such as
Equipped for the Future or other Standards), or combining/linking 2 or
more sets of standards?  What have been the major challenges in this
process?  What have been the benefits?  What changes have you seen in
your adult literacy programs as a result of the process?

Are any States willing to share with us?

Thanks,
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)
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

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Mar 30 08:09:35 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 08:09:35 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 83] Re: What are States doing with  Standards?
In-Reply-To: <1DE339C47662EC4E992656C5E72AABC401BF2380@prodmail2.prod.ro
 ot>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060330080646.03ceceb0@pop.utk.edu>

Miriam,

Thanks for sharing information with us on Arizona's Standards.

Can you say a little more about what led to the decision to revise the 
Standards?  And what was the process you went through to revise them?

Thanks,
Aaron

At 08:27 AM 3/28/2006 -0700, you wrote:

>Arizona has had Content and Performance Standards for Adult Education
>since 1999.  The process started in 1998.  We have standards in Reading,
>Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, Citizenship, ESOL (renamed ELAA-
>English Language Acquisition for Adults in 2005), and we added
>Technology in 2005.  We've also revised the standards (except
>Citizenship- waiting for the new test from USCIS, and Technology -
>they're new enough.)  The fact that we've already revised our standards
>should be a hint to others.  They need to be living documents that
>respond to teacher and learner feedback, and you have to have the
>leadership that will support the fact that they are dynamic and those
>dynamics need to be continuously looked at and, when necessary, time,
>talent and the field need to be involved in updating and revising.
>
>Renee Sherman talked about the Standards Warehouse and the guide that
>was developed.  The guide should be "must reading" for states
>undertaking standards development.  I wish we had one when we started.
>And the warehouse itself is so valuable.  The taxonomies related to the
>content areas allow you to see how various states have addressed ideas,
>concepts and skills in those content areas.  No small accomplishment!!
>And it's almost as if this conversation about content standards has to
>be aligned to the conversation that is happening on the assessment list,
>because assessment should be aligned to standards.
>
>-Miriam Kroeger
>Arizona
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
>[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aaron Kohring
>Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 6:55 AM
>To: AE Content Standards
>Subject: [ContentStandards 80] What are States doing with Standards?
>
>Greetings all,
>
>After reflecting on postings from the past week on National Standards, I
>reviewed questions that subscribers have sent to me about Standards, in
>general.  The most common question appears to be: What are States
>currently doing with Standards?
>
>What is the process that States have gone through when developing or
>creating Standards, adopting or adapting existing Standards (such as
>Equipped for the Future or other Standards), or combining/linking 2 or
>more sets of standards?  What have been the major challenges in this
>process?  What have been the benefits?  What changes have you seen in
>your adult literacy programs as a result of the process?
>
>Are any States willing to share with us?
>
>Thanks,
>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)
>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
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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



From MKroege at ade.az.gov  Thu Mar 30 11:12:42 2006
From: MKroege at ade.az.gov (Kroeger, Miriam)
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 09:12:42 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 84] Re: Revising standards
Message-ID: <1DE339C47662EC4E992656C5E72AABC401BF2387@prodmail2.prod.root>

When the decision was made to revise the standards, it was based on what
we had heard from our teachers.  They had done some reflective thinking
- what's working, what's not, what do we think about it, what do we need
to do differently.   There was now more research and evidence available
about adult learning than existed in 1998.  We had teachers apply to
work on the revisions, just as we had them apply to work on the
development, so we had people who were really interested and who had
worked with these tools.  

As for process - we surveyed the field about the standards in each of
the content areas; we took their feedback; we broke into teams of 6-10;
we looked at the research and the evidence; we looked at resources that
had become available..  We discussed and argued and came to agreement
and wrote for 2 1/2 days; left, reviewed, came back several weeks later,
reviewed, discussed,argued agreed, wrote some more, left, reviewed.  In
all a revision to one content area took about 10-15 days stretched over
2 to 3 months.  I will say that by the end of 2 1/2 days, your mind is
rather frazzled, so when we left, we gave ourselves "homework" as well
as some "away" time.  We had a marvelous facilitator who, when she first
started in '98 was not familiar with adult education, but was willing to
and did learn about it.  She helped keep us on task, was familiar with
the process of writing standards, helped find some of the research and
resources, was able to help us be clear in what we were writing and
provided gentle but fierce critiques of our products.  She learned from
us, and we from her.  She brought an objectivity and perspective from
outside adult education, which ensured that our product would speak, not
only to adult educators, but to K-12, higher ed people, funders,
decision-makers, politicians.   

Is it worth it?  We believe so.  There is a real richness of material
for content, proficiency and sample activities.  The standards provide
guides and flexibility, and best of all they come from the field.  This
is not the Department of Education imposing the standards, rather
teachers and learners who have said "what does the adult learner need to
know and be able to do"(content); what does it look like when the adult
learner"knows" it and what would be some evidence of that progression of
"knowing" (proficiency), and what would be some contexts that a teacher
and learner could use for this learning (sample activities). 

In the end, I would say, that if you go through the process of
developing standards and use them, you can't help but think about
revising them.  Because if that thought doesn't cross your mind, I would
bet that the standards have sat on shelves and not been used.    

-Miriam 

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aaron Kohring
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 6:10 AM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 83] Re: What are States doing with Standards?

Miriam,

Thanks for sharing information with us on Arizona's Standards.

Can you say a little more about what led to the decision to revise the
Standards?  And what was the process you went through to revise them?

Thanks,
Aaron

At 08:27 AM 3/28/2006 -0700, you wrote:

>Arizona has had Content and Performance Standards for Adult Education 
>since 1999.  The process started in 1998.  We have standards in 
>Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, Citizenship, ESOL 
>(renamed ELAA- English Language Acquisition for Adults in 2005), and we

>added Technology in 2005.  We've also revised the standards (except
>Citizenship- waiting for the new test from USCIS, and Technology - 
>they're new enough.)  The fact that we've already revised our standards

>should be a hint to others.  They need to be living documents that 
>respond to teacher and learner feedback, and you have to have the 
>leadership that will support the fact that they are dynamic and those 
>dynamics need to be continuously looked at and, when necessary, time, 
>talent and the field need to be involved in updating and revising.
>
>Renee Sherman talked about the Standards Warehouse and the guide that 
>was developed.  The guide should be "must reading" for states 
>undertaking standards development.  I wish we had one when we started.
>And the warehouse itself is so valuable.  The taxonomies related to the

>content areas allow you to see how various states have addressed ideas,

>concepts and skills in those content areas.  No small accomplishment!!
>And it's almost as if this conversation about content standards has to 
>be aligned to the conversation that is happening on the assessment 
>list, because assessment should be aligned to standards.
>
>-Miriam Kroeger
>Arizona
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov 
>[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aaron Kohring
>Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 6:55 AM
>To: AE Content Standards
>Subject: [ContentStandards 80] What are States doing with Standards?
>
>Greetings all,
>
>After reflecting on postings from the past week on National Standards, 
>I reviewed questions that subscribers have sent to me about Standards, 
>in general.  The most common question appears to be: What are States 
>currently doing with Standards?
>
>What is the process that States have gone through when developing or 
>creating Standards, adopting or adapting existing Standards (such as 
>Equipped for the Future or other Standards), or combining/linking 2 or 
>more sets of standards?  What have been the major challenges in this 
>process?  What have been the benefits?  What changes have you seen in 
>your adult literacy programs as a result of the process?
>
>Are any States willing to share with us?
>
>Thanks,
>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)
>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
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription 
>settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov To unsubscribe or change your subscription 
>settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Mar 30 13:31:13 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 13:31:13 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 85] Fw: REGISTER NOW: AALPD Pre-Conference at
	COABE
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060330132952.03e517e0@pop.utk.edu>


>
>=====================================
>
>EARLY-BIRD REGISTRATION DEADLINE: TOMORROW - MARCH 31, 2006
>AALPD Preconference at COABE
>
>For those of you attending the 2006 COABE Conference in Houston April 26-29,
>the Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD) would like
>to remind you to register for our pre-conference session, "Sharing 
>Experiences
>in Professional Development," which will take place Wednesday, April 26th 
>from
>9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
>
>This session will include an overview of the latest national projects and
>initiatives related to professional development. A facilitated panel
>presentation will showcase various PD models of NEW STAFF/TEACHER 
>ORIENTATION.
>Also, pre-conference participants will have an opportunity to discuss key
>issues around the professional development policies being advocated for by
>AALPD.
>
>The cost of this AALPD Preconference is $75.00 regardless of when you
>register. To register: <http://www.coabe06.org>
>
>Attached is a copy of the tentative agenda and the PD policies that will be
>discussed.
>
>We hope to see you at COABE - REGISTER NOW!
>
>Jeffrey A. Fantine
>Director, Center for the Study and Development
>of Literacy and Language
>College of Education
>Ohio University
>338 McCracken Hall
>Athens, OH 45701
>800-753-1519
>fax: 740-593-2834
>
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
>ProfessionalDevelopment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>National Institute for Literacy
>Moderators mailing list: Moderators at nifl.gov
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/moderators
>Moderator's Resource Page: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs_dlms/contents.html
>Moderator's List Archive page:
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/private/moderators





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)
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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From dseaman at tamu.edu  Fri Mar 31 12:26:02 2006
From: dseaman at tamu.edu (Don Seaman)
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 11:26:02 -0600
Subject: [ContentStandards 86] Re: What are States doing with Standards?
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060328084809.03d4a858@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <008801c654e8$3d8a2f90$bbe85ba5@coehdserver.tamu.edu>

Aaron:  In response to your request, please find below the progress in Texas 
in regard to the development of content Standards, Benchmarks, Learning 
Activities, etc.  We are in the second year of a three-year project to have 
a product ready for use in the state.  The major activities are listed 
below.

To date we have accomplished the following activities:

 -     A series of focus group interviews in each of the 8 regions of the 
state to determine the
        felt needs of adult education (1) teachers and administrators, and 
(2)
        students. Focus groups with students were held separately from the 
others;

 -     The sharing of those findings at a state-wide workshop in preparation 
for the
        development of standards in the state;

 -    After the workshop, the decision to adopt 5 of the 16 EFF standards 
and
       develop benchmarks (indicators) and learning activities for each 
standard;

 -    Participating in the ESL Consortium of states coordinated by the 
American
        Institutes for Research (AIR) to foster the development of 
standards;

 -    Requesting adult education teachers and administrators to volunteer to 
be on the
        three writing teams (reading and writing, speaking and listening, 
and math);

 -    Conducting four two-day writing team workshops over a six-month period 
to develop
      benchmarks within 6 levels in the 3 writing-team areas.  Three of 
those workshops
      were supervised by national consultants.  Some learning activities 
were also
      developed;

-     Conducting the first field test of those benchmarks.

 -    While the first field test was being conducted, having the benchmarks 
reviewed by
        three additional national consultants.

Activities to be conducted in the future include:

 -    Analyze the data from the first field test and from the consultants' 
review of the
        benchmarks;

 -    Hold a workshop for writing-team members to review the data and make 
needed
        revisions to the benchmarks;

 -    Develop an online repository of benchmark resources, e.g. learning 
activities and
       glossary

 -    Conduct the second field test while acquiring additional learning 
activities from
        teachers and other sources;

 -    Analyze the data from the second field test;

 -    Conduct the final writing-team workshop for a final review/revision of 
the
        benchmarks;

 -    Finalize the acquisition of learning activities;

 -    Develop the final form of the benchmarks and learning activities 
within the 5 EFF
       standards adopted for Texas.

Some of the challenges have been:
    - the time, effort, and expense required for all of the activities;

    - trying to attain cohesiveness among the three separate writing-teams; 
and

    - communicating our progress to anxious folks around the state who have 
heard rumors of our
       work, but who haven't seen much from a project they know will affect 
their future work.

The writing teams have given a lot of time and effort and will provide even 
more.  They are dedicated to developing a quality product for use in Texas. 
The staff at Texas LEARNS have provided encouragement and the financial 
resources necessary for a project of this magnitude and the project team 
members have observed a number of professional adult educators, some of whom 
had never met before, working together on an intensive and sometimes 
difficult task to provide a set quality benchmarks our state.  It is a 
really satisfying experience to be involved in these kinds of "happenings".

I hope this is the information you desired.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Aaron Kohring" <akohring at utk.edu>
To: "AE Content Standards" <contentstandards at nifl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 7:54 AM
Subject: [ContentStandards 80] What are States doing with Standards?


> Greetings all,
>
> After reflecting on postings from the past week on National Standards, I
> reviewed questions that subscribers have sent to me about Standards, in
> general.  The most common question appears to be: What are States 
> currently
> doing with Standards?
>
> What is the process that States have gone through when developing or
> creating Standards, adopting or adapting existing Standards (such as
> Equipped for the Future or other Standards), or combining/linking 2 or 
> more
> sets of standards?  What have been the major challenges in this
> process?  What have been the benefits?  What changes have you seen in your
> adult literacy programs as a result of the process?
>
> Are any States willing to share with us?
>
> Thanks,
> 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)
> 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
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> 




From pam_blundell at sde.state.ok.us  Fri Mar 31 15:27:54 2006
From: pam_blundell at sde.state.ok.us (Pam Blundell)
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:27:54 -0600
Subject: [ContentStandards 87]  Oklahoma's approach to content standards
Message-ID: <fc.000f8dfd004580d3000f8dfd004580d3.458189@sde.state.ok.us>

Aaron, 
Attached is information a team from Oklahoma presented in Atlantic City
last December.  This session was about Oklahoma's approach to ABE content
standards through EFF and the three-year training plan we are using to
introduce directors and teachers to content standards and standards-based
instruction.  We started with reading using the Read with Understanding
Curriculum Framework two years ago.  Content standards in math are being
introduced through the Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
Curriculum Framework this year.   Our plan is to introduce writing next
year.   Each year we have learned new things, made adjustments, added a
new focus and determined next steps in professional development deemed
necessary to support the work started. 

While this is truly a work in progress, we have been pleased with our
approach to content standards using the EFF Curriculum Frameworks.  There
is still much to do and much to learn.  However, our partnership with the
EFF trainers and developers of the Curriculum Frameworks is making this
task manageable.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Pam Blundell

   

Pam Blundell, Coordinator
Lifelong Learning Section
Oklahoma State Department of Education
2500 North Lincoln Blvd. Room 115
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4599
405-521-3321
1-800-405-0355
pam_blundell at sde.state.ok.us


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From andreawilder at comcast.net  Fri Mar 31 16:08:24 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 16:08:24 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 88]  Whose content?
Message-ID: <ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>

Well, hello, everyone!

i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy, a lot of 
work, but there are revelations, too.  The printing press was an agent 
for standardization in chronology and in data, a general unifier of  
many manuscripts (by hand!)  that enabled writers to really communicate 
with each other.  With printing:  the idea that progress, poaitive 
change, could be made, as technological changes  expanded the known 
world.

I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring I guess 
the attainment of certain skills and knowledge  through print.  In the 
world of the early printing press that would have been impossible:, 
"knowledge" was just being assembled.  The idea of "content standards" 
seems very narrow, circumscribed.  first one must agree on the content, 
;  how does that happen?  CASAS?  EFF?  A bit of a puzzle.

Andrea Wilder



From djrosen at comcast.net  Fri Mar 31 16:28:03 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 16:28:03 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 89] Re: Whose content?
In-Reply-To: <ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
References: <ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <41D1D7C4-8205-4A6E-98EC-7DBD0CFC2071@comcast.net>

Andrea,

My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this discussion  
list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about Equipped For  
the Future curriculum standards.  "Content standards" is a broader  
name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,  EFF  
curriculum standards.  The discussion now includes state-developed  
curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum  
frameworks and standards used in other countries.  It could also  
include industry-specific skills standards, as they might be used in  
developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills curricula,  
although I think no one has brought this up yet.

Aaron, is this interpretation correct?

David J. Rosen
newsomeassociates.com
djrosen at comcast.net

On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:

> Well, hello, everyone!
>
> i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy, a lot of
> work, but there are revelations, too.  The printing press was an agent
> for standardization in chronology and in data, a general unifier of
> many manuscripts (by hand!)  that enabled writers to really  
> communicate
> with each other.  With printing:  the idea that progress, poaitive
> change, could be made, as technological changes  expanded the known
> world.
>
> I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring I guess
> the attainment of certain skills and knowledge  through print.  In the
> world of the early printing press that would have been impossible:,
> "knowledge" was just being assembled.  The idea of "content standards"
> seems very narrow, circumscribed.  first one must agree on the  
> content,
> ;  how does that happen?  CASAS?  EFF?  A bit of a puzzle.
>
> Andrea Wilder
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to  
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Mar 31 17:03:39 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:03:39 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 90] Re: Whose content?
In-Reply-To: <41D1D7C4-8205-4A6E-98EC-7DBD0CFC2071@comcast.net>
References: <ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>

Yes, David- I agree with your interpretation.  And I'm also glad you 
mentioned other areas where the term Content Standards could apply.  In 
fact, there has recently been some discussion on the Technology list about 
Standards for using Technology.

Andrea, as regards to print, do you think standards for Reading & Writing 
would apply?  And what about certain applications of print- advocating for 
a point of view if seen through an EFF lens could also bring in the 
standard "Advocate and Influence".  What do you think?

Aaron

At 04:28 PM 3/31/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>Andrea,
>
>My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this discussion
>list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about Equipped For
>the Future curriculum standards.  "Content standards" is a broader
>name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,  EFF
>curriculum standards.  The discussion now includes state-developed
>curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum
>frameworks and standards used in other countries.  It could also
>include industry-specific skills standards, as they might be used in
>developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills curricula,
>although I think no one has brought this up yet.
>
>Aaron, is this interpretation correct?
>
>David J. Rosen
>newsomeassociates.com
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
>
> > Well, hello, everyone!
> >
> > i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy, a lot of
> > work, but there are revelations, too.  The printing press was an agent
> > for standardization in chronology and in data, a general unifier of
> > many manuscripts (by hand!)  that enabled writers to really
> > communicate
> > with each other.  With printing:  the idea that progress, poaitive
> > change, could be made, as technological changes  expanded the known
> > world.
> >
> > I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring I guess
> > the attainment of certain skills and knowledge  through print.  In the
> > world of the early printing press that would have been impossible:,
> > "knowledge" was just being assembled.  The idea of "content standards"
> > seems very narrow, circumscribed.  first one must agree on the
> > content,
> > ;  how does that happen?  CASAS?  EFF?  A bit of a puzzle.
> >
> > Andrea Wilder
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------
> > National Institute for Literacy
> > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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



From andreawilder at comcast.net  Sat Apr  1 11:00:06 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 11:00:06 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 91] Re: Whose content?
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
References: <ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <cb7ef4880da60547b6a877e26ded00b6@comcast.net>

Dear David, Aaron,

Nothing like a top of the head response to engender controversy and 
maybe dismay, but  here goes.

The story of the early printing press is all about adult literacy, in 
two volumes with very small print, i don't think a "school" has been 
mentioned yet.  Instead I find out how all sorts of adults used the 
press--churchmen, nascent scientists, guild members, small shopkeepers, 
the list is very long.  A "gutter press" emerged.The printing press 
organized knowledge and essentailly broke the guild system, as 
knowledge could now be  gotten through a book, not a person.  Without 
the printing press we would have been either dead or Catholic.

I remember seeing a draft of a paper by Sondra Stein in maybe  1997 and 
  having two reactions:  1)  wish somebody had given me role maps, they 
sure would have helped,  plus 2)	life cannot be  reduced to role maps 
which by their structure and  assumptions are narrow and ethnocentric 
(which I have been charged with being, myself).

Being a qualititative researcher, I always ask:  can I find myself in 
here?

What I think the EFF standards are is  an updated guild system, with 
the teacher the master and the adult learner the novice.

Maybe the EFF standards are an answer to the problem of attendance--EFF 
carries the student over  irregular attendance.  Maybe EFF is an answer 
to the dilemma of what to teach and a common vocabulary for students 
and teachers.  So what I call "narrow" is maybe a way of organizing 
chaos.  EFF is CERTAINLY a tool for acculaturation into  American  
norms.

I understand that Sondra  had many years of teaching adults, so much  
of  EFF is guided by  her experience.  i can't argue with that, don't 
want to.  EFF is a phenomenal effort.

Do you play Mah Jongg?  That's how i think of David's idea of thousands 
of modules--a universe of little tiles (modules) floating out in 
(cyber)space.  By themselves the tiles break free of roles, you don't 
have to fit the tiles into an EFF framework, though it would be useful  
to have an overarching system, like the "curriculum standards" we as 
teachers invented when i was a school teacher.

I don't want to offend anyone, and i am aware that this list  serves 
teachers, administrators, who  use EFF and maybe helped make EFF.  But 
I will just continue--the "Equipped for the Future Content Standards"  
is really hard to get through.  i guess it must have been written for 
multiple audiences.  if I were thinking of using EFF I would want a 
three-holed punched explanation of EFF with a one page executive 
summary, maybe, or description of how it was built, then at  most  5  
pages (maybe 3) of narrative about how to" do"  EFF.

So...any "selling"  or "explication" of EFF should focus  first on  the 
problems it seeks  to solve.

What i would really like is feedback  on EFF--from people who use 
it--on my points:

1)	ethnocentric (fitting into American culture)
2)	normative ( idealized American values, e.g., "respect for diversity)
2)	narrow (no mention of basic survival skills)	

As i recall, Tom Sticht  mentioned after reading George D.'s  book that 
EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully  grounded approach to data 
gathering--the categories were  givens, did not emerge.

So please correct me  on any  of the points above;  skewering is 
painful, so leave off the sword play,  I  think.

Ready to be educated.

Andrea




On Mar 31, 2006, at 5:03 PM, Aaron Kohring wrote:

> Yes, David- I agree with your interpretation.  And I'm also glad you
> mentioned other areas where the term Content Standards could apply.  In
> fact, there has recently been some discussion on the Technology list 
> about
> Standards for using Technology.
>
> Andrea, as regards to print, do you think standards for Reading & 
> Writing
> would apply?  And what about certain applications of print- advocating 
> for
> a point of view if seen through an EFF lens could also bring in the
> standard "Advocate and Influence".  What do you think?
>
> Aaron
>
> At 04:28 PM 3/31/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>> Andrea,
>>
>> My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this discussion
>> list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about Equipped For
>> the Future curriculum standards.  "Content standards" is a broader
>> name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,  EFF
>> curriculum standards.  The discussion now includes state-developed
>> curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum
>> frameworks and standards used in other countries.  It could also
>> include industry-specific skills standards, as they might be used in
>> developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills curricula,
>> although I think no one has brought this up yet.
>>
>> Aaron, is this interpretation correct?
>>
>> David J. Rosen
>> newsomeassociates.com
>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>
>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
>>
>>> Well, hello, everyone!
>>>
>>> i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy, a lot 
>>> of
>>> work, but there are revelations, too.  The printing press was an 
>>> agent
>>> for standardization in chronology and in data, a general unifier of
>>> many manuscripts (by hand!)  that enabled writers to really
>>> communicate
>>> with each other.  With printing:  the idea that progress, poaitive
>>> change, could be made, as technological changes  expanded the known
>>> world.
>>>
>>> I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring I guess
>>> the attainment of certain skills and knowledge  through print.  In 
>>> the
>>> world of the early printing press that would have been impossible:,
>>> "knowledge" was just being assembled.  The idea of "content 
>>> standards"
>>> seems very narrow, circumscribed.  first one must agree on the
>>> content,
>>> ;  how does that happen?  CASAS?  EFF?  A bit of a puzzle.
>>>
>>> Andrea Wilder
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
> 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)
> 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
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



From andreawilder at comcast.net  Tue Apr  4 09:29:26 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 09:29:26 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 92] Re: Whose content?
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
References: <ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <068313e26c2d3e5ddae624b9387a5a3c@comcast.net>

Aaron, David,

I'm replying to your questions in a somewhat piecemeal way, sorry about 
this.

I think it is very important to educate adults in how to speak--how to 
compose and deliver an argument, how to ask questions, and how to read 
a text and then ask for further information.  There are almost 
"formulas" for these interactions, almost like scripts, and they can be 
learned.  I go over scripts, let's call them, often in my household 
which includes at this moment a Japanese woman who teaches Japanese, 
and a newly graduated college student in a job in a medical foundation. 
  With both women we devise scripts, based  on my experience in both 
teaching and working with difficult people.

Here's a scenario for adult literacy.  A person tries to read a menu, 
succeeds somewhat, and needs to ask a question of a waiter so they can 
get what they want to eat.  What questions would these be?  How can the 
person get the food they want to eat?  This could be a very scripted 
conversation and people should be supported to learn these scripts.

When we talk literacy,  we talk about becoming part of the culture, 
moving from the margins to the mainstream.  Well, the mainstream has 
all these scripts.

Last week I wanted to find out how much a certain library card would 
cost.  I had to negotiate with 4 people to get the card.  I had to know 
the script ahead of time.  This is akin to looking at a map before 
setting out.  So, literacy is embedded, and this is how one sample of 
embededdness (sp?) works.

I'm thinking of literacy as a play, a little vignette.

About EFF Content Standards.  I hope i made it clear (I don't think I 
did) that  I know the difference between what is on paper and what is 
actually being done, as reported by those on the previous EFF list 
serv.  In my Friday post I am only talking about written presentation 
of the program.

Again about content standards--NCLB suffers under them.  I have read 
suggestions in Ed Week about using the NAEP tests as nation-wide 
substitutes for the fragmented situation at present.  Could EFF do 
this?  I don't know.

Andrea




On Mar 31, 2006, at 5:03 PM, Aaron Kohring wrote:

> Yes, David- I agree with your interpretation.  And I'm also glad you
> mentioned other areas where the term Content Standards could apply.  In
> fact, there has recently been some discussion on the Technology list 
> about
> Standards for using Technology.
>
> Andrea, as regards to print, do you think standards for Reading & 
> Writing
> would apply?  And what about certain applications of print- advocating 
> for
> a point of view if seen through an EFF lens could also bring in the
> standard "Advocate and Influence".  What do you think?
>
> Aaron
>
> At 04:28 PM 3/31/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>> Andrea,
>>
>> My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this discussion
>> list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about Equipped For
>> the Future curriculum standards.  "Content standards" is a broader
>> name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,  EFF
>> curriculum standards.  The discussion now includes state-developed
>> curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum
>> frameworks and standards used in other countries.  It could also
>> include industry-specific skills standards, as they might be used in
>> developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills curricula,
>> although I think no one has brought this up yet.
>>
>> Aaron, is this interpretation correct?
>>
>> David J. Rosen
>> newsomeassociates.com
>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>
>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
>>
>>> Well, hello, everyone!
>>>
>>> i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy, a lot 
>>> of
>>> work, but there are revelations, too.  The printing press was an 
>>> agent
>>> for standardization in chronology and in data, a general unifier of
>>> many manuscripts (by hand!)  that enabled writers to really
>>> communicate
>>> with each other.  With printing:  the idea that progress, poaitive
>>> change, could be made, as technological changes  expanded the known
>>> world.
>>>
>>> I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring I guess
>>> the attainment of certain skills and knowledge  through print.  In 
>>> the
>>> world of the early printing press that would have been impossible:,
>>> "knowledge" was just being assembled.  The idea of "content 
>>> standards"
>>> seems very narrow, circumscribed.  first one must agree on the
>>> content,
>>> ;  how does that happen?  CASAS?  EFF?  A bit of a puzzle.
>>>
>>> Andrea Wilder
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
> 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)
> 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
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Apr  4 08:50:35 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 08:50:35 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 93] Re: Whose content?
In-Reply-To: <cb7ef4880da60547b6a877e26ded00b6@comcast.net>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060404082745.03e71390@pop.utk.edu>

Andrea,

Thanks for your thought-provoking questions.  I wanted to make some 
clarification on a couple of your points below before others jump into the 
discussion.

1) "i am aware that this list serves teachers, administrators, who use EFF 
and maybe helped make EFF."
--  To clarify, this list serves a broader audience than those just using 
EFF Standards. The intent is to include all efforts involved with using 
Content Standards in an adult education setting.  Some states, as you 
mention, are using EFF standards, some are using a subset of those 
standards, and others are using other standards which may be compiled from 
multiple sources.  So this discussion list hopes to encourage the sharing 
of what is happening within that larger audience.

And this discussion list continues to have a goal to be inclusive of the 
system at all levels- we hope to continue the current discussion of 
standards work at the State level, but also have future discussions 
regarding the use/impact of standards with 
programs/administrators/teachers/learners.

2) "As i recall, Tom Sticht  mentioned after reading George D.'s  book that 
EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully  grounded approach to data 
gathering--the categories were  givens, did not emerge."
-- In regards to the categories that were 'named' during the EFF research, 
if this refers to the 'Purposes' learners attend adult education, 'Role 
Maps', 'Common Activities', 'Standards', 'Performance Continua', etc.-- 
then this was very much data driven.  Qualitative research methods were 
used with data collected from the field (from learners, teachers, program & 
state administrators) in an iterative process in order to name each of 
these categories.

Andrea, I might need more information from you to know if this answers or 
clarifies your points above.

Sincerely,
Aaron


At 11:00 AM 4/1/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>Dear David, Aaron,
>
>Nothing like a top of the head response to engender controversy and
>maybe dismay, but  here goes.
>
>The story of the early printing press is all about adult literacy, in
>two volumes with very small print, i don't think a "school" has been
>mentioned yet.  Instead I find out how all sorts of adults used the
>press--churchmen, nascent scientists, guild members, small shopkeepers,
>the list is very long.  A "gutter press" emerged.The printing press
>organized knowledge and essentailly broke the guild system, as
>knowledge could now be  gotten through a book, not a person.  Without
>the printing press we would have been either dead or Catholic.
>
>I remember seeing a draft of a paper by Sondra Stein in maybe  1997 and
>   having two reactions:  1)  wish somebody had given me role maps, they
>sure would have helped,  plus 2)        life cannot be  reduced to role maps
>which by their structure and  assumptions are narrow and ethnocentric
>(which I have been charged with being, myself).
>
>Being a qualititative researcher, I always ask:  can I find myself in
>here?
>
>What I think the EFF standards are is  an updated guild system, with
>the teacher the master and the adult learner the novice.
>
>Maybe the EFF standards are an answer to the problem of attendance--EFF
>carries the student over  irregular attendance.  Maybe EFF is an answer
>to the dilemma of what to teach and a common vocabulary for students
>and teachers.  So what I call "narrow" is maybe a way of organizing
>chaos.  EFF is CERTAINLY a tool for acculaturation into  American
>norms.
>
>I understand that Sondra  had many years of teaching adults, so much
>of  EFF is guided by  her experience.  i can't argue with that, don't
>want to.  EFF is a phenomenal effort.
>
>Do you play Mah Jongg?  That's how i think of David's idea of thousands
>of modules--a universe of little tiles (modules) floating out in
>(cyber)space.  By themselves the tiles break free of roles, you don't
>have to fit the tiles into an EFF framework, though it would be useful
>to have an overarching system, like the "curriculum standards" we as
>teachers invented when i was a school teacher.
>
>I don't want to offend anyone, and i am aware that this list  serves
>teachers, administrators, who  use EFF and maybe helped make EFF.  But
>I will just continue--the "Equipped for the Future Content Standards"
>is really hard to get through.  i guess it must have been written for
>multiple audiences.  if I were thinking of using EFF I would want a
>three-holed punched explanation of EFF with a one page executive
>summary, maybe, or description of how it was built, then at  most  5
>pages (maybe 3) of narrative about how to" do"  EFF.
>
>So...any "selling"  or "explication" of EFF should focus  first on  the
>problems it seeks  to solve.
>
>What i would really like is feedback  on EFF--from people who use
>it--on my points:
>
>1)      ethnocentric (fitting into American culture)
>2)      normative ( idealized American values, e.g., "respect for diversity)
>2)      narrow (no mention of basic survival skills)
>
>As i recall, Tom Sticht  mentioned after reading George D.'s  book that
>EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully  grounded approach to data
>gathering--the categories were  givens, did not emerge.
>
>So please correct me  on any  of the points above;  skewering is
>painful, so leave off the sword play,  I  think.
>
>Ready to be educated.
>
>Andrea
>
>
>
>
>On Mar 31, 2006, at 5:03 PM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
>
> > Yes, David- I agree with your interpretation.  And I'm also glad you
> > mentioned other areas where the term Content Standards could apply.  In
> > fact, there has recently been some discussion on the Technology list
> > about
> > Standards for using Technology.
> >
> > Andrea, as regards to print, do you think standards for Reading &
> > Writing
> > would apply?  And what about certain applications of print- advocating
> > for
> > a point of view if seen through an EFF lens could also bring in the
> > standard "Advocate and Influence".  What do you think?
> >
> > Aaron
> >
> > At 04:28 PM 3/31/2006 -0500, you wrote:
> >> Andrea,
> >>
> >> My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this discussion
> >> list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about Equipped For
> >> the Future curriculum standards.  "Content standards" is a broader
> >> name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,  EFF
> >> curriculum standards.  The discussion now includes state-developed
> >> curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum
> >> frameworks and standards used in other countries.  It could also
> >> include industry-specific skills standards, as they might be used in
> >> developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills curricula,
> >> although I think no one has brought this up yet.
> >>
> >> Aaron, is this interpretation correct?
> >>
> >> David J. Rosen
> >> newsomeassociates.com
> >> djrosen at comcast.net
> >>
> >> On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
> >>
> >>> Well, hello, everyone!
> >>>
> >>> i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy, a lot
> >>> of
> >>> work, but there are revelations, too.  The printing press was an
> >>> agent
> >>> for standardization in chronology and in data, a general unifier of
> >>> many manuscripts (by hand!)  that enabled writers to really
> >>> communicate
> >>> with each other.  With printing:  the idea that progress, poaitive
> >>> change, could be made, as technological changes  expanded the known
> >>> world.
> >>>
> >>> I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring I guess
> >>> the attainment of certain skills and knowledge  through print.  In
> >>> the
> >>> world of the early printing press that would have been impossible:,
> >>> "knowledge" was just being assembled.  The idea of "content
> >>> standards"
> >>> seems very narrow, circumscribed.  first one must agree on the
> >>> content,
> >>> ;  how does that happen?  CASAS?  EFF?  A bit of a puzzle.
> >>>
> >>> Andrea Wilder
> >>>
> >>> ----------------------------------------------------
> >>> National Institute for Literacy
> >>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> >>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >>
> >> ----------------------------------------------------
> >> National Institute for Literacy
> >> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> >> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >
> > 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)
> > 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
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------
> > National Institute for Literacy
> > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Apr  4 09:27:43 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 09:27:43 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 94] Re: What are States doing with Standards?--
 quick summary
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060328084809.03d4a858@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060404085428.03d77ea0@pop.utk.edu>

Good morning,

I thought I'd send out a quick summary of the responses so far to the query 
about What are States doing with Standards?

Renee Sherman provided us with a link to the Adult Education Content 
Standards Warehouse project, funded by the Office of Vocational and Adult 
Education, that was designed to help states
progress in the development, and alignment of state content standards.
http://adultedcontentstandards.org

Arizona- update provided by Miriam Kroeger:
Have standards in Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, 
Citizenship, ESOL (renamed ELAA- English Language Acquisition for Adults), 
and Technology.  Miriam also described the process for us that AZ went 
through for revising their standards.

Oklahoma- update provided by Pam Blundell:
Pam shared with us information on their three-year training plan that OK is 
using to introduce directors and teachers to EFF content standards and 
standards-based instruction.  Their plan introduces standards gradually- 
first Reading, then Math, and next Writing.

Texas- update provided by Don Seaman:
TX is in the second year of a three-year project in the development of 
Content Standards, Benchmarks, Learning Activities, etc. Don highlighted 
the major activities to date as well as plans for the remainder of the 
project.  TX adopted 5 of the 16 EFF Standards: Reading, Writing, Speaking, 
Listening, and Math.

This is just a very brief summary- if you wish to read through the full 
text of any of these postings, you can go the Content Standards Discussion 
List archives at any time: 
http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/contentstandards/2006/date.html

Can any other States share with us what they are doing?

Aaron


At 08:54 AM 3/28/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>Greetings all,
>
>After reflecting on postings from the past week on National Standards, I
>reviewed questions that subscribers have sent to me about Standards, in
>general.  The most common question appears to be: What are States currently
>doing with Standards?
>
>What is the process that States have gone through when developing or
>creating Standards, adopting or adapting existing Standards (such as
>Equipped for the Future or other Standards), or combining/linking 2 or more
>sets of standards?  What have been the major challenges in this
>process?  What have been the benefits?  What changes have you seen in your
>adult literacy programs as a result of the process?
>
>Are any States willing to share with us?
>
>Thanks,
>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)
>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
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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



From andreawilder at comcast.net  Tue Apr  4 09:55:56 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 09:55:56 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 95] Re: Whose content?
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060404082745.03e71390@pop.utk.edu>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060404082745.03e71390@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <84820b3778d1974f450dbbc4ae9ff8c4@comcast.net>

Aaron--

All i want to do is bury myself in my reading, guess I shouldn't do 
that.

The three role maps--activities of adults:  community, work, family.  I 
think these were given from the beginning.

  i am a proponent of grounded research, I use it everyday like most 
people, By Geertz it is called something like "Common  Sense as a 
Cultural System."  The common sense approach got kicked up   to 
ethnographic status and  inductive learning was added, and it became  
rationalized by people who wanted some way to understand those who 
seemed different from themselves--e.g.,--anthropoloigy.came into its 
own. I' ll get back to this a  bit alter.

Thanks, Aaron.  Back to the printing press.

Andrea


On Apr 4, 2006, at 8:50 AM, Aaron Kohring wrote:

> Andrea,
>
> Thanks for your thought-provoking questions.  I wanted to make some
> clarification on a couple of your points below before others jump into 
> the
> discussion.
>
> 1) "i am aware that this list serves teachers, administrators, who use 
> EFF
> and maybe helped make EFF."
> --  To clarify, this list serves a broader audience than those just 
> using 
> EFF Standards. The intent is to include all efforts involved with using
> Content Standards in an adult education setting.  Some states, as you
> mention, are using EFF standards, some are using a subset of those
> standards, and others are using other standards which may be compiled 
> from
> multiple sources.  So this discussion list hopes to encourage the 
> sharing
> of what is happening within that larger audience.
>
> And this discussion list continues to have a goal to be inclusive of 
> the
> system at all levels- we hope to continue the current discussion of
> standards work at the State level, but also have future discussions
> regarding the use/impact of standards with
> programs/administrators/teachers/learners.
>
> 2) "As i recall, Tom Sticht  mentioned after reading George D.'s  book 
> that
> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully  grounded approach to data
> gathering--the categories were  givens, did not emerge."
> -- In regards to the categories that were 'named' during the EFF 
> research, 
> if this refers to the 'Purposes' learners attend adult education, 'Role
> Maps', 'Common Activities', 'Standards', 'Performance Continua', etc.--
> then this was very much data driven.  Qualitative research methods were
> used with data collected from the field (from learners, teachers, 
> program &
> state administrators) in an iterative process in order to name each of
> these categories.
>
> Andrea, I might need more information from you to know if this answers 
> or
> clarifies your points above.
>
> Sincerely,
> Aaron
>
>
> At 11:00 AM 4/1/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>> Dear David, Aaron,
>>
>> Nothing like a top of the head response to engender controversy and
>> maybe dismay, but  here goes.
>>
>> The story of the early printing press is all about adult literacy, in
>> two volumes with very small print, i don't think a "school" has been
>> mentioned yet.  Instead I find out how all sorts of adults used the
>> press--churchmen, nascent scientists, guild members, small 
>> shopkeepers,
>> the list is very long.  A "gutter press" emerged.The printing press
>> organized knowledge and essentailly broke the guild system, as
>> knowledge could now be  gotten through a book, not a person.  Without
>> the printing press we would have been either dead or Catholic.
>>
>> I remember seeing a draft of a paper by Sondra Stein in maybe  1997 
>> and
>>   having two reactions:  1)  wish somebody had given me role maps, 
>> they
>> sure would have helped,  plus 2)        life cannot be  reduced to 
>> role maps
>> which by their structure and  assumptions are narrow and ethnocentric
>> (which I have been charged with being, myself).
>>
>> Being a qualititative researcher, I always ask:  can I find myself in
>> here?
>>
>> What I think the EFF standards are is  an updated guild system, with
>> the teacher the master and the adult learner the novice.
>>
>> Maybe the EFF standards are an answer to the problem of 
>> attendance--EFF
>> carries the student over  irregular attendance.  Maybe EFF is an 
>> answer
>> to the dilemma of what to teach and a common vocabulary for students
>> and teachers.  So what I call "narrow" is maybe a way of organizing
>> chaos.  EFF is CERTAINLY a tool for acculaturation into  American
>> norms.
>>
>> I understand that Sondra  had many years of teaching adults, so much
>> of  EFF is guided by  her experience.  i can't argue with that, don't
>> want to.  EFF is a phenomenal effort.
>>
>> Do you play Mah Jongg?  That's how i think of David's idea of 
>> thousands
>> of modules--a universe of little tiles (modules) floating out in
>> (cyber)space.  By themselves the tiles break free of roles, you don't
>> have to fit the tiles into an EFF framework, though it would be useful
>> to have an overarching system, like the "curriculum standards" we as
>> teachers invented when i was a school teacher.
>>
>> I don't want to offend anyone, and i am aware that this list  serves
>> teachers, administrators, who  use EFF and maybe helped make EFF.  But
>> I will just continue--the "Equipped for the Future Content Standards"
>> is really hard to get through.  i guess it must have been written for
>> multiple audiences.  if I were thinking of using EFF I would want a
>> three-holed punched explanation of EFF with a one page executive
>> summary, maybe, or description of how it was built, then at  most  5
>> pages (maybe 3) of narrative about how to" do"  EFF.
>>
>> So...any "selling"  or "explication" of EFF should focus  first on  
>> the
>> problems it seeks  to solve.
>>
>> What i would really like is feedback  on EFF--from people who use
>> it--on my points:
>>
>> 1)      ethnocentric (fitting into American culture)
>> 2)      normative ( idealized American values, e.g., "respect for 
>> diversity)
>> 2)      narrow (no mention of basic survival skills)
>>
>> As i recall, Tom Sticht  mentioned after reading George D.'s  book 
>> that
>> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully  grounded approach to data
>> gathering--the categories were  givens, did not emerge.
>>
>> So please correct me  on any  of the points above;  skewering is
>> painful, so leave off the sword play,  I  think.
>>
>> Ready to be educated.
>>
>> Andrea
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 5:03 PM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
>>
>>> Yes, David- I agree with your interpretation.  And I'm also glad you
>>> mentioned other areas where the term Content Standards could apply.  
>>> In
>>> fact, there has recently been some discussion on the Technology list
>>> about
>>> Standards for using Technology.
>>>
>>> Andrea, as regards to print, do you think standards for Reading &
>>> Writing
>>> would apply?  And what about certain applications of print- 
>>> advocating
>>> for
>>> a point of view if seen through an EFF lens could also bring in the
>>> standard "Advocate and Influence".  What do you think?
>>>
>>> Aaron
>>>
>>> At 04:28 PM 3/31/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>>>> Andrea,
>>>>
>>>> My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this discussion
>>>> list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about Equipped 
>>>> For
>>>> the Future curriculum standards.  "Content standards" is a broader
>>>> name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,  EFF
>>>> curriculum standards.  The discussion now includes state-developed
>>>> curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum
>>>> frameworks and standards used in other countries.  It could also
>>>> include industry-specific skills standards, as they might be used in
>>>> developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills curricula,
>>>> although I think no one has brought this up yet.
>>>>
>>>> Aaron, is this interpretation correct?
>>>>
>>>> David J. Rosen
>>>> newsomeassociates.com
>>>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>>>
>>>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Well, hello, everyone!
>>>>>
>>>>> i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy, a lot
>>>>> of
>>>>> work, but there are revelations, too.  The printing press was an
>>>>> agent
>>>>> for standardization in chronology and in data, a general unifier of
>>>>> many manuscripts (by hand!)  that enabled writers to really
>>>>> communicate
>>>>> with each other.  With printing:  the idea that progress, poaitive
>>>>> change, could be made, as technological changes  expanded the known
>>>>> world.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring I 
>>>>> guess
>>>>> the attainment of certain skills and knowledge  through print.  In
>>>>> the
>>>>> world of the early printing press that would have been impossible:,
>>>>> "knowledge" was just being assembled.  The idea of "content
>>>>> standards"
>>>>> seems very narrow, circumscribed.  first one must agree on the
>>>>> content,
>>>>> ;  how does that happen?  CASAS?  EFF?  A bit of a puzzle.
>>>>>
>>>>> Andrea Wilder
>>>>>
>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>>>
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>>
>>> 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)
>>> 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
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
> 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)
> 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
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Apr  4 13:18:39 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 13:18:39 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 96] The Change Agent - Call for Articles:
	Immigration
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060404131457.03da3ec8@pop.utk.edu>

Some of you may be interested in submitting articles for "The Change 
Agent"- see below.
Aaron

**************************************************************
The Change Agent - Call for Articles

Theme: Immigration

Immigration reform has become a big political and social issue that many
political leaders connect to securing our borders from terrorists. Many
members of Congress support laws that would strip immigrants of many rights,
make it a felony to be an undocumented immigrant, keep immigrant families
separated, and deny many immigrants a path to residency or citizenship in the
United States. This issue of The Change Agent aims at helping readers to
understand and sort out what's at stake.

Questions for students and teachers to think about:

* How would your life be different if the United States had closed its borders
to immigrants 100 (or so) years ago?
* What should the United States do to deal with the growing numbers of
immigrants who want to make this country their home?
* What are your experiences and opinions related to people immigrating to the
United States? Have they changed since September 11, 2001?
* What do you think about treating undocumented immigrants as criminals, as
proposed by some members of Congress? * What do you think of plans for a guest
worker program in which immigrants could work for up to six years legally and
pay taxes but never be eligible for citizenship and have almost no worker
protections? * What connections do you see between the current immigration
debate and racism and discrimination?
* What connections do you see between economic policies, such as NAFTA, and
immigration patterns where many people endure great hardship to come to the
United States in hopes of a better life for themselves and their families?

All articles must be received by May 12, 2006.
All articles will be considered. Suggested length is 500-1,200 words. Final
decisions are made by The Change Agent editorial board.
A stipend of $50 will be paid to each adult education student whose work is
accepted for publication in this issue.

Please send material (by email or PC disk) to:
Angela Orlando, Editor
New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education
44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA 02210
Phone: 617-482-9485 fax: 617-482-0617
email: aorlando at worlded.org



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)
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



From andreawilder at comcast.net  Tue Apr  4 11:37:33 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 11:37:33 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 97] Re: Whose content?
In-Reply-To: <84820b3778d1974f450dbbc4ae9ff8c4@comcast.net>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060404082745.03e71390@pop.utk.edu>
	<84820b3778d1974f450dbbc4ae9ff8c4@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <fba70bbbd0411dce38dc86fec16c0b1f@comcast.net>

Aaron--

I'm also not going to do any more talking about EFF until I have more 
knowledge, so I will have to do some reading.

Andrea
On Apr 4, 2006, at 9:55 AM, Andrea Wilder wrote:

> Aaron--
>
> All i want to do is bury myself in my reading, guess I shouldn't do
> that.
>
> The three role maps--activities of adults:  community, work, family.  I
> think these were given from the beginning.
>
>   i am a proponent of grounded research, I use it everyday like most
> people, By Geertz it is called something like "Common  Sense as a
> Cultural System."  The common sense approach got kicked up   to
> ethnographic status and  inductive learning was added, and it became
> rationalized by people who wanted some way to understand those who
> seemed different from themselves--e.g.,--anthropoloigy.came into its
> own. I' ll get back to this a  bit alter.
>
> Thanks, Aaron.  Back to the printing press.
>
> Andrea
>
>
> On Apr 4, 2006, at 8:50 AM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
>
>> Andrea,
>>
>> Thanks for your thought-provoking questions.  I wanted to make some
>> clarification on a couple of your points below before others jump into
>> the
>> discussion.
>>
>> 1) "i am aware that this list serves teachers, administrators, who use
>> EFF
>> and maybe helped make EFF."
>> --  To clarify, this list serves a broader audience than those just 
>> using
>> EFF Standards. The intent is to include all efforts involved with 
>> using
>> Content Standards in an adult education setting.  Some states, as you
>> mention, are using EFF standards, some are using a subset of those
>> standards, and others are using other standards which may be compiled
>> from
>> multiple sources.  So this discussion list hopes to encourage the
>> sharing
>> of what is happening within that larger audience.
>>
>> And this discussion list continues to have a goal to be inclusive of
>> the
>> system at all levels- we hope to continue the current discussion of
>> standards work at the State level, but also have future discussions
>> regarding the use/impact of standards with
>> programs/administrators/teachers/learners.
>>
>> 2) "As i recall, Tom Sticht  mentioned after reading George D.'s  book
>> that
>> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully  grounded approach to data
>> gathering--the categories were  givens, did not emerge."
>> -- In regards to the categories that were 'named' during the EFF 
>> research,
>> if this refers to the 'Purposes' learners attend adult education, 
>> 'Role
>> Maps', 'Common Activities', 'Standards', 'Performance Continua', 
>> etc.--
>> then this was very much data driven.  Qualitative research methods 
>> were
>> used with data collected from the field (from learners, teachers,
>> program &
>> state administrators) in an iterative process in order to name each of
>> these categories.
>>
>> Andrea, I might need more information from you to know if this answers
>> or
>> clarifies your points above.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> Aaron
>>
>>
>> At 11:00 AM 4/1/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>>> Dear David, Aaron,
>>>
>>> Nothing like a top of the head response to engender controversy and
>>> maybe dismay, but  here goes.
>>>
>>> The story of the early printing press is all about adult literacy, in
>>> two volumes with very small print, i don't think a "school" has been
>>> mentioned yet.  Instead I find out how all sorts of adults used the
>>> press--churchmen, nascent scientists, guild members, small
>>> shopkeepers,
>>> the list is very long.  A "gutter press" emerged.The printing press
>>> organized knowledge and essentailly broke the guild system, as
>>> knowledge could now be  gotten through a book, not a person.  Without
>>> the printing press we would have been either dead or Catholic.
>>>
>>> I remember seeing a draft of a paper by Sondra Stein in maybe  1997
>>> and
>>>   having two reactions:  1)  wish somebody had given me role maps,
>>> they
>>> sure would have helped,  plus 2)        life cannot be  reduced to
>>> role maps
>>> which by their structure and  assumptions are narrow and ethnocentric
>>> (which I have been charged with being, myself).
>>>
>>> Being a qualititative researcher, I always ask:  can I find myself in
>>> here?
>>>
>>> What I think the EFF standards are is  an updated guild system, with
>>> the teacher the master and the adult learner the novice.
>>>
>>> Maybe the EFF standards are an answer to the problem of
>>> attendance--EFF
>>> carries the student over  irregular attendance.  Maybe EFF is an
>>> answer
>>> to the dilemma of what to teach and a common vocabulary for students
>>> and teachers.  So what I call "narrow" is maybe a way of organizing
>>> chaos.  EFF is CERTAINLY a tool for acculaturation into  American
>>> norms.
>>>
>>> I understand that Sondra  had many years of teaching adults, so much
>>> of  EFF is guided by  her experience.  i can't argue with that, don't
>>> want to.  EFF is a phenomenal effort.
>>>
>>> Do you play Mah Jongg?  That's how i think of David's idea of
>>> thousands
>>> of modules--a universe of little tiles (modules) floating out in
>>> (cyber)space.  By themselves the tiles break free of roles, you don't
>>> have to fit the tiles into an EFF framework, though it would be 
>>> useful
>>> to have an overarching system, like the "curriculum standards" we as
>>> teachers invented when i was a school teacher.
>>>
>>> I don't want to offend anyone, and i am aware that this list  serves
>>> teachers, administrators, who  use EFF and maybe helped make EFF.  
>>> But
>>> I will just continue--the "Equipped for the Future Content Standards"
>>> is really hard to get through.  i guess it must have been written for
>>> multiple audiences.  if I were thinking of using EFF I would want a
>>> three-holed punched explanation of EFF with a one page executive
>>> summary, maybe, or description of how it was built, then at  most  5
>>> pages (maybe 3) of narrative about how to" do"  EFF.
>>>
>>> So...any "selling"  or "explication" of EFF should focus  first on
>>> the
>>> problems it seeks  to solve.
>>>
>>> What i would really like is feedback  on EFF--from people who use
>>> it--on my points:
>>>
>>> 1)      ethnocentric (fitting into American culture)
>>> 2)      normative ( idealized American values, e.g., "respect for
>>> diversity)
>>> 2)      narrow (no mention of basic survival skills)
>>>
>>> As i recall, Tom Sticht  mentioned after reading George D.'s  book
>>> that
>>> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully  grounded approach to data
>>> gathering--the categories were  givens, did not emerge.
>>>
>>> So please correct me  on any  of the points above;  skewering is
>>> painful, so leave off the sword play,  I  think.
>>>
>>> Ready to be educated.
>>>
>>> Andrea
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 5:03 PM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
>>>
>>>> Yes, David- I agree with your interpretation.  And I'm also glad you
>>>> mentioned other areas where the term Content Standards could apply.
>>>> In
>>>> fact, there has recently been some discussion on the Technology list
>>>> about
>>>> Standards for using Technology.
>>>>
>>>> Andrea, as regards to print, do you think standards for Reading &
>>>> Writing
>>>> would apply?  And what about certain applications of print-
>>>> advocating
>>>> for
>>>> a point of view if seen through an EFF lens could also bring in the
>>>> standard "Advocate and Influence".  What do you think?
>>>>
>>>> Aaron
>>>>
>>>> At 04:28 PM 3/31/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>>>>> Andrea,
>>>>>
>>>>> My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this discussion
>>>>> list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about Equipped
>>>>> For
>>>>> the Future curriculum standards.  "Content standards" is a broader
>>>>> name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,  EFF
>>>>> curriculum standards.  The discussion now includes state-developed
>>>>> curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum
>>>>> frameworks and standards used in other countries.  It could also
>>>>> include industry-specific skills standards, as they might be used 
>>>>> in
>>>>> developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills curricula,
>>>>> although I think no one has brought this up yet.
>>>>>
>>>>> Aaron, is this interpretation correct?
>>>>>
>>>>> David J. Rosen
>>>>> newsomeassociates.com
>>>>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Well, hello, everyone!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy, a 
>>>>>> lot
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> work, but there are revelations, too.  The printing press was an
>>>>>> agent
>>>>>> for standardization in chronology and in data, a general unifier 
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> many manuscripts (by hand!)  that enabled writers to really
>>>>>> communicate
>>>>>> with each other.  With printing:  the idea that progress, poaitive
>>>>>> change, could be made, as technological changes  expanded the 
>>>>>> known
>>>>>> world.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring I
>>>>>> guess
>>>>>> the attainment of certain skills and knowledge  through print.  In
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> world of the early printing press that would have been 
>>>>>> impossible:,
>>>>>> "knowledge" was just being assembled.  The idea of "content
>>>>>> standards"
>>>>>> seems very narrow, circumscribed.  first one must agree on the
>>>>>> content,
>>>>>> ;  how does that happen?  CASAS?  EFF?  A bit of a puzzle.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Andrea Wilder
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>>>>
>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>>>
>>>> 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)
>>>> 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
>>>>
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>>>
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>
>> 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)
>> 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
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



From md at nyec.org  Tue Apr  4 16:11:56 2006
From: md at nyec.org (Mindy Detzler)
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 16:11:56 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 98] How to train/prepare educators to use
	standards in instructional settings
Message-ID: <60AF8C88EFA71A4AA0CBB523F5F24D6501092E@nyec06.nyec.local>

I want to re-introduce a question I read in one of Aaron's messages
(from Wed Feb 22 15:41:47 EST 2006, re: Teacher professional development
and State Standards), as follows: 

 

In light of the movement toward adopting, adapting, or developing
content standards and aligning them with instruction, curriculum, and
assessment- what implications are there for preparing adult education
providers to use standards in instructional settings for teaching,
learning, and assessing?

 

My organization is coordinating a local initiative to implement the EFF
Work Readiness Credential Standards at two community-based youth
employment and education training programs (serving young adults, ages
17 to 21, primarily high school dropouts and students participating in
alternative high school or GED programs). We're looking at how to help
program staff to implement the EFF Standards to prepare young adults to
take and pass the assessment for the Work Readiness Credential.  

 

I am interested to hear from others about:

1) what skills, knowledge, training, other professional development you
think or have seen to be needed in order for educators/trainers to
implement the standards successfully? 

2) Describe the nature of training you are using or have seen used: How
long does training and/or preparation for implementing standards take?
How much training is needed? What forms of training work best? Is
self-study a feasible option for learning how to implement the
standards? What about distance learning? What are the associated costs?
Is the available training affordable, convenient, effective? 

3) What if any other programmatic/organizational implications other than
professional development/qualifications (e.g. funding/resources,
organizational leadership/commitment, program structure, performance
outcome expectations, etc) may need to be addressed in order to
successfully implement the standards?

4) Have you had any experience with educating/training young adults (21
or below) using EFF standards and if so, did you see any differences
relevant to teaching and learning with young adults in comparison to
older adults?

 

 

I look forward to hearing from some members of this list.

 

Thanks!

Mindy Detzler
National Youth Employment Coalition 
Washington, D.C.
md at nyec.org

http://www.nyec.org

###########################################

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From mschnec at localnet.com  Wed Apr  5 08:19:17 2006
From: mschnec at localnet.com (mschnec at localnet.com)
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 08:19:17 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 99]  Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <fba70bbbd0411dce38dc86fec16c0b1f@comcast.net>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060404082745.03e71390@pop.utk.edu>
	<84820b3778d1974f450dbbc4ae9ff8c4@comcast.net>
	<fba70bbbd0411dce38dc86fec16c0b1f@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <20060405081917.qdph9d3eea3ossc8@webmail.localnet.com>



  I recall that the first President Bush set out six educational
goals in the Goals 2000. The sixth one referred to adults being
prepared to work in the global economy and being prepared to be good
citizens. NIFL was asked to figure out how to measure those things.
When NIFL got involed in the qualitative research, people around the
country who were participating in adult education programs made it
very clear that family was a major motivator for them in their
educational goals. So the first two EFF roles, worker and citizen,
were part of goals 2000 but the third, family, was derived from the
research. However, it is my understanding that the other two roles
were substantiated by the research as well. I know there are a few
people reading this who will verify this if I am remembering
correctly. Mary Schneckenburger, Maine

  Quoting Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>:

> Aaron--
>
> I'm also not going to do any more talking about EFF until I have
more
> knowledge, so I will have to do some reading.
>
> Andrea
> On Apr 4, 2006, at 9:55 AM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
>
>> Aaron--
>>
>> All i want to do is bury myself in my reading, guess I shouldn't
do
>> that.
>>
>> The three role maps--activities of adults:? community, work,
family.? I
>> think these were given from the beginning.
>>
>> ? ?i am a proponent of grounded research, I use it everyday like
most
>> people, By Geertz it is called something like "Common? Sense as a
>> Cultural System."? The common sense approach got kicked up? ?to
>> ethnographic status and? inductive learning was added, and it
became
>> rationalized by people who wanted some way to understand those who
>> seemed different from themselves--e.g.,--anthropoloigy.came into
its
>> own. I' ll get back to this a? bit alter.
>>
>> Thanks, Aaron.? Back to the printing press.
>>
>> Andrea
>>
>>
>> On Apr 4, 2006, at 8:50 AM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
>>
>>> Andrea,
>>>
>>> Thanks for your thought-provoking questions.? I wanted to make
some
>>> clarification on a couple of your points below before others jump
into
>>> the
>>> discussion.
>>>
>>> 1) "i am aware that this list serves teachers, administrators,
who use
>>> EFF
>>> and maybe helped make EFF."
>>> --? To clarify, this list serves a broader audience than those
just
>>> using
>>> EFF Standards. The intent is to include all efforts involved with
>>> using
>>> Content Standards in an adult education setting.? Some states, as
you
>>> mention, are using EFF standards, some are using a subset of
those
>>> standards, and others are using other standards which may be
compiled
>>> from
>>> multiple sources.? So this discussion list hopes to encourage the
>>> sharing
>>> of what is happening within that larger audience.
>>>
>>> And this discussion list continues to have a goal to be inclusive
of
>>> the
>>> system at all levels- we hope to continue the current discussion
of
>>> standards work at the State level, but also have future
discussions
>>> regarding the use/impact of standards with
>>> programs/administrators/teachers/learners.
>>>
>>> 2) "As i recall, Tom Sticht? mentioned after reading George D.'s?
book
>>> that
>>> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully? grounded approach to data
>>> gathering--the categories were? givens, did not emerge."
>>> -- In regards to the categories that were 'named' during the EFF
>>> research,
>>> if this refers to the 'Purposes' learners attend adult education,
>>> 'Role
>>> Maps', 'Common Activities', 'Standards', 'Performance Continua',
>>> etc.--
>>> then this was very much data driven.? Qualitative research
methods
>>> were
>>> used with data collected from the field (from learners, teachers,
>>> program &
>>> state administrators) in an iterative process in order to name
each of
>>> these categories.
>>>
>>> Andrea, I might need more information from you to know if this
answers
>>> or
>>> clarifies your points above.
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Aaron
>>>
>>>
>>> At 11:00 AM 4/1/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>>>> Dear David, Aaron,
>>>>
>>>> Nothing like a top of the head response to engender controversy
and
>>>> maybe dismay, but? here goes.
>>>>
>>>> The story of the early printing press is all about adult
literacy, in
>>>> two volumes with very small print, i don't think a "school" has
been
>>>> mentioned yet.? Instead I find out how all sorts of adults used
the
>>>> press--churchmen, nascent scientists, guild members, small
>>>> shopkeepers,
>>>> the list is very long.? A "gutter press" emerged.The printing
press
>>>> organized knowledge and essentailly broke the guild system, as
>>>> knowledge could now be? gotten through a book, not a person.?
Without
>>>> the printing press we would have been either dead or Catholic.
>>>>
>>>> I remember seeing a draft of a paper by Sondra Stein in maybe?
1997
>>>> and
>>>> ? ?having two reactions:? 1)? wish somebody had given me role
maps,
>>>> they
>>>> sure would have helped,? plus 2)? ? ? ? life cannot be? reduced
to
>>>> role maps
>>>> which by their structure and? assumptions are narrow and
ethnocentric
>>>> (which I have been charged with being, myself).
>>>>
>>>> Being a qualititative researcher, I always ask:? can I find
myself in
>>>> here?
>>>>
>>>> What I think the EFF standards are is? an updated guild system,
with
>>>> the teacher the master and the adult learner the novice.
>>>>
>>>> Maybe the EFF standards are an answer to the problem of
>>>> attendance--EFF
>>>> carries the student over? irregular attendance.? Maybe EFF is an
>>>> answer
>>>> to the dilemma of what to teach and a common vocabulary for
students
>>>> and teachers.? So what I call "narrow" is maybe a way of
organizing
>>>> chaos.? EFF is CERTAINLY a tool for acculaturation into?
American
>>>> norms.
>>>>
>>>> I understand that Sondra? had many years of teaching adults, so
much
>>>> of? EFF is guided by? her experience.? i can't argue with that,
don't
>>>> want to.? EFF is a phenomenal effort.
>>>>
>>>> Do you play Mah Jongg?? That's how i think of David's idea of
>>>> thousands
>>>> of modules--a universe of little tiles (modules) floating out in
>>>> (cyber)space.? By themselves the tiles break free of roles, you
don't
>>>> have to fit the tiles into an EFF framework, though it would be
>>>> useful
>>>> to have an overarching system, like the "curriculum standards"
we as
>>>> teachers invented when i was a school teacher.
>>>>
>>>> I don't want to offend anyone, and i am aware that this list?
serves
>>>> teachers, administrators, who? use EFF and maybe helped make
EFF.
>>>> But
>>>> I will just continue--the "Equipped for the Future Content
Standards"
>>>> is really hard to get through.? i guess it must have been
written for
>>>> multiple audiences.? if I were thinking of using EFF I would
want a
>>>> three-holed punched explanation of EFF with a one page executive
>>>> summary, maybe, or description of how it was built, then at?
most? 5
>>>> pages (maybe 3) of narrative about how to" do"? EFF.
>>>>
>>>> So...any "selling"? or "explication" of EFF should focus? first
on
>>>> the
>>>> problems it seeks? to solve.
>>>>
>>>> What i would really like is feedback? on EFF--from people who
use
>>>> it--on my points:
>>>>
>>>> 1)? ? ? ethnocentric (fitting into American culture)
>>>> 2)? ? ? normative ( idealized American values, e.g., "respect
for
>>>> diversity)
>>>> 2)? ? ? narrow (no mention of basic survival skills)
>>>>
>>>> As i recall, Tom Sticht? mentioned after reading George D.'s?
book
>>>> that
>>>> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully? grounded approach to data
>>>> gathering--the categories were? givens, did not emerge.
>>>>
>>>> So please correct me? on any? of the points above;? skewering is
>>>> painful, so leave off the sword play,? I? think.
>>>>
>>>> Ready to be educated.
>>>>
>>>> Andrea
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 5:03 PM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Yes, David- I agree with your interpretation.? And I'm also
glad you
>>>>> mentioned other areas where the term Content Standards could
apply.
>>>>> In
>>>>> fact, there has recently been some discussion on the Technology
list
>>>>> about
>>>>> Standards for using Technology.
>>>>>
>>>>> Andrea, as regards to print, do you think standards for Reading
&
>>>>> Writing
>>>>> would apply?? And what about certain applications of print-
>>>>> advocating
>>>>> for
>>>>> a point of view if seen through an EFF lens could also bring in
the
>>>>> standard "Advocate and Influence".? What do you think?
>>>>>
>>>>> Aaron
>>>>>
>>>>> At 04:28 PM 3/31/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>>>>>> Andrea,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this
discussion
>>>>>> list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about
Equipped
>>>>>> For
>>>>>> the Future curriculum standards.? "Content standards" is a
broader
>>>>>> name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,? EFF
>>>>>> curriculum standards.? The discussion now includes
state-developed
>>>>>> curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum
>>>>>> frameworks and standards used in other countries.? It could
also
>>>>>> include industry-specific skills standards, as they might be
used
>>>>>> in
>>>>>> developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills
curricula,
>>>>>> although I think no one has brought this up yet.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Aaron, is this interpretation correct?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> David J. Rosen
>>>>>> newsomeassociates.com
>>>>>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Well, hello, everyone!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy,
a
>>>>>>> lot
>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>> work, but there are revelations, too.? The printing press was
an
>>>>>>> agent
>>>>>>> for standardization in chronology and in data, a general
unifier
>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>> many manuscripts (by hand!)? that enabled writers to really
>>>>>>> communicate
>>>>>>> with each other.? With printing:? the idea that progress,
poaitive
>>>>>>> change, could be made, as technological changes? expanded the
>>>>>>> known
>>>>>>> world.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring
I
>>>>>>> guess
>>>>>>> the attainment of certain skills and knowledge? through
print.? In
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> world of the early printing press that would have been
>>>>>>> impossible:,
>>>>>>> "knowledge" was just being assembled.? The idea of "content
>>>>>>> standards"
>>>>>>> seems very narrow, circumscribed.? first one must agree on
the
>>>>>>> content,
>>>>>>> ;? how does that happen?? CASAS?? EFF?? A bit of a puzzle.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Andrea Wilder
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please
go to
>>>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards[1]
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go
to
>>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards[2]
>>>>>
>>>>> Aaron Kohring
>>>>> Coordinator, LINCS Literacy & Learning Disabilities Special
>>>>> Collection
>>>>> (http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu/[3])
>>>>> Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
>>>>> Discussion
>>>>> List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards[4])
>>>>> Coordinator, Equipped for the Future Websites
>>>>> (http://eff.cls.utk.edu/[5])
>>>>>
>>>>> 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
>>>>>
>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go
to
>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards[6]
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go
to
>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards[7]
>>>
>>> Aaron Kohring
>>> Coordinator, LINCS Literacy & Learning Disabilities Special
Collection
>>> (http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu/[8])
>>> Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
>>> Discussion
>>> List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards[9])
>>> Coordinator, Equipped for the Future Websites
>>> (http://eff.cls.utk.edu/[10])
>>>
>>> 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
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards[11]
>>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards[12]
>>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards[13]
>


Links:
------
[1] 
/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nifl.gov%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fcontentstandards
[2] 
/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nifl.gov%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fcontentstandards
[3] /horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fldlink.coe.utk.edu%2F
[4] 
/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nifl.gov%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2FContentstandards
[5] /horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Feff.cls.utk.edu%2F
[6] 
/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nifl.gov%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fcontentstandards
[7] 
/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nifl.gov%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fcontentstandards
[8] /horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fldlink.coe.utk.edu%2F
[9] 
/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nifl.gov%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2FContentstandards
[10] /horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Feff.cls.utk.edu%2F
[11] 
/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nifl.gov%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fcontentstandards
[12] 
/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nifl.gov%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fcontentstandards
[13] 
/horde/services/go.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nifl.gov%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fcontentstandards

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From andreawilder at comcast.net  Wed Apr  5 10:43:38 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 10:43:38 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 100] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <20060405081917.qdph9d3eea3ossc8@webmail.localnet.com>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060404082745.03e71390@pop.utk.edu>
	<84820b3778d1974f450dbbc4ae9ff8c4@comcast.net>
	<fba70bbbd0411dce38dc86fec16c0b1f@comcast.net>
	<20060405081917.qdph9d3eea3ossc8@webmail.localnet.com>
Message-ID: <59b8ffd2bac33db52419588016cb21e3@comcast.net>

Mary--


I have done a bit of reading, and have come up with this:  "These three 
[citizen, worker, parents] are not the only adult roles, but are key 
ones for public policy."  So the effort started from a top down policy 
view (goal 6) going by this quotation (p 18, Building the Framework).  
I don't mean to make too much of this for others, to me it is important 
because when I wrote my dissertation I went the final step,  Let the 
data emerge from the site.  No policy involved. ( I love reading real 
grounded research, it is fabulous. The classic example is Geertz, "Deep 
Play:  The Balinese Cockfight." Find it on the web , tap in "Geertz 
cockfight," take the first selection and there it is.).

I am guessing that there is much that is only referred to in brief 
notes to the Frameworks report (p. 40, Frameworks)

So EFF is a dance between policy and people, trying to find some 
workable solution to different agendas.

This is as far as I have gone, perhaps you have more info that I. I'll 
keep reading.  Thanks for  writing.

Andrea
On Apr 5, 2006, at 8:19 AM, mschnec at localnet.com wrote:

> I recall that the first President Bush set out six educational goals 
> in the Goals 2000. The sixth one referred to adults being prepared to 
> work in the global economy and being prepared to be good citizens. 
> NIFL was asked to figure out how to measure those things. When NIFL 
> got involed in the qualitative research, people around the country who 
> were participating in adult education programs made it very clear that 
> family was a major motivator for them in their educational goals. So 
> the first two EFF roles, worker and citizen, were part of goals 2000 
> but the third, family, was derived from the research. However, it is 
> my understanding that the other two roles were substantiated by the 
> research as well. I know there are a few people reading this who will 
> verify this if I am remembering correctly. Mary Schneckenburger, Maine
>
> Quoting Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>:
>
> > Aaron--
> >
> > I'm also not going to do any more talking about EFF until I have more
> > knowledge, so I will have to do some reading.
> >
> > Andrea
> > On Apr 4, 2006, at 9:55 AM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
> >
> >> Aaron--
> >>
> >> All i want to do is bury myself in my reading, guess I shouldn't do
> >> that.
> >>
> >> The three role maps--activities of adults:? community, work, 
> family.? I
> >> think these were given from the beginning.
> >>
> >>? ?i am a proponent of grounded research, I use it everyday like most
> >> people, By Geertz it is called something like "Common? Sense as a
> >> Cultural System."? The common sense approach got kicked up? ?to
> >> ethnographic status and? inductive learning was added, and it became
> >> rationalized by people who wanted some way to understand those who
> >> seemed different from themselves--e.g.,--anthropoloigy.came into its
> >> own. I' ll get back to this a? bit alter.
> >>
> >> Thanks, Aaron.? Back to the printing press.
> >>
> >> Andrea
> >>
> >>
> >> On Apr 4, 2006, at 8:50 AM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
> >>
> >>> Andrea,
> >>>
> >>> Thanks for your thought-provoking questions.? I wanted to make some
> >>> clarification on a couple of your points below before others jump 
> into
> >>> the
> >>> discussion.
> >>>
> >>> 1) "i am aware that this list serves teachers, administrators, who 
> use
> >>> EFF
> >>> and maybe helped make EFF."
> >>> --? To clarify, this list serves a broader audience than those just
> >>> using
> >>> EFF Standards. The intent is to include all efforts involved with
> >>> using
> >>> Content Standards in an adult education setting.? Some states, as 
> you
> >>> mention, are using EFF standards, some are using a subset of those
> >>> standards, and others are using other standards which may be 
> compiled
> >>> from
> >>> multiple sources.? So this discussion list hopes to encourage the
> >>> sharing
> >>> of what is happening within that larger audience.
> >>>
> >>> And this discussion list continues to have a goal to be inclusive 
> of
> >>> the
> >>> system at all levels- we hope to continue the current discussion of
> >>> standards work at the State level, but also have future discussions
> >>> regarding the use/impact of standards with
> >>> programs/administrators/teachers/learners.
> >>>
> >>> 2) "As i recall, Tom Sticht? mentioned after reading George D.'s? 
> book
> >>> that
> >>> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully? grounded approach to data
> >>> gathering--the categories were? givens, did not emerge."
> >>> -- In regards to the categories that were 'named' during the EFF
> >>> research,
> >>> if this refers to the 'Purposes' learners attend adult education,
> >>> 'Role
> >>> Maps', 'Common Activities', 'Standards', 'Performance Continua',
> >>> etc.--
> >>> then this was very much data driven.? Qualitative research methods
> >>> were
> >>> used with data collected from the field (from learners, teachers,
> >>> program &
> >>> state administrators) in an iterative process in order to name 
> each of
> >>> these categories.
> >>>
> >>> Andrea, I might need more information from you to know if this 
> answers
> >>> or
> >>> clarifies your points above.
> >>>
> >>> Sincerely,
> >>> Aaron
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> At 11:00 AM 4/1/2006 -0500, you wrote:
> >>>> Dear David, Aaron,
> >>>>
> >>>> Nothing like a top of the head response to engender controversy 
> and
> >>>> maybe dismay, but? here goes.
> >>>>
> >>>> The story of the early printing press is all about adult 
> literacy, in
> >>>> two volumes with very small print, i don't think a "school" has 
> been
> >>>> mentioned yet.? Instead I find out how all sorts of adults used 
> the
> >>>> press--churchmen, nascent scientists, guild members, small
> >>>> shopkeepers,
> >>>> the list is very long.? A "gutter press" emerged.The printing 
> press
> >>>> organized knowledge and essentailly broke the guild system, as
> >>>> knowledge could now be? gotten through a book, not a person.? 
> Without
> >>>> the printing press we would have been either dead or Catholic.
> >>>>
> >>>> I remember seeing a draft of a paper by Sondra Stein in maybe? 
> 1997
> >>>> and
> >>>>? ?having two reactions:? 1)? wish somebody had given me role maps,
> >>>> they
> >>>> sure would have helped,? plus 2)? ? ? ? life cannot be? reduced to
> >>>> role maps
> >>>> which by their structure and? assumptions are narrow and 
> ethnocentric
> >>>> (which I have been charged with being, myself).
> >>>>
> >>>> Being a qualititative researcher, I always ask:? can I find 
> myself in
> >>>> here?
> >>>>
> >>>> What I think the EFF standards are is? an updated guild system, 
> with
> >>>> the teacher the master and the adult learner the novice.
> >>>>
> >>>> Maybe the EFF standards are an answer to the problem of
> >>>> attendance--EFF
> >>>> carries the student over? irregular attendance.? Maybe EFF is an
> >>>> answer
> >>>> to the dilemma of what to teach and a common vocabulary for 
> students
> >>>> and teachers.? So what I call "narrow" is maybe a way of 
> organizing
> >>>> chaos.? EFF is CERTAINLY a tool for acculaturation into? American
> >>>> norms.
> >>>>
> >>>> I understand that Sondra? had many years of teaching adults, so 
> much
> >>>> of? EFF is guided by? her experience.? i can't argue with that, 
> don't
> >>>> want to.? EFF is a phenomenal effort.
> >>>>
> >>>> Do you play Mah Jongg?? That's how i think of David's idea of
> >>>> thousands
> >>>> of modules--a universe of little tiles (modules) floating out in
> >>>> (cyber)space.? By themselves the tiles break free of roles, you 
> don't
> >>>> have to fit the tiles into an EFF framework, though it would be
> >>>> useful
> >>>> to have an overarching system, like the "curriculum standards" we 
> as
> >>>> teachers invented when i was a school teacher.
> >>>>
> >>>> I don't want to offend anyone, and i am aware that this list? 
> serves
> >>>> teachers, administrators, who? use EFF and maybe helped make EFF.
> >>>> But
> >>>> I will just continue--the "Equipped for the Future Content 
> Standards"
> >>>> is really hard to get through.? i guess it must have been written 
> for
> >>>> multiple audiences.? if I were thinking of using EFF I would want 
> a
> >>>> three-holed punched explanation of EFF with a one page executive
> >>>> summary, maybe, or description of how it was built, then at? 
> most? 5
> >>>> pages (maybe 3) of narrative about how to" do"? EFF.
> >>>>
> >>>> So...any "selling"? or "explication" of EFF should focus? first on
> >>>> the
> >>>> problems it seeks? to solve.
> >>>>
> >>>> What i would really like is feedback? on EFF--from people who use
> >>>> it--on my points:
> >>>>
> >>>> 1)? ? ? ethnocentric (fitting into American culture)
> >>>> 2)? ? ? normative ( idealized American values, e.g., "respect for
> >>>> diversity)
> >>>> 2)? ? ? narrow (no mention of basic survival skills)
> >>>>
> >>>> As i recall, Tom Sticht? mentioned after reading George D.'s? book
> >>>> that
> >>>> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully? grounded approach to data
> >>>> gathering--the categories were? givens, did not emerge.
> >>>>
> >>>> So please correct me? on any? of the points above;? skewering is
> >>>> painful, so leave off the sword play,? I? think.
> >>>>
> >>>> Ready to be educated.
> >>>>
> >>>> Andrea
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 5:03 PM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> Yes, David- I agree with your interpretation.? And I'm also glad 
> you
> >>>>> mentioned other areas where the term Content Standards could 
> apply.
> >>>>> In
> >>>>> fact, there has recently been some discussion on the Technology 
> list
> >>>>> about
> >>>>> Standards for using Technology.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Andrea, as regards to print, do you think standards for Reading &
> >>>>> Writing
> >>>>> would apply?? And what about certain applications of print-
> >>>>> advocating
> >>>>> for
> >>>>> a point of view if seen through an EFF lens could also bring in 
> the
> >>>>> standard "Advocate and Influence".? What do you think?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Aaron
> >>>>>
> >>>>> At 04:28 PM 3/31/2006 -0500, you wrote:
> >>>>>> Andrea,
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this 
> discussion
> >>>>>> list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about 
> Equipped
> >>>>>> For
> >>>>>> the Future curriculum standards.? "Content standards" is a 
> broader
> >>>>>> name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,? EFF
> >>>>>> curriculum standards.? The discussion now includes 
> state-developed
> >>>>>> curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum
> >>>>>> frameworks and standards used in other countries.? It could also
> >>>>>> include industry-specific skills standards, as they might be 
> used
> >>>>>> in
> >>>>>> developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills 
> curricula,
> >>>>>> although I think no one has brought this up yet.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Aaron, is this interpretation correct?
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> David J. Rosen
> >>>>>> newsomeassociates.com
> >>>>>> djrosen at comcast.net
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Well, hello, everyone!
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> i am putting together a long written piece on adult literacy, a
> >>>>>>> lot
> >>>>>>> of
> >>>>>>> work, but there are revelations, too.? The printing press was 
> an
> >>>>>>> agent
> >>>>>>> for standardization in chronology and in data, a general 
> unifier
> >>>>>>> of
> >>>>>>> many manuscripts (by hand!)? that enabled writers to really
> >>>>>>> communicate
> >>>>>>> with each other.? With printing:? the idea that progress, 
> poaitive
> >>>>>>> change, could be made, as technological changes? expanded the
> >>>>>>> known
> >>>>>>> world.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> I am very interested in content standards, a way of measuring I
> >>>>>>> guess
> >>>>>>> the attainment of certain skills and knowledge? through 
> print.? In
> >>>>>>> the
> >>>>>>> world of the early printing press that would have been
> >>>>>>> impossible:,
> >>>>>>> "knowledge" was just being assembled.? The idea of "content
> >>>>>>> standards"
> >>>>>>> seems very narrow, circumscribed.? first one must agree on the
> >>>>>>> content,
> >>>>>>> ;? how does that happen?? CASAS?? EFF?? A bit of a puzzle.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Andrea Wilder
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
> >>>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
> >>>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> >>>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> >>>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go 
> to
> >>>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
> >>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
> >>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> >>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> >>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go 
> to
> >>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >>>>>
> >>>>> 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)
> >>>>> 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
> >>>>>
> >>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
> >>>>> National Institute for Literacy
> >>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> >>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> >>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> ----------------------------------------------------
> >>>> National Institute for Literacy
> >>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> >>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> >>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >>>
> >>> 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)
> >>> 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
> >>>
> >>> ----------------------------------------------------
> >>> National Institute for Literacy
> >>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> >>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >>>
> >>
> >> ----------------------------------------------------
> >> National Institute for Literacy
> >> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> >> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >>
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------
> > National Institute for Literacy
> > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
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From bfortini at mmhs.u102.k12.me.us  Wed Apr  5 11:15:36 2006
From: bfortini at mmhs.u102.k12.me.us (Bonnie Fortini)
Date: Wed,  5 Apr 2006 15:15:36 +0000
Subject: [ContentStandards 101] Re: How to train/prepare educators to
	use	standards in instructional settings
In-Reply-To: <60AF8C88EFA71A4AA0CBB523F5F24D6501092E@nyec06.nyec.local>
References: <60AF8C88EFA71A4AA0CBB523F5F24D6501092E@nyec06.nyec.local>
Message-ID: <20060405151536.3ss1g6ayo080kk0k@mail.msln.net>

With regard to your questions, adult education directors in Maine 
recently had the opportunity to participate in a seminar on "Unwrapping 
the Standards" that presented a format and protocol for understanding 
standards and linking them to instruction/assessment.  The approach is 
one developed out of the Center for Performance Assesment, Englewood, 
CO, and was brought to our state through a collaboration with our 
Department of Education and our state's LRC, the Center for Adult 
Learning and Literacy.  While the workshop focused on the standards 
being revised in Maine that cover K-12 and adult high school diplomas, 
it was interesting to note that many in attendance saw a direct link to 
the EFF standards, and the process involved in "Unwrapping" is 
reminiscent on the process used in developing the EFF standards 
themselves.  It involves looking at the essential skills and knowledge 
needed to meet a standard, determining what successful demonstration 
looks like, and connecting that information to instruction and 
assessment through curriculum development. The Center for Performance 
Assessment has a website <www.MakingStandardsWork.com> that might have 
more specific answers to some of your questions.  It would tseem that 
practitioners who are familiar with EFF standards development would 
have a relatively easy time of understanding how to integrate standards 
and instruction.

Bonnie Fortini
Machias Adult & Community Education
Machias, ME 04654


> I am interested to hear from others about:
>
> 1) what skills, knowledge, training, other professional development you
> think or have seen to be needed in order for educators/trainers to
> implement the standards successfully?
>
> 2) Describe the nature of training you are using or have seen used: How
> long does training and/or preparation for implementing standards take?
> How much training is needed? What forms of training work best? Is
> self-study a feasible option for learning how to implement the
> standards? What about distance learning? What are the associated costs?
> Is the available training affordable, convenient, effective?
>
> 3) What if any other programmatic/organizational implications other than
> professional development/qualifications (e.g. funding/resources,
> organizational leadership/commitment, program structure, performance
> outcome expectations, etc) may need to be addressed in order to
> successfully implement the standards?
>
> 4) Have you had any experience with educating/training young adults (21
> or below) using EFF standards and if so, did you see any differences
> relevant to teaching and learning with young adults in comparison to
> older adults?
>
>
>
>
>
> I look forward to hearing from some members of this list.
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> Mindy Detzler
> National Youth Employment Coalition
> Washington, D.C.
> md at nyec.org
>
> http://www.nyec.org
>
> ###########################################
>
> This message has been scanned by F-Secure Anti-Virus for Microsoft Exchange.
> For more information, connect to http://www.f-secure.com/




From jswing at RADFORD.EDU  Wed Apr  5 11:32:40 2006
From: jswing at RADFORD.EDU (Swing, Jane C)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 11:32:40 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 102]  Virginia and Content Standards
Message-ID: <94408727380148499415989CDE29587801469C95@exchange03>

Hi Aaron and fellow list members:

 

Virginia is currently working to develop content standards for GED and
ESOL adult education programs. We just published our adult education
newsletter, PROGRESS, that highlights our work in this area. You can
access this newsletter at http://www.valrc.org/publications/progress/.

 

One change has been made to the published information. The Program
Manager's conference to introduce the standards will not be held in June
but rather in October.  Currently, we are piloting both sets of
standards in several regions of the state in multiple classrooms
settings.

 

 

Jane

 

 

 

Jane C. Swing, Director

Office of Adult Education and Literacy Projects

Radford University

PO Box 7015

A 136 Peters Hall

Radford, VA 24142

540-831-6207

FAX 540-831-5779

jswing at radford.edu

 

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From djrosen at comcast.net  Wed Apr  5 11:45:44 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 11:45:44 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 103] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <59b8ffd2bac33db52419588016cb21e3@comcast.net>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<ed0662d658118b7492e7c336b7438172@comcast.net>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060331165608.03cb7398@pop.utk.edu>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060404082745.03e71390@pop.utk.edu>
	<84820b3778d1974f450dbbc4ae9ff8c4@comcast.net>
	<fba70bbbd0411dce38dc86fec16c0b1f@comcast.net>
	<20060405081917.qdph9d3eea3ossc8@webmail.localnet.com>
	<59b8ffd2bac33db52419588016cb21e3@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <4D6CCD96-6A66-45E2-85DA-226555F19A29@comcast.net>

Andrea, and others,

Early on, in 1994-1995, EFF surveyed adult learners, among others, to  
determine what they thought they needed to know.

The EFF Website

	http://eff.cls.utk.edu/

includes background and history information

	http://eff.cls.utk.edu/fundamentals/about.htm#purpose

 From that Web page:

-----------
?  In 1994-95, NIFL began by surveying adult learners and other  
customers of the adult literacy system to determine what skills and  
knowledge were critical to meeting the National Adult Literacy and  
Lifelong Learning Goal. Our first round of grant making related to  
this project supported nine organizations that worked to validate the  
EFF Content Framework as a starting point for standards in adult  
literacy.


? In 1996-97, NIFL established the foundation for adult literacy  
standards by building broad consensus, across the nation, on what  
adults needed to do to meet their responsibilities as workers,  
citizens, and parents.


? In 1998-99, NIFL defined sixteen Content Standards that comprised  
the core knowledge and skills that support effective action in these  
three adult roles. The standards include a strong foundation of  
reading, writing, and math within four key categories of skills and  
knowledge: those that support effective communication, working with  
others, problem solving and decision-making, and learning-to-learn.


? In 2000, NIFL published the EFF Content Standards: What Adults Need  
to Know and Be Able to Do in the 21st Century and launched a training  
and technical assistance initiative to help states use the standards.  
Work also began on defining an assessment framework for the  
standards. NIFL continues to support these two strands of EFF work.
-----------

It would be helpful to have someone who was directly involved in that  
survey do answer Andrea's questions.


All the best,

David J. Rosen
newsomeassociates.com
djrosen at comcast.net

On Apr 5, 2006, at 10:43 AM, Andrea Wilder wrote:

> Mary--
>
>
> I have done a bit of reading, and have come up with this:  "These  
> three [citizen, worker, parents] are not the only adult roles, but  
> are key ones for public policy."  So the effort started from a top  
> down policy view (goal 6) going by this quotation (p 18, Building  
> the Framework).  I don't mean to make too much of this for others,  
> to me it is important because when I wrote my dissertation I went  
> the final step,  Let the data emerge from the site.  No policy  
> involved. ( I love reading real grounded research, it is fabulous.  
> The classic example is Geertz, "Deep Play:  The Balinese  
> Cockfight." Find it on the web , tap in "Geertz cockfight," take  
> the first selection and there it is.).
>
> I am guessing that there is much that is only referred to in brief  
> notes to the Frameworks report (p. 40, Frameworks)
>
> So EFF is a dance between policy and people, trying to find some  
> workable solution to different agendas.
>
> This is as far as I have gone, perhaps you have more info that I.  
> I'll keep reading.  Thanks for  writing.
>
> Andrea
> On Apr 5, 2006, at 8:19 AM, mschnec at localnet.com wrote:
>
>> I recall that the first President Bush set out six educational  
>> goals in the Goals 2000. The sixth one referred to adults being  
>> prepared to work in the global economy and being prepared to be  
>> good citizens. NIFL was asked to figure out how to measure those  
>> things. When NIFL got involed in the qualitative research, people  
>> around the country who were participating in adult education  
>> programs made it very clear that family was a major motivator for  
>> them in their educational goals. So the first two EFF roles,  
>> worker and citizen, were part of goals 2000 but the third, family,  
>> was derived from the research. However, it is my understanding  
>> that the other two roles were substantiated by the research as  
>> well. I know there are a few people reading this who will verify  
>> this if I am remembering correctly. Mary Schneckenburger, Maine
>>
>> Quoting Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>:
>>
>> > Aaron--
>> >
>> > I'm also not going to do any more talking about EFF until I have  
>> more
>> > knowledge, so I will have to do some reading.
>> >
>> > Andrea
>> > On Apr 4, 2006, at 9:55 AM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
>> >
>> >> Aaron--
>> >>
>> >> All i want to do is bury myself in my reading, guess I  
>> shouldn't do
>> >> that.
>> >>
>> >> The three role maps--activities of adults:  community, work,  
>> family.  I
>> >> think these were given from the beginning.
>> >>
>> >>   i am a proponent of grounded research, I use it everyday like  
>> most
>> >> people, By Geertz it is called something like "Common  Sense as a
>> >> Cultural System."  The common sense approach got kicked up   to
>> >> ethnographic status and  inductive learning was added, and it  
>> became
>> >> rationalized by people who wanted some way to understand those who
>> >> seemed different from themselves--e.g.,--anthropoloigy.came  
>> into its
>> >> own. I' ll get back to this a  bit alter.
>> >>
>> >> Thanks, Aaron.  Back to the printing press.
>> >>
>> >> Andrea
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On Apr 4, 2006, at 8:50 AM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Andrea,
>> >>>
>> >>> Thanks for your thought-provoking questions.  I wanted to make  
>> some
>> >>> clarification on a couple of your points below before others  
>> jump into
>> >>> the
>> >>> discussion.
>> >>>
>> >>> 1) "i am aware that this list serves teachers, administrators,  
>> who use
>> >>> EFF
>> >>> and maybe helped make EFF."
>> >>> --  To clarify, this list serves a broader audience than those  
>> just
>> >>> using
>> >>> EFF Standards. The intent is to include all efforts involved with
>> >>> using
>> >>> Content Standards in an adult education setting.  Some states,  
>> as you
>> >>> mention, are using EFF standards, some are using a subset of  
>> those
>> >>> standards, and others are using other standards which may be  
>> compiled
>> >>> from
>> >>> multiple sources.  So this discussion list hopes to encourage the
>> >>> sharing
>> >>> of what is happening within that larger audience.
>> >>>
>> >>> And this discussion list continues to have a goal to be  
>> inclusive of
>> >>> the
>> >>> system at all levels- we hope to continue the current  
>> discussion of
>> >>> standards work at the State level, but also have future  
>> discussions
>> >>> regarding the use/impact of standards with
>> >>> programs/administrators/teachers/learners.
>> >>>
>> >>> 2) "As i recall, Tom Sticht  mentioned after reading George  
>> D.'s  book
>> >>> that
>> >>> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully  grounded approach to data
>> >>> gathering--the categories were  givens, did not emerge."
>> >>> -- In regards to the categories that were 'named' during the EFF
>> >>> research,
>> >>> if this refers to the 'Purposes' learners attend adult education,
>> >>> 'Role
>> >>> Maps', 'Common Activities', 'Standards', 'Performance Continua',
>> >>> etc.--
>> >>> then this was very much data driven.  Qualitative research  
>> methods
>> >>> were
>> >>> used with data collected from the field (from learners, teachers,
>> >>> program &
>> >>> state administrators) in an iterative process in order to name  
>> each of
>> >>> these categories.
>> >>>
>> >>> Andrea, I might need more information from you to know if this  
>> answers
>> >>> or
>> >>> clarifies your points above.
>> >>>
>> >>> Sincerely,
>> >>> Aaron
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> At 11:00 AM 4/1/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>> >>>> Dear David, Aaron,
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Nothing like a top of the head response to engender  
>> controversy and
>> >>>> maybe dismay, but  here goes.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> The story of the early printing press is all about adult  
>> literacy, in
>> >>>> two volumes with very small print, i don't think a "school"  
>> has been
>> >>>> mentioned yet.  Instead I find out how all sorts of adults  
>> used the
>> >>>> press--churchmen, nascent scientists, guild members, small
>> >>>> shopkeepers,
>> >>>> the list is very long.  A "gutter press" emerged.The printing  
>> press
>> >>>> organized knowledge and essentailly broke the guild system, as
>> >>>> knowledge could now be  gotten through a book, not a person.   
>> Without
>> >>>> the printing press we would have been either dead or Catholic.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> I remember seeing a draft of a paper by Sondra Stein in  
>> maybe  1997
>> >>>> and
>> >>>>   having two reactions:  1)  wish somebody had given me role  
>> maps,
>> >>>> they
>> >>>> sure would have helped,  plus 2)        life cannot be   
>> reduced to
>> >>>> role maps
>> >>>> which by their structure and  assumptions are narrow and  
>> ethnocentric
>> >>>> (which I have been charged with being, myself).
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Being a qualititative researcher, I always ask:  can I find  
>> myself in
>> >>>> here?
>> >>>>
>> >>>> What I think the EFF standards are is  an updated guild  
>> system, with
>> >>>> the teacher the master and the adult learner the novice.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Maybe the EFF standards are an answer to the problem of
>> >>>> attendance--EFF
>> >>>> carries the student over  irregular attendance.  Maybe EFF is an
>> >>>> answer
>> >>>> to the dilemma of what to teach and a common vocabulary for  
>> students
>> >>>> and teachers.  So what I call "narrow" is maybe a way of  
>> organizing
>> >>>> chaos.  EFF is CERTAINLY a tool for acculaturation into   
>> American
>> >>>> norms.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> I understand that Sondra  had many years of teaching adults,  
>> so much
>> >>>> of  EFF is guided by  her experience.  i can't argue with  
>> that, don't
>> >>>> want to.  EFF is a phenomenal effort.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Do you play Mah Jongg?  That's how i think of David's idea of
>> >>>> thousands
>> >>>> of modules--a universe of little tiles (modules) floating out in
>> >>>> (cyber)space.  By themselves the tiles break free of roles,  
>> you don't
>> >>>> have to fit the tiles into an EFF framework, though it would be
>> >>>> useful
>> >>>> to have an overarching system, like the "curriculum  
>> standards" we as
>> >>>> teachers invented when i was a school teacher.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> I don't want to offend anyone, and i am aware that this list   
>> serves
>> >>>> teachers, administrators, who  use EFF and maybe helped make  
>> EFF.
>> >>>> But
>> >>>> I will just continue--the "Equipped for the Future Content  
>> Standards"
>> >>>> is really hard to get through.  i guess it must have been  
>> written for
>> >>>> multiple audiences.  if I were thinking of using EFF I would  
>> want a
>> >>>> three-holed punched explanation of EFF with a one page executive
>> >>>> summary, maybe, or description of how it was built, then at   
>> most  5
>> >>>> pages (maybe 3) of narrative about how to" do"  EFF.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> So...any "selling"  or "explication" of EFF should focus   
>> first on
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> problems it seeks  to solve.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> What i would really like is feedback  on EFF--from people who  
>> use
>> >>>> it--on my points:
>> >>>>
>> >>>> 1)      ethnocentric (fitting into American culture)
>> >>>> 2)      normative ( idealized American values, e.g., "respect  
>> for
>> >>>> diversity)
>> >>>> 2)      narrow (no mention of basic survival skills)
>> >>>>
>> >>>> As i recall, Tom Sticht  mentioned after reading George D.'s   
>> book
>> >>>> that
>> >>>> EFF wasn't striclty speaking a fully  grounded approach to data
>> >>>> gathering--the categories were  givens, did not emerge.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> So please correct me  on any  of the points above;  skewering is
>> >>>> painful, so leave off the sword play,  I  think.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Ready to be educated.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Andrea
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 5:03 PM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
>> >>>>
>> >>>>> Yes, David- I agree with your interpretation.  And I'm also  
>> glad you
>> >>>>> mentioned other areas where the term Content Standards could  
>> apply.
>> >>>>> In
>> >>>>> fact, there has recently been some discussion on the  
>> Technology list
>> >>>>> about
>> >>>>> Standards for using Technology.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> Andrea, as regards to print, do you think standards for  
>> Reading &
>> >>>>> Writing
>> >>>>> would apply?  And what about certain applications of print-
>> >>>>> advocating
>> >>>>> for
>> >>>>> a point of view if seen through an EFF lens could also bring  
>> in the
>> >>>>> standard "Advocate and Influence".  What do you think?
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> Aaron
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> At 04:28 PM 3/31/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>> >>>>>> Andrea,
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> My interpretation of "Content Standards" is this: this  
>> discussion
>> >>>>>> list used to be called "NIFL-4EFF", and used to be about  
>> Equipped
>> >>>>>> For
>> >>>>>> the Future curriculum standards.  "Content standards" is a  
>> broader
>> >>>>>> name which includes, but is not necessarily limited to,  EFF
>> >>>>>> curriculum standards.  The discussion now includes state- 
>> developed
>> >>>>>> curriculum frameworks and standards, and presumably curriculum
>> >>>>>> frameworks and standards used in other countries.  It could  
>> also
>> >>>>>> include industry-specific skills standards, as they might  
>> be used
>> >>>>>> in
>> >>>>>> developing workplace literacy or workplace basic skills  
>> curricula,
>> >>>>>> although I think no one has brought this up yet.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> Aaron, is this interpretation correct?
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> David J. Rosen
>> >>>>>> newsomeassociates.com
>> >>>>>> djrosen at comcast.net
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> On Mar 31, 2006, at 4:08 PM, Andrea Wilder wrote:
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Well, hello, everyone!
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> i am putting together a long written piece on adult  
>> literacy, a
>> >>>>>>> lot
>> >>>>>>> of
>> >>>>>>> work, but there are revelations, too.  The printing press  
>> was an
>> >>>>>>> agent
>> >>>>>>> for standardization in chronology and in data, a general  
>> unifier
>> >>>>>>> of
>> >>>>>>> many manuscripts (by hand!)  that enabled writers to really
>> >>>>>>> communicate
>> >>>>>>> with each other.  With printing:  the idea that progress,  
>> poaitive
>> >>>>>>> change, could be made, as technological changes  expanded the
>> >>>>>>> known
>> >>>>>>> world.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> I am very interested in content standards, a way of  
>> measuring I
>> >>>>>>> guess
>> >>>>>>> the attainment of certain skills and knowledge  through  
>> print.  In
>> >>>>>>> the
>> >>>>>>> world of the early printing press that would have been
>> >>>>>>> impossible:,
>> >>>>>>> "knowledge" was just being assembled.  The idea of "content
>> >>>>>>> standards"
>> >>>>>>> seems very narrow, circumscribed.  first one must agree on  
>> the
>> >>>>>>> content,
>> >>>>>>> ;  how does that happen?  CASAS?  EFF?  A bit of a puzzle.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> Andrea Wilder
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> >>>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>> >>>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> >>>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> >>>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,  
>> please go to
>> >>>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> >>>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>> >>>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> >>>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> >>>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please  
>> go to
>> >>>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> 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)
>> >>>>> 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
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> >>>>> National Institute for Literacy
>> >>>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> >>>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> >>>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please  
>> go to
>> >>>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> >>>> National Institute for Literacy
>> >>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> >>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> >>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please  
>> go to
>> >>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> >>>
>> >>> 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)
>> >>> 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
>> >>>
>> >>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> >>> National Institute for Literacy
>> >>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> >>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >> ----------------------------------------------------
>> >> National Institute for Literacy
>> >> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> >> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> >>
>> >
>> > ----------------------------------------------------
>> > National Institute for Literacy
>> > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> >
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to  
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to  
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From kabeall at comcast.net  Wed Apr  5 14:06:10 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 14:06:10 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 104] Linking Research and Practice: NCSALL's
	Research Strand at COABE
Message-ID: <007c01c658db$9ee94e50$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

For those of you attending the 2006 COABE Conference in Houston April 26-29,
the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL)
invites you to attend its sessions during the conference.

 

Presenters will highlight NCSALL research findings and share professional
development activities and instructional strategies for strengthening the
quality of adult literacy programs.

 

Attached is a list of the NCSALL sessions.

 

See you at COABE! Stop by and visit our booth (#119) in the exhibit area.

 

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From gdemetrion at msn.com  Wed Apr  5 15:02:14 2006
From: gdemetrion at msn.com (George demetrion)
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 15:02:14 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 105] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <4D6CCD96-6A66-45E2-85DA-226555F19A29@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <BAY103-F207B7DBA783EF6D56F6955C5CB0@phx.gbl>

Someone had asked about the selection process of the EFF role maps

Woker
Citizenship/Community Member
Parent/Family Member

I'm doing this from memory, so there may be need for correction.

The first two role maps came out of National Educational Goal #6 in 
preparing adults for the global economy and citizenship.  With Barbara Bush 
in particiular, family literacy was in the air as an obvious focal point.  
When the 1500 or so students were surveyed by NIFL and the National 
Education Goals Panel, I think, the students identified family themes as a 
major area of interest.  These two factors, I believe, led to family 
education as the third role map--an obvious choice, in any event.

George Demetrion




From andreawilder at comcast.net  Wed Apr  5 15:29:03 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 15:29:03 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 106] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <BAY103-F207B7DBA783EF6D56F6955C5CB0@phx.gbl>
References: <BAY103-F207B7DBA783EF6D56F6955C5CB0@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <485d7a58216971ef5e1a6a835607917a@comcast.net>


George,

It was I who asked the question.  The problem is the validity of the 
categories:  is this what learners want to learn?  Or  do the 
categories represent a top down  policy directive--which is true for 
goal #6.  Tom is taking up the reliability issue on aaace-nla as we 
speak.

Thanks.

Andrea


On Apr 5, 2006, at 3:02 PM, George demetrion wrote:

> Someone had asked about the selection process of the EFF role maps
>
> Woker
> Citizenship/Community Member
> Parent/Family Member
>
> I'm doing this from memory, so there may be need for correction.
>
> The first two role maps came out of National Educational Goal #6 in
> preparing adults for the global economy and citizenship.  With Barbara 
> Bush
> in particiular, family literacy was in the air as an obvious focal 
> point.
> When the 1500 or so students were surveyed by NIFL and the National
> Education Goals Panel, I think, the students identified family themes 
> as a
> major area of interest.  These two factors, I believe, led to family
> education as the third role map--an obvious choice, in any event.
>
> George Demetrion
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



From gdemetrion at msn.com  Wed Apr  5 16:35:42 2006
From: gdemetrion at msn.com (George demetrion)
Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:35:42 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 107] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <485d7a58216971ef5e1a6a835607917a@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <BAY103-F28EDC14C08461764E22B2DC5CB0@phx.gbl>

Hi Andrea,

To equivocate, I think one could reasonably say both.

Certainly not "validation" according to the precepts of positivist research, 
based upon a randomized model.  However,in terms of qualitative 
methodologies the case can be better made that the categories are inclusive 
of what adults seek to learn in adult literacy programs.  Much of the 
ethnographic literature would confirm the legitimacy of these categories, 
though wouldn't necessarily privilege these three, nor would necessarily 
privilege the complex structure laid out in EFF.

I believe this is acknowledged by the EFF pioneers.  From their perspective, 
the EFF framework is based on a combination of research and pragmatic policy 
orientation.  It was based on the assumption that the issue of standards was 
an inescapable one for a field that sought policy legitimacy in the 90s.  
>From the inception there was a strong praxeological orientation in EFF to 
integrate student centered orientations with those that could become, at 
least plausibly, policy legitimized.  Consequently, the focus, as 
acknoweledged, was on content areas that had a distinctive public focus.

At the time,the workforce impetus, linking literacy to the global economy 
was the foremost policy consideration.  In my view, it was Sondra Stein's 
genius to place the stated focus on citizenship with equal billing as that 
of workforce development.  In that she sought a radical reform within the 
prevailing ideology that, ideally, could be ushered in within the context of 
a modetsly progressive federal government. In tyhat respect, Bill Clinton 
failed us greatly, particularly in his second administration.  With 
Clinton's conservative turn and Newt Gingrish's 104th Congress setting a 
very conservative policy, the more progressive aspects of EFF became 
severely marginalized.

In any event, these three areas, work, family and citizenship, with the 
underlying content standards based on life long learning held the prospect 
for a potential reformist revitzalization that was both functionally focused 
and linkes to many aspects of learning that adults have sought.

EFF did become a bit top heavy with structure, and its own internal logic, 
which butted up both against the increasingly conservative political culture 
and a participatory student-centered focus, which in its purity could 
tolerate no philosophical inconsistency.  Consequently, and especially after 
election 2000, as a national movement, the gap between the apiration of the 
pioneers and the abutment of reality became only too palpable.

After the fact this is more than evident and there's much to learn from 
EFF's creative "failure." This is a far thing from saying, then, that EFF 
was a fiasco, and I remnain convinced that any effective national reform 
vision will have to revisit much of the EFF project, vcearly in some 
different (and less literal) ways, and that there's much to learn even in 
the failure.

As you know, I dealt very substantially with EFF in Conflicting Paradigms.  
I encourage you to re-read chapters 7 & 8 in light of your interest in EFF 
and in light of the current discussion.

George Demetrion


From: Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>
Reply-To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion 
List<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion 
List<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
Subject: [ContentStandards 106] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 15:29:03 -0400


George,

It was I who asked the question.  The problem is the validity of the
categories:  is this what learners want to learn?  Or  do the
categories represent a top down  policy directive--which is true for
goal #6.  Tom is taking up the reliability issue on aaace-nla as we
speak.

Thanks.

Andrea


On Apr 5, 2006, at 3:02 PM, George demetrion wrote:

 > Someone had asked about the selection process of the EFF role maps
 >
 > Woker
 > Citizenship/Community Member
 > Parent/Family Member
 >
 > I'm doing this from memory, so there may be need for correction.
 >
 > The first two role maps came out of National Educational Goal #6 in
 > preparing adults for the global economy and citizenship.  With Barbara
 > Bush
 > in particiular, family literacy was in the air as an obvious focal
 > point.
 > When the 1500 or so students were surveyed by NIFL and the National
 > Education Goals Panel, I think, the students identified family themes
 > as a
 > major area of interest.  These two factors, I believe, led to family
 > education as the third role map--an obvious choice, in any event.
 >
 > George Demetrion
 >
 >
 > ----------------------------------------------------
 > National Institute for Literacy
 > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
 > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
 > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
 > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
 >

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards




From andreawilder at comcast.net  Wed Apr  5 17:18:03 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 17:18:03 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 108] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <BAY103-F28EDC14C08461764E22B2DC5CB0@phx.gbl>
References: <BAY103-F28EDC14C08461764E22B2DC5CB0@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <e21fa08d59272365cd188a9e9b0dedfc@comcast.net>

Thanks, George for your extensive comments.  I guess I have to go with 
my original conclusion, in the face of no more information, that EFF is 
a policy initiative with some use of qualitative methodology.

Andrea

On Apr 5, 2006, at 4:35 PM, George demetrion wrote:

> Hi Andrea,
>
> To equivocate, I think one could reasonably say both.
>
> Certainly not "validation" according to the precepts of positivist 
> research,
> based upon a randomized model.  However,in terms of qualitative
> methodologies the case can be better made that the categories are 
> inclusive
> of what adults seek to learn in adult literacy programs.  Much of the
> ethnographic literature would confirm the legitimacy of these 
> categories,
> though wouldn't necessarily privilege these three, nor would 
> necessarily
> privilege the complex structure laid out in EFF.
>
> I believe this is acknowledged by the EFF pioneers.  From their 
> perspective,
> the EFF framework is based on a combination of research and pragmatic 
> policy
> orientation.  It was based on the assumption that the issue of 
> standards was
> an inescapable one for a field that sought policy legitimacy in the 
> 90s.
>> From the inception there was a strong praxeological orientation in 
>> EFF to
> integrate student centered orientations with those that could become, 
> at
> least plausibly, policy legitimized.  Consequently, the focus, as
> acknoweledged, was on content areas that had a distinctive public 
> focus.
>
> At the time,the workforce impetus, linking literacy to the global 
> economy
> was the foremost policy consideration.  In my view, it was Sondra 
> Stein's
> genius to place the stated focus on citizenship with equal billing as 
> that
> of workforce development.  In that she sought a radical reform within 
> the
> prevailing ideology that, ideally, could be ushered in within the 
> context of
> a modetsly progressive federal government. In tyhat respect, Bill 
> Clinton
> failed us greatly, particularly in his second administration.  With
> Clinton's conservative turn and Newt Gingrish's 104th Congress setting 
> a
> very conservative policy, the more progressive aspects of EFF became
> severely marginalized.
>
> In any event, these three areas, work, family and citizenship, with the
> underlying content standards based on life long learning held the 
> prospect
> for a potential reformist revitzalization that was both functionally 
> focused
> and linkes to many aspects of learning that adults have sought.
>
> EFF did become a bit top heavy with structure, and its own internal 
> logic,
> which butted up both against the increasingly conservative political 
> culture
> and a participatory student-centered focus, which in its purity could
> tolerate no philosophical inconsistency.  Consequently, and especially 
> after
> election 2000, as a national movement, the gap between the apiration 
> of the
> pioneers and the abutment of reality became only too palpable.
>
> After the fact this is more than evident and there's much to learn from
> EFF's creative "failure." This is a far thing from saying, then, that 
> EFF
> was a fiasco, and I remnain convinced that any effective national 
> reform
> vision will have to revisit much of the EFF project, vcearly in some
> different (and less literal) ways, and that there's much to learn even 
> in
> the failure.
>
> As you know, I dealt very substantially with EFF in Conflicting 
> Paradigms.
> I encourage you to re-read chapters 7 & 8 in light of your interest in 
> EFF
> and in light of the current discussion.
>
> George Demetrion
>
>
> From: Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>
> Reply-To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion
> List<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
> To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion
> List<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
> Subject: [ContentStandards 106] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
> Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 15:29:03 -0400
>
>
> George,
>
> It was I who asked the question.  The problem is the validity of the
> categories:  is this what learners want to learn?  Or  do the
> categories represent a top down  policy directive--which is true for
> goal #6.  Tom is taking up the reliability issue on aaace-nla as we
> speak.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Andrea
>
>
> On Apr 5, 2006, at 3:02 PM, George demetrion wrote:
>
>> Someone had asked about the selection process of the EFF role maps
>>
>> Woker
>> Citizenship/Community Member
>> Parent/Family Member
>>
>> I'm doing this from memory, so there may be need for correction.
>>
>> The first two role maps came out of National Educational Goal #6 in
>> preparing adults for the global economy and citizenship.  With Barbara
>> Bush
>> in particiular, family literacy was in the air as an obvious focal
>> point.
>> When the 1500 or so students were surveyed by NIFL and the National
>> Education Goals Panel, I think, the students identified family themes
>> as a
>> major area of interest.  These two factors, I believe, led to family
>> education as the third role map--an obvious choice, in any event.
>>
>> George Demetrion
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



From tarv at chemeketa.edu  Wed Apr  5 22:30:23 2006
From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether)
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 19:30:23 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 109] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
Message-ID: <89DA2100D59D7341BEA4D938F9FB2A93039822AA@cccmail2.chemeketa.network>

Andrea
The problem is the validity of the categories:  is this what learners
want to learn?  One of the things I like about EFF is that learners were
interested in the categories because they linked to their lives, and
mine.  As I am a learner within the EFF model as are my students: we are
adults on a learning continuum, side by side, hand in hand, hanging over
the backyard fence, taking on life as adults: REAL life not a
theoretical life. My students were much more comfortable within the EFF
system than many of my professional peers or our national "leadership".
Is this what learners want to learn?  It is what they have to learn to
survive and move down life's continuum, not to pass a test, but to earn
a paycheck, solve problems with parenting or figure out how to
administer first aid.
va

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of George demetrion
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 1:36 PM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 107] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles

Hi Andrea,

To equivocate, I think one could reasonably say both.

Certainly not "validation" according to the precepts of positivist
research, 
based upon a randomized model.  However,in terms of qualitative 
methodologies the case can be better made that the categories are
inclusive 
of what adults seek to learn in adult literacy programs.  Much of the 
ethnographic literature would confirm the legitimacy of these
categories, 
though wouldn't necessarily privilege these three, nor would necessarily

privilege the complex structure laid out in EFF.

I believe this is acknowledged by the EFF pioneers.  From their
perspective, 
the EFF framework is based on a combination of research and pragmatic
policy 
orientation.  It was based on the assumption that the issue of standards
was 
an inescapable one for a field that sought policy legitimacy in the 90s.

>From the inception there was a strong praxeological orientation in EFF
to 
integrate student centered orientations with those that could become, at

least plausibly, policy legitimized.  Consequently, the focus, as 
acknoweledged, was on content areas that had a distinctive public focus.

At the time,the workforce impetus, linking literacy to the global
economy 
was the foremost policy consideration.  In my view, it was Sondra
Stein's 
genius to place the stated focus on citizenship with equal billing as
that 
of workforce development.  In that she sought a radical reform within
the 
prevailing ideology that, ideally, could be ushered in within the
context of 
a modetsly progressive federal government. In tyhat respect, Bill
Clinton 
failed us greatly, particularly in his second administration.  With 
Clinton's conservative turn and Newt Gingrish's 104th Congress setting a

very conservative policy, the more progressive aspects of EFF became 
severely marginalized.

In any event, these three areas, work, family and citizenship, with the 
underlying content standards based on life long learning held the
prospect 
for a potential reformist revitzalization that was both functionally
focused 
and linkes to many aspects of learning that adults have sought.

EFF did become a bit top heavy with structure, and its own internal
logic, 
which butted up both against the increasingly conservative political
culture 
and a participatory student-centered focus, which in its purity could 
tolerate no philosophical inconsistency.  Consequently, and especially
after 
election 2000, as a national movement, the gap between the apiration of
the 
pioneers and the abutment of reality became only too palpable.

After the fact this is more than evident and there's much to learn from 
EFF's creative "failure." This is a far thing from saying, then, that
EFF 
was a fiasco, and I remnain convinced that any effective national reform

vision will have to revisit much of the EFF project, vcearly in some 
different (and less literal) ways, and that there's much to learn even
in 
the failure.

As you know, I dealt very substantially with EFF in Conflicting
Paradigms.  
I encourage you to re-read chapters 7 & 8 in light of your interest in
EFF 
and in light of the current discussion.

George Demetrion


From: Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>
Reply-To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion 
List<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion 
List<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
Subject: [ContentStandards 106] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 15:29:03 -0400


George,

It was I who asked the question.  The problem is the validity of the
categories:  is this what learners want to learn?  Or  do the
categories represent a top down  policy directive--which is true for
goal #6.  Tom is taking up the reliability issue on aaace-nla as we
speak.

Thanks.

Andrea


On Apr 5, 2006, at 3:02 PM, George demetrion wrote:

 > Someone had asked about the selection process of the EFF role maps
 >
 > Woker
 > Citizenship/Community Member
 > Parent/Family Member
 >
 > I'm doing this from memory, so there may be need for correction.
 >
 > The first two role maps came out of National Educational Goal #6 in
 > preparing adults for the global economy and citizenship.  With
Barbara
 > Bush
 > in particiular, family literacy was in the air as an obvious focal
 > point.
 > When the 1500 or so students were surveyed by NIFL and the National
 > Education Goals Panel, I think, the students identified family themes
 > as a
 > major area of interest.  These two factors, I believe, led to family
 > education as the third role map--an obvious choice, in any event.
 >
 > George Demetrion
 >
 >
 > ----------------------------------------------------
 > National Institute for Literacy
 > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
 > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
 > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
 > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
 >

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Apr  6 09:24:12 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:24:12 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 110] Fwd: Re: [AAACE-NLA] Curriculum Policy
	Proposals
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060406092125.03e55608@pop.utk.edu>

The message below is cross-posted from the National Literacy Advocacy 
Discussion List.  It talks about some of the work in Pennsylvania in 
developing standards for curriculum.
Aaron


>Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 06:14:27 -0400
>From: "Martin E. Senger" <mesenger at netbox.com>
>Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] Curriculum Policy Proposals
>Sender: aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org
>To: 'National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE'
>  <aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
>Cc: mpeters at gecac.org, Sara Brennen <sbrennen at pennswoods.net>,
>  "Westover,     Michael" <mwestover at state.pa.us>
>Reply-to: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE
>  <aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>
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>         <aaace-nla.lists.literacytent.org>
>Original-recipient: rfc822;akohring at mail.utk.edu
>
>Pax et bonum all! (peace & goodness)
>
>I teach Adult ESL for a non-profit in northwest PA (GECAC), and I am
>currently involved in a three-year project with the PA Dept of Education
>(PDE) to develop statewide curriculum standards. We are in the third year of
>the program, implementation. We have spent the last two years establishing
>and defining what we wanted in our standards, using Maryland and Arizona's
>standards as a starting place.
>
>You should know that the group of about 20 who participated is made up of
>ALL adult ESL teachers from across PA and from a variety of agencies, so we
>make up a good representation of the professional field in the state.
>
>Our basic goal was to create a document that would give both novice and
>experienced teachers a basic "guideline" of subjects to teach and times to
>teach them. We avoided it being too "prescriptive." We spent a long time
>hashing out the exact schedule, especially when it came to teaching grammar.
>But we had an excellent group, and we worked it out. We used six main
>sections: (in no particular order) Speaking, Listening, Writing, Reading,
>Pronunciation and Grammar. We also listed cultural and civic aspects for
>each level.
>
>We used the new NRS levels: Beginning Literacy, Beginning, Low Intermediate,
>High Intermediate, and Advanced.
>
>We aligned our standards to NRS, CASAS and BEST. I have since returned to my
>own previous assessments (BEST) for my students, and aligned them to our
>standards. It has been very helpful in seeing exact scores for each of the
>six sections.
>
>We discussed at the beginning that we could never form a comprehensive and
>prescriptive curriculum due to the fact that takes way too much power out of
>the teacher's hands. We stressed that these are suggestions, since the
>teacher should know what is best for the student.
>
>But we also underscored the desire that when a student changed agencies (in
>Erie, that happens on a daily basis), all the agencies would be literally
>"reading off the same page" when it came to assessing students' levels.
>
>I hope I have done the PA Curriculum Standards justice in this brief
>description!
>
>Martin E. Senger
>Adult ESL Teacher
>The R. Benjamin Wiley Learning Center/GECAC
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org
>[mailto:aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org] On Behalf Of David Rosen
>Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2006 9:53 PM
>To: National by AAACE Literacy Advocacy List sponsored
>Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Curriculum Policy Proposals
>
>AAACE-NLA and Program Leadership Colleagues,
>
>  From time to time government agencies at the federal and state level
>fund programs to develop curricula.  For example, for several years,
>through the U.S. Department of Education's Workplace Education
>Program, federal grants supported the development of workplace-
>specific or industry-specific basic skills (including ELL) curriculum
>for workers.  I think that it is useful for federal, state and local
>government agencies to fund curriculum development.  I wish they
>would fund more curriculum projects, both generic and industry-
>specific, in all areas of adult education and literacy (which
>includes ELL and numeracy.)
>
>However, there are two things I would like to see government agencies
>require, that grantees:
>
>1. Develop the curriculum against a set of curriculum standards or
>frameworks.  Given that we do not have federally-approved standards,
>national curriculum projects should use EFF standards, SCANS
>competencies, or possibly CASAS competencies, or a set of state-
>approved  curriculum frameworks. State and local curriculum projects
>could use state-approved curriculum standards.  Exceptions could be
>made for curriculum projects which use a participatory curriculum
>development model where a curriculum is developed from the
>interaction of a teacher and a particular group of students, growing
>from that particular group of students' needs.
>
>2. Publish the curriculum in a government-sponsored curriculum
>database on the Web where anyone (especially teachers) could  quickly
>find it, using a set of adult education curriculum categories, and or
>search terms.
>
>I have recently been searching for some specific workplace
>curriculum, and have been surprised to find how much time it takes to
>chase it down.  I am sure this curriculum exists; it is just not easy
>to find.  And when I have found it, it is rare that the curriculum
>was developed against a set of curriculum standards, or at least it
>isn't clear what the curriculum standards are.  I have often found
>that the curriculum is no longer in print.
>
>Why do I bring this up here?  There are two reasons:
>
>1) This is a public policy issue.  I would like to see the U.S.
>Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Labor, HUD, and other
>federal government agencies, and all state agencies which fund adult
>education and literacy curriculum development adopt this as a policy.
>It would add value to government-funded projects if others could
>benefit from the curriculum development work.  It would not cost much
>to create this web-based database or to maintain it.
>
>2) I would like to hear your reactions to these proposals, for
>example from a program improvement (curriculum improvement is part of
>program leadership) and from a public policy perspective.
>
>David J. Rosen
>Adult Literacy Advocate
>djrosen at theworld.com
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>AAACE-NLA mailing list: AAACE-NLA at lists.literacytent.org
>http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla
>LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
>http://literacytent.org
>
>_______________________________________________
>AAACE-NLA mailing list: AAACE-NLA at lists.literacytent.org
>http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/aaace-nla
>LiteracyTent: web hosting, news, community and goodies for literacy
>http://literacytent.org

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)
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



From gdemetrion at msn.com  Fri Apr  7 12:26:33 2006
From: gdemetrion at msn.com (George demetrion)
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 12:26:33 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 111] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <BAY103-F28EDC14C08461764E22B2DC5CB0@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <BAY103-F4026AE8E39B6971D285492C5C90@phx.gbl>

Andrea and others,

No doubt it's true that EFF was driven by certain policy pressures.  That 
had been acknowledged by the EFF developers from the inception of the 
project.  I wouldn't be dismissive of it because of that.

Regardless of its limitations (and there is much positive to say about EFFF 
as well) it was a fairly substantial undeetaking consisting of critically 
informed practitioners, researchers, managers and administrators who were 
seeking to work out some very delicate balances between theory, what was 
known of best practices, and policy legitimacy, not only based on the given 
policy, but what realistically could have become policy viable; notably the 
central role of critical citizenship and lifelong learning as the pivots 
upon which the EFF framework was constructed.  Note, too, the concept of 
"role maps."  Thus, it was not the static role of "employment," but the 
active role of "worker," in that context as corporate citizen in the 
capacity of negotiating the work function within the context of the 
organizational culture.

That the EFF project overshot its aspiration is a historically given one, 
which, strictly speaking could not have been known at the time.  Moreover, 
the failure at the level of its foremost aspiration had quite a bit to do  
with the trajectory of the political culture in which its fate was not 
really sealed until the early years of the Bush administration.

Notwithstanding the various problems, both internal and external to the EFF 
framework, students, instructors and program personnel who have been able to 
structure their work according to its model have derived a lot of benefit 
from it.  There is research and a fair amount of reasonably solid anecdotal 
information to support this claim even as the systematic comparative 
research, which, i believe, would be rather difficult to do, hasn't been 
done.

Finally, if any coherent national framework, like that currently being 
discussed on the NLA, there are critical aspects in the EFF project that 
could add much value to anyu such project, and, moreover, it's historical 
trajectory is worthy of study in itself for potential lessons learned and 
pitfalls to avoid.

At the very least it was a noble experiment; more, there is miuch to learn 
from it, and, as it has become, even in its current state, a highly useful 
model.

For all of these reasons and more I would caution against a too easy 
dismissiveness.

George Demetrion




From djrosen at comcast.net  Fri Apr  7 12:57:35 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 12:57:35 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 112] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <BAY103-F4026AE8E39B6971D285492C5C90@phx.gbl>
References: <BAY103-F4026AE8E39B6971D285492C5C90@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <12F87B54-437A-46E4-A1FE-0A34C593762F@comcast.net>

George,

I wonder why you describe EFF in the past tense (e.g. "it was a noble  
experiment").  My understanding is that EFF is alive, and perhaps  
expanding.  A number of states have formally adopted EFF as their set  
of curriculum standards and many (perhaps all?) of these are  
providing EFF training for teachers.  Sometime this year several  
states will roll out the employability credential based on the EFF  
Worker standards.  ETS has state partners and is seeking more to  
develop EFF assessments.  Given that there is no federal support for  
EFF that suggests to me that EFF, unlike APL, has a power in the  
present and may have a good future.

David J. Rosen
newsomeassociates.com
  djrosen at comcast.net

On Apr 7, 2006, at 12:26 PM, George demetrion wrote:

> Andrea and others,
>
> No doubt it's true that EFF was driven by certain policy  
> pressures.  That
> had been acknowledged by the EFF developers from the inception of the
> project.  I wouldn't be dismissive of it because of that.
>
> Regardless of its limitations (and there is much positive to say  
> about EFFF
> as well) it was a fairly substantial undeetaking consisting of  
> critically
> informed practitioners, researchers, managers and administrators  
> who were
> seeking to work out some very delicate balances between theory,  
> what was
> known of best practices, and policy legitimacy, not only based on  
> the given
> policy, but what realistically could have become policy viable;  
> notably the
> central role of critical citizenship and lifelong learning as the  
> pivots
> upon which the EFF framework was constructed.  Note, too, the  
> concept of
> "role maps."  Thus, it was not the static role of "employment," but  
> the
> active role of "worker," in that context as corporate citizen in the
> capacity of negotiating the work function within the context of the
> organizational culture.
>
> That the EFF project overshot its aspiration is a historically  
> given one,
> which, strictly speaking could not have been known at the time.   
> Moreover,
> the failure at the level of its foremost aspiration had quite a bit  
> to do
> with the trajectory of the political culture in which its fate was not
> really sealed until the early years of the Bush administration.
>
> Notwithstanding the various problems, both internal and external to  
> the EFF
> framework, students, instructors and program personnel who have  
> been able to
> structure their work according to its model have derived a lot of  
> benefit
> from it.  There is research and a fair amount of reasonably solid  
> anecdotal
> information to support this claim even as the systematic comparative
> research, which, i believe, would be rather difficult to do, hasn't  
> been
> done.
>
> Finally, if any coherent national framework, like that currently being
> discussed on the NLA, there are critical aspects in the EFF project  
> that
> could add much value to anyu such project, and, moreover, it's  
> historical
> trajectory is worthy of study in itself for potential lessons  
> learned and
> pitfalls to avoid.
>
> At the very least it was a noble experiment; more, there is miuch  
> to learn
> from it, and, as it has become, even in its current state, a highly  
> useful
> model.
>
> For all of these reasons and more I would caution against a too easy
> dismissiveness.
>
> George Demetrion
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to  
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From george.demetrion at lvgh.org  Fri Apr  7 13:29:48 2006
From: george.demetrion at lvgh.org (George Demetrion)
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 13:29:48 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 113] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
Message-ID: <681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE71212BCF2@hal9000.lvgh.prv>

That's a good observation, David.  It certainly continues, though, as
you say, not as a federally-sponsored NIFL project.  I suppose the past
tense had to do with the original incarnation. 

George

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David Rosen
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 12:58 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 112] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles

George,

I wonder why you describe EFF in the past tense (e.g. "it was a noble  
experiment").  My understanding is that EFF is alive, and perhaps  
expanding.  A number of states have formally adopted EFF as their set  
of curriculum standards and many (perhaps all?) of these are  
providing EFF training for teachers.  Sometime this year several  
states will roll out the employability credential based on the EFF  
Worker standards.  ETS has state partners and is seeking more to  
develop EFF assessments.  Given that there is no federal support for  
EFF that suggests to me that EFF, unlike APL, has a power in the  
present and may have a good future.

David J. Rosen
newsomeassociates.com
  djrosen at comcast.net




From andreawilder at comcast.net  Fri Apr  7 14:08:39 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 14:08:39 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 114] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE71212BCF2@hal9000.lvgh.prv>
References: <681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE71212BCF2@hal9000.lvgh.prv>
Message-ID: <e5f7e5d8cd9585431bf4885a148581f3@comcast.net>

George,

I'll tell you, it's the language, I just can't take it.  I wish it were 
crisper and more real.   That's why I long for just a couple of pages 
and an executive summary.  I have never viewed EFF in action, or been 
able to talk clearly with a teacher, so the printed material is all 
I've got, and it's opaque.  Personally, I object to the  term "worker." 
  it implies one of a mass, and not in the management "class" either.  
To me, it's a very discouraging word.

I think all the printed material is useful if one wants to know 
something about how the program was put together, that's why i said it 
must have been written to suit many needs.

But I said at the beginning when I started this quest, that EFF may 
give some structure to ABE chaos, or ABE indirection or ABE lack of 
direction.  In that, pure usefulness, it might do well. That's why I 
want  the voices of those who use the materials.

Andrea
On Apr 7, 2006, at 1:29 PM, George Demetrion wrote:

> That's a good observation, David.  It certainly continues, though, as
> you say, not as a federally-sponsored NIFL project.  I suppose the past
> tense had to do with the original incarnation.
>
> George
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
> [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David Rosen
> Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 12:58 PM
> To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
> Subject: [ContentStandards 112] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
>
> George,
>
> I wonder why you describe EFF in the past tense (e.g. "it was a noble
> experiment").  My understanding is that EFF is alive, and perhaps
> expanding.  A number of states have formally adopted EFF as their set
> of curriculum standards and many (perhaps all?) of these are
> providing EFF training for teachers.  Sometime this year several
> states will roll out the employability credential based on the EFF
> Worker standards.  ETS has state partners and is seeking more to
> develop EFF assessments.  Given that there is no federal support for
> EFF that suggests to me that EFF, unlike APL, has a power in the
> present and may have a good future.
>
> David J. Rosen
> newsomeassociates.com
>   djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



From bingman at utk.edu  Fri Apr  7 14:36:09 2006
From: bingman at utk.edu (Beth Bingman)
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 13:36:09 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 115] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <e5f7e5d8cd9585431bf4885a148581f3@comcast.net>
References: <681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE71212BCF2@hal9000.lvgh.prv>
	<681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE71212BCF2@hal9000.lvgh.prv>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060407132900.02025718@pop.utk.edu>

Hi Andrea,
The way I would recommend to teachers (and others) to get a sense of what 
EFF "in action" might look like is to read some of the examples from the 
EFF Toolkit. You can find them on-line at 
http://eff.cls.utk.edu/toolkit/examples.htm  They are organized by Standard 
and by instructional setting with links to tools, the EFF Teaching/Learning 
Cycle (a planning tool) and various supports for teachers. From there you 
can go into the entire EFF site for the lots more, but the Toolkit examples 
show how EFF standards (and other pieces) can be used to build teaching and 
learning around the interests and goals students bring to class.

Beth




At 02:08 PM 4/7/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>George,
>
>I'll tell you, it's the language, I just can't take it.  I wish it were
>crisper and more real.   That's why I long for just a couple of pages
>and an executive summary.  I have never viewed EFF in action, or been
>able to talk clearly with a teacher, so the printed material is all
>I've got, and it's opaque.  Personally, I object to the  term "worker."
>   it implies one of a mass, and not in the management "class" either.
>To me, it's a very discouraging word.
>
>I think all the printed material is useful if one wants to know
>something about how the program was put together, that's why i said it
>must have been written to suit many needs.
>
>But I said at the beginning when I started this quest, that EFF may
>give some structure to ABE chaos, or ABE indirection or ABE lack of
>direction.  In that, pure usefulness, it might do well. That's why I
>want  the voices of those who use the materials.
>
>Andrea
>On Apr 7, 2006, at 1:29 PM, George Demetrion wrote:
>
> > That's a good observation, David.  It certainly continues, though, as
> > you say, not as a federally-sponsored NIFL project.  I suppose the past
> > tense had to do with the original incarnation.
> >
> > George
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
> > [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David Rosen
> > Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 12:58 PM
> > To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
> > Subject: [ContentStandards 112] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
> >
> > George,
> >
> > I wonder why you describe EFF in the past tense (e.g. "it was a noble
> > experiment").  My understanding is that EFF is alive, and perhaps
> > expanding.  A number of states have formally adopted EFF as their set
> > of curriculum standards and many (perhaps all?) of these are
> > providing EFF training for teachers.  Sometime this year several
> > states will roll out the employability credential based on the EFF
> > Worker standards.  ETS has state partners and is seeking more to
> > develop EFF assessments.  Given that there is no federal support for
> > EFF that suggests to me that EFF, unlike APL, has a power in the
> > present and may have a good future.
> >
> > David J. Rosen
> > newsomeassociates.com
> >   djrosen at comcast.net
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------
> > National Institute for Literacy
> > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

Beth Bingman
Center for Literacy Studies
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
600 Henley, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996
865-974-6618



From andreawilder at comcast.net  Fri Apr  7 14:51:54 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 14:51:54 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 116] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060407132900.02025718@pop.utk.edu>
References: <681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE71212BCF2@hal9000.lvgh.prv>
	<681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE71212BCF2@hal9000.lvgh.prv>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060407132900.02025718@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <08512ccc4b841731218ce07b706c5e5a@comcast.net>

Beth,

What a sweetie!  Thanks for the direction.

Andrea

On Apr 7, 2006, at 2:36 PM, Beth Bingman wrote:

> Hi Andrea,
> The way I would recommend to teachers (and others) to get a sense of 
> what
> EFF "in action" might look like is to read some of the examples from 
> the
> EFF Toolkit. You can find them on-line at
> http://eff.cls.utk.edu/toolkit/examples.htm  They are organized by 
> Standard
> and by instructional setting with links to tools, the EFF 
> Teaching/Learning
> Cycle (a planning tool) and various supports for teachers. From there 
> you
> can go into the entire EFF site for the lots more, but the Toolkit 
> examples
> show how EFF standards (and other pieces) can be used to build 
> teaching and
> learning around the interests and goals students bring to class.
>
> Beth
>
>
>
>
> At 02:08 PM 4/7/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>> George,
>>
>> I'll tell you, it's the language, I just can't take it.  I wish it 
>> were
>> crisper and more real.   That's why I long for just a couple of pages
>> and an executive summary.  I have never viewed EFF in action, or been
>> able to talk clearly with a teacher, so the printed material is all
>> I've got, and it's opaque.  Personally, I object to the  term 
>> "worker."
>>   it implies one of a mass, and not in the management "class" either.
>> To me, it's a very discouraging word.
>>
>> I think all the printed material is useful if one wants to know
>> something about how the program was put together, that's why i said it
>> must have been written to suit many needs.
>>
>> But I said at the beginning when I started this quest, that EFF may
>> give some structure to ABE chaos, or ABE indirection or ABE lack of
>> direction.  In that, pure usefulness, it might do well. That's why I
>> want  the voices of those who use the materials.
>>
>> Andrea
>> On Apr 7, 2006, at 1:29 PM, George Demetrion wrote:
>>
>>> That's a good observation, David.  It certainly continues, though, as
>>> you say, not as a federally-sponsored NIFL project.  I suppose the 
>>> past
>>> tense had to do with the original incarnation.
>>>
>>> George
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
>>> [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David Rosen
>>> Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 12:58 PM
>>> To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
>>> Subject: [ContentStandards 112] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
>>>
>>> George,
>>>
>>> I wonder why you describe EFF in the past tense (e.g. "it was a noble
>>> experiment").  My understanding is that EFF is alive, and perhaps
>>> expanding.  A number of states have formally adopted EFF as their set
>>> of curriculum standards and many (perhaps all?) of these are
>>> providing EFF training for teachers.  Sometime this year several
>>> states will roll out the employability credential based on the EFF
>>> Worker standards.  ETS has state partners and is seeking more to
>>> develop EFF assessments.  Given that there is no federal support for
>>> EFF that suggests to me that EFF, unlike APL, has a power in the
>>> present and may have a good future.
>>>
>>> David J. Rosen
>>> newsomeassociates.com
>>>   djrosen at comcast.net
>>>
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------------------------
>>> National Institute for Literacy
>>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
> Beth Bingman
> Center for Literacy Studies
> The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
> 600 Henley, Suite 312
> Knoxville, TN 37996
> 865-974-6618
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



From andreawilder at comcast.net  Fri Apr  7 13:14:37 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 13:14:37 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 117] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <89DA2100D59D7341BEA4D938F9FB2A93039822AA@cccmail2.chemeketa.network>
References: <89DA2100D59D7341BEA4D938F9FB2A93039822AA@cccmail2.chemeketa.network>
Message-ID: <da74badf66e08befd040588fc7b0d1d1@comcast.net>

Virginia--did you receive special EFF training?  If so, what did you 
learn how to do, or how to do differently?

Thanks.

Andrea
On Apr 5, 2006, at 10:30 PM, Virginia Tardaewether wrote:

> Andrea
> The problem is the validity of the categories:  is this what learners
> want to learn?  One of the things I like about EFF is that learners 
> were
> interested in the categories because they linked to their lives, and
> mine.  As I am a learner within the EFF model as are my students: we 
> are
> adults on a learning continuum, side by side, hand in hand, hanging 
> over
> the backyard fence, taking on life as adults: REAL life not a
> theoretical life. My students were much more comfortable within the EFF
> system than many of my professional peers or our national "leadership".
> Is this what learners want to learn?  It is what they have to learn to
> survive and move down life's continuum, not to pass a test, but to earn
> a paycheck, solve problems with parenting or figure out how to
> administer first aid.
> va
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
> [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of George 
> demetrion
> Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 1:36 PM
> To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
> Subject: [ContentStandards 107] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
>
> Hi Andrea,
>
> To equivocate, I think one could reasonably say both.
>
> Certainly not "validation" according to the precepts of positivist
> research,
> based upon a randomized model.  However,in terms of qualitative
> methodologies the case can be better made that the categories are
> inclusive
> of what adults seek to learn in adult literacy programs.  Much of the
> ethnographic literature would confirm the legitimacy of these
> categories,
> though wouldn't necessarily privilege these three, nor would 
> necessarily
>
> privilege the complex structure laid out in EFF.
>
> I believe this is acknowledged by the EFF pioneers.  From their
> perspective,
> the EFF framework is based on a combination of research and pragmatic
> policy
> orientation.  It was based on the assumption that the issue of 
> standards
> was
> an inescapable one for a field that sought policy legitimacy in the 
> 90s.
>
>> From the inception there was a strong praxeological orientation in EFF
> to
> integrate student centered orientations with those that could become, 
> at
>
> least plausibly, policy legitimized.  Consequently, the focus, as
> acknoweledged, was on content areas that had a distinctive public 
> focus.
>
> At the time,the workforce impetus, linking literacy to the global
> economy
> was the foremost policy consideration.  In my view, it was Sondra
> Stein's
> genius to place the stated focus on citizenship with equal billing as
> that
> of workforce development.  In that she sought a radical reform within
> the
> prevailing ideology that, ideally, could be ushered in within the
> context of
> a modetsly progressive federal government. In tyhat respect, Bill
> Clinton
> failed us greatly, particularly in his second administration.  With
> Clinton's conservative turn and Newt Gingrish's 104th Congress setting 
> a
>
> very conservative policy, the more progressive aspects of EFF became
> severely marginalized.
>
> In any event, these three areas, work, family and citizenship, with the
> underlying content standards based on life long learning held the
> prospect
> for a potential reformist revitzalization that was both functionally
> focused
> and linkes to many aspects of learning that adults have sought.
>
> EFF did become a bit top heavy with structure, and its own internal
> logic,
> which butted up both against the increasingly conservative political
> culture
> and a participatory student-centered focus, which in its purity could
> tolerate no philosophical inconsistency.  Consequently, and especially
> after
> election 2000, as a national movement, the gap between the apiration of
> the
> pioneers and the abutment of reality became only too palpable.
>
> After the fact this is more than evident and there's much to learn from
> EFF's creative "failure." This is a far thing from saying, then, that
> EFF
> was a fiasco, and I remnain convinced that any effective national 
> reform
>
> vision will have to revisit much of the EFF project, vcearly in some
> different (and less literal) ways, and that there's much to learn even
> in
> the failure.
>
> As you know, I dealt very substantially with EFF in Conflicting
> Paradigms.
> I encourage you to re-read chapters 7 & 8 in light of your interest in
> EFF
> and in light of the current discussion.
>
> George Demetrion
>
>
> From: Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net>
> Reply-To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion
> List<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
> To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion
> List<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
> Subject: [ContentStandards 106] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
> Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 15:29:03 -0400
>
>
> George,
>
> It was I who asked the question.  The problem is the validity of the
> categories:  is this what learners want to learn?  Or  do the
> categories represent a top down  policy directive--which is true for
> goal #6.  Tom is taking up the reliability issue on aaace-nla as we
> speak.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Andrea
>
>
> On Apr 5, 2006, at 3:02 PM, George demetrion wrote:
>
>> Someone had asked about the selection process of the EFF role maps
>>
>> Woker
>> Citizenship/Community Member
>> Parent/Family Member
>>
>> I'm doing this from memory, so there may be need for correction.
>>
>> The first two role maps came out of National Educational Goal #6 in
>> preparing adults for the global economy and citizenship.  With
> Barbara
>> Bush
>> in particiular, family literacy was in the air as an obvious focal
>> point.
>> When the 1500 or so students were surveyed by NIFL and the National
>> Education Goals Panel, I think, the students identified family themes
>> as a
>> major area of interest.  These two factors, I believe, led to family
>> education as the third role map--an obvious choice, in any event.
>>
>> George Demetrion
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



From bfortini at mmhs.u102.k12.me.us  Sun Apr  9 23:09:48 2006
From: bfortini at mmhs.u102.k12.me.us (Bonnie Fortini)
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 03:09:48 +0000
Subject: [ContentStandards 118] Re: Whose content? EFF Roles
In-Reply-To: <e5f7e5d8cd9585431bf4885a148581f3@comcast.net>
References: <681A95205B5ACB4AAD697401486AE71212BCF2@hal9000.lvgh.prv>
	<e5f7e5d8cd9585431bf4885a148581f3@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <20060410030948.fyul1mdxc08cowkk@mail.msln.net>

Hi Andrea, I hope Beth's link to the TLC tool kit and the Assessment 
Resources has been helpful in your quest.  I've only just had a chance 
to catch up on this discussion and want to thank David for pointing out 
that EFF is alive and well.  I've been a very small part of the EFF 
process since Maine began working on quality indicators for ABE 
purposes in the early 1990s, and have some experience and memories of 
what was done.

Yes, the initial question that the field research grew out of was Goal 
6 as mentioned, but I believe the question asked was what the goal 
meant to the adult learner.  The picture that their answers painted was 
of a person seeking to improve their abilities to perform what are 
known as the 4 Purposes, but the researcher who was working with the 
data pointed out that the learners clearly connected these skills to 
their own desires to raise their families in safe communities and have 
the kinds of employment that provided economic security.

Early in our process in Maine we did ask ourselves (adult education 
practitioners, students, agency partners, etc.) what kinds of roles 
adults saw themselves as playing.  We were hoping to define the skills 
needed to be successful in the "fill in the blank" role.  We ended up 
with a huge list, and when the national research whittled our list down 
to three, it took some getting used to.  However, the subsequent field 
research (next iteration) into those three roles satisfied us that 
these were the most essential in terms of what people come to ABE 
programs for, which is what the work was about.  There was discussion 
around the "existential" role, the "what we are when we aren't a 
worker, citizen, or family member" but the work didn't delve into that 
aspect because of time and funding.

Maine eventually became the lead state for the Worker Role Map, and I 
can verify that the term worker meant everyone from the part time 
volunteer to the top CEOs, in a variety of areas.  The guiding premise 
when seeking to uncover the traits of an exemplar (for all roles) was 
that they had to apply to all or they apply to none.

I realize that this is entirely anecdotal and not rigorous.  However, 
for the past two years I've been sitting on several committees in 
Maine's K-12 standards reform process, representing adult education, 
and while "content" in their lexicon has been equated with content area 
and disciplines, the context has been within the need for students to 
obtain skills for the 21st Century.  New national research is still 
referring to many of the documents and publications that EFF also used 
(Murnane and Levy, Fingeret, and others), and meeting these again in 
this new effort has been very validating of our EFF work.

I hope you are finding answers and the clarity you are seeking; I just 
felt compelled to put in my 2.5 cents!
Bonnie

Bonnie Fortini
Machias Adult & Community Education
c/o School Union 102
RR 1  Box 12-A
Machias, ME 04654
Phone/Fax (207) 255-4917


From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Apr 10 16:54:01 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 16:54:01 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 119] Workplace Education Peer COABE Pre-conference
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060410165139.03dfb948@pop.utk.edu>


This message is posted on behalf of Harriet Smith (hsmith at coe.tamu.edu).

******************************************************************

The annual National Workplace Education Peer Conference is scheduled as a 
pre-conference to this year's annual COABE conference in Houston. The Peer 
Conference is scheduled from 9:00 to 4:00 on Wednesday, April 26. This is 
an event where education providers have the opportunity to network, to 
learn what is happening in other states and to share effective workplace 
education practices. National updates will also be provided by 
representatives from the U.S. Department of Education and the Conference 
Board of Canada.

Texas has never before hosted this event. Texas LEARNS Director, Joanie 
Rethlake, is encouraging adult education programs to send representatives 
to this pre-conference. Along with several other states, Texas will 
participate in a panel presentation. This will be an opportunity for 
attendees to get a first look at adult education's response to Rider 82 
state legislation in Texas, which calls for curricular responses to the 
industry-related needs of adult learners.

Barbara Tondre-El Zorkani, Consultant/Contractor
Adult Education & Workforce Development
Texas LEARNS
btondre at earthlink.net

Joanie Rethlake, State Director of Adult Education
Texas LEARNS
The Texas Adult Education and Family Literacy Partnership
Website: www-tcall.tamu.edu/texasLearns/




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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Apr 12 14:32:26 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 14:32:26 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 120] What are States doing with Standards? - 2nd
	update
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060412135302.04463908@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

Thank you to the States that have shared with us their work on developing 
or implementing Standards.  There has been a lot of interest from 
subscribers to hear more!

Here's an summary of postings/information from 5 States:

Arizona- Have standards in Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies,
Citizenship, ESOL (renamed ELAA- English Language Acquisition for Adults),
and Technology. Described the process that AZ went through for revising 
their standards.

Oklahoma- Shared with us information on their three-year training plan for 
introducing directors and teachers to EFF content standards and 
standards-based instruction. Their plan introduces standards gradually- 
first Reading, then Math, and next Writing.

Pennsylvania- Learned about a specific project with the PA Department of 
Education to develop statewide curriculum standards for ESL.

Texas- Is in the second year of a three-year project in the development of 
Content Standards, Benchmarks, Learning Activities, etc. Shared with us the 
major activities to date as well as plans for the remainder of the project. 
TX adopted 5 of the 16 EFF Standards: Reading, Writing, Speaking,
Listening, and Math.

Virginia- Is currently working to develop content standards for GED and 
ESOL adult education programs.  Provided a link to their newsletter talking 
about the development process.


If you wish to read through the full text of any of these postings, you can 
go the Content Standards Discussion List archives: 
http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/contentstandards/2006/date.html


Can any other States share with us what they are doing?:
What is the process you have gone through when developing or creating 
Standards, adopting or adapting existing Standards (such as Equipped for 
the Future or other Standards), or combining/linking 2 or more sets of 
standards? What have been the major challenges in this
process? What have been the benefits? What changes have you seen in your 
adult literacy programs as a result of the process?


Thanks,
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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Apr 17 10:29:22 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 10:29:22 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 121]  MD Content Standards
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060417102627.0491cee8@pop.utk.edu>

This message is posted on behalf of Karen Gianninoto.  It includes a link 
to Maryland's Standards.
Aaron


From: Karen Gianninoto [mailto:kgianninoto at msde.state.md.us]
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2006 8:12 AM
To: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
Subject: MD Content Standards

Maryland would be happy to share their content standards. They are 
available at the following link: http://www.umbc.edu/alrc/ESOL.html
Karen Lisch Gianninoto
ESL Specialist and Program Manager
MSDE
200 W. Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD
410-767-4150
410-479-4542
410-924-1529


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)
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



From andreawilder at comcast.net  Mon Apr 17 11:42:25 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 11:42:25 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 122]    EFF and states?  Toolkit?
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060417102627.0491cee8@pop.utk.edu>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060417102627.0491cee8@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <e954f68750b0d36298ee7fbda7de5692@comcast.net>

Colleagues--

1)	Which states use EFF?

2)	Some good sole directed me to a toolkit site and I've lost the 
address.  Anyone have it?

Thanks.

Andrea



From lgrigsby at dcccd.edu  Mon Apr 17 11:53:52 2006
From: lgrigsby at dcccd.edu (Lindle Grigsby)
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 10:53:52 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 123] Re: EFF and states?  Toolkit?
In-Reply-To: <e954f68750b0d36298ee7fbda7de5692@comcast.net>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060417102627.0491cee8@pop.utk.edu>
	<e954f68750b0d36298ee7fbda7de5692@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <444373C0020000A00000B697@144.162.10.243>

http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/eff.html
 
Equipped For the Future
 
Lindle Grigsby, Ed.D.
Dean Workforce and Economic Development
Eastfield College
3737 Motley Drive
Mesquite TX 75150
 
972-860-7199 /Voice
972-860-8373 /Fax
214-403-6111 /Cell
lgrigsby at dcccd.edu /E-mail

>>> Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net> 4/17/2006 10:42 AM >>>

Colleagues--

1)    Which states use EFF?

2)    Some good sole directed me to a toolkit site and I've lost the 
address.  Anyone have it?

Thanks.

Andrea

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Apr 17 12:07:38 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 12:07:38 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 124] Re: EFF and states?  Toolkit?
In-Reply-To: <e954f68750b0d36298ee7fbda7de5692@comcast.net>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060417102627.0491cee8@pop.utk.edu>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060417102627.0491cee8@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060417120404.048c9e38@pop.utk.edu>

Andrea,

1) You can check the National calendar of training events to see a history 
of on-going EFF trainings: 
http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/lincs/calendar/calendar.cgi?filter_sc=5

2) I believe the Teaching/Learning Toolkit for practitioners is the website 
you are referring to.  It includes examples of what EFF looks like in the 
classroom: http://eff.cls.utk.edu/toolkit/default.htm

Aaron

At 11:42 AM 4/17/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>Colleagues--
>
>1)      Which states use EFF?
>
>2)      Some good sole directed me to a toolkit site and I've lost the
>address.  Anyone have it?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Andrea
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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



From dgardner at utk.edu  Mon Apr 17 13:39:05 2006
From: dgardner at utk.edu (Diane Gardner)
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 13:39:05 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 125] Re: EFF and states?  Toolkit?
In-Reply-To: <e954f68750b0d36298ee7fbda7de5692@comcast.net>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060417102627.0491cee8@pop.utk.edu>
	<5.1.0.14.2.20060417102627.0491cee8@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060417133601.0180a578@pop.utk.edu>

Andrea,

To access the EFF website, you can go to http://eff.cls.utk.edu/
Once there, you will see a button for the Teaching and Learning Toolkit.

Diane


At 11:42 AM 4/17/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>Colleagues--
>
>1)      Which states use EFF?
>
>2)      Some good sole directed me to a toolkit site and I've lost the
>address.  Anyone have it?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Andrea
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Apr 18 09:33:40 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 09:33:40 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 126] ANNOUNCING: A MEETING OF THE MINDS II
	SYMPOSIUM
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060418093050.03d42ec8@pop.utk.edu>

Please see the announcement below from Mary Ann Corley regarding an 
upcoming adult education practitioner-researcher symposium.

Aaron

****************************************************

SAVE the DATES: November 30-December 2, 2006!

ANNOUNCING: A MEETING OF THE MINDS II SYMPOSIUM!
The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), 
the California Department of Education (CDE) Adult Education Office, and 
the California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO) of 
the American Institutes for Research are pleased to announce a Meeting of 
the Minds II: A National Adult Education Practitioner-Researcher Symposium.

Scheduled for November 30-December 2, 2006, at the Sheraton Grand hotel in 
Sacramento, California, the symposium is designed to provide opportunities 
for adult education practitioners and researchers to share and discuss the 
most current research findings and practitioner wisdom. It will engage 
practitioners and researchers with questions related to goals, 
accountability, and efficacy and efficiency in policy, practice, and 
research. The ultimate goals of the symposium are to highlight systemic 
changes that can enhance literacy practice and increase student learning 
gains. The theme of this year's symposium is Systemic Change and Student 
Success: What Does Research Tell Us?

As in the first Meeting of the Minds Symposium that was held in 2004, each 
session of the 2006 Symposium will be structured so that the research 
presentation is followed by a panel of practitioners who will discuss 
implications for practice or policy. In addition, conference attendees will 
have opportunities for small group interaction and networking with 
researcher-presenters to discuss not only how research can inform practice 
and policy, but also how practice and policy can inform and suggest a 
research agenda.

More information about the Meeting of the Minds II symposium will be 
available soon on the symposium Web site, www.researchtopractice.org. (This 
Web site currently lists presenters' PowerPoints and abstracts of sessions 
held at the 2004 Meeting of the Minds symposium as well as thoughts 
generated by attendees regarding implications of the research findings.) We 
are in the process of updating this Web site to house information about 
online registration for the 2006 symposium as well as information about 
hotel registration. We will send out another notice after the Web site has 
been updated. In the meantime, please save the dates and plan to join us in 
November in Sacramento!

Thank you.
-Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D.
Symposium Coordinator and
CALPRO Director, American Institutes for Research



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)
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



From kabeall at comcast.net  Tue Apr 18 14:31:25 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 14:31:25 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 127]  New from NCSALL
Message-ID: <007f01c66316$4d1c79e0$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

Two new publications are now available from NCSALL. For more information,
please visit the NCSALL Web site at: http://www.ncsall.net
<http://www.ncsall.net/> 

 

An Evidence-based Adult Education Program Model Appropriate for Research 

by John Comings, Lisa Soricone, and Maricel Santos 

The document reviews the available empirical evidence and professional
wisdom in order to define a program model that meets the requirements for
good practice. This program model describes what teachers, adult students,
counselors, administrators, volunteers, and program partners should do to
provide both effective instruction and the support services adults need to
persist in their learning long enough to be successful. This paper describes
a program model as having a program quality support component and three
chronological program components, which are entrance into a program,
participation in a program, and reengagement in learning. Though this model
could also be used as a description of good programs for other purposes,
here it describes the context in which research on approaches to instruction
and support services could be productive. 

To download the NCSALL Occasional Paper, visit NCSALL's Web site:
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=26#ebae

 

Learner's Engagement in Adult Literacy Education  

by Hal Beder, Jessica Tomkins, Patsy Medina, Regina Riccioni, and Weiling
Deng 

Engagement is mental effort focused on learning and is a precondition to
learning progress. It is important to understand how and why adult learners
engage in literacy instruction because engagement is a precondition to
learning progress. This study focused on how learning context shapes
engagement. The practical reason for doing so is that to a great extent
adult educators control the educational context. Thus if they understand how
the educational context shapes engagement, they can influence engagement in
positive ways.

To download the NCSALL Report, visit NCSALL's Web site:
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=29#28

To order the NCSALL Report at $10.00/copy, go to the Order Form:
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=681

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Apr 24 08:55:44 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 08:55:44 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 128]  COABE session on Discussion Lists
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060424085239.03e60af0@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

Please see the information below about a session on using the National 
Institute for Literacy's discussion lists for professional development at 
the COABE conference this week.

Aaron

*****************************************************************************
Dear Colleagues:

Please join us in the following session at this year's COABE National 
Conference
in Houston, Texas:

Professional Development From Your "Inbox": Making the Most of National 
Discussion Lists
Saturday, 9:45 - 11:00
Presented by NIFL Discussion List Moderators:
Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List
Marie Cora, Assessment List
Daphne Greenberg, Women & Literacy List

National online discussion lists provide an opportunity for ongoing 
professional development with colleagues, researchers, 
nationally-recognized experts and leaders in the field. Presenters will 
provide information regarding the National Institute for Literacy's 
discussion lists, emerging and key issues for each topic, upcoming 
discussion activities, and how to get the most from your discussion list 
subscription.

To this end, we encourage you to attend the session to discuss your own 
experience being a subscriber (writer or lurker!) on any of the Institute's 
Lists.  Please come and share your thoughts on how newcomers can get the 
most out of their subscription, as well as provide us with feedback so that 
we can better serve your needs.

We look forward to meeting you in person!

Jackie Taylor, Moderator
Adult Literacy Professional Development List

Marie Cora, Moderator
Assessment List

Daphne Greenberg, Moderator
Women & Literacy List

The National Institute for Literacy's Discussion Lists are: Adult Literacy 
Professional Development, Assessment, Adult Education Content Standards, 
English Language Learners, Family Literacy, Focus on Basics, Health and 
Literacy, Learning Disabilities, Poverty, Race, and Literacy, Program 
Leadership and Improvement, Technology and Literacy, Women and Literacy, 
and Workplace Literacy.



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)
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



From SondraGay at aol.com  Mon Apr 24 09:07:53 2006
From: SondraGay at aol.com (SondraGay at aol.com)
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 09:07:53 EDT
Subject: [ContentStandards 129]  A Post Script -- Whose Content Standards
Message-ID: <3ef.18c677.317e27a9@aol.com>

I just had the time to read through the very interesting exchanges about EFF 
standards and wanted to add my own 2.5 cents.  To me, what has always been 
most important about EFF is it's answer to the question -- what knowledge and 
skills is it important for adults to know and be able to use in order to carry 
out their adult roles and responsibilities (whatever they are)?  The research 
conducted in the first years of the EFF Initiative (1994-1998) revealed that 
adults need more than the three R's to be successful in their adult roles as 
workers, parents, and community members.  They also need oral communication 
skills, interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills, and learning skills.  Our 
research over the past three years to build the National Work Readiness Credential 
confirmed this original research: employers told us that nine of the 16 EFF 
standards were critical for competent performance of entry level work.  And 
guess what? across industry sectors, the skills that were most important were Co
operate with Others, Listen Actively, Speak so Others Can Understand, and Read 
with Understanding (see http://eff.cls.utk.edu/workreadiness  or 
www.uschamber.com/cwp/strategies/workreadinesscredential. )

In order to make sure that adult programs could help adults build these 
skills as well as reading, writing and math, we conducted further research to 
define standards and performance continua for each of these skills.  And when the 
Work Readiness Credential comes out later this year we will be able to assess 
these nine standards in a standardized way, making them part of the 
accountability framework for workforce education.

The standards-based education reform movement grew out of concerns that we 
would not be preparing Americans for the 21st century -- especially to be 
competitive in the global workforce.  As educators work to raise reading and math 
skills of K-12 students and business leaders continue to complain about 
graduates not being ready for work, I continue to think that part of the problem is 
that we keep raising the bar in reading and math (and now science) without 
paying attention to all those other skills (interpersonal, problem solving, oral 
communication, learning), without asking the fundamental question what skills 
and knowledge do all of us need to be able to carry out our everyday roles and 
responsibilities -- as citizens of a democratic society, as parents trying to 
make sure our children grow up in a safe and loving family, prepared for the 
future, and as workers in an economy that requires us to reskill many times over 
our lives.

If we are -- after all this research -- still only teaching our students 
reading, writing, and math because these are the only skills valorized in the 
adult education accountability framework, we may be keeping our programs alive but 
we are not serving our students well.  

That seems to be the central dilemma the field still has to address.  How do 
we do both?  


Sondra G. Stein, Ph.D.
Project Manager
National Work Readiness Credential
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From jenniferferrigno at education.state.vt.us  Mon Apr 24 14:10:56 2006
From: jenniferferrigno at education.state.vt.us (Jennifer Ferrigno)
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:10:56 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 130] Re: EFF and states?  Toolkit?
Message-ID: <7D3C7BA908F69D4C9B651AF32C2582EB035144D0@doe20.doe.state.vt.us>

I agree with Andrea about wishing to know which states are using EFF and
how. Is there some sort of cataloguing that we can access that tracks
different state initiatives and how they are making use of EFF
standards? VT is "using" EFF but still has far to go in really
implementing it statewide in any sort of meaningful way. We are always
looking for models of other places that have similar challenges but have
found success in rolling out EFF...

Jennifer Ferrigno
VT Department of Education
Adult Education & Literacy 

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Andrea Wilder
Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 11:42 AM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 122] EFF and states? Toolkit?

Colleagues--

1)	Which states use EFF?

2)	Some good sole directed me to a toolkit site and I've lost the 
address.  Anyone have it?

Thanks.

Andrea

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards




From sidna.holloway at gmail.com  Mon Apr 24 15:49:59 2006
From: sidna.holloway at gmail.com (Sidna Holloway)
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:49:59 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 131] Re: EFF and states? Toolkit?
In-Reply-To: <7D3C7BA908F69D4C9B651AF32C2582EB035144D0@doe20.doe.state.vt.us>
References: <7D3C7BA908F69D4C9B651AF32C2582EB035144D0@doe20.doe.state.vt.us>
Message-ID: <aa80aa50604241249x66a7d1abt860098139b58a32d@mail.gmail.com>

I just received a note from Diane Gardner and she mentioned that New Jersey
has being utilizing EFF for three years.  I am going to contact NJ DOL here
and see what they can tell me.  If you are interested, I am more than happy
to forward what I have learned.
Best Regards
Sidna A. Holloway



On 4/24/06, Jennifer Ferrigno <jenniferferrigno at education.state.vt.us>
wrote:
>
> I agree with Andrea about wishing to know which states are using EFF and
> how. Is there some sort of cataloguing that we can access that tracks
> different state initiatives and how they are making use of EFF
> standards? VT is "using" EFF but still has far to go in really
> implementing it statewide in any sort of meaningful way. We are always
> looking for models of other places that have similar challenges but have
> found success in rolling out EFF...
>
> Jennifer Ferrigno
> VT Department of Education
> Adult Education & Literacy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
> [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Andrea Wilder
> Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 11:42 AM
> To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
> Subject: [ContentStandards 122] EFF and states? Toolkit?
>
> Colleagues--
>
> 1)      Which states use EFF?
>
> 2)      Some good sole directed me to a toolkit site and I've lost the
> address.  Anyone have it?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Andrea
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



--
SidnaAnn Holloway
When one helps another
Both are strong
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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Apr 24 16:11:15 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:11:15 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 132] Re: EFF and states?  Toolkit?
In-Reply-To: <7D3C7BA908F69D4C9B651AF32C2582EB035144D0@doe20.doe.state.v t.us>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060424160040.03d84eb0@pop.utk.edu>

Jennifer,

The cataloging you suggest is one of my projects that I plan to begin after 
I return from COABE next week.  The Adult Literacy Education Wiki 
(http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page) has added a Standards 
topic.  I plan to begin by summarizing postings we've had so far on the 
list from AZ, MD, OK, PA, TX, and VA on their Standards work which includes 
2 states reporting on adopting/adapting EFF standards.

If we get more information from other States, we can continue to build on 
that archive.

Aaron

At 02:10 PM 4/24/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>I agree with Andrea about wishing to know which states are using EFF and
>how. Is there some sort of cataloguing that we can access that tracks
>different state initiatives and how they are making use of EFF
>standards? VT is "using" EFF but still has far to go in really
>implementing it statewide in any sort of meaningful way. We are always
>looking for models of other places that have similar challenges but have
>found success in rolling out EFF...
>
>Jennifer Ferrigno
>VT Department of Education
>Adult Education & Literacy
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
>[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Andrea Wilder
>Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 11:42 AM
>To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
>Subject: [ContentStandards 122] EFF and states? Toolkit?
>
>Colleagues--
>
>1)      Which states use EFF?
>
>2)      Some good sole directed me to a toolkit site and I've lost the
>address.  Anyone have it?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Andrea
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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



From samuel.mcgraw at seattlegoodwill.org  Mon Apr 24 16:44:16 2006
From: samuel.mcgraw at seattlegoodwill.org (Samuel McGraw III)
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:44:16 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 133] Re: EFF and states? Toolkit?
Message-ID: <802F2B4590320142A57872DC43A2BFD20218B005@seamail.seagoodwill.org>

Sidna,

 

I would love to know as well.

 

Samuel McGraw III M. Ed. 
Goodwill 
Tel: 206.860.5789 
Fax: 206.325.9845 
http://www.seattlegoodwill.org 
Because jobs change lives 

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Sidna Holloway
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2006 12:50 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 131] Re: EFF and states? Toolkit?

 

I just received a note from Diane Gardner and she mentioned that New
Jersey has being utilizing EFF for three years.  I am going to contact
NJ DOL here and see what they can tell me.  If you are interested, I am
more than happy to forward what I have learned. 

Best Regards

Sidna A. Holloway



 

On 4/24/06, Jennifer Ferrigno < jenniferferrigno at education.state.vt.us
<mailto:jenniferferrigno at education.state.vt.us> > wrote: 

I agree with Andrea about wishing to know which states are using EFF and
how. Is there some sort of cataloguing that we can access that tracks 
different state initiatives and how they are making use of EFF
standards? VT is "using" EFF but still has far to go in really
implementing it statewide in any sort of meaningful way. We are always
looking for models of other places that have similar challenges but have

found success in rolling out EFF...

Jennifer Ferrigno
VT Department of Education
Adult Education & Literacy

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Andrea Wilder 
Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 11:42 AM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List 
Subject: [ContentStandards 122] EFF and states? Toolkit?

Colleagues--

1)      Which states use EFF?

2)      Some good sole directed me to a toolkit site and I've lost the
address.  Anyone have it? 

Thanks.

Andrea

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy 
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov

To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


---------------------------------------------------- 
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards 




-- 
SidnaAnn Holloway
When one helps another
Both are strong 

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From andreawilder at comcast.net  Mon Apr 24 19:55:07 2006
From: andreawilder at comcast.net (Andrea Wilder)
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 19:55:07 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 134] Re: EFF and states? Toolkit?
In-Reply-To: <802F2B4590320142A57872DC43A2BFD20218B005@seamail.seagoodwill.org>
References: <802F2B4590320142A57872DC43A2BFD20218B005@seamail.seagoodwill.org>
Message-ID: <280d0a44fa0a170ab4be2e61cd3607a6@comcast.net>

Colleagues,

There was a lot of noise, discussion, about EFF over the time it was 
under development and first started being used, and it seems to me that 
with such a a large effort we should find out how people are using it, 
what works and what doesn't work.  No time to be bashful.  If EFF is a 
good tool, then people should know about it so it can be used by more 
people, cities, states, etc.  And if some pieces don't work so well 
than we should know about that, too.  On paper, EFF is cumbersome, 
can't deny that, so having people describe how they use it is a good 
idea, pedagogically.

Andrea




On Apr 24, 2006, at 4:44 PM, Samuel McGraw III wrote:

> Sidna,
> ?
> I would love to know as well.
> ?
>
> Samuel McGraw III M. Ed.
> Goodwill
> Tel: 206.860.5789
> Fax: 206.325.9845
> http://www.seattlegoodwill.org
> Because jobs change lives
> -----Original Message-----
> From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov 
> [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Sidna Holloway
> Sent: Monday, April 24, 2006 12:50 PM
> To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
> Subject: [ContentStandards 131] Re: EFF and states? Toolkit?
> ?
> I just received a note from Diane Gardner and she mentioned that New 
> Jersey has being utilizing EFF for three years.? I am going to contact 
> NJ DOL here and see what they can tell me.? If you are interested, I 
> am more than happy to forward what I have learned.
> Best Regards
> Sidna A. Holloway
>
>
>  ?
> On 4/24/06, Jennifer Ferrigno < 
> jenniferferrigno at education.state.vt.us> wrote:
> I agree with Andrea about wishing to know which states are using EFF 
> and
>  how. Is there some sort of cataloguing that we can access that tracks
>  different state initiatives and how they are making use of EFF
>  standards? VT is "using" EFF but still has far to go in really
>  implementing it statewide in any sort of meaningful way. We are always
>  looking for models of other places that have similar challenges but 
> have
>  found success in rolling out EFF...
>
>  Jennifer Ferrigno
>  VT Department of Education
>  Adult Education & Literacy
>
>  -----Original Message-----
>  From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
>  [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Andrea Wilder
>  Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 11:42 AM
>  To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
>  Subject: [ContentStandards 122] EFF and states? Toolkit?
>
>  Colleagues--
>
>  1)??????Which states use EFF?
>
>  2)??????Some good sole directed me to a toolkit site and I've lost the
>  address.??Anyone have it?
>
>  Thanks.
>
>  Andrea
>
>  ----------------------------------------------------
>  National Institute for Literacy
>  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
>
>  ----------------------------------------------------
>  National Institute for Literacy
>  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
>
>
>  --
>  SidnaAnn Holloway
>  When one helps another
>  Both are strong
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
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From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu  Tue Apr 25 09:20:19 2006
From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Janet Isserlis)
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2006 09:20:19 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 135] Re: EFF and states?  Toolkit?
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060424160040.03d84eb0@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <C0739A53.C134%Janet_Isserlis@brown.edu>

All

A somewhat  differently comprehensive collection of standards resources:

http://www.brown.edu/lrri/standards.html

Janet Isserlis


> From: Aaron  Kohring <akohring at utk.edu>
> Reply-To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
> <contentstandards at nifl.gov>
> Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:11:15 -0400
> To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
> <contentstandards at nifl.gov>
> Subject: [ContentStandards 132] Re: EFF and states?  Toolkit?
> 
> Jennifer,
> 
> The cataloging you suggest is one of my projects that I plan to begin after
> I return from COABE next week.  The Adult Literacy Education Wiki
> (http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page) has added a Standards
> topic.  I plan to begin by summarizing postings we've had so far on the
> list from AZ, MD, OK, PA, TX, and VA on their Standards work which includes
> 2 states reporting on adopting/adapting EFF standards.
> 
> If we get more information from other States, we can continue to build on
> that archive.



From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Apr 27 09:12:01 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 08:12:01 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 136]  Announcing a new Health Literacy Guide
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20060427075559.02cf54b8@imap.utk.edu>

Hi all,

See below a link for a new Family Health and Literacy Resource Guide from 
WorldEd.
Aaron


**************************************

I would like to announce a new health literacy resource guide that has
just been published in print and on the Web!

Family Health and Literacy
This guide to easy-to-read health materials and websites is for adult
literacy practitioners and health educators alike. It lists resources to
teach health to families with lower literacy skills, but also discusses
how to integrate health and literacy education, how to get started and
engage adult learners, and how to build connections between literacy
programs and local health services.

You can find Family Health and Literacy online at:
www.worlded.org/us/health/docs/family

This is a PDF, and with Adobe Reader 7 or higher you can click on the
live links!

Hard copies are also available free of charge for a limited time: please
contact Leah_Peterson at worlded.org

I hope you find it helpful.
All the best,
Julie

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org





From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Apr 27 19:31:18 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 18:31:18 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 137]  Literacy President 2008
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20060427182317.02ce4050@imap.utk.edu>

Good day all,

The following post is from David Rosen. Now's your chance to have your 
voice heard in terms of letting our country's leadership know how important 
adult education services are for our country!

Aaron

-----------------------

Dear Colleague,

We need your opinion and your vote. Literacy President 2008 is a non-
partisan effort to increase national awareness of adult literacy
regardless of whom is elected. Literacy President provides members
of the adult education community with ways to be active participants
in the 2008 Presidential election. The first activity was generating
possible questions to ask the candidates. We now have 20 possible
questions, and they need to be narrowed to the top five.

This is your chance to vote on these, to help us narrow them to the
top five best questions. In the 2004 election, Literacy President
had over 1000 people -- practitioners, adult learners and others --
who voted for the top priority questions. This time our goal is 1500
people participating: students, practitioners and other advocates for
adult literacy.

To vote, please go to
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=85102489618

If the address breaks into two lines, you can try this one instead:
http://tinyurl.com/s553p

For the Literacy President Group,
David Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net






From leellington at vcu.edu  Fri Apr 28 12:00:14 2006
From: leellington at vcu.edu (Lauren E Ellington/FS/VCU)
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2006 12:00:14 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 138]  multiple postings
Message-ID: <OF04C45D73.864C908F-ON8525715E.0057A84F-8525715E.0057ED8B@vcu.edu>

I'm wondering if it is at all possible for multiple postings to be sent to 
the lists as one message rather than as separate messages.  I ask this 
because I am a member of 12 of the 13 listservs and every time there is a 
multiple message, I receive it 12 times.  As you can imagine this fills up 
my inbox quite a bit.  It is rather easy to do by creating a group listing 
in your address book (like I've done with this message).

I am sure that there are other listserv participants who are members of 
multiple lists as well who would appreciate this consideration.  Thank 
you.


**************************************************************
Lauren Ellington
Online Training Specialist, 
Learning Disabilities Specialist, and
Writer/Editor of Update and Update on LD
Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
Virginia Commonwealth University
817 W. Franklin Street, Room 221  |  P.O. Box 842037
Richmond, VA  23284-2037
Phone:  1-800-237-0178 or  804-828-6158 
Fax:  804-828-7539
http://www.valrc.org
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From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Apr 28 23:49:19 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2006 22:49:19 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 139] Re: multiple postings
In-Reply-To: <OF04C45D73.864C908F-ON8525715E.0057A84F-8525715E.0057ED8B@
	vcu.edu>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20060428223945.02ce6bb0@imap.utk.edu>

Hi Lauren and others on multiple lists,

Thanks for bringing our attention to this issue- I'm also on multiple lists 
so I understand your concerns.  And I apologize if you've already seen this 
information.  The discussion list moderators and NIFL staff have been 
discussing this issue and hope to find a way to resolve it.

Unfortunately, at this time, there is no way to prevent receiving multiple 
copies of messages that are cross posted to several lists when you are 
subscribed to multiple lists.

Here are a couple suggestions to cut down on email if you are subscribed to 
multiple
lists:

1. Go into your user-settings and change from non-digest to digest format.
This way you will receive posts in groups rather than receiving a post 
every time someone posts to the list (for instructions on how to go to your 
user-settings page, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/help/help_mailman.html#settings)

2. Re-evaluate your subscribed lists. If you are not actively posting on 
all of the lists you may want to unsubscribe from some lists and keep track 
of the discussions via the archive pages at 
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/list_archives.html.

Hope this helps,
Aaron


At 12:00 PM 4/28/2006 -0400, you wrote:

>I'm wondering if it is at all possible for multiple postings to be sent to 
>the lists as one message rather than as separate messages.  I ask this 
>because I am a member of 12 of the 13 listservs and every time there is a 
>multiple message, I receive it 12 times.  As you can imagine this fills up 
>my inbox quite a bit.  It is rather easy to do by creating a group listing 
>in your address book (like I've done with this message).
>
>I am sure that there are other listserv participants who are members of 
>multiple lists as well who would appreciate this consideration.  Thank you.
>
>
>**************************************************************
>Lauren Ellington
>Online Training Specialist,
>Learning Disabilities Specialist, and
>Writer/Editor of Update and Update on LD
>Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
>Virginia Commonwealth University
>817 W. Franklin Street, Room 221  |  P.O. Box 842037
>Richmond, VA  23284-2037
>Phone:  1-800-237-0178 or  804-828-6158
>Fax:  804-828-7539
>http://www.valrc.org
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards




From akohring at utk.edu  Tue May  2 09:23:01 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 02 May 2006 09:23:01 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 140]  A Post Script -- Whose Content Standards
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060502091839.03e6d528@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

I am re-posting Sondra Stein's message below since many of us were at the 
COABE Conference last week and I know I'm still catching up on email.

Sondra poses some questions for us to think about regarding standards we 
use for instruction (meeting the needs of our learners) and standards we 
use for accountability (NRS, Other).

What do others think about this?

Aaron

**********************************************************
I just had the time to read through the very interesting exchanges about 
EFF standards and wanted to add my own 2.5 cents. To me, what has always 
been most important about EFF is it's answer to the question -- what 
knowledge and skills is it important for adults to know and be able to use 
in order to carry out their adult roles and responsibilities (whatever they 
are)? The research conducted in the first years of the EFF Initiative 
(1994-1998) revealed that adults need more than the three R's to be 
successful in their adult roles as workers, parents, and community members. 
They also need oral communication skills, interpersonal skills, 
problem-solving skills, and learning skills. Our research over the past 
three years to build the National Work Readiness Credential confirmed this 
original research: employers told us that nine of the 16 EFF standards were 
critical for competent performance of entry level work. And guess what? 
across industry sectors, the skills that were most important were Cooperate 
with Others, Listen Actively, Speak so Others Can Understand, and Read with 
Understanding (see http://eff.cls.utk.edu/workreadiness or 
www.uschamber.com/cwp/strategies/workreadinesscredential. )

In order to make sure that adult programs could help adults build these 
skills as well as reading, writing and math, we conducted further research 
to define standards and performance continua for each of these skills. And 
when the Work Readiness Credential comes out later this year we will be 
able to assess these nine standards in a standardized way, making them part 
of the accountability framework for workforce education.

The standards-based education reform movement grew out of concerns that we 
would not be preparing Americans for the 21st century -- especially to be 
competitive in the global workforce. As educators work to raise reading and 
math skills of K-12 students and business leaders continue to complain 
about graduates not being ready for work, I continue to think that part of 
the problem is that we keep raising the bar in reading and math (and now 
science) without paying attention to all those other skills (interpersonal, 
problem solving, oral communication, learning), without asking the 
fundamental question what skills and knowledge do all of us need to be able 
to carry out our everyday roles and responsibilities -- as citizens of a 
democratic society, as parents trying to make sure our children grow up in 
a safe and loving family, prepared for the future, and as workers in an 
economy that requires us to reskill many times over our lives.

If we are -- after all this research -- still only teaching our students 
reading, writing, and math because these are the only skills valorized in 
the adult education accountability framework, we may be keeping our 
programs alive but we are not serving our students well.

That seems to be the central dilemma the field still has to address. How do 
we do both?

Sondra G. Stein, Ph.D.
Project Manager
National Work Readiness Credential


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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue May  2 12:35:56 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 02 May 2006 12:35:56 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 141]  New Special Topics Discussion List
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060502123413.046cc188@pop.utk.edu>

New Special Topics Discussion List

Dear Colleague,

On May 23rd we will begin a week-long discussion on the new National
Institute for Literacy Special Topics electronic list. The topic is
the Adult Reading Components Study (ARCS). Dr. Rosalind Davidson and
Dr. John Strucker, the co-researchers, will join us to answer your
questions.

Special Topics will be an intermittent discussion list. The topics
will open and close throughout the year, so there will be periods
where there will be no discussion or postings. You can subscribe to
the e-list for a particular topic of interest, and then unsubscribe,
or you can stay subscribed throughout the year. To participate in
this first topic, the Adult Reading Components Study, and to learn
more about the ARCS interactive Web site -- which has lots of reading
help for teachers -- please subscribe to the Special Topics list now
by going to:

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics

Before the discussion begins on May 23rd please look at a 30-minute
streaming video introduction to the discussion with researcher
panelists Rosalind Davidson and John Strucker, and practitioners Kay
Vaccaro and Jane Meyer.

http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/20040204/webcast02-04a.html
(Note: Macintosh users will need to have Real Player installed, and
for them performance may not be optimal.)

After you subscribe, you can send your questions to the discussion
list. Note, however, that messages will not be posted until May 22nd.
I look forward to having you join us in this discussion.

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




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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue May  2 15:11:28 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 02 May 2006 15:11:28 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 142] Upcoming guest on Program Leadership and
	Improvement List
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060502150644.02681690@pop.utk.edu>

Please note the upcoming guest on the Program Leadership and Improvement 
Discussion List moderated by Kim Chaney-Bay.  To subscribe to the list, go 
to: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Programleadership

Aaron

*******************************************************************************************

I am pleased to announce that Esmerelda Doreste, Program Director with the
Union City (NJ) Adult Learning Center, will be a guest on the list from
Monday, May 8 through Friday, May 12. As a participant in the UPS
Foundation-funded "Leadership for Community Literacy" Initiative that was
administered by the Equipped for the Future (EFF) Center in the late
winter, Ms. Doreste worked with her program to implement a program
improvement process based on the EFF program quality model.

Along with the four other participants, Ms. Doreste wrote about that
experience...her story is now accessible on the "Program Leadership and
Improvement" web site. Go to [http://pli.cls.utk.edu] and click the
"Stories of Program Improvement" button, then click/open "Union City Adult
Learning Center: A Program Improvement Process."

Please read the story in preparation for Ms. Doreste's visit next
week. She will be ready to answer your questions about the nuts and bolts
of implementing the process, as well as any other related issues.

Looking forward to next week,
Kim



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)
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



From info at nifl.gov  Wed May  3 09:02:34 2006
From: info at nifl.gov (Sandra Baxter)
Date: Wed,  3 May 2006 09:02:34 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [ContentStandards 143] News from the National Institute for Literacy
Message-ID: <20060503130234.3049F46555@dev.nifl.gov>

Dear Colleagues,

We are happy to announce that the National Institute for Literacy has launched a new web page design to help provide easily accessible, high quality information about literacy. New features clearly highlight the Institute's work in all areas of literacy, including early childhood, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. You will continue to find the links to all of the Institute's projects, such as Bridges to Practice, LINCS, Assessment Strategies and Reading Profiles under Programs and Services. The Institute's publications, including the recently released Teaching Reading to Adults can be found under the Publications link. Please visit http://www.nifl.gov for more information.

This is phase one of the redesign. We will soon be incorporating all the Institute's projects into this new design.  As many of you know, websites are always a work in progress and we intend to continue improving the Institute's site in order to provide you with the best available resources.	

We would love to hear your thoughts regarding the new look. Please send your comments to Jo Maralit at mmaralit at nifl.gov.   

Thanks,

Sandra Baxter, Ed.D.
Director
National Institute for Literacy
http://www.nifl.gov


From akohring at utk.edu  Thu May  4 18:40:46 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 17:40:46 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 144] Adult Reading Components Study Discussion on
 Special Topics list begins May 23 rd
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20060504173756.02cf3370@imap.utk.edu>

New: Special Topics List Discussion on the Adult Reading Components Study 
(ARCS)

Dear Colleague,

Please join us on May 23rd for the launch of the new Special Topics list 
with guests Dr. Rosalind Davidson and Dr. John Strucker, co-researchers on 
the Adult Reading Components Study (ARCS). They will be available for one 
week to answer your questions and to introduce you to the ARCS interactive 
Web site, designed to help teachers with assessing and teaching reading.

To subscribe, go to:

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics

Before the discussion begins on May 23rd, please look at a 30-minute video 
panel discussion
on the ARCS, streamed on the National Institute for Literacy Web site, or 
on DVD.

1. Streaming video:
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/20040204/webcast02-04a.html
(Note: Macintosh users will need to have Real Player installed, and for them
performance may not be optimal.)

2. DVD:

Send a request for the Adult Readiing Components Study (ARCS) Panel (free) 
DVD to:
info at nifl.gov Be sure to include your mailing address.

After you subscribe, you can send your questions to the discussion list. 
Note, however, that messages will not be posted until May 22nd.
I look forward to having you join us for this discussion.
David J. Rosen
<>Special Topics Discussion List Moderator
djrosen at comcast.net




From akohring at utk.edu  Sun May  7 23:11:09 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 22:11:09 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 145] New Issue of Focus On Basics: Learners'
	Experiences
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20060507220745.02cce840@imap.utk.edu>

The newest Focus On Basics, on learners' Experiences, is now available on 
NCSALL's web site, www.ncsall.net.

Quick, tell me about your students' self esteem. Low, because of their 
academic struggles? That's not what a recent NCSALL-Rutgers study showed.

And how about reading? Do your learners know that to increase their reading 
fluency, they need to...read? What kind of and how much reading do they do 
outside of class? Another NCSALL-Rutgers study follows three learners as 
they go about their days and finds quite a variety in the amount of reading 
the learners do on their own.

Teachers, have you ever seen yourself teach? Or noticed just what that 
clump of students was doing while you were engaged with one person on 
another side of the classroom? Teachers working with NCSALL-Rutgers found 
that videos taken of their classroom for research purposes provided them 
with rich information useful to their own professional development. Learn 
how useful video can be in helping pinpoint issues and suggest new ways of 
doing things in the classroom.

There's lots more, particularly around learner engagement.
Go to www.ncsall.net and click on "Newest Issue of Focus on Basics"
Printed copies and a text-only web version will not be out for another two 
weeks.

Regards,
Barb Garner, Editor





From MMaralit at NIFL.gov  Mon May  8 16:03:15 2006
From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo)
Date: Mon, 8 May 2006 16:03:15 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 146] Update: New National Institute for Literacy
	Discussion List
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B0B932E16@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Dear subscribers,

We invite you to join us on the National Institute for Literacy's new
SPECIAL TOPICS List.  This list was established to provide opportunities
throughout the year for focused discussion topics with invited researchers
and other experts in the field of adult education and literacy (including
English language learning and numeracy). 

The Special Topics Discussion List will be moderated by David Rosen, Ed.D.,
Senior Associate, Newsome Associates.  This list is an intermittent
discussion list.  The topics will open and close throughout the year, so
there are periods when there will be no  
discussion or postings. You can subscribe to the discussion list for a
particular topic of interest, and then unsubscribe, or you can stay
subscribed throughout the year.

We look forward to the upcoming discussion, beginning May 23, with Dr.
Rosalind Davidson and Dr. John Strucker, co-researchers on the Adult Reading
Components Study (ARCS).  You may have seen the previous announcement for
this on the list, if not, please visit the list archives at:
http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/contentstandards/2006/000138.html

For more information, or suggestions of topics, contact David J. Rosen at
djrosen1 at comcast.net

Regards,
Jo Maralit
National Institute for Literacy
http://www.nifl.gov




From akohring at utk.edu  Mon May 15 21:38:06 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 20:38:06 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 147] Job Announcement for a new position at the
 Literacy Assistance Center in New York City
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20060515203657.02ce7698@imap.utk.edu>

*******************
Dear Colleagues:
The following is an announcement for a new position at the Literacy
Assistance Center in New York City:

Project Leader
The Literacy Assistant Center (LAC), a not-for-profit organization that
supports and promotes the expansion of quality literacy services in New
York, is looking for a Project Leader to join its dynamic work team.
This individual's primary responsibility is to lead the three-year
Statewide Staff Development Project beginning June 1, 2006. The goal of
the project is to improve instruction in adult basic education, ESOL,
and GED classes. Specific responsibilities include developing a
specialized training curriculum; providing related professional
development sessions to adult educators, program managers and
administrators; and creating four policy/resource manuals. This work
will incorporate New York State Adult Education Learning Standards,
reflect essential concepts for teaching adults, and integrate core
principles of teaching reading, writing, mathematics, and English
language attainment. Statewide travel required.
The Project Leader will be an expert in adult and literacy education,
knowledgeable about current trends in the field, and have a proven
ability to work with key external constituents, including state
education department personnel, and with diverse local organizations and
individuals. This highly qualified educator will have an advanced
degree (masters required, doctorate preferred) with commensurate
experience and demonstrated skill in new project development. S/he will
be expected to describe the impact of the project in published articles
and/or professional conference presentations.
LAC offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with
experience. Send resume and cover letter to hr at lacnyc.org or fax to
212-952-1359 by May 25, 2006. No phone calls, please.

Mariann Fedele
Coordinator of Professional Development,
Literacy Assistance Center
Moderator,
NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List
32 Broadway 10th Floor
New York, New York 10004
212-803-3325
mariannf at lacnyc.org
www.lacnyc.org




From akohring at utk.edu  Tue May 16 15:07:50 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 14:07:50 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 148]  Adult Education and Mobility
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20060516140403.03268c30@imap.utk.edu>

Posted on behalf of Tom Sticht.


**************************************************************
May 15, 2006

Adult Literacy Education, Geographical Mobility, and Children's School
Achievement: Toward A Life Cycles Education Policy

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

Four decades ago a colleague and I published a paper discussing
relationships of geographical mobility, dogmatism, anxiety, and age (The
Journal of Social Psychology,1966). In surveys with undergraduates in a
college psychology class, we found that students who reported only 1-3
changes in residence (average 1.88) scored lower on measures of dogmatism
and anxiety, and were older at the time of their first move (average 7.3
years) than a high mobility group (7-20, average 10.48 moves) with first
time moves at age 2.9 years.

Additional analyses indicated that early age of first move (before age 5)
was more related to anxiety while numbers of moves were more associated
with the cognitive/personality variable of dogmatism, i.e., a resistance to
change in a belief system. Additional research in the 1960s and earlier also
pointed to the idea that more mobile populations have higher rates of
psychoses, neuroses, psychopathological personalities, and other types of
personality disorders among children and adults.

Forty Years Later

Moving forward forty years, there is a growing body of research showing that
geographical mobility as well as mobility in changing schools is related to
numerous problems that children have with schools, including lowered
achievement in learning and higher dropout rates (Hanna Skandera and
Richard Sousa ,http://www.hooverdigest.org/023/skandera.html, 2002 No.3;
Virginia Rhodes, Kids on the Move: The Effects of Student Mobility on NCLB
School Accountability Ratings 2005
http://www.urganedjournal.org/articles/article0020.html)

Recent studies even suggest a significant, positive correlation between the
mobility of students and the schools that are failing to make the grade
with the No Child Left Behind objectives. One factor that seems likely to
moderate the effects of mobility is the socioeconomic status of the
children's parents, including the education level of the parents. Better
educated parents provide more stabile environments -mentally, emotionally,
and geographically- for children and hence are more likely to reduce
anxiety levels of children, and promote cognitive/personality traits of
less dogmatic thinking that welcomes new ideas encountered at school.

Toward a Life Cycles Education Policy

In 1990, International Literacy Year, Barbara McDonald and I wrote a UNESCO
report showing that increasing the education levels of girls and women in
various nations produced positive outcomes of lower fertility rates, better
childbearing, healthier childbirth, better child rearing, and better
educational achievement.

Given the important influences that an adult's education level plays on both
cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of children's development and
educational achievement, we need to move from thinking about education in
terms of how it affects just one life cycle, to thinking about how it
affects multiple life cycles. Attempting to intervene on the lives of
children alone, even starting at birth, to improve their development and
educational achievements is too late. We need to start by thinking about
the intergenerational effects that the education of parents can have not
only on the ability of the parents to support themselves and their children
better in an economic sense, but also how the parent's increased education
can affect the cognitive and emotional development of their children.

This shift from focusing on how education affects one life cycle to a focus
on how it affects more than one life cycle is what I mean by "life cycles"
education policy. It requires that we recognize that adult literacy
education is not merely a second chance at education for millions of
adults. It may well be the first chance for education for millions of these
adult's children.

Thomas G. Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
2062 Valley View Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92019
Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
Email: tsticht at aznet.net





From tarv at chemeketa.edu  Tue May 16 15:07:55 2006
From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether)
Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 12:07:55 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 149] Re: Adult Education and Mobility
Message-ID: <D63A25821E9AE349ADBAB6BB1F0A766C75E1B8@cccmail2.chemeketa.network>

Well I think Tom is on the right track here.  I never saw better learner
gains than the ones in strongly implemented family literacy programs. As
I have tracked those families 16 years later, some of the children have
had children and guess what: literacy is integrated into the lives of
all the generations, from computers to internet to involvement in
schools, playing with children and volunteerism.  We (educators) seem to
have a difficult time giving up turf issues and thinking big and whole
and complete systems.  

Our families in adult education are some of the most mobile in the
nation.  They move often and rarely address all the issues involved in
this process: stress, school changes, resource allocation, planning,
budget, etc.

Horay! For life cycle education policy!
Va

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aaron Kohring
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 12:08 PM
To: AE Content Standards
Subject: [ContentStandards 148] Adult Education and Mobility

Posted on behalf of Tom Sticht.


**************************************************************
May 15, 2006

Adult Literacy Education, Geographical Mobility, and Children's School
Achievement: Toward A Life Cycles Education Policy

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

Four decades ago a colleague and I published a paper discussing
relationships of geographical mobility, dogmatism, anxiety, and age (The
Journal of Social Psychology,1966). In surveys with undergraduates in a
college psychology class, we found that students who reported only 1-3
changes in residence (average 1.88) scored lower on measures of
dogmatism
and anxiety, and were older at the time of their first move (average 7.3
years) than a high mobility group (7-20, average 10.48 moves) with first
time moves at age 2.9 years.

Additional analyses indicated that early age of first move (before age
5)
was more related to anxiety while numbers of moves were more associated
with the cognitive/personality variable of dogmatism, i.e., a resistance
to
change in a belief system. Additional research in the 1960s and earlier
also
pointed to the idea that more mobile populations have higher rates of
psychoses, neuroses, psychopathological personalities, and other types
of
personality disorders among children and adults.

Forty Years Later

Moving forward forty years, there is a growing body of research showing
that
geographical mobility as well as mobility in changing schools is related
to
numerous problems that children have with schools, including lowered
achievement in learning and higher dropout rates (Hanna Skandera and
Richard Sousa ,http://www.hooverdigest.org/023/skandera.html, 2002 No.3;
Virginia Rhodes, Kids on the Move: The Effects of Student Mobility on
NCLB
School Accountability Ratings 2005
http://www.urganedjournal.org/articles/article0020.html)

Recent studies even suggest a significant, positive correlation between
the
mobility of students and the schools that are failing to make the grade
with the No Child Left Behind objectives. One factor that seems likely
to
moderate the effects of mobility is the socioeconomic status of the
children's parents, including the education level of the parents. Better
educated parents provide more stabile environments -mentally,
emotionally,
and geographically- for children and hence are more likely to reduce
anxiety levels of children, and promote cognitive/personality traits of
less dogmatic thinking that welcomes new ideas encountered at school.

Toward a Life Cycles Education Policy

In 1990, International Literacy Year, Barbara McDonald and I wrote a
UNESCO
report showing that increasing the education levels of girls and women
in
various nations produced positive outcomes of lower fertility rates,
better
childbearing, healthier childbirth, better child rearing, and better
educational achievement.

Given the important influences that an adult's education level plays on
both
cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of children's development and
educational achievement, we need to move from thinking about education
in
terms of how it affects just one life cycle, to thinking about how it
affects multiple life cycles. Attempting to intervene on the lives of
children alone, even starting at birth, to improve their development and
educational achievements is too late. We need to start by thinking about
the intergenerational effects that the education of parents can have not
only on the ability of the parents to support themselves and their
children
better in an economic sense, but also how the parent's increased
education
can affect the cognitive and emotional development of their children.

This shift from focusing on how education affects one life cycle to a
focus
on how it affects more than one life cycle is what I mean by "life
cycles"
education policy. It requires that we recognize that adult literacy
education is not merely a second chance at education for millions of
adults. It may well be the first chance for education for millions of
these
adult's children.

Thomas G. Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
2062 Valley View Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92019
Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
Email: tsticht at aznet.net



----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From akohring at utk.edu  Wed May 17 15:02:22 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 14:02:22 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 150] Re: Adult Education and Mobility
In-Reply-To: <D63A25821E9AE349ADBAB6BB1F0A766C75E1B8@cccmail2.chemeketa.
	network>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20060517135915.02dbe0d8@imap.utk.edu>

Virginia,

Could you share with us your insights into what has made these family 
literacy programs so successful?  Does it have to do with quality 
improvement?  Professional development for instructors & staff?  Standards 
for teaching and assessing?  Other factors?  An integration of these?

Thanks,
Aaron

  At 12:07 PM 5/16/2006 -0700, you wrote:
>Well I think Tom is on the right track here.  I never saw better learner
>gains than the ones in strongly implemented family literacy programs. As
>I have tracked those families 16 years later, some of the children have
>had children and guess what: literacy is integrated into the lives of
>all the generations, from computers to internet to involvement in
>schools, playing with children and volunteerism.  We (educators) seem to
>have a difficult time giving up turf issues and thinking big and whole
>and complete systems.
>
>Our families in adult education are some of the most mobile in the
>nation.  They move often and rarely address all the issues involved in
>this process: stress, school changes, resource allocation, planning,
>budget, etc.
>
>Horay! For life cycle education policy!
>Va
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
>[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aaron Kohring
>Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 12:08 PM
>To: AE Content Standards
>Subject: [ContentStandards 148] Adult Education and Mobility
>
>Posted on behalf of Tom Sticht.
>
>
>**************************************************************
>May 15, 2006
>
>Adult Literacy Education, Geographical Mobility, and Children's School
>Achievement: Toward A Life Cycles Education Policy
>
>Tom Sticht
>International Consultant in Adult Education
>
>Four decades ago a colleague and I published a paper discussing
>relationships of geographical mobility, dogmatism, anxiety, and age (The
>Journal of Social Psychology,1966). In surveys with undergraduates in a
>college psychology class, we found that students who reported only 1-3
>changes in residence (average 1.88) scored lower on measures of
>dogmatism
>and anxiety, and were older at the time of their first move (average 7.3
>years) than a high mobility group (7-20, average 10.48 moves) with first
>time moves at age 2.9 years.
>
>Additional analyses indicated that early age of first move (before age
>5)
>was more related to anxiety while numbers of moves were more associated
>with the cognitive/personality variable of dogmatism, i.e., a resistance
>to
>change in a belief system. Additional research in the 1960s and earlier
>also
>pointed to the idea that more mobile populations have higher rates of
>psychoses, neuroses, psychopathological personalities, and other types
>of
>personality disorders among children and adults.
>
>Forty Years Later
>
>Moving forward forty years, there is a growing body of research showing
>that
>geographical mobility as well as mobility in changing schools is related
>to
>numerous problems that children have with schools, including lowered
>achievement in learning and higher dropout rates (Hanna Skandera and
>Richard Sousa ,http://www.hooverdigest.org/023/skandera.html, 2002 No.3;
>Virginia Rhodes, Kids on the Move: The Effects of Student Mobility on
>NCLB
>School Accountability Ratings 2005
>http://www.urganedjournal.org/articles/article0020.html)
>
>Recent studies even suggest a significant, positive correlation between
>the
>mobility of students and the schools that are failing to make the grade
>with the No Child Left Behind objectives. One factor that seems likely
>to
>moderate the effects of mobility is the socioeconomic status of the
>children's parents, including the education level of the parents. Better
>educated parents provide more stabile environments -mentally,
>emotionally,
>and geographically- for children and hence are more likely to reduce
>anxiety levels of children, and promote cognitive/personality traits of
>less dogmatic thinking that welcomes new ideas encountered at school.
>
>Toward a Life Cycles Education Policy
>
>In 1990, International Literacy Year, Barbara McDonald and I wrote a
>UNESCO
>report showing that increasing the education levels of girls and women
>in
>various nations produced positive outcomes of lower fertility rates,
>better
>childbearing, healthier childbirth, better child rearing, and better
>educational achievement.
>
>Given the important influences that an adult's education level plays on
>both
>cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of children's development and
>educational achievement, we need to move from thinking about education
>in
>terms of how it affects just one life cycle, to thinking about how it
>affects multiple life cycles. Attempting to intervene on the lives of
>children alone, even starting at birth, to improve their development and
>educational achievements is too late. We need to start by thinking about
>the intergenerational effects that the education of parents can have not
>only on the ability of the parents to support themselves and their
>children
>better in an economic sense, but also how the parent's increased
>education
>can affect the cognitive and emotional development of their children.
>
>This shift from focusing on how education affects one life cycle to a
>focus
>on how it affects more than one life cycle is what I mean by "life
>cycles"
>education policy. It requires that we recognize that adult literacy
>education is not merely a second chance at education for millions of
>adults. It may well be the first chance for education for millions of
>these
>adult's children.
>
>Thomas G. Sticht
>International Consultant in Adult Education
>2062 Valley View Blvd.
>El Cajon, CA 92019
>Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
>Email: tsticht at aznet.net
>
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards




From tarv at chemeketa.edu  Wed May 17 15:51:23 2006
From: tarv at chemeketa.edu (Virginia Tardaewether)
Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 12:51:23 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 151] Re: Adult Education and Mobility
Message-ID: <D63A25821E9AE349ADBAB6BB1F0A766C75E1CD@cccmail2.chemeketa.network>

Hi there Aaron
First of all, for those who don't know me, I've taught adult
education/ESL, GED since 1970: in prisons, in lab settings, in lecture
settings, in multi-level settings, in mixed credit and non-credit
settings, in a comprehensive family literacy setting and less
comprehensive family literacy settings, in workplace settings, in
natural resource settings and in tribal settings. Based upon my
experience and in my opinion, the most important factor in family
literacy programming was/is time for parents and children to work, play,
plan and review together. 

I've had conversations over the years with many of those families and
the children in those families and what they remember was a high
standard for attendance and involvement and playing/working together in
learning.  They carried that dual involvement in learning on through the
high school years.  I see those families in the newspaper now as
volunteers and community leaders. Parents know their children's
interests and advocate for their learning throughout elementary and high
school.  

Quality improvement plans that are well-implemented work well for all
programs, including family literacy.  Processes that link assessment to
instruction are important.
Professional development is important also, and where my early childhood
partner and I formed our bond and began our growth process. 

I think of all the lessons that have transferred to my personal and
professional life the most:  elimination of turf has been the most
useful.  Once ABE can focus on the student/ within that context of that
student's life and goals, turf has no home because it isn't about us, it
is about them. They are adults and they really do know what they need
and where they want to go.  We just have to figure out how to listen.
I've found that in order for collaboration to work one has to eliminate
turf and think of win-win solutions.  That means putting money on the
table and allocating resource from multiple agencies in order to
accomplish the task at hand. It often means someone else gets the
"credit" and more time is spent on planning than most folks include in
schedules.

Best of luck and thanks for asking
Va

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aaron Kohring
Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 12:02 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 150] Re: Adult Education and Mobility

Virginia,

Could you share with us your insights into what has made these family 
literacy programs so successful?  Does it have to do with quality 
improvement?  Professional development for instructors & staff?
Standards 
for teaching and assessing?  Other factors?  An integration of these?

Thanks,
Aaron

  At 12:07 PM 5/16/2006 -0700, you wrote:
>Well I think Tom is on the right track here.  I never saw better
learner
>gains than the ones in strongly implemented family literacy programs.
As
>I have tracked those families 16 years later, some of the children have
>had children and guess what: literacy is integrated into the lives of
>all the generations, from computers to internet to involvement in
>schools, playing with children and volunteerism.  We (educators) seem
to
>have a difficult time giving up turf issues and thinking big and whole
>and complete systems.
>
>Our families in adult education are some of the most mobile in the
>nation.  They move often and rarely address all the issues involved in
>this process: stress, school changes, resource allocation, planning,
>budget, etc.
>
>Horay! For life cycle education policy!
>Va
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
>[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Aaron Kohring
>Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 12:08 PM
>To: AE Content Standards
>Subject: [ContentStandards 148] Adult Education and Mobility
>
>Posted on behalf of Tom Sticht.
>
>
>**************************************************************
>May 15, 2006
>
>Adult Literacy Education, Geographical Mobility, and Children's School
>Achievement: Toward A Life Cycles Education Policy
>
>Tom Sticht
>International Consultant in Adult Education
>
>Four decades ago a colleague and I published a paper discussing
>relationships of geographical mobility, dogmatism, anxiety, and age
(The
>Journal of Social Psychology,1966). In surveys with undergraduates in a
>college psychology class, we found that students who reported only 1-3
>changes in residence (average 1.88) scored lower on measures of
>dogmatism
>and anxiety, and were older at the time of their first move (average
7.3
>years) than a high mobility group (7-20, average 10.48 moves) with
first
>time moves at age 2.9 years.
>
>Additional analyses indicated that early age of first move (before age
>5)
>was more related to anxiety while numbers of moves were more associated
>with the cognitive/personality variable of dogmatism, i.e., a
resistance
>to
>change in a belief system. Additional research in the 1960s and earlier
>also
>pointed to the idea that more mobile populations have higher rates of
>psychoses, neuroses, psychopathological personalities, and other types
>of
>personality disorders among children and adults.
>
>Forty Years Later
>
>Moving forward forty years, there is a growing body of research showing
>that
>geographical mobility as well as mobility in changing schools is
related
>to
>numerous problems that children have with schools, including lowered
>achievement in learning and higher dropout rates (Hanna Skandera and
>Richard Sousa ,http://www.hooverdigest.org/023/skandera.html, 2002
No.3;
>Virginia Rhodes, Kids on the Move: The Effects of Student Mobility on
>NCLB
>School Accountability Ratings 2005
>http://www.urganedjournal.org/articles/article0020.html)
>
>Recent studies even suggest a significant, positive correlation between
>the
>mobility of students and the schools that are failing to make the grade
>with the No Child Left Behind objectives. One factor that seems likely
>to
>moderate the effects of mobility is the socioeconomic status of the
>children's parents, including the education level of the parents.
Better
>educated parents provide more stabile environments -mentally,
>emotionally,
>and geographically- for children and hence are more likely to reduce
>anxiety levels of children, and promote cognitive/personality traits of
>less dogmatic thinking that welcomes new ideas encountered at school.
>
>Toward a Life Cycles Education Policy
>
>In 1990, International Literacy Year, Barbara McDonald and I wrote a
>UNESCO
>report showing that increasing the education levels of girls and women
>in
>various nations produced positive outcomes of lower fertility rates,
>better
>childbearing, healthier childbirth, better child rearing, and better
>educational achievement.
>
>Given the important influences that an adult's education level plays on
>both
>cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of children's development and
>educational achievement, we need to move from thinking about education
>in
>terms of how it affects just one life cycle, to thinking about how it
>affects multiple life cycles. Attempting to intervene on the lives of
>children alone, even starting at birth, to improve their development
and
>educational achievements is too late. We need to start by thinking
about
>the intergenerational effects that the education of parents can have
not
>only on the ability of the parents to support themselves and their
>children
>better in an economic sense, but also how the parent's increased
>education
>can affect the cognitive and emotional development of their children.
>
>This shift from focusing on how education affects one life cycle to a
>focus
>on how it affects more than one life cycle is what I mean by "life
>cycles"
>education policy. It requires that we recognize that adult literacy
>education is not merely a second chance at education for millions of
>adults. It may well be the first chance for education for millions of
>these
>adult's children.
>
>Thomas G. Sticht
>International Consultant in Adult Education
>2062 Valley View Blvd.
>El Cajon, CA 92019
>Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
>Email: tsticht at aznet.net
>
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From akohring at utk.edu  Wed May 17 16:46:46 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 15:46:46 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 152]  Online PD Opportunities
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.0.20060517154221.02df5a88@imap.utk.edu>


The Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee and the
Ohio Literacy Resource Center at Kent state are please to announce the
spring Professional Development courses for the AEProfessional project.
All AEPro on-line workshops have been piloted and reviewed by adult
educators and administrators to excellent reviews. Most last about six
weeks and require a time commitment of roughly 2 hours a week. Spaces
are filling up quickly so you will need to act soon to meet the
registration deadline.

For further information, please visit the project web site at:
http://www.aeprofessional.org/

All courses begin on 6/5/2006
Registration Deadline is 6/29/2006

Register now to reserve one of the remaining spots in our on-line
professional development opportunities. Click here to register:
http://utk-cls.ra.utk.edu/register/AEPro/event2.asp

Comprehensive Reading and Strategies Help
CEUs: 1 (optional)
Facilitator: Jan Lichten

This web-based training will provide you with information and resources
that will help you help your students be better readers. If you want to
be effective in helping your students achieve their goals, it is
important that you know about a variety of aspects regarding the adult
student and strategies to enhance reading skills.

Topics within this training include:
The Adult Learner and Brain Compatible Classrooms
Essentials of Reading
Adult Learners and Comprehension Strategies
Helping ESOL Students and Students with Learning Disabilities
Helping the Adult to Help the Child


Adult Education - Teaching Tools
CEUs: 1 (optional)
Facilitator: Deb Hargrove

Delivered via the Internet, this six-week course focuses on
familiarizing instructors with teaching tools that will enhance teaching
practices leading to greater learning, retention, and success for adult
students. It offers a wealth of resources and teaching strategies on
topics such as reflective teaching, cooperative/collaborative learning,
multiple intelligences, and contextual instruction. The course will help
participants draw their own connections between current research and
teacher practice; it provides opportunities for practical classroom
application, online collaboration, and sharing best practices with other
adult educators-and much more!

All participants must have their own e-mail address to participate in
the course. ALL online course participants will complete a "Tech Check"
one week before course start date to ensure their computer equipment and
Internet connection are sufficient for effective course participation.


ESOL Basics
CEUs: 1 (optional)

Do you need to know the basics of ESOL instruction? Through this online
course, you will learn how to identify characteristics of adult ESOL
learners, effective methods of teaching languages, the four language
skills, and how adults learn another language. Online activities,
discussion boards and assessments will keep you engaged.


Integration of Technology into the Adult Education Classroom
CEUs: 1 (optional)
Facilitator: Linda Eckert, AE Pro Developer

Have you ever tried to blindly put a puzzle together without knowing
what the final picture will look like? This may be what is happening to
you when you are trying to integrate computer technology into your
classroom. This course will provide quick access to educational
resources, lesson plans, activities, tools for evaluating educational
software, information about purchasing educational software, and
knowledge to help you utilize a variety of software applications and
web-based activities in the classroom. Online activities, discussion
boards and assessments will keep you engaged.

Bill McNutt
CTO, AEProfessional Project






From akohring at utk.edu  Mon May 22 10:48:43 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 10:48:43 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 153] ARCS Discussion Begins May 23rd on New
	Special Topics List
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060522104646.048bbad8@pop.utk.edu>

Colleagues,

A last reminder that on May 23rd we will begin an important
discussion on the Adult Reading Components Study (ARCS) with the
researchers. To sign up for this discussion go to

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics

You will find a 30-minute video panel discussion with ARCS
researchers, Rosalind Davidson and John Strucker, and practitioners
Kay Vaccaro and Jane Meyer at

http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/20040204/webcast02-04.html

The video panel introduction is also available on DVD from the
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy [ http://
www.ncsall.net/?id=24 ] or from the National Institute for Literacy.
(Send a request for the Adult Readiing Components Study (ARCS) Panel
(free) DVD to: info at nifl.gov Be sure to include your mailing
address.)

Other ARCS introductory materials include:

1. Adult Reading Components Study (ARCS) [PDF document]
by John Strucker and Rosalind Davidson
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=27 (ninth item down)

2. How the ARCS Was Done
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/op_arcs.pdf

3. Adult Reading Components Study (ARCS)
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=27#arcs

We do hope you will be able to join us, from May 23rd through May
30th to learn about and explore the uses of the ARCS.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net




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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Thu May 25 14:04:56 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 14:04:56 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 153]  National Work Readiness Council (NWRC),
 Executive Director  Search
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060525140350.048971e8@pop.utk.edu>



>*****
>
>The National Work Readiness Council (NWRC), a recently created non-profit 
>organization devoted to enhancing and promoting the work readiness of the 
>nation's diverse population, seeks an Executive Director to provide vision 
>and direction for the organization and to develop organizational strategy. 
>The NWRC has been formed by the states and organizations that have 
>developed the National Work Readiness Credential and will serve as the 
>primary home for that Credential.
>
>The Executive Director will serve as the organization's chief fund raising 
>officer, marketing and promoting the National Work Readiness Credential to 
>various stakeholders, implementing policies approved by the Board, 
>managing the organization's operations, and representing the organization 
>to various stakeholder and constituent groups. Desired qualifications 
>include knowledge of and genuine passion for current workforce issues, 
>challenges, and opportunities in the United States; five or more years of 
>experience in state or national work readiness initiatives; proven success 
>in acquiring government, corporate, and foundation grants to support 
>non-profit organizational objectives; and proven success in marketing and 
>promoting organizational priorities to external audiences and constituents.
>
>More information regarding the NWRC and the recently developed National 
>Work Readiness Credential Assessment, as well as a complete job 
>description, may be accessed at 
><http://www.uschamber.com/cwp/strategies/wrcfaqs.htm>http://www.uschamber.com/cwp/strategies/wrcfaqs.htm. 
>This is a one-year renewable contact position, with renewal based on 
>demonstrated job performance and fundraising success. Compensation is 
>competitive for the DC area. Relocation is not required.
>
>Please forward a cover letter addressing your qualifications for the 
>position, a resume or curriculum vitae, and accompanying materials no 
>later than June 30, 2006, to: Andra S. Cornelius, Chair, NWRC Board of 
>Directors and Vice President, Business Outreach, Workforce Florida, Inc., 
>1974 Commonwealth Lane, Tallahassee, FL  32303. Email inquiries and 
>submission of applications materials may also be forwarded to Andra at 
><mailto:acornelius at workforceflorida.com>acornelius at workforceflorida.com.
>
>



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)
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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From akohring at utk.edu  Fri May 26 14:10:32 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Fri, 26 May 2006 14:10:32 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 154] Upcoming Discussions on FOB list: Learners
	Experiences
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060526140718.040b7ac8@pop.utk.edu>

Posted on behalf of Julie McKinney, Focus On Basics Discussion List Moderator.

Everyone have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
Aaron

******************************************************
I want to give you a heads-up on next month's rich schedule of weekly
discussions with Focus On Basics authors. The following authors will
discuss their articles from the recent issue of Focus On Basics, Vol.
8B, which is about Learners' Experiences.

Find the whole issue at:
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1103

June 5-9:
Jessica Tomkins
Video as a Professional Development Tool
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1107

June 12-16:
Alisa Belzer
Influences on the Reading Practices of Adults in ABE
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1108
and
Learners on Learning to Read
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1110

June 25-30:
Hal Beder
Shaping and Sustaining Learner Engagement in Individualized Group
Instruction Classrooms
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1106

Please pass on the word to colleagues who may be interested in these
discussions! Anyone can subscribe to the list at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
*****************************************

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Jun  2 11:05:51 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:05:51 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 155] June 5th Discussion on FOB: Video as a
 Professional Development Tool
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060602110305.04899c40@pop.utk.edu>

Posted on behalf of Julie McKinney, Moderator of the Focus On Basics 
Discussion List.
Aaron

***************************************************

This is a REMINDER of our discussion starting Monday with author Jessica
Tomkins about her recent FOB article:

Video as a Professional Development Tool
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1107

The discussion will go from Monday, June 5 to Friday, June 9.

Please read the article at the link above, and think about the following
questions in preparation for the discussion. Please invite colleagues
who you think may be interested to join the Focus on Basics Discussion
List for this discussion.

Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever seen a video of yourself teaching? If so, what was your
impression? Did it affect your teaching? How?
 >
 > 2. What do you think you might gain from seeing yourself and your
students on video?
 >
 > 3. How might your students benefit from you reviewing such a video?
 >
 > 4. Have you ever used video as a professional development tool in your
program? If so, how did your group review and process the video in order
to share thoughts, give feedback and get the maximum benefit? How did
teachers receive this?
 >
 > 5. After reading this article, what unanswered questions stay with
you?

*****************************************************
To subscribe, please go to:
www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics


Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org



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)
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



From RSherman at air.org  Mon Jun  5 15:15:07 2006
From: RSherman at air.org (Sherman, Renee)
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2006 15:15:07 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 156] New Resources on the Adult Education Content
	Standards Warehouse
Message-ID: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D70185A055@dc1ex3.air.org>

I would like to take this opportunity to announce the addition of Field
Resources to the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse Web site.
Visit this new section at:
[<http://adulted.airws.org/field_resources.asp>]. 

Field Resources provides examples of national and international
standards and professional development materials, which were developed
as part of the State Standards Consortia Project that supported state
activities in planning, developing or adapting, and implementing
standards, 2003-2005. They focus on such key topics as the qualities of
a good standard, organizing writing teams, and a systems approach to
standards implementation. These materials are for use with other key
resources located on the Web site, including: A Process Guide for
Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards
[<http://adulted.airws.org/howto.asp>] and the Content Standards
Warehouse [<http://adulted.airws.org/standardswarehouse.asp>]. 

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) operates the Adult Education
Content Standards Warehouse Web site through a contract with the Office
of Vocational and Adult Education, US Department of Education, as part
of the National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS).

Cheryl Keenan
Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy 

 

American Institutes for Research 
1000 Thomas Jefferson, NW 
Washington, DC 20007-3541 
202-403-5327 
rsherman at air.org 

 
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From kabeall at comcast.net  Wed Jun  7 12:56:59 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 12:56:59 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 157]  New from NIFL & NCSALL-ARCS Video
Message-ID: <004a01c68a53$64686640$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) and the National Center for the
Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) announce the "Adult Reading
Components Study (ARCS) Panel," a 30-minute video on NCSALL's ARCS research
produced by the Institute.  This video is available in streaming format and
can be viewed by going to:

 

http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/20040204/webcast02-04.html 

 

ARCS was the first large-scale attempt to use a battery of individually
administered reading and language tests to describe the reading of students
enrolled in adult basic education (ABE) and English for speakers of other
languages (ESOL) programs. Nearly 1,000 adult learners from 30 learning
centers in seven states were assessed in order to develop instructionally
relevant cluster profiles of adult readers. 

 

The video offers a panel discussion about NCSALL's ARCS research and ways in
which programs can use the Assessment Strategies and Reading Profiles, an
on-line assessment tool based on the ARCS research, to assess students and
plan instruction tailored to their specific profiles. Panel participants
are:

 

Dr. John Strucker - Researcher and ARCS Director, NCSALL

Dr. Rosalind Davidson - Researcher and ARCS Assistant Director, NCSALL

Kay Vaccaro - Program Assistant, Harris County, TX Department of Education,
Adult Education Division

Jane Meyer - Coordinator, ABLE-funded adult literacy project, Canton, OH

David J. Rosen (moderator) - Senior Associate, Newsome Associates, Boston,
MA

 

To visit the Assessment Strategies and Reading Profiles ARCS Web site,
please go to: http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/

To learn more about the ARCS, please see NCSALL's "Seminar Guide - Reading
Profiles" http://www.ncsall.net/?id=597 available from the CPPR section of
the NCSALL Web site. 

A NCSALL study circle guide on reading research and teaching materials on
reading are available from the Publications section of the NCSALL Web site:
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=25

The ARCS video panel introduction is also available free on DVD:

Order from NCSALL at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=24 for $5.00/copy (shipping
and handling), or send your request to NIFL at info at nifl.gov, and be sure to
include your mailing address.

 

The ARCS video is the first in a series of videos based on NCSALL research
that are being produced by the National Institute for Literacy.   As each
video is completed, streaming versions will be posted to the Web, with
accompanying announcements on the Institute's listservs and web sites and
NCSALL's Web site. Once the entire series is completed, all of the videos
will be packaged in a single DVD, which the Institute and NCSALL will make
available to the field.  The National Institute for Literacy and NCSALL
present these videos as introductions to key research topics in adult
learning and literacy.  We hope the field finds them useful as professional
and program development tools.

 

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Jun  8 13:14:03 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 13:14:03 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 158] Fwd: [FocusOnBasics 323] Re: Discussion:
 video as a prof. devlpmt tool.
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060608131214.045f8c10@pop.utk.edu>

Hi all,

This message is forwarded from a discussion on the Focus On Basics 
List.  Note David Rosen's question below about an online digital searchable 
database of "standards-based" examples of
good teaching.

Aaron


>Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 10:59:30 -0400
>From: David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net>
>Subject: [FocusOnBasics 323] Re: Discussion: video as a prof. devlpmt tool.
>Sender: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
>To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
>Reply-to: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
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>List-Help: <mailto:focusonbasics-request at nifl.gov?subject=help>
>List-Id: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics.nifl.gov>
>
>Aaron and others,
>
>I would like to see our field have a large digital video collection
>of excellent examples of teaching.  These "learning objects," or
>relatively short classroom digital video clips, could demonstrate for
>example: a teaching approach, technique, or method; a way of
>organizing a classroom; a way to integrate technology; or a way to
>use certain materials. Each clip could be linked to a widely agreed-
>upon teaching quality standard.  It should be online, accessible free
>to teachers anytime, anywhere, and also to those who could use them
>in their online or face-to-face professional development courses or
>workshops.
>
>Some examples of this exist in the area of integrating technology in
>the classroom.  In our field this began several years ago with the
>very well done, and still relevant "Captured Wisdom" project by Lynda
>Ginsburg, Jennifer Elmore and others [ http://www.ncrtec.org/pd/cw/
>adultlit.htm ] . Current good work is being done in California by
>Marian Thacher and others at OTAN [ http://www.otan.us/Itap/index.cfm?
>fuseaction=videogallery ]. These are short classroom examples of
>teachers and students integrating technology well.  I  have learned a
>lot about how to integrate technology well from both Captured Wisdom
>and OTAN instructional Technology Assistance Project  videos.
>
>There are also examples of digital videos on line from the Portland,
>Oregon National Labsite for Adult ESOL [http://www.labschool.pdx.edu/
>video_demo.html ] , a FOB article on this at [ http://www.ncsall.net/?
>id=987 ] and an archived discussion which began on this list in
>February, 2006
>[ http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/focusonbasics/2006/000157.html ].
>
>Are there other online digital video examples of good adult education
>teaching?
>
>I think we need a major, multiyear national project to build an
>online digital searchable database of "standards-based" examples of
>good teaching. Would this be useful to you as a teacher, tutor,
>administrator, or professional developer?  If so, what would you like
>to see in this database?
>
>David J. Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>On Jun 8, 2006, at 9:23 AM, Aaron Kohring wrote:
>
> > Virginia,
> >
> > I'm glad you mentioned how students used video as a resource for
> > themselves.  I remember observing a classroom that was doing a
> > series of
> > lessons around speaking and listening with a goal of preparing for
> > work
> > interviews.  The students really found video useful as an
> > assessment for
> > how well they performed.
> > Aaron
> >
> > At 01:44 PM 6/7/2006 -0700, you wrote:
> >> I've used video on my own evaluation and had students use it for
> >> theirs.
> >> It is a useful tool and helps one be objective about what really
> >> happens
> >> in a group.  We used to set the video up and leave it on
> >> regularly, then
> >> review what we noticed as a group (students and instructors).  We
> >> found
> >> it a useful tool for program improvement.
> >> Va
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
> >> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Dominique
> >> Brillanceau
> >> Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 12:57 PM
> >> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
> >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 318] Re: Discussion: video as a prof. devlpmt
> >> tool.
> >>
> >> Greetings,
> >> While I concur with Esther's comments on the disconnectedness of
> >> adult
> >> educators and the barriers to sharing one's teaching or others'
> >> through
> >> video media, I have been thinking about the impact it has on
> >> people who
> >> have
> >> done it.  David  did it in the 60's and a couple more people who have
> >> participated in the discussion  mentioned videotaping themselves or
> >> others a
> >> long time ago and they still talk about it.  Or Janet who is using
> >> it in
> >>
> >> training.  To me, that was uplifting.  It is an experience that one
> >> never
> >> forgets and should be part of all teacher training programs.
> >> It was a requirement in the TESL program at Portland State
> >> University 20
> >>
> >> years ago when I got my certificate but it no longer is. ( I still
> >> have
> >> the
> >> tape- no comment)
> >>  A colleague of mine just made it a class requirement/ task for her
> >> students
> >> in a MA TESOL program at Oregon State University.
> >> So... are there any paper FOB issues for this particular issue left?
> >> They
> >> could be sent to MA TESOL programs around the country and to state
> >> directors
> >> of Adult Basic Skills.  Just an idea...
> >> Great conversation.  An eye opener and a way of being connected.
> >>
> >> Dominique Brillanceau
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "e s" <e.b.shupe at lycos.com>
> >> To: "The Focus on Basics Discussion List" <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
> >> Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 9:31 AM
> >> Subject: [FocusOnBasics 316] Re: Discussion: video as a prof. devlpmt
> >> tool.
> >>
> >>
> >>> Everyone,
> >>> I wanted to say a little more about the program that I am currently
> >>> enrolled and the videotaping requirement.  THis is an online
> >> certificate
> >>> program in English Language Teaching at The New School in NYC. THe
> >> nature
> >>> of distance learning requires the aid of technology to make the
> >> program
> >>> work and the videotaping of classroom instruction is purposeful in
> >> this
> >>> regard.  The type of feedback I will get about the teaching and
> >> learning
> >>> observations is unknown to me at this time, but I hope to have my
> >>> own
> >>> purpose in viewing the tapes.  Jessica's article and comments
> >>> from the
> >>
> >>> discussion will help me to ask the right questions.  I'll be sure to
> >> share
> >>> my experience with the list.
> >>>
> >>> On another note,  it's disheartening to me to read David's post
> >>> and to
> >>
> >>> know that the practice of videotaping classroom dynamics has been
> >> around
> >>> for so long and yet is still not common practice for adult
> >>> educators.
> >> THe
> >>> issues are at least in part about funding but also about the lack of
> >>> connection that is experienced by many adult educators.  We for the
> >> most
> >>> part are a team of volunteers or part-timers with very little
> >>> power in
> >>
> >>> determining, what if any PD is offered to us.  One of the continuing
> >>> discussions about adult education is the way we are separate from
> >> other
> >>> institutions of learning.  This in many ways gives us creative
> >>> license
> >> but
> >>> in many significant ways is disempowering.  What do others think?
> >>> Esther
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>>
> >>> Search for businesses by name, location, or phone number.  -Lycos
> >> Yellow
> >>> Pages
> >>>
> >>>
> >> http://r.lycos.com/r/yp_emailfooter/http://yellowpages.lycos.com/
> >> default
> >> .asp?SRC=lycos10
> >>>
> >>> ----------------------------------------------------
> >>> National Institute for Literacy
> >>> Focus on Basics mailing list
> >>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> >>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----------------------------------------------------
> >> National Institute for Literacy
> >> Focus on Basics mailing list
> >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
> >> ----------------------------------------------------
> >> National Institute for Literacy
> >> Focus on Basics mailing list
> >> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
> >
> > 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)
> > 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
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------
> > National Institute for Literacy
> > Focus on Basics mailing list
> > FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
>David Rosen
>djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Focus on Basics mailing list
>FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jun 12 09:54:28 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 09:54:28 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 159] Announcement of new Special Topics List
 Discussion on Student Persistence
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060612095322.0454ee40@pop.utk.edu>

----------------------
Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that on the Special Topics discussion list
from July 10-18, Dr. John Comings, Director of the National Center
for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), will be a
guest to discuss research on student persistence in adult literacy
education.

Special Topics is an intermittent discussion list. The topics open
and close throughout the year, so there are periods where there will
be no discussion or postings. You can subscribe to the e-list for a
particular topic of interest, and then unsubscribe, or you can stay
subscribed throughout the year. To participate in this topic, you
can subscribe by going to:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics

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




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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jun 12 10:31:38 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 10:31:38 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 160] Using standards for instruction and
	assessment
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060612103036.045f13f8@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

I've received a request for feedback from several instructors who would 
like to hear from other teachers using standards for instruction and 
assessment.  What have been your challenges in using standards in the 
classroom?  What types of support do you need from your program or 
state?  Did you participate in any specific professional development 
activities?


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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jun 12 12:59:15 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 12:59:15 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 161] Focus On Basics discussion related to Reading
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060612125214.044947c8@pop.utk.edu>

Please note the following discussion on the Focus On Basics Discussion List 
this week (June 12-16).  Alisa Belzer will be discussing two articles 
related to Reading. See Julie McKinney's message below for more information 
and discussion questions.

You can subscribe to the list at:
www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

Aaron

*****************************************
Influences on the Reading Practices of Adults in ABE
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1108

1. Have you ever evaluated how much reading your students do outside of
class time? If so, what were the results? What factors in their life do
you think affect how much outside reading they do?
2. According to the article, a learner's own belief in the value of
reading as a learning tool is important, as is family support, time to
read, and access to print materials at home. What can we do as teachers
to help those students who lack these factors? What program support
could help?

Learners on Learning to Read
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1110

1. What do you think of this research practice of asking the learners
themselves for input about effective teaching/learning strategies?
2. According to the learners, the following factors were cited as the
most important for successful reading development: "1) their own
motivation and determination, 2) program features, including
relationships with an instructor, instructional strategies and
materials, and structures and formats, 3) reading practice, and 4)
supports." How much do you agree or disagree, based on your own sense?
Reflect on these factors in your own classes and programs. How could
they be improved?



Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Jun 13 09:37:40 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 09:37:40 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 162] Guest Discussion on Assessment in Mathematics
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060613093607.04545480@pop.utk.edu>


To subscribe to this discussion, go 
to:  http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Assessment

Dear Colleagues,

I hope this email finds you well.

I'm pleased to announce the following Guest Discussion, which will begin on 
Monday of next week:

June 19  23, 2006

Topic:  Assessment in Mathematics

Guest:  Myrna Manly  please see Myrna?s bio below.

Myrna will respond to your email posts once per day  feel free to send your 
post to the Assessment Discussion List, or to me so that I can post it for 
you (marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com).

Bio
Myrna Manly, a mathematics teacher with experience at many academic levels, 
retired in 2001 from a position as professor of mathematics at El Camino 
College.  In addition to instruction, she has been involved with the 
assessment of the mathematics proficiency of adults in various roles: as 
the Mathematics Specialist for the 1988 version of the GED test; as a 
member of the numeracy team for the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey 
(ALL); and as the numeracy consultant for a similar international survey to 
be used in developing countries, the Literacy Assessment and Monitoring 
Programme (LAMP). She is the Past President of the Adult Numeracy Network 
(ANN), is the author of The GED Math Problem Solver, and also works with 
states and programs facilitating staff-development workshops aimed at 
improving mathematics instruction to adults.

Myrna is presently writing a paper with Mary Jane Schmidt and Lynda 
Ginsburg on the components of numeracy for NCSALL (National Center for the 
Study of Adult Learning and Literacy). The paper reviews the literature, 
describes the fundamental elements of adult numeracy, and makes 
recommendations for further research, particularly with respect to 
curriculum and assessment.  Look for this resource soon from NCSALL.

Recommended preparations for this discussion

Myrna has provided several questions below to get you thinking about math 
assessment:
?       It is known that students and teachers come to value what is 
assessed.  What is your opinion of the influence that the standardized 
mathematics assessments (GED, TABE, CASAS) have in your classrooms? Are 
they assessing the mathematics that is important for the 21st century? Do 
you think that they all assess the same mathematics? What do you think is 
missing from each?

?       Computation skills are easy to assess.  How can we assess other 
important aspects of mathematics like strategic problem solving, conceptual 
understanding, and reasoning?

?       Describe instances where you have seen a student?s ?math anxiety? 
interfere with an accurate assessment of his/her abilities. Do you assess 
math anxiety in any way? What strategies have you used to reduce it? Any 
luck with them?

?       Which classroom techniques do you recommend for informal, ongoing 
assessment of a student?s progress in learning mathematics?

In addition to the above questions to stimulate discussion, Myrna has 
provided these sites for math assessment.  Please take a look at these 
sites and post your questions and comments to the Discussion:

http://www.literacy.org/products/ncal/pdf/TR9805.pdf Assessing Mathematical 
Knowledge of Adult Learners: Are We Looking at What Counts? This technical 
report from NCAL was written by Joy Cumming, Iddo Gal, and Lynda Ginsburg 
in 1998. It discusses assessment principles and evaluates their 
implementation in common numeracy assessment tools.

http://www.ncsall.net/?id=573 The Inclusion of Numeracy in Adult Basic 
Education, Dave Tout and Mary Jane Schmitt, 2002.  This chapter from 
NCSALL?s annual review contains a section on assessment that includes a 
description of assessments in adult education from Australia and The 
Netherlands.

http://www.nctm.org/news/assessment/2005_12nb.htm Will This Be on the Test? 
This article discusses the importance of including significant mathematics 
on tests.  It includes a good example of a test item that goes beyond 
procedural skills.

http://standards.nctm.org/document/chapter2/assess.htm  This document in an 
overview of NCTM?s assessment principle for K-12 mathematics.

Large-scale surveys of adult skills:
Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL)
         Numeracy Framework (begins on p.137):
           http://www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/downpub/listpub.cgi?catno=89-552-MIE2005013 

         First results: 
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/89-603-XIE/2005001/pdf.htm
         Data Tool: http://litdata.ets.org/ialdata/search.asp

National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)
         First results: 
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006470

Hard Copy Resource:
Adult Numeracy Development: Theory, Policy and Practice, Iddo Gal, ed., 
2000.  Hampton Press, Inc. This book has a section on numeracy assessment 
with one article discussing assessment issues and principles using examples 
from the US and Australia and another article describing the use of 
?Supermarket Strategy? materials for diagnosing the skills of individual 
learners in The Netherlands.


Thanks everyone, and I?m looking forward to seeing you all next week to 
chat about math assessment!

Marie Cora
Moderator
NIFL Assessment Discussion List
marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com



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)
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



From lmullins89 at yahoo.com  Tue Jun 13 15:05:35 2006
From: lmullins89 at yahoo.com (Lisa Mullins)
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 12:05:35 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [ContentStandards 163] Re: Using standards for instruction and
	assessment
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060612103036.045f13f8@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <20060613190535.21123.qmail@web30215.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Hello,

I've been using Equipped for the Future for some time
now.  I am particularly familiar with the Use Math to
Solve Problems and Communicate Standard. 

One challenge of working with Standards is
understanding what the components of the standard are
and keeping the activity in line with the components. 
One of the most important parts of working with a
standard is to have the students rewrite the
components in a simple understandable language and
provide an example of what the component means. The
standard serves as a guide for completing a learning
activity.

I can't say that the standards are what makes EFF
useful.  I have to state that all the parts of EFF
make it most useful.  I use the EFF Teaching/Learning
cycle.  This allows for incorporting standards,
instruction, learning, and assessment. It also allows
the learners to have imput in the design and outcome
of the learning activity.

I have been involved in a great deal of professional
development in using standards.  I was a participant
in a workshop series concerning the definition and use
of EFF.  Then, I became a co-facilitator in a series
of training sessions about using the Use Math to Solve
Problems and Communicate Standard. Being on both sides
of the table has given me the opportunity to see EFF
in theory, in use, and in my own experiences.

Lisa Mullins, ABE Instructor
Hawkins County Adult Ed. Program
Rogersville, Tennessee   


 

--- Aaron Kohring <akohring at utk.edu> wrote:

> Greetings all,
> 
> I've received a request for feedback from several
> instructors who would 
> like to hear from other teachers using standards for
> instruction and 
> assessment.  What have been your challenges in using
> standards in the 
> classroom?  What types of support do you need from
> your program or 
> state?  Did you participate in any specific
> professional development 
> activities?
> 
> 
> 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)
> 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
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
> please go to
>
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 


From jfranks at literacy.kent.edu  Tue Jun 13 16:27:04 2006
From: jfranks at literacy.kent.edu (Judy Franks)
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 16:27:04 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 164] Using standards for instruction and
	assessment
Message-ID: <009101c68f27$bf5b8360$fe607b83@jfranks>

Greetings All,

 

Ohio adopted the EFF Standards in 2001 and the OLRC has been developing a
database of lesson plans for several years.  You can find these lessons
online at Eureka! http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/

 

You will have several options for searching the database by keywords.  

 

1.          At the Agora, click on the Bathtub Search Icon and in the
keyword box type reading, writing or math.  These are the Standards we focus
on in Ohio - we'll also be including speaking and listening soon with the
inclusion of ESOL lessons.  This search will also provide you will many
adult-appropriate trade (library) books that can be used in your adult
education classrooms.

 

       -- OR --

 

2.          At the Agora, click on Lesson Plans.  Here you will find a
lesson plan of the month that you can download immediately.  These lessons
will include the Ohio Standard and Benchmarks used in our ABLE programs.
Pay special attention to "how the activity addresses the standard" chart.
This will help you understand how the lesson was developed to include all
the components of performance (COPs) of that standard.  If you would like to
find all the lessons currently in the database, click on the Lesson Plan
Advanced Search link where you can find an alphabetical list of lessons.
The General Format link excludes Ohio's benchmarks and would be the best
choice for anyone not from Ohio to download.

 

This is a project always in development, so check back often.  Additional
lessons will be added this summer. If you have questions, please contact
Judy Franks at 330-672-0753 or this email jfranks at literacy.kent.edu.  

 

Good Luck Searching and Enjoy Eureka!  It's a great teacher resource if
you're looking for standards-based lesson plans.

 

Judy

 

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From atrawick at charter.net  Tue Jun 13 22:55:52 2006
From: atrawick at charter.net (Amy Trawick)
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 22:55:52 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 165] Re: Using standards for instruction and
	assessment
References: <009101c68f27$bf5b8360$fe607b83@jfranks>
Message-ID: <01ee01c68f5e$0c9d21c0$0301a8c0@AMY>

Thank you, Judy, for this website.  I've been looking for resources for teachers, and this site has some great standards-based lesson plans!

Amy R. Trawick
North Wilkesboro, NC  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Judy Franks 
  To: 'The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List' 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 4:27 PM
  Subject: [ContentStandards 164] Using standards for instruction and assessment


  Greetings All,

   

  Ohio adopted the EFF Standards in 2001 and the OLRC has been developing a database of lesson plans for several years.  You can find these lessons online at Eureka! http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/

   

  You will have several options for searching the database by keywords.  

   

  1.          At the Agora, click on the Bathtub Search Icon and in the keyword box type reading, writing or math.  These are the Standards we focus on in Ohio - we'll also be including speaking and listening soon with the inclusion of ESOL lessons.  This search will also provide you will many adult-appropriate trade (library) books that can be used in your adult education classrooms.

   

         -- OR --

   

  2.          At the Agora, click on Lesson Plans.  Here you will find a lesson plan of the month that you can download immediately.  These lessons will include the Ohio Standard and Benchmarks used in our ABLE programs.  Pay special attention to "how the activity addresses the standard" chart.  This will help you understand how the lesson was developed to include all the components of performance (COPs) of that standard.  If you would like to find all the lessons currently in the database, click on the Lesson Plan Advanced Search link where you can find an alphabetical list of lessons.  The General Format link excludes Ohio's benchmarks and would be the best choice for anyone not from Ohio to download.

   

  This is a project always in development, so check back often.  Additional lessons will be added this summer. If you have questions, please contact Judy Franks at 330-672-0753 or this email jfranks at literacy.kent.edu.  

   

  Good Luck Searching and Enjoy Eureka!  It's a great teacher resource if you're looking for standards-based lesson plans.

   

  Judy

   



------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  ----------------------------------------------------
  National Institute for Literacy
  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
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From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Jun 14 10:23:19 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 10:23:19 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 166]
 =?iso-8859-1?q?Theoretically_You_Can=92t_Teach_Adults_to__Read_a?=
 =?iso-8859-1?q?nd_Write?=
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060614102157.0495ee90@pop.utk.edu>

Posted on behalf of Tom Sticht.

June 12, 2006

Theoretically You Can?t Teach Adults to Read and Write:
But Just Keep On Doing It

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

Why is it so hard to get funding for adult literacy education? Innumerable
studies, reports, TV shows, and statistical surveys in most of the
industrialized nations of the world declare that their nation is being
brought to its economic knees because of widespread low basic skills
(literacy, numeracy) amongst the adult population. But repeated calls for
funding commensurate with the size of the problem go unanswered. Why?

Beneath the popular pronouncements of educators, industry leaders, and
government officials about the importance of adult basic skills development
there flows an undercurrent of disbelief about the abilities of illiterates
or the poorly literate to ever improve much above their present learning.
This was encountered close to a hundred years ago when Cora Wilson Stewart
started the Moonlight Schools of Kentucky in 1911. Her claim that adults
could learn to read and write met with skepticism. As she reported, Quote:
"Some educators, however, declared preposterous the claims we made that
grown people were learning to read and write. It was contrary to the
principles of psychology, they said."  End Quote

Today that undercurrent of disbelief still flows, but today it carries with
it the flotsam and jetsam of "scientific facts" from genetics science,
brain science, and psychological science. Look here at objects snatched
from the undercurrent of disbelief stretching back for just a decade and a
half.

2006. Ann Coulter is a major voice in the conservative political arena. In
her new book, Godless: The Church of Liberalism (Chapter 7 The Left?s War
on Science: Burning Books to Advance "Science" pages 172-174) she clearly
defends the ideas given in Murray & Hernstein?s book The Bell Curve
regarding the genetic basis of intelligence. By extension, since The Bell
Curve uses reading and math tests in the Armed Forces Qualification Test
(AFQT), Coulter is discussing the genetic basis of literacy and numeracy.
In her book she says about The Bell Curve book:

Quote: "Contrary to the party line denying that such a thing as IQ existed,
the book methodically demonstrated that IQ exists, it is easily measured,
it is heritable, and it is extremely important. 
Among many other things,
IQ is a better predictor than socioeconomic status of poverty,
unemployment, criminality, divorce, single motherhood, workplace injuries,
and high school dropout rates. 
Although other factors influence IQ, such
as a good environment and nutrition, The Bell Curve authors estimated that
IQ was about 40 to 80 percent genetic." (p. 173) End Quote

Coulter goes on to discuss the misuse of science in the same chapter in
relation to AIDS and homosexuality, feminism, trial-lawyers law suits, DDT
and environmentalists, abortion and stem cell research, and other topics
that are controversial among large segments of the population but of
mainstream concern in the far right conservative base in the United States.
Because of her position as a best-selling author and spokesperson for
conservative groups, Ann Coulter?s ideas about the genetic basis of
intelligence and high school dropouts can have a profound impact upon
political thinking about basic skills education among adults who have not
achieved well.

2005. The Nobel Prize winning economist James J. Heckman in an interview at
the Federal Reserve Bank region in Chicago discussed his ideas about
cognitive skills and their malleability in later life with members of a
presidential commission consisting of former U.S. senators, heads of
federal agencies, tax attorneys and academic economists. Later in his
interview he discusses what Adam Smith, in his The Wealth of Nations said
and why he, Heckman, disagrees with Smith.

According to Heckman, Adam Smith said, Quote: "
 people are basically born
the same and at age 8 one can't really see much difference among them. But
then starting at age 8, 9, 10, they pursue different fields, they
specialize and they diverge. In his mind, the butcher and the lawyer and
the journalist and the professor and the mechanic, all are basically the
same person at age 8." End Quote Heckman disagrees with this and says:

Quote: This is wrong. IQ is basically formed by age 8, and there are huge
differences in IQ among people. Smith was right that people specialize
after 8, but they started specializing before 8. On the early formation of
human skill, I think Smith was wrong, although he was right about many
other things. 
 I think these observations on human skill formation are
exactly why the job training programs aren't working in the United States
and why many remediation programs directed toward disadvantaged young
adults are so ineffective. And that's why the distinction between cognitive
and noncognitive skill is so important, because a lot of the problem with
children from disadvantaged homes is their values, attitudes and
motivations. 
Cognitive skills such as IQ can't really be changed much
after ages 8 to 10. But with noncognitive skills there's much more
malleability. That's the point I was making earlier when talking about the
prefrontal cortex. It remains fluid and adaptable until the early 20s.
That's why adolescent mentoring programs are as effective as they are. Take
a 13-year-old. You're not going to raise the IQ of a 13-year-old, but you
can talk the 13-year-old out of dropping out of school. Up to a point you
can provide surrogate parenting. End Quote

Here Heckman seems to think of the IQ as something relatively fixed at an
early age and not likely to be changed later in life. But if IQ is measured
in The Bell Curve, a book in which Heckman found some merit, using the AFQT,
which in turn is a literacy and numeracy test, then this would imply that
Heckman thinks the latter may not be very malleable in later life. This
seems consistent with his belief that remediation programs for adults are
ineffective and do not make very wise investments.

2000. It is easy to slip from talking about adults with low literacy ability
to talking about adults with low intelligence. On October 2, 2000, Dan
Seligman, columnist at Forbes magazine, wrote about the findings of the
National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) of 1993 and said, Quote: "But note
that what?s being measured here is not what you?ve been thinking all your
life as "literacy. " The cluster of abilities being examined is obviously a
proxy for plain old "intelligence." End Quote He then goes on to argue that
government programs won?t do much about this problem of low intelligence,
and, by extension, of low literacy.

These types of popular press articles can stymie funding for adult literacy
education. That is one reason why it is critical that when national
assessments of cognitive skills, including literacy, are administered, we
need to be certain about just what it is we are
measuring. Unfortunately, that is not the case with the 1993 NALS or the
more recent 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). These
assessments leave open the possibility of being called "intelligence" tests
leading some, like Seligman, to the general conclusion that the less
literate are simply the less intelligent and society might as well cast
them off  their "intelligence genes" will not permit them to ever reach
Level 3 or any other levels at the high end of cognitive tests.

1998. Dr. G. Reid L yon of the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development provided an Overview of Reading and Literacy Initiatives to the
U. S. Congress Committee on Labor and Human Resources on April 28, 1998. In
his testimony he stated that in learning to read it is important for
children to possess good abilities in phonemic analysis. He stated:

Quote: Difficulties in developing phoneme awareness can have genetic and
neurobiological origins or can be attributable to a lack of exposure to
language patterns and usage during the preschool years
. It is for this
reason that the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) considers reading
failure to reflect not only an educational problem, but a significant
public health problem as well. Within this context, a large research
network consisting of 41 research sites in North America, Europe, and Asia
are working hard to identify (1) the critical environmental, experiential,
cognitive, genetic, neurobiological, and instructional conditions that
foster strong reading development; (2) the risk factors that predispose
youngsters to reading failure; and (3) the instructional procedures that
can be applied to ameliorate reading deficits at the earliest possible
time. End Quote

Discussing why some children may have difficulties learning to read, Lyon
went on to say:

Quote: Children raised in poverty, youngsters with limited proficiency in
English, children with speech and hearing impairments, and children from
homes where the parent's reading levels are low are relatively predisposed
to reading failure. Likewise, youngsters with sub-average intellectual
capabilities have difficulties learning to read, particularly in the
reading comprehension domain. End Quote

Taken together, these statements by a senior government scientist advisor to
both the President and the Congress of the United States indicates that the
NICHD considers that in some cases low literacy may result from genetic,
neurological, sub-average intellectual capability or a combination of these
and other factors. Again, this may contribute to wide-spread beliefs that
adults with low literacy may possess faulty genes, brains, and/or
intellectual abilities and are unlikely to benefit from adult literacy
education programs. From a policy perspective, then, policymakers may think
that funding such programs may be regarded as a poor use of public funds.

1997. In a January 7, 1997 article in the Washington Times , a prominent
newspaper
published in Washington DC and read by many members of Congress, columnist
Ken Adelman wrote:

Quotes: The age-old nature vs. nurture debate assumes immediacy as the new
Congress
and new administration gin up to address such issues as poverty, crime,
drugs, etc. 
This, the most intellectually intriguing debate around, is
moving far toward
nature (and far from nurture) with new evidence presented by an odd pair -
gay activist Chandler Burr and conservative scholar Charles Murray. 
In
brief, their new findings show that 1) homosexuality and 2)
educational-economic achievement are each largely a matter of genes  not
of upbringing. 
If true, as appears so, the scope of effective government
programs narrows. Fate, working through chromosomes, bestows both sexual
orientation and brainpower, which shape one's life and success. Little can
be altered - besides fostering tolerance and helping in any narrow window
left open - through even an ideally designed public program.  (page B-6)
End Quotes

The juxtaposition of homosexuals and those of lower educational and economic
achievement is an obvious rhetorical device meant to stir negative emotions
about both groups, This is a rhetorical device brought back into play by
Coulter in her 2006 book cited above.

1991. One of the beliefs in our culture is that the brain and its
intellectual capacity is  developed  in  early  childhood. There is a
widespread belief that if children's early childhood development is not
properly stimulated, then there is likely to be intellectual
underdevelopment leading to academic  failures, low aptitude, and social
problems such as criminal activity, teenage pregnancy and welfare. It will
be difficult if not impossible to overcome the disadvantages of
deficiencies in early childhood stimulation later in adulthood. So why
invest much in adult education? We need instead to put billions of dollars
into early childhood education.

That these beliefs about the consequence of early childhood development are
widespread is revealed by articles written by prominent journalists in
major newspapers. For instance, on Sunday, October 13, 1991 the San Diego
Union newspaper reprinted an article by Joan Beck, a columnist for the
Chicago Tribune , that argued for early childhood education because,
Quote: "Half of adult intellectual capacity is already present by age 4
and 80 percent by age 8, ... the opportunity to influence [a child's] basic
intelligence - considered to be a stable characteristic by age 17  is
greatest in early life." End Quote

A year earlier in the same newspaper on October 14, 1990 an adult family
literacy educator was quoted as saying, Quote: "Between the ages of zero to
4 we have learned half of everything we'll ever learn in our lives. Most of
that has to do with language, imagination, and inquisitiveness." End Quote
This doesn?t hold out much hope for the adults in family literacy programs.

Joan Beck was quoting research by Benjamin Bloom in the 1960s. But Bloom did
not show that half of one's intellect was achieved by age 4. Rather, he
argued that IQ at age 4 was correlated +.70 with IQ at age 17. Since the
square of .7 is .49, Bloom stated that half of the variance among a group
of adults' IQ scores at age 17 could be predicted from their group of
scores at age 4. But half of the variability among a group of people's IQ
scores is a long way from the idea that half of a given person's IQ is
developed by age 4. This is not even conceptually possible because for one
thing there is no universally agreed to
understanding of what "intelligence" is. Further, even if we could agree on
what "intelligence" is, there is no such thing as "half of one's intellect"
because no one knows what 0 or 100 percent intelligence is. Without knowing
the beginning and end of something we can?t know when we have half of it.

1990. A report by the Department of Defense shows how these beliefs about
the
possibility of doing much for adults can affect government policy. After
studying the job performance and post-service lives of "lower aptitude,"
less literate personnel, the report claimed that they had been failures
both in and out of the military. Then, on February 24, 1990, the Director
of Accession Policy of the Department of Defense commented in the
Washington Post newspaper, Quote: "The lesson is that low-aptitude people,
whether in the military or not, are always going to be at a disadvantage.
That's a sad conclusion." End Quote A similar report of the Department of
Defense study was carried in the New York Times of March 12, 1990. Then on
April 8, 1990 Jack Anderson's column in the Washington Post quoted one of
the Department of Defense researchers saying, Quote: "...by the age of 18
or 19, it's too late. The school system in early childhood is the only
place to really help, and that involves heavy participation by the
parents." End Quote

Regarding the news articles about the Department of Defense studies of "low
aptitude" troops, the conclusions were based on analyses of the job
performance of hundreds of thousands of personnel in both the 1960s and
1980s with Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) scores between the 10th
and the 30th percentiles, the range of scores which the Department  of
Defense studies called "low aptitude."

But contrary to what the Department of Defense researchers and accession
policy maker stated, the actual data show that in both time periods,
while the  low aptitude personnel did not  perform quite  as well
as  those  personnel with aptitudes above the 30th percentile, over 80
percent of the low aptitude personnel did, in fact, perform satisfactorily
and many performed in an outstanding manner. As veterans they had
employment rates and earnings far exceeding their rates and earnings at the
beginning of the study. Further investigation by the media would have
revealed these discrepancies between what the Department of Defense's
researchers said and what the actual findings were. But as it stands, these
popular media types of stories reinforce the stereotypes about adults with
who score low on intelligence or aptitude tests and perform poorly on tests
of the basic skills of literacy and numeracy.

We can find these pieces of scientific debris all the way back to the
Moonlight Schools of 1911. Following her account of those educators and
academics who declared that teaching grown people to read and write was
contrary to the principles of psychology, Cora Wilson Stewart said, Quote:
While they went around saying it couldn?t be done, we went on doing it. We
asked the doubters this question, "When a fact disputes a theory, is it not
time to discard the theory? There was no reply. End Quote

Today when we ask why the funding for adult literacy education is so little
so late, there is still no reply. So we just keep on teaching adults to
read and write. And we do it on the cheap, even though it is theoretically
impossible.

Thomas G. Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
2062 Valley View Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92019-2059
Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
Email: tsticht at aznet.net



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Jun 14 10:36:37 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 10:36:37 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 167] Re: Using standards for instruction and
 assessment
In-Reply-To: <20060613190535.21123.qmail@web30215.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060612103036.045f13f8@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060614103115.048235e0@pop.utk.edu>

Lisa,

If you have an example you can share with us- I'd like to see how your 
students re-wrote one of the standards you used.  Did your students find it 
useful to use the standard as the focus (or guide, as you mention) for the 
learning activity?

Thanks,
Aaron

At 12:05 PM 6/13/2006 -0700, you wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I've been using Equipped for the Future for some time
>now.  I am particularly familiar with the Use Math to
>Solve Problems and Communicate Standard.
>
>One challenge of working with Standards is
>understanding what the components of the standard are
>and keeping the activity in line with the components.
>One of the most important parts of working with a
>standard is to have the students rewrite the
>components in a simple understandable language and
>provide an example of what the component means. The
>standard serves as a guide for completing a learning
>activity.
>
>I can't say that the standards are what makes EFF
>useful.  I have to state that all the parts of EFF
>make it most useful.  I use the EFF Teaching/Learning
>cycle.  This allows for incorporting standards,
>instruction, learning, and assessment. It also allows
>the learners to have imput in the design and outcome
>of the learning activity.
>
>I have been involved in a great deal of professional
>development in using standards.  I was a participant
>in a workshop series concerning the definition and use
>of EFF.  Then, I became a co-facilitator in a series
>of training sessions about using the Use Math to Solve
>Problems and Communicate Standard. Being on both sides
>of the table has given me the opportunity to see EFF
>in theory, in use, and in my own experiences.
>
>Lisa Mullins, ABE Instructor
>Hawkins County Adult Ed. Program
>Rogersville, Tennessee
>
>
>
>
>--- Aaron Kohring <akohring at utk.edu> wrote:
>
> > Greetings all,
> >
> > I've received a request for feedback from several
> > instructors who would
> > like to hear from other teachers using standards for
> > instruction and
> > assessment.  What have been your challenges in using
> > standards in the
> > classroom?  What types of support do you need from
> > your program or
> > state?  Did you participate in any specific
> > professional development
> > activities?
> >
> >
> > 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)
> > 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
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------
> > National Institute for Literacy
> > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
> > please go to
> >
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> >
>
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
>http://mail.yahoo.com
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Jun 14 11:55:02 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 11:55:02 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 168] Discussion on Health Literacy starting June
 19, Study Circles  and a Skills-Based Approach to Health Literacy
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060614115053.048235e0@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

You may be interested in this discussion next week on a skills-based 
approach to health literacy.
Aaron

**********************************************************
I am happy to announce a discussion next week on the Health Literacy
list. We will be
talking about the Health Literacy Study Circles+, a series of
facilitator guides published by NCSALL, which introduces teachers to a
skills-based approach
to Health Literacy.

Our guest speakers will be Winston Lawrence, senior professional
development associate with the Literacy Assistance Center in New York
City, and Lisa Soricone, a research associate and former fellow at the
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL).

Together they piloted these study circles with adult learners in New
York City, and wrote about their experience through an interview in
"Focus on Basics" (FOB). Please see this article for more information
about the study circles, and to prepare for this discussion:

A Conversation with FOB: Learning How to Teach Health Literacy
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=995

We look forward to our first formal discussion on the Health Literacy
List! Please pass on this information to any colleagues who may be
interested, they can join the list (and then unsubscribe afterwards if
they wish) at the following link:

www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/healthliteracy


Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org



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)
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



From lmullins89 at yahoo.com  Thu Jun 15 09:01:40 2006
From: lmullins89 at yahoo.com (Lisa Mullins)
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 06:01:40 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [ContentStandards 169] Re: Using standards for instruction and
	assessment
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060614103115.048235e0@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <20060615130140.50839.qmail@web30208.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Aaron,
Thanks for asking.
This is an example of how one group of learners
rewrote one EFF Standard.  The learners do this so
that they know what to do and what is expected of
them.  I use a chart with three or four columns.  The
first is the EFF version, the second is the students'
version, the third is our plan for how we will
accomplish these steps, and the fourth is the results,
or how we carried it out in our activity.  I often use
this as an assessment tool to verify that the students
have completed the task.

Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate

*Understand, interpret, and work with pictures,
numbers, and symbolic information	
-We need to know what we are working with: numbers,
pictures, symbols, or graphs
	
*Apply knowledge of math to solve problem, answer
question, make prediction, or carry out a task	
-We need to determine the questions/problems and
decided how to use the numbers, formulas, or
operations to find answers.
	
*Define and select data 	
-We need to find the correct numbers or information
useful for this problem.
	
*Determine the degree of precision 	
-We need to decide if we should estimate, round, or be
exact in our answers	

*Solve problem using appropriate quantitative
procedures and check	
-We need to use math to find an answer, and decide if
the answer makes sense or is reasonable.	

*Communicate results using a mathematical
representations, including graphs, charts, tables, and
algebraic models	
-We need to explain the answer and how we got it to
others.  	

Thanks again,

Lisa Mullins
Hawkins County AE
Tennessee
 



--- Aaron Kohring <akohring at utk.edu> wrote:

> Lisa,
> 
> If you have an example you can share with us- I'd
> like to see how your 
> students re-wrote one of the standards you used. 
> Did your students find it 
> useful to use the standard as the focus (or guide,
> as you mention) for the 
> learning activity?
> 
> Thanks,
> Aaron
> 
> At 12:05 PM 6/13/2006 -0700, you wrote:
> >Hello,
> >
> >I've been using Equipped for the Future for some
> time
> >now.  I am particularly familiar with the Use Math
> to
> >Solve Problems and Communicate Standard.
> >
> >One challenge of working with Standards is
> >understanding what the components of the standard
> are
> >and keeping the activity in line with the
> components.
> >One of the most important parts of working with a
> >standard is to have the students rewrite the
> >components in a simple understandable language and
> >provide an example of what the component means. The
> >standard serves as a guide for completing a
> learning
> >activity.
> >
> >I can't say that the standards are what makes EFF
> >useful.  I have to state that all the parts of EFF
> >make it most useful.  I use the EFF
> Teaching/Learning
> >cycle.  This allows for incorporting standards,
> >instruction, learning, and assessment. It also
> allows
> >the learners to have imput in the design and
> outcome
> >of the learning activity.
> >
> >I have been involved in a great deal of
> professional
> >development in using standards.  I was a
> participant
> >in a workshop series concerning the definition and
> use
> >of EFF.  Then, I became a co-facilitator in a
> series
> >of training sessions about using the Use Math to
> Solve
> >Problems and Communicate Standard. Being on both
> sides
> >of the table has given me the opportunity to see
> EFF
> >in theory, in use, and in my own experiences.
> >
> >Lisa Mullins, ABE Instructor
> >Hawkins County Adult Ed. Program
> >Rogersville, Tennessee
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >--- Aaron Kohring <akohring at utk.edu> wrote:
> >
> > > Greetings all,
> > >
> > > I've received a request for feedback from
> several
> > > instructors who would
> > > like to hear from other teachers using standards
> for
> > > instruction and
> > > assessment.  What have been your challenges in
> using
> > > standards in the
> > > classroom?  What types of support do you need
> from
> > > your program or
> > > state?  Did you participate in any specific
> > > professional development
> > > activities?
> > >
> > >
> > > 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)
> > > 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
> > >
> > >
> ----------------------------------------------------
> > > National Institute for Literacy
> > > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> > > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> > > To unsubscribe or change your subscription
> settings,
> > > please go to
> > >
>
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> > >
> >
> >
> >__________________________________________________
> >Do You Yahoo!?
> >Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam
> protection around
> >http://mail.yahoo.com
>
>----------------------------------------------------
> >National Institute for Literacy
> >Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> >ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> >To unsubscribe or change your subscription
> settings, please go to 
>
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> 
> 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)
> 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
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
> please go to
>
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 


From KUTHFAM at aol.com  Thu Jun 15 22:30:59 2006
From: KUTHFAM at aol.com (KUTHFAM at aol.com)
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 22:30:59 EDT
Subject: [ContentStandards 170] Re: Using standards for instruction and
	assessment
Message-ID: <4cc.195b41f.31c371e3@aol.com>

 
In a message dated 6/15/2006 9:22:54 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
lmullins89 at yahoo.com writes:

Use Math to  Solve Problems and Communicate

*Understand, interpret, and work with  pictures,
numbers, and symbolic information    
-We need to  know what we are working with: numbers,
pictures, symbols, or  graphs

*Apply knowledge of math to solve problem,  answer
question, make prediction, or carry out a task    
-We  need to determine the questions/problems and
decided how to use the  numbers, formulas, or
operations to find answers.

*Define and select data     
-We need to find the correct  numbers or information
useful for this problem.

*Determine the degree of precision     
-We need to decide if  we should estimate, round, or be
exact in our answers     

*Solve problem using appropriate quantitative
procedures and  check    
-We need to use math to find an answer, and decide  if
the answer makes sense or is reasonable.     

*Communicate results using a mathematical
representations,  including graphs, charts, tables, and
algebraic models    
-We  need to explain the answer and how we got it to
others.       

Thanks again,

Lisa Mullins
Hawkins County  AE
Tennessee







This is "studentese" - excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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From Khinson at future-gate.com  Sun Jun 18 14:01:43 2006
From: Khinson at future-gate.com (Katrina Hinson)
Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2006 20:01:43 +0200
Subject: [ContentStandards 171] Re: Using standards for instruction
	and	assessment
In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20060612103036.045f13f8@pop.utk.edu>
References: <5.1.0.14.2.20060612103036.045f13f8@pop.utk.edu>
Message-ID: <44955CC4.121D.00A0.0@future-gate.com>

I've read through all the information related to this thread. I'm
curious as to why EFF standards are the only one mentioned. 
Unfortunately in my state, as of yet, there isn't any "one" set of
standards that we have to use and at the same time, I think there is a
definite need for there to be some set of standards. I've been looking
at different resources for different programs around the country and one
that I came across that was very thorough was Florida's Frameworks. You
can find more information here:
http://www.firn.edu/doe/dwdframe/ad/ad_frame.htm

I hear and see a lot about EFF on the lists sometimes, and yet keep
coming back to the question  - is it the ONLY model that works? Is it
all there is? If not, why don't we hear more about other options and
other standards that are in place? What is it about EFF that makes it 
the one most talked about?

I'm still in the information gathering stage and before my
school/program picks a set of standards or develops our own, I really
want to know what's out there and yet, repeatedly it seems the field is
narrowed to only EFF standards being discussed. Why is that? I'm curious
to know what other standards there are besides EFF?

Regards
Katrina Hinson

>>> Aaron Kohring <akohring at utk.edu> 6/12/2006 10:31 am >>>
Greetings all,

I've received a request for feedback from several instructors who would

like to hear from other teachers using standards for instruction and 
assessment.  What have been your challenges in using standards in the 
classroom?  What types of support do you need from your program or 
state?  Did you participate in any specific professional development 
activities?


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)
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

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From RSherman at air.org  Mon Jun 19 08:27:44 2006
From: RSherman at air.org (Sherman, Renee)
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 08:27:44 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 172] Re: Using standards for
	instructionand	assessment
Message-ID: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D70185A090@dc1ex3.air.org>

A number of states have developed standards in the core content areas.
You can find state and other standards for math, reading and English
language acquisition on the following Web site
http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org   In addition to being a
repository of content standards, the Web site allows you to expore
different sponsors' standards across a common framework within the
content area.  The Web site also has a "Process Guide for Establishing
State Adult Education Content Standards"  in addition to other field
resources which will be helpful as your program adopts or develops its
own standards.

Renee  


American Institutes for Research 
1000 Thomas Jefferson, NW 
Washington, DC 20007-3541 
202-403-5327 
rsherman at air.org 


-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson
Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2006 2:02 PM
To: AE Content Standards
Subject: [ContentStandards 171] Re: Using standards for instructionand
assessment

I've read through all the information related to this thread. I'm
curious as to why EFF standards are the only one mentioned. 
Unfortunately in my state, as of yet, there isn't any "one" set of
standards that we have to use and at the same time, I think there is a
definite need for there to be some set of standards. I've been looking
at different resources for different programs around the country and one
that I came across that was very thorough was Florida's Frameworks. You
can find more information here:
http://www.firn.edu/doe/dwdframe/ad/ad_frame.htm

I hear and see a lot about EFF on the lists sometimes, and yet keep
coming back to the question  - is it the ONLY model that works? Is it
all there is? If not, why don't we hear more about other options and
other standards that are in place? What is it about EFF that makes it
the one most talked about?

I'm still in the information gathering stage and before my
school/program picks a set of standards or develops our own, I really
want to know what's out there and yet, repeatedly it seems the field is
narrowed to only EFF standards being discussed. Why is that? I'm curious
to know what other standards there are besides EFF?

Regards
Katrina Hinson

>>> Aaron Kohring <akohring at utk.edu> 6/12/2006 10:31 am >>>
Greetings all,

I've received a request for feedback from several instructors who would

like to hear from other teachers using standards for instruction and
assessment.  What have been your challenges in using standards in the
classroom?  What types of support do you need from your program or
state?  Did you participate in any specific professional development
activities?


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)
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

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards




From djrosen at comcast.net  Mon Jun 19 09:30:36 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (djrosen at comcast.net)
Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 13:30:36 +0000
Subject: [ContentStandards 173]  Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki
Message-ID: <061920061330.14293.4496A6FB000D4DBB000037D52206998499020A9C019D060B@comcast.net>

Colleagues,

The Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki now has 30 topics, a newly designed 
front page, over 730 pages of content, and more  than 600 subscribers.  Every week adult literacy educators add new content.

The ALE Wiki is a community of practice and a professional development 
treasurehouse.  Check it out -- or visit again -- at:

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page

For some of the topic areas we still nead Topic Area Leaders.  If you are interested in learning more about this, please email me.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net


From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jun 26 14:30:44 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 14:30:44 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 174] Discussion on FOB List this week: Shaping
 and Sustaining Learner Engagement
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060626142927.047e4800@pop.utk.edu>


****************************************
Discussion on Focus on Basics List
June 26-30
Shaping and Sustaining Learner Engagement
with Hal Beder

Next week we are pleased to have Hal Beder as a guest to discuss his
recent FOB article about learner engagement. Hal is a professor at
Rutgers University and has studied adult literacy for more than 30
years. He is the project director for NCSALL at Rutgers and for the
National Labsite for Adult Literacy Education.

Please read the article at the link below, and prepare any comments or
questions for Hal and other readers to send in on Monday.

Shaping and Sustaining Learner Engagement in Individualized Group
Instruction Classrooms
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1106

To subscribe to the Focus on Basics List, please got to:

www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org



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)
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



From mnguyen at nifl.gov  Wed Jun 28 11:41:31 2006
From: mnguyen at nifl.gov (My Linh Nguyen)
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:41:31 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: [ContentStandards 175] National Institute for Literacy Appoints New
	Staff
Message-ID: <20060628154131.AF61146555@dev.nifl.gov>

Hello everyone,

My name is My Linh Nguyen, and I am the new Associated Director of
Communications for the National Institute for Literacy. I would like to take
this opportunity to introduce myself along with three other new hires at the
Institute. The press release below introduces each of the four new hires and
identifies our roles and backgrounds. Thank you, and I look forward to
working with all of you. 


       National Institute for Literacy Appoints New Staff

The National Institute for Literacy has appointed four new staff members to
expand its capacity to contribute to improvements in adult, adolescent,
childhood and early childhood literacy.  

Andrea Grimaldi has joined the Institute as Senior Project Officer
in Early Childhood Literacy. She will be responsible for planning and
managing the Institute's work on early childhood literacy. She will also
oversee dissemination of the National Early Literacy Panel Report, expected
to be released in late 2006. 

My Linh Nguyen has joined the Institute as Associate Director of
Communications. In this capacity, she will plan and manage communications
activities designed raise awareness of literacy issues and the Institute's
products and services. 

The two other new staffers will join the Institute in July. Susan
Boorse, who will serve as Executive Officer, will have responsibility for
budgetary and financial management activities as well as administrative
functions. Heather Wright has been selected to serve as Dissemination
Specialist. In this capacity, she will plan and oversee implementation of
the Institute's print and electronic products to ensure that they are widely
and easily available.

"The arrival of these four individuals signals an exciting new era for the
National Institute for Literacy," said Dr. Sandra Baxter, the Institute's
Director. "Each of them brings fresh ideas and new perspectives along with
their diverse backgrounds and expertise. Their presence will reenergize our
existing programs and help us carry out new efforts to better serve the
adult and childhood literacy communities."

All four new appointees have a wide variety of experience in their
fields.

Ms. Grimaldi has more than a decade of experience as an early
childhood education teacher, program manager, and trainer. Most recently,
she served as the training manager for professional development with the
Public Broadcasting Service's (PBS) five-year Ready To Learn Initiative to
prepare young children for success in school through educational television,
web-based media and training for parents and teachers.

Ms. Nguyen comes to the Institute from the Delaware River Port
Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where she served as manager of
corporate communications and public information officer. She is a former
general assignment reporter and copy editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Ms. Boorse served in the Peace Corps for eight years as an
administrative and budget officer. She also served four years as a VISTA
volunteer, working with a literacy program in Philadelphia, a rural school
district in Mississippi, and a fledgling Philadelphia Habitat for Humanity
affiliate. 

Ms. Wright comes to the Institute from the Montgomery County
Department of Public Libraries in Maryland, where, as Children's Librarian,
she was involved in early literacy programs for babies, toddlers,
preschoolers and elementary-school children. Her previous professional
background is in the field of marketing research, where she conducted many
research studies to measure the needs of customers and target markets, both
in the library setting and in the private sector. 
	
The National Institute for Literacy provides leadership on literacy
issues, including the improvement of reading instruction for children,
youth, and adults. In consultation with the U.S. Departments of Education,
Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Institute serves as a national
resource on current, comprehensive literacy research, practice, and policy.


My Linh Nguyen
Associate Director of Communications
National Institute for Literacy
(202) 233-2041
fax (202) 233-2050
mnguyen at nifl.gov




From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Jun 28 11:51:10 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:51:10 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 176] Job Announcement: College Transition
	Co-Director
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060628114938.03218680@pop.utk.edu>

The following announcement is posted on behalf of Silja Kallenbach.
Aaron

****************************************************
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
COLLEGE TRANSITION CO-DIRECTOR

The New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC)/ World Education is
looking to hire a full-time College Transition Co-Director to work as a
member our College Transition Leadership Team. NELRC is part of World
Education, Inc., a Boston non-profit organization that provides training
and technical assistance in adult education. See www.nelrc.org,
www.collegetransition.org and www.worlded.org for more information.

Responsibilities
With the support of the NELRC Director and Administrative Assistant, and
in coordination with the College Transition Leadership Team:
* Provide leadership and technical assistance to build agreements
and align practices between adult and postsecondary education
institutions and systems * Provide training and technical assistance to adult
educators on
preparing adult learners for postsecondary education and training
* Plan and help implement regional and national training events
* Help identify and document promising practices
* Co-manage the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project
* Prepare reports and occasional presentations to funders and
NELRC Board
* Work closely with the Nellie Mae Education Foundation
* Contribute to ongoing strategic planning and new program
development at NELRC and the Literacy Division.
* Participate in the World Education Literacy Division staff
meetings, committees and activities

Qualifications
* Expertise in one or more content areas of college preparation
* Knowledge of or work experience in adult education preferred * Knowledge of
postsecondary education and training systems
* Demonstrated ability to organize and manage multifaceted
projects, meet deadlines and be self directed
* Proven experience in designing and facilitating training * Excellent
communication and interpersonal skills; ability to
work well as a member of a team
* Strong writing skills
* Strong computer skills: Microsoft Word, Excel
* This job requires travel within the New England region and
nationally, access to a car required.
* Master's degree or higher

Compensation: $55,000 - $60,000 based on experience, plus excellent
benefits.

Please send a cover letter and resume by August 15, 2006 to Ben Bruno,
Administrative Assistant, NELRC/World Education, 44 Farnsworth Street,
Boston, MA 02210. Fax: 617-482-0617. Email: bbruno at worlded.org No
calls, please.

World Education is an equal opportunity/ affirmative action employer
with a strong commitment to workforce diversity. Voluntary information
in this regard is welcome. M/F/V/H/D 6/2006



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)
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



From bhartson at rscj.org  Wed Jul  5 16:25:27 2006
From: bhartson at rscj.org (Betsy Hartson)
Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2006 16:25:27 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 177] Re: National Institute for Literacy Appoints
 New Staff
In-Reply-To: <20060628154131.AF61146555@dev.nifl.gov>
References: <20060628154131.AF61146555@dev.nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <p06110410c0d073822b89@[10.0.1.2]>

>Welcome to all. I look forward to working with you in this great 
>goal of literacy. Sister Betsy Hartson, Living Wages





>Hello everyone,
>
>My name is My Linh Nguyen, and I am the new Associated Director of
>Communications for the National Institute for Literacy. I would like to take
>this opportunity to introduce myself along with three other new hires at the
>Institute. The press release below introduces each of the four new hires and
>identifies our roles and backgrounds. Thank you, and I look forward to
>working with all of you.
>
>
>        National Institute for Literacy Appoints New Staff
>
>The National Institute for Literacy has appointed four new staff members to
>expand its capacity to contribute to improvements in adult, adolescent,
>childhood and early childhood literacy. 
>
>Andrea Grimaldi has joined the Institute as Senior Project Officer
>in Early Childhood Literacy. She will be responsible for planning and
>managing the Institute's work on early childhood literacy. She will also
>oversee dissemination of the National Early Literacy Panel Report, expected
>to be released in late 2006.
>
>My Linh Nguyen has joined the Institute as Associate Director of
>Communications. In this capacity, she will plan and manage communications
>activities designed raise awareness of literacy issues and the Institute's
>products and services.
>
>The two other new staffers will join the Institute in July. Susan
>Boorse, who will serve as Executive Officer, will have responsibility for
>budgetary and financial management activities as well as administrative
>functions. Heather Wright has been selected to serve as Dissemination
>Specialist. In this capacity, she will plan and oversee implementation of
>the Institute's print and electronic products to ensure that they are widely
>and easily available.
>
>"The arrival of these four individuals signals an exciting new era for the
>National Institute for Literacy," said Dr. Sandra Baxter, the Institute's
>Director. "Each of them brings fresh ideas and new perspectives along with
>their diverse backgrounds and expertise. Their presence will reenergize our
>existing programs and help us carry out new efforts to better serve the
>adult and childhood literacy communities."
>
>All four new appointees have a wide variety of experience in their
>fields.
>
>Ms. Grimaldi has more than a decade of experience as an early
>childhood education teacher, program manager, and trainer. Most recently,
>she served as the training manager for professional development with the
>Public Broadcasting Service's (PBS) five-year Ready To Learn Initiative to
>prepare young children for success in school through educational television,
>web-based media and training for parents and teachers.
>
>Ms. Nguyen comes to the Institute from the Delaware River Port
>Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where she served as manager of
>corporate communications and public information officer. She is a former
>general assignment reporter and copy editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
>
>Ms. Boorse served in the Peace Corps for eight years as an
>administrative and budget officer. She also served four years as a VISTA
>volunteer, working with a literacy program in Philadelphia, a rural school
>district in Mississippi, and a fledgling Philadelphia Habitat for Humanity
>affiliate.
>
>Ms. Wright comes to the Institute from the Montgomery County
>Department of Public Libraries in Maryland, where, as Children's Librarian,
>she was involved in early literacy programs for babies, toddlers,
>preschoolers and elementary-school children. Her previous professional
>background is in the field of marketing research, where she conducted many
>research studies to measure the needs of customers and target markets, both
>in the library setting and in the private sector.
>
>The National Institute for Literacy provides leadership on literacy
>issues, including the improvement of reading instruction for children,
>youth, and adults. In consultation with the U.S. Departments of Education,
>Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Institute serves as a national
>resource on current, comprehensive literacy research, practice, and policy.
>
>
>My Linh Nguyen
>Associate Director of Communications
>National Institute for Literacy
>(202) 233-2041
>fax (202) 233-2050
>mnguyen at nifl.gov
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Jul  6 10:13:10 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 10:13:10 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 178]  Upcoming Discussion of Persistence Study
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060706101107.0498a7c8@pop.utk.edu>

Please note the upcoming discussion announcement posted on behalf of David 
Rosen,
Moderator of the Special Topics Discussion List.

Aaron
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colleagues,

On the Special Topics discussion list from July 10th-18th, Dr. John Comings,
Director of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
(NCSALL), will be a guest to discuss his research on student persistence in
adult literacy education.

John introduces the discussion this way:

"When a group of us at World Education were preparing to write the proposal
for the funds that have supported NCSALL, we surveyed practitioners and policy
makers around the country to help us design our research agenda. Almost 500
people participated in the survey. We asked the survey participants to send us
the questions that they wanted answered to help them improve practice in ABE,
ESOL, and GED programs. One question was at the top of the list for teachers
and second on everyone else's list. One teacher phrased it this way, "Just
when they begin to make progress, many students leave the program. How can I
keep those students long enough that they can meet their educational goals?"

That question formed the basis of a three-phase study of persistence. The
first two phases are complete. The first phase surveyed the literature,
interviewed 150 students in the six New England states, and identified ways
that programs were trying to support the persistence of their students. The
report of that first phase can be found at:

<http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report12.pdf>

In the second phase, 9 library literacy programs were provided with funds to
implement interventions that might help improve persistence, and our study
team observed the programs and interviewed their staff and students. We also
followed a cohort of 180 students for 14 months. The report of that second
phase can be found at:

<http://www.mdrc.org/publications/401/overview.html>

We are prepared to implement the third phase, but NCSALL no longer has funding
to begin a new research project. This next phase would test three
interventions. One would add persistence supports to existing classroom
programs, one would use a wide range of modes of learning (in programs and
through self study on-line and in other ways) that more closely match the way
adults manage their learning, and the third would combine these two
approaches. I believe the third approach is a promising way to solve the
persistence problem, as well as it can be solved.

I'm looking forward to your questions, but I would also be interested in
practical ideas of how to build support to persistence and how to expand
opportunities for learning."

-----

Special Topics is an intermittent discussion list. The topics open and close
throughout the year, so there are periods where there will be no discussion or
postings. You can subscribe to the e-list for a particular topic of interest,
and then unsubscribe, or you can stay subscribed throughout the year. To
participate in this topic, you can subscribe by going to:

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics

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



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)
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



From kabeall at comcast.net  Mon Jul 10 19:19:15 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:19:15 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 179]  New from NCSALL--Adult Student Persistence
Message-ID: <001f01c6a477$432a7fc0$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

Study Circle Guide: Adult Student Persistence

 

Newly revised to include the second phase of the NCSALL research on adult
student persistence, this guide provides comprehensive instructions for
facilitating a 10?-hour study circle. It explores what the research says
about adult student persistence and ideas for how to apply what is learned
in classrooms and programs. The guide is based on a review of the NCSALL
research on adult student persistence conducted by John Comings and others,
summarized in an article entitled ?Supporting the Persistence of Adult Basic
Education Students? and other studies on student motivation and retention.
It includes articles, resources, and action research reports to help
practitioners consider strategies for increasing adult student persistence.
This guide provides all the necessary materials and clear instructions to
plan and facilitate a three-session study circle with an option for a
fourth. Each session lasts three-and-a-half hours.

 

To download the study circle guide, visit NCSALL?s Web site:
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=896

 

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Jul 11 10:23:35 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 10:23:35 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 180]  ProLiteracy Worldwide Job Opportunity
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060711102245.047efd98@pop.utk.edu>

_________________________________________________________________________

Program Manager Job Opportunity-

ProLiteracy Worldwide is accepting applications for a full-time Program
Manager. This position is structured for telecommuting and is responsible
for the implementation and ongoing management of the UPS-funded Volunteers
in ABE Initiative Project as well as all reporting required for the project.

This project runs from mid-September 2006 through March 2008. Bachelor's
degree in a relevant field (e.g., ed., mgt, etc.). Graduate degree
preferred. A strong background in ESL/adult literacy/adult ed or volunteer
program mgt. Experience in the development of resource materials for adult
literacy practitioners. Experience with publicly funded Adult Basic
Education programs preferred. Effective communication and public
presentation/training skills.

Send resume to ProLiteracy Worldwide/ HR, 1320 Jamesville Avenue, Syracuse,
NY 13210, or e-mail: frontdesk at proliteracy.org. See website for a detailed
job description, www.proliteracy.org. Deadline for applications is July
17th. EEO



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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Jul 11 11:31:12 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 11:31:12 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 181] Fwd: [Assessment 396] Math discussion
	available
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060711112726.04a0ae40@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

For those interested in Mathematics, note the links below summarizing the 
recent discussions on the Assessment List focusing primarily on teaching 
math for the GED, math anxiety, and working with adults with math-related 
learning disabilties.

Aaron


>Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2006 12:33:27 -0400
>From: Marie Cora <marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com>
>Subject: [Assessment 396]  Math discussion available
>Sender: assessment-bounces at nifl.gov
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>         <mailto:assessment-request at nifl.gov?subject=subscribe>
>List-Unsubscribe: <http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment>,
>         <mailto:assessment-request at nifl.gov?subject=unsubscribe>
>List-Archive: <http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/assessment>
>List-Help: <mailto:assessment-request at nifl.gov?subject=help>
>List-Id: The Assessment Discussion List <assessment.nifl.gov>
>
>Hi everyone,
>
>
>
>I ve prepared the Math Discussion with Myrna and it is now posted at the 
>ALE 
>Wiki: 
><http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Assessment_Information>http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Assessment_Information 
>and click on Discussions.
>
>
>
>This will also be posted shortly at the NIFL Assessment Discussion Guest 
>Archives: 
><http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/list_guests.html>http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/list_guests.html
>
>
>
>I hope you find this useful if you do use it in some way, please let me 
>know how you have done so.  This is really helpful information for us the 
>more we know about how you use the Discussion Lists, the better we can 
>serve your needs.
>
>
>
>Also I just wanted to note that the math discussion on the Women & Lit 
>List is carrying on and it continues to be extremely interesting.
>
>
>
>Thanks!!
>
>
>
>Marie Cora
>
>Assessment Discussion List Moderator
>
>
>
>
>
>
>-------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Assessment mailing list
>Assessment at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment

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)
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



From MMaralit at NIFL.gov  Wed Jul 12 10:08:34 2006
From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo)
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 10:08:34 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 182] Persistence Among Adult Education Students
	Video and transcript
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B0E59BC27@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

The National Institute for Literacy and the National Center for the Study of
Adult Learning and Literacy present Persistence Among Adult Education
Students Panel Discussion

This 30 minute video focuses on persistence in ABE, ESOL, and GED programs,
and features a NCSALL study entitled, "Supporting the Persistence of Adult
Basic Education Students."

Dr. John Cummings presentation examines student persistence in adult
education programs. He presents a working definition of persistence,
examines existing research, and describes NCSALL's three-phase study of the
factors that support and inhibit persistence. Other panelist include two
practitioners, Kathy Endaya and Ernest Best.  

You will find the video streamed and transcript by going to:
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/persistence/persistence_cast.html

You may need to cut and paste the whole web address in your browser,  
or you could try this shorter version: http://tinyurl.com/s6tcu
Macintosh users will need to select the Quicktime format for viewing  
the presentation.

The DVD of the panel will be available within the next two months, for more
information, contact info at nifl.gov.

Also, it is not too late to join in on the Special Topics list discussion
with Dr. Cummings, for more information, go to:
http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/specialtopics/2006/000088.html

Jo Maralit
National Institute for Literacy
mmaralit at nifl.gov
http://www.nifl.gov/  


From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Jul 14 15:58:39 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 15:58:39 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 183] ProLiteracy seeking exemplary ABE programs
	for research
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060714155525.0322fd70@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

See the announcement below from ProLiteracy.
Aaron
**************************************************************

Adult Education Programs:

ProLiteracy America is conducting research concerning best practices in ABE
programs that utilize volunteers to provide additional support. 5-8 programs
will be selected as exemplary programs.

We invite you to nominate your program to be a part of this exciting effort
if it meets the following criteria or to pass this information on to an ABE
program that does.

Exemplary Program Nomination Criteria:
1.Delivers instruction primarily through classes taught by paid
instructors
2.Receives most of its funding from federal WIA and state education
grants
3.Uses the National Reporting System (NRS) to measure outcomes
4.Utilizes volunteers in program or support services
5.Has had a minimum of two years of active volunteer involvement
6.Can identify how the involvement of volunteers has positively
impacted the quality and quantity of instruction related services to ESL
and/or ABE students, with special interest being given to impacts on
low-level ESL students
7.Has a person responsible for volunteer coordination
(Person may have other roles in program)

Selected programs will receive a $3,000 stipend and national recognition as
one of eight model ABE programs.

The attached file contains the exemplary program nomination form and further
details.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly by
e-mail or phone. Send your completed nominations to ProLiteracy by e-mail
(info at proliteracy.org) or by fax (315-422-6369). Nominations must be
received by July 27, 2006. Programs will be selected by August 1, 2006.

Regards,
Mary Hohensee
Project Researcher
Proliteracy America
mary at adultlit.org
717-940-0929



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)
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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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jul 17 09:29:30 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:29:30 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 184]  Questions on ESOL Level Descriptors in NRS
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20060717092650.04887250@pop.utk.edu>

Greetings all,

Those of you working with ESOL standards may be interested in the following 
guests on the Assessment Discussion List.
Aaron

****************************************************************

To subscribe to the Assessment Discussion List, go 
to:  http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Assessment

Good morning, afternoon, and evening to you all.  I hope this email finds 
you well.

I wanted to let everyone know that during this week, Larry Condelli from 
AIR (American Institutes of Research), who works with the NRS, and Sarah 
Young, from CAL (Center for Applied Linguistics) who works with BEST Plus 
will be available to answer any questions you might have regarding the 
changes in ESOL Level Descriptors, which go into effect this summer (this 
month I believe).  I also encourage anyone who has questions regarding 
other ESOL tests (CASAS or EFF for example) to join in this Q&A.  Because 
the Level Descriptors have been adjusted, the tests used to track learning 
gains also have undergone some shifting and it is important that we 
understand what these changes are.

Larry and Sarah will be present on the List during this week, but perhaps 
intermittently  replies may not come immediately.  I encourage you to post 
your question to the List, or to send your question to me for posting, if 
you prefer that.

Larry, Sarah, and others working with any of the ESOL tests  feel free to 
jump in and give us a thumbnail sketch of what the changes are and how they 
might affect our work in programs and with students.

The NRS homepage is located at:  http://www.nrsweb.org/

To view information on the NRS Level Descriptors, please go 
to:  http://www.nrsweb.org/reports/NewESLdescriptors.pdf

At the bottom of the NRS homepage, see also:  NRS Changes for Program Year 2006

Thanks so much  I'm looking forward to understanding this information, and 
hearing what folks questions are regarding the changes.

Marie T. Cora
Assessment Discussion List Moderator
marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com





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)
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



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Jul 19 10:17:20 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 10:17:20 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 185]  Adult Numeracy _ Mathematics Resources
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A07E44E2B@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

With the high interest in Math instruction & Adult Numeracy topics,
please note some websites and resources below that may be of interest to
you.

Adult Numeracy Network (ANN): http://www.literacynet.org/ann/
"What is ANN?  We are a community dedicated to quality mathematics
instruction at the adult level. We support each other, we encourage
collaboration and leadership, and we influence policy and practice in
adult math instruction."

The National Institute for Literacy's Science and Numeracy Special
Collection: http://literacynet.org/sciencelincs/
"The National Institute for Literacy Science and Numeracy Special
Collection provides annotated links to Internet sites that are useful
for teaching and learning about science and numeracy. The topics have
been arranged according to the national education standards in science
and in numeracy.
The collection emphasizes the ways in which science and math skills are
important to understanding the world around us."

The Math Forum @ Drexel: http://mathforum.org/teachers/adult.ed/
"This page offers a selection of good sites to visit for information
about adult numeracy."

Does anyone else have websites or resources on Adult Numeracy that they
can share with us?

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)
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 


From djrosen at comcast.net  Wed Jul 19 10:39:48 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 10:39:48 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 186] Re: Adult Numeracy _ Mathematics Resources
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A07E44E2B@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
References: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A07E44E2B@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <C459311B-E5E3-40BB-9F4D-0C6BB280997B@comcast.net>

Aaron, and others,

There are lists of good, free online math resources at:

1) The Literacy List
http://www.newsomeassociates.com
	Select Publications at bottom of the page
		Select The Literacy List
			Select Web sites for Teachers and Students
				Select Numeracy/Mathematics

2) Harnessing Technology to Serve Adult Literacy
	From the Publications page on the Newsome Associates Web site,  
select Harnessing Technology
		Select  Math

3) The YouthBuild Learning Network GED Math resources

	http://tinyurl.com/fupvc

		Resources for teachers and students. Scroll down the page to GED Math

	http://tinyurl.com/fupvc

		Resources for students


David J. Rosen
newsomeassociates.com
djrosen at comcast.net


On Jul 19, 2006, at 10:17 AM, Kohring, Aaron M wrote:

> Greetings all,
>
> With the high interest in Math instruction & Adult Numeracy topics,
> please note some websites and resources below that may be of  
> interest to
> you.
>
> Adult Numeracy Network (ANN): http://www.literacynet.org/ann/
> "What is ANN?  We are a community dedicated to quality mathematics
> instruction at the adult level. We support each other, we encourage
> collaboration and leadership, and we influence policy and practice in
> adult math instruction."
>
> The National Institute for Literacy's Science and Numeracy Special
> Collection: http://literacynet.org/sciencelincs/
> "The National Institute for Literacy Science and Numeracy Special
> Collection provides annotated links to Internet sites that are useful
> for teaching and learning about science and numeracy. The topics have
> been arranged according to the national education standards in science
> and in numeracy.
> The collection emphasizes the ways in which science and math skills  
> are
> important to understanding the world around us."
>
> The Math Forum @ Drexel: http://mathforum.org/teachers/adult.ed/
> "This page offers a selection of good sites to visit for information
> about adult numeracy."
>
> Does anyone else have websites or resources on Adult Numeracy that  
> they
> can share with us?
>
> 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)
> 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
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to  
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards







From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Jul 21 09:09:55 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:09:55 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 187] Upcoming Guest on the Workplace Literacy
	Discussion List
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A080BFA2F@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

Please note the upcoming guest on the Workplace Literacy Discussion
List.
Aaron

________________________________________________

Guest Discussion: Workplace Literacy 
 
Monday, July 24  -  Friday, July 28
 
Guest: Alison Campbell - please see Alison's bio below 
 
To subscribe to the Workplace List, go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Workplace/ 
 
 
Colleagues,
 
Next week, Monday July 24 - Friday July 28, we are privileged to have ,
as a guest on the Workplace Literacy Discussion List ,  Alison Campbell
of the Conference Board of Canada. Many of you already know of her work,
but for those of you who don't, she has 3 websites that I consider
sister sites of the Workforce Education site. Where our Workforce site
is geared more toward adult education instructors with a workforce
focus, her sites are geared more toward business and industry employers
who want and/or need to upgrade their workers' literacy skills. The
Conference Board is also responsible for quite a lot of good research
which Alison has been a part of. 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Bio
Alison Campbell
       
Alison Campbell is a Senior Research Associate with the Education and
Learning practice at The Conference Board of Canada. She acts as lead
researcher, author and web site manager on various research projects in
the area of workplace education and learning. This year, Alison is also
managing the Conference Board's International Workplace Education and
Learning Conference: Sharing Global Solutions (Toronto, December 5-6,
2006).

In 2005, Alison authored Profiting from Literacy: Creating a Sustainable
Workplace Literacy Program and co-authored Literacy, Life and
Employment: An Analysis of Canadian International Adult Literacy Survey
(IALS) Microdata. In 2003, Alison authored Strength from Within:
Overcoming the Barriers to Workplace Literacy Development as part of a
national research study on the challenges employers face in designing
and implementing workplace literacy and basic skills programs. In 2002,
she co-managed a national study in the U.S. on the impacts of joint
labor-management education programs. She co-authored the final report:
Success by Design: What Works in Workforce Development. Alison currently
manages a pilot project on the benefits of a national credit review
service to improve credentialing opportunities for workplace education. 

Her work on workplace literacy and basic skills development extends
beyond Canada to the United States. Alison manages and makes updates to
www.work-basedlearning.org, www.scorecardforskills.com and
www.workplacebasicskills.com - a suite of web sites funded by the U.S.
Department of Education that act as free resources to American employers
and their partners who wish to improve employees' skills.
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
As you can tell from her bio, Alison has expertise in many areas of
workplace literacy.  Attached to this message is a complete listing of
her publications and presentations, which are available for free
download on the Conference Board site.  You must, however, register with
the site to access them. (Sign in at
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/boardwiseii/Signin.asp and when you have
the option, browse documents by "author" choosing "Campbell, Alison.")
Access to the web sites does not require registration, and they are
linked in her bio above. Alison is willing to discuss with us any of the
areas of workplace literacy on her web sites or in her publications. It
should be a wide-ranging discussion!  I hope you will be able to
participate!
 
Donna
 
Donna Brian, moderator
Workplace Literacy Discussion List
Center for Literacy Studies at The University of Tennessee
djgbrian at utk.edu
 
 


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)
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 


From kabeall at comcast.net  Mon Jul 24 11:19:59 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 11:19:59 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 188]  New from NCSALL--Training Guides
Message-ID: <003101c6af34$a11cb090$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

Practitioner Research Training Guide: Research-based Adult Reading
Instruction

This practitioner research training guide provides comprehensive
instructions for facilitating a 31-hour training that guides practitioners
through an investigation of a problem related to reading. The practitioners
conduct the research in their own classrooms. This guide provides all the
necessary materials and clear instructions to plan and facilitate a
four-session practitioner research training. The sessions vary in length.

To download the training guide, go to
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1143

 

Training Guide: Study Circle Facilitators

This training guide provides comprehensive instructions for preparing
experienced adult education practitioners to facilitate NCSALL study
circles. The training focuses on the NCSALL study circle, Research-based
Adult <http://www.ncsall.net/?id=892>  Reading Instruction. However, the
training can be adapted to prepare facilitators for NCSALL study circles in
general or on another topic. The guide provides all the necessary materials
and clear instructions to plan and facilitate a one-day, study circle
facilitators training. The training is six hours in length.

To download the training guide, go to
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=1137

 

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From leellington at vcu.edu  Tue Jul 25 14:54:44 2006
From: leellington at vcu.edu (Lauren E Ellington/FS/VCU)
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 14:54:44 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 189] Re: Adult Numeracy _ Mathematics Resources
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A07E44E2B@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <OFB45BEE2D.D21BF3C3-ON852571B6.00675506-852571B6.0067E5B3@vcu.edu>

Sorry that this is so late but this is a list of links that we have 
created through our Virginia Numeracy Project.

A+ Math 
http://www.aplusmath.com

AAA Math 
http://www.aaamath.com

Donna Young?s Math Website 
http://math.donnayoung.org 

Everyday Math Resources 
A list of interactive math manipulatives 
http://www.center.k12.mo.us/edtech/everydaymath.htm 

GEDTS - Math Study 
Problems most often missed on GED 
http://www.floridatechnet.org/gedplus/GED%20PLUS%20Math%20Update.pdf 

Math.com: The World of Math Online 
http://math.com/ 

MegaConverter 
MegaConverter is a truly useful and fascinating tool to convert 
measurements of all types. 
http://www.megaconverter.com/mega2 

National Institute of Literacy's Science and Numeracy Special Collection 
The National Institute for Literacy Science and Numeracy Special 
Collection provides annotated links to Internet sites that are useful for 
teaching and learning about science and numeracy. The topics have been 
arranged according to the national education standards in science and in 
numeracy. 
http://literacynet.org/sciencelincs/ 

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives 
This is a National Science Foundation supported project that began in 1999 
to develop a library of uniquely interactive, web-based virtual 
manipulatives or concept tutorials, mostly in the form of Java applets, 
for mathematics instruction (K-12 emphasis). Learning and understanding 
mathematics, at every level, requires student engagement. Mathematics is 
not, as has been said, a spectator sport. Too much of current instruction 
fails to actively involve students. One way to address the problem is 
through the use of manipulatives, physical objects that help students 
visualize relationships and applications. We can now use computers to 
create virtual learning environments to address the same goals. 
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html 

National Teachers of Mathematics' Illuminations 
Virtual Activities and Lessons 
http://illuminations.nctm.org/ 

Purplemath: Your Algebra Resource 
http://purplemath.com 

Skillswise by BBC 
Fractions, decimals, and percentages 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/fractiondecimalpercentage/ 

TV411 Think Math DVD 
With a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), ALMA has produced 
the TV411 Think Math DVD for use in adult education classrooms across the 
country. The DVD features 8 video segments from the TV411 broadcast series 
that embed useful math lessons in everyday situations to engage adults and 
motivate them to learn; lesson plans for teachers of adult learners on the 
topics of fractions and percents, basic geometry and perimeter, ratios and 
rates, and number patterns and data analysis; links to lessons and 
interactive, online games on our website that reinforce the math content; 
and a link to public television schedules posted on www.tv411.org. 
http://www.tv411.org/DVD/ 

The Adult Numeracy Network 
http://www.literacynet.org/ann/ 

The Algebra Project Online 
http://www.algebra.org 

The EMPower Project 
http://empower.terc.edu 

The Math Forum at Drexel University 
http://mathforum.org 

ThinkQuest: Math 
http://www.thinkquest.org/library/cat_show.html?cat_id=9 

University of North Carolina's How Many? A Dictionary of Units of 
Measurement 
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/ 

Workplace Math Skills from the Iowa Literacy Resource Center 
http://readiowa.org/workplacemath/contents.html 

?A Foundation for Learning Math? by Jan Phillips 
http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu/fob/1997/phillips.htm 

?Accommodating Math Students with Learning Disabilities? by Rochelle 
Kenyon 
http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu/fob/2000/kenyon.html 

?Applying Research on the Last Frontier? by Karen Backlund with Kathy Bond 

http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu/fob/1997/bachlund.htm 

?Beginning Math for Beginning Readers? by Linda Huntington 
http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu/fob/2000/hunting.html 

**************************************************************
Lauren Ellington
Online Training Specialist, 
Learning Disabilities Specialist, and
Writer of Update and Update on LD
Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
Virginia Commonwealth University
817 W. Franklin Street, Room 221  |  P.O. Box 842037
Richmond, VA  23284-2037
Phone:  1-800-237-0178 or  804-828-6158 
Fax:  804-828-7539
www.valrc.org



"Kohring, Aaron M" <akohring at utk.edu> 
Sent by: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
07/19/2006 10:17 AM
Please respond to
The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List 
<contentstandards at nifl.gov>


To
<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
cc

Subject
[ContentStandards 185]  Adult Numeracy _ Mathematics Resources






Greetings all,

With the high interest in Math instruction & Adult Numeracy topics,
please note some websites and resources below that may be of interest to
you.

Adult Numeracy Network (ANN): http://www.literacynet.org/ann/
"What is ANN?  We are a community dedicated to quality mathematics
instruction at the adult level. We support each other, we encourage
collaboration and leadership, and we influence policy and practice in
adult math instruction."

The National Institute for Literacy's Science and Numeracy Special
Collection: http://literacynet.org/sciencelincs/
"The National Institute for Literacy Science and Numeracy Special
Collection provides annotated links to Internet sites that are useful
for teaching and learning about science and numeracy. The topics have
been arranged according to the national education standards in science
and in numeracy.
The collection emphasizes the ways in which science and math skills are
important to understanding the world around us."

The Math Forum @ Drexel: http://mathforum.org/teachers/adult.ed/
"This page offers a selection of good sites to visit for information
about adult numeracy."

Does anyone else have websites or resources on Adult Numeracy that they
can share with us?

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)
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 
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Jul 27 16:06:52 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 16:06:52 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 190] Adult Numeracy _ Mathematics Resources
	Followup
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A0885A2F0@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Thank you David and Lauren for sharing your links to a number of
resources on Adult Numeracy.  If you missed any of these postings, you
can check the public archives at:
http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/contentstandards/2006/date.html

There was one particular link that I noted that may be of interest to
those instructors helping to prepare learners for the GED- GEDTS - Math
Study Problems most often missed on GED
http://www.floridatechnet.org/gedplus/GED%20PLUS%20Math%20Update.pdf 

Do others have additional resources they'd like to share with us?  What
about numeracy resources/instructional materials for continuing on to
post-secondary education?

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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jul 31 09:23:41 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 09:23:41 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 191] Upcoming panel discussion on working with
	literacy-level adult English language learners
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A08C4F7C6@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

*****************************
 
Dear colleagues,

I am happy to announce an upcoming panel discussion on the adult English
language list on working with literacy-level adult English language
learners.  The discussion will be the week of August 7-11, with further
questions, comments, and information-sharing welcome after that. 
 
[to subscribe to the English language list, go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Englishlanguage]
 
Background Information  
Some teachers-especially those new to teaching adult English language
learners-express concern about teaching learners who aren't literate in
their native language or never went to school. In many ways, this
concern is unwarranted. Having or not having had access to formal
education does not correlate to cognitive functioning, interest, and
energy. Most literacy-level learners will need explicit instruction in
basic literacy skills (e.g., phonological  processing, vocabulary
development, syntactical processing). However, these learners bring an
array of lifeskills knowledge (often including some oral proficiency and
knowledge of American culture) problem-solving skills, and enthusiasm to
the process.   
 
Still, teachers and administrators sometimes feel challenged by
questions such as:
 
*	Who are the literacy-level adult ESL learners? 
*	What skills do literacy-level learners need to develop? 
*	How can programs and administrators effectively support
literacy-level adult English language learners and their teachers? 
*	What are effective instructional practices in the literacy
class? 
*	What are effective needs assessment activities for
literacy-level adult English language learners? 
*	What other approaches and activities are effective with
literacy-level learners? 
*	What resource are helpful for teachers? 
*	What instructional materials are effective for literacy-level
learners-to help them acquire skills they need to reach their personal
goals? 
Process of the Discussion
To address these and other questions, nine adult ESL and refugee content
experts have graciously accepted my invitation to answer questions and
share ideas on the topic of literacy-level learners in adult ESL. Within
this group are teachers, program administrators, cultural orientation
specialists, curriculum designers, assessment experts, and authors of
teacher resources and literacy-level materials for learners.  Members of
the panel have worked extensively as volunteers, teachers, and
administrators, in learning labs and online, in general ESL, workplace
and work readiness programs, transition programs, family literacy,
refugee programs, in the United States and overseas from Mongolia to
(the then) Zaire.  I started adding up the panelists' years of
experience, but stopped when it topped 100 years. 
 
To organize this discussion with so many panelists, I will offer a short
biography of each panelist, which includes their areas of particular
expertise-although each panelist is knowledgeable in many areas related
to adult ESL, refugees, and  immigration.  
 
In this way, you can direct a question or comment to a specific panelist
(e.g., a question about literacy-level learners in family literacy would
be directed to the family literacy expert).  However, all panelists, as
well as the very many of you on the list who are also experts, please
jump in at any time. 
 
I will post the nine biographies next week, a few days before the panel
begins.
 
The panelists will be: 
 
Sanja Bebic, Director, Cultural Orientation Resource Center, Center for
Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC http://www.culturalorientation.net/
 
MaryAnn Cunningham Florez, Lead ESL Specialist, Arlington Education and
Employment Program (REEP), Arlington, Virginia
http://www.arlington.k12.va.us/instruct/ctae/adult_ed/REEP/
 
Debbie Jones, EL/Civics Literacy Coordinator, Arlington Education and
Employment Program, Arlington, Virginia
http://www.arlington.k12.va.us/instruct/ctae/adult_ed/REEP/
 
Sharon McKay, ESL Specialist, Center for Adult English Language
Acquisition, Washington, DC http://ww.cal.org/caela
 
Donna Moss, Family Literacy Coordinator, Arlington Education and
Employment Program (REEP), Arlington, Virginia
http://www.arlington.k12.va.us/instruct/ctae/adult_ed/REEP/
 
Barb Sample, Director of Educational Services, Spring Institute for
Intercultural Learning, Denver, Colorado
http://www.spring-institute.org/
 
Kate Singleton, Healthcare Social Worker, Fairfax INOVA Hospital,
Fairfax, Virginia
 
Sharyl Tanck, Program Coordinator, Cultural Orientation Resource Center,
Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC
http://www.culturalorientation.net/
 
Betsy Lindeman Wong, Online facilitator, ESOL Basics, Virginia Adult
Learning Resource Center, Richmond, Virginia http://www.valrc.org/
 
 
Pre-Discussion Reading
If you are interested in reading more about literacy-level adult English
language learners before August 7, here a few selected resources:

"Beginning ESOL Learners' Advice to Their Teachers." 
 
Mental Health and the Adult Refugee: The Role of the ESL Teacher
 
What Non-readers or Beginning Readers Need to Know: Performance-based
ESL Adult Literacy (Brod, 1999, ERIC No. ED 433 730 available from
www.eric.ed.gov)
 
Working With Literacy-Level Adult English Language Learners 
 
 
Lynda Terrill
Adult English language discussion list moderator
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition
Center for Applied Linguistics
4646 40th St, NW
Washington, DC 20016
202-362-0700, ext 543
lterrill at cal.org
 



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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jul 31 09:30:26 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 09:30:26 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 192] Upcoming Guest Speaker on LD Discussion List
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A08C4F852@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

The following discussion on the Learning Disabilities List may be of
interest to those working with adults with learning disabilities.
Instructions for subscribing to the list are below.
Aaron

***********************************************

Hello all,
 
I am very pleased to announce that Nancie Payne has accepted my
invitation as a Guest Speaker during the week of August 7-11, 2006.  
 
Beginning in July, we had a thread being discussed on the List that
eventually became the "LD Discrepancy Model" topic.  That topic is the
one that I have asked Nancie to address during her week with us.  I want
to ask subscribers to begin thinking about questions they want to
propose to Nancie.  Since Nancie is already a subscriber on this List,
she will see each of your suggestions as they are posted.
 
Please feel free to let your colleagues know of this wonderful
opportunity to hear from and interact with one of the leaders in the
field of adults with Learning Disabilities.  Information about
subscribing to the List is at the bottom of this message.
 
Lastly, I am including Nancie Payne's resume for your information.
 
Nancie Payne, President of Payne & Associates, Inc. and the Northwest
Center for the Advancement of Learning, is nationally recognized for
thirty years of work in education and workplace-based services for
children and adults with learning and cognitive disabilities.  She
consults with adult education, literacy, basic skills and GED
instruction programs as well as correction facilities, employment and
training agencies, human service organizations, and business on ways to
create productive learning environments and maximize the potential of
those with special learning needs.  She has provided consultation in
twenty-nine states and has developed and implemented the Payne Learning
Needs Inventory and screening tools, facilitating long-term, system-wide
change of service delivery models in the District of Columbia, Indiana,
California, Oregon, Arkansas, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee,
Vermont, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Illinois, Mississippi, Rhode Island, North
Carolina and Washington.  She is a consultant for GED Testing Services.
Ms. Payne has written numerous articles and book chapters on
facilitating learning, assessment of special needs, transition to
employment, and workplace accommodations.  In 2000 a Brookes publication
entitled Meeting the Challenge of Learning Disabilities in Adulthood by
Arlyn Roffman, Ph.D. features Ms. Payne's personal insight about the
impact of learning disabilities.  Ms. Payne has a B.A. from the
Evergreen State College in Liberal Arts, emphasis in
Education-Administration and a M.S. from Chapman University School of
Business and Economics in Human Resource Management and Organizational
Development.  Her civic work includes serving on the President's
Committee for Employment of People with Disabilities Taskforce,
Washington D.C.; participating in a National Institute for Literacy
National Congress; past member of the National Learning Disabilities
Research & Training Center Advisory Board; and serving her third term as
a member of the National Learning Disabilities Association Professional
Advisory Board.  She is a member of the National Rehabilitation
Association, the National Learning Disabilities Association, and the
Commission on Adult Basic Education. She is currently an 18-year board
member and past president of the Thurston County Economic Development
Board of Directors and she serves on the Pacific Mountain Workforce
Development Council Board of Directors as Chairperson.
 
 
I look forward to reading the questions you post for Nancie Payne.
 
Thanks very much,
 
 
Rochelle
 
Rochelle Kenyon, Moderator
National Institute for Literacy 
Learning Disabilities Discussion List
RKenyon721 at aol.com 
 
To subscribe: 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/LearningDisabilities 
 
To read archived messages:
http://www.nifl.gov/linc/discussions/list_archives.html
 

*******************************************
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)
Coordinator, Equipped for the Future Websites (http://eff.cls.utk.edu/)

 


From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Jul 31 14:37:04 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 14:37:04 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 193]  Job Posting from ProLiteracy Worldwide
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A08CCDBDB@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Hi all,

Please note the job posting from ProLiteracy Worldwide below.
Aaron

**********************************************


PROLITERACY WORLDWIDE JOB OPPORTUNITY

Project Manager

Full-time position responsible for the implementation and ongoing
management of the performance accountability project as well as all
reporting required.


This project runs through April 2009.  Bachelor's in a relevant field
(e.g., ed., mgt, etc.). Graduate degree preferred.  Demonstrated success
in literacy or ABE program management and implementing accountability
systems.
Experience in the development and delivery of professional development
for adult education and literacy practitioners.  Contracting experience
with trainers and materials developers a plus.  A minimum of three years
experience in project management.  Excellent written and oral
communication, and public presentation skills.  Must have team-oriented
working style.
Strong word processing skills required.  Structured for telecommuting if
outside central New York.  10-15% travel required.  

Send resume to ProLiteracy Worldwide/ HR, 1320 Jamesville Avenue,
Syracuse, NY 13210, or e-mail: frontdesk at proliteracy.org.  See website
for information about ProLiteracy Worldwide and a detailed job
description, www.proliteracy.org.  

Deadline for applications is August 7th.  EEO  

**********************************************************

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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Aug  3 08:49:40 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 08:49:40 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 194]  Poverty, Race,
	& Literacy Discussion List Guest next week
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A08FF586F@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Guest Discussion: Poverty, Race, & Literacy 
Monday, August 7-  Friday, August 11
 
Guest: Andy Nash- please see Andy's bio below
 
To participate, sign up for the list at
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Povertyliteracy
 
 
Literacy Discussion List Colleagues,
 
Next week, Monday August 7 - Friday August 11, we have the great good
fortune to have as a guest on the Poverty, Race, & Literacy Discussion
List Andy Nash, Staff Development Specialist at the New England Literacy
Resource Center at World Education.  As you can see from her bio below,
Andy has experience in lots of different adult education literacy areas,
but her overarching concern has been relating literacy to social justice
and advocacy for participation in our democracy.  
 
Andy introduces this discussion by asking *us* some questions (see
paragraph 2 below).  She intends to learn from us as we learn from her.
 
Please read her bio and look up The Change Agent
(www.nelrc.org/changeagent) and, if you would like to participate in the
discussion, join the list at
<http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Povertyliteracy> and be ready
starting Monday to participate in a lively discussion about literacy and
social justice issues!
 
Donna
 
Donna Brian, Moderator
Poverty, Race, and Literacy Discussion List
Center for Literacy Studies at The University of Tennessee
djgbrian at utk.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Andy Nash's bio:
My work in adult education over the past 20 years has focused on
building the capacity of adults to use their developing skills to be
more informed and active participants in a democracy. I've brought this
perspective to my work in ESOL, civic participation, worker education,
family literacy, standards-based education, and many years of resource
and professional development.

Having just finished editing a new resource about bringing issues of
social justice into the classroom (see below), I am interested in
thinking about the role such materials can play in adult ed. Do you find
resources for talking about issues such as gentrification or
globalization useful, or do you think educators should stick to more
immediately tangible issues such as advocating for more affordable
daycare, interpreters at clinics, etc.? In the short amount of time we
have, is it necessary to stick with the "local," which is often speaking
up for better community services, or are your students also interested
in more general problems such as growing incarceration rates, the
war(s), or the current debate over whether a president has the right to
sidestep federal laws passed by Congress? In the interest of being as
participatory and responsive to students as possible, does it matter if
an issue gets raised by the teacher rather than being initiated by the
students? And, of course, what does it all have to do with improving
basic academic, language, and job skills?

These are all questions we think about when we work on The Change Agent
(www.nelrc.org/changeagent), a biannual social justice newspaper for
adult educators and learners published by the New England Literacy
Resource Center at World Education. It was conceived in 1994 as a tool
to educate and mobilize teachers and learners to apply advocacy skills
in response to impending federal funding cutbacks for adult education.
The first issue was so well received by teachers that we continued to
produce more issues. Now well established as a unique resource within
the adult education community, The Change Agent continues to promote
social action as an important part of the adult learning experience.
Each issue explores a different social justice theme through news
articles, opinion pieces, classroom activities and lessons, poems,
cartoons, interviews, project descriptions, and printed and Web-based
resources.

"Through the Lens of Social Justice: Using The Change Agent in Adult
Education" is a newly published book that celebrates The Change Agent's
first decade by gathering its best and most timeless pieces and by
offering guidance for educators in how to use the paper.

Chapter 1 introduces readers to the kinds of articles and tools that are
available in The Change Agent and how they can be used. These
include: "Ways In," short visual or textual prompts that can be used
with students to draw out their experiences, questions, and concerns
about social issues; "Issue Analyses," articles that examine an issue
(prisons, school vouchers, health care, etc.) by looking at how our
systems work and for whose benefit; and "Students Making Change,"
accounts of students who have used what they have learned to take some
kind of individual or collective action outside the classroom. 

Chapter 2 provides guidance in how teachers can use the articles to
build thematic curriculum units, with sample units for ABE, ESOL, and
GED. And Chapter 3 is a collection of articles about the challenges of
bringing social justice issues into the classroom and the creative
strategies that teachers have used to deal with those challenges. To see
sample pages from the book, go to www.nelrc.org/publications/cabook.html

******************************************************************

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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Aug  4 10:40:42 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 10:40:42 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 195]  NEW POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION RESOURCE
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A09294956@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

You may be interested in the following resource announcement from the
Public Education Network on postsecondary education.  Does it tell us
anything about the content of our instruction in preparing learners for
further educational opportunities?

Aaron

***********************************
NEW POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION RESOURCE IS NOW AVAILABLE A new guide for
high school and college professionals to help them assist underserved
students, independent students, those with disabilities, and foster
youth prepare academically, financially, and emotionally for
postsecondary education and training success is now available FREE from
Casey Family Programs. "The It's My Life: Postsecondary Education and
Training " gives professionals the recommendations, strategies, and
resources they need to improve their work with young people for college
success. It is a valuable resource for educators, counselors, and child
welfare professionals who work with youth of transition age. The guide
includes: links to online resources on preparation, study skills,
financial aid, and student housing ; a comprehensive guide to
standardized tests ; a step-by-step plan for applying for financial aid
; resources for students with special needs ; checklists for students in
each secondary grade level ; and retention strategies focusing on
underrepresented students . It provides eight recommendations and
numerous strategies for helping young people begin and succeed in
postsecondary programs. The recommendations include: Fostering high
postsecondary aspirations; Encouraging long-term educational and career
planning; Stressing rigorous academic preparation; Supporting students
in taking standardized tests; Supporting students in choosing, applying
for, and enrolling in postsecondary education; Helping students obtain
adequate financial aid; Engaging young adults who have missed out on
postsecondary preparation; and Helping students adjust to and complete
their college program.
http://www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/IMLPostsecondaryEd.htm   



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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Aug  4 10:44:35 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 10:44:35 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 196] Call for proposals for Conference on Family
	Literacy
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A092949A3@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

*********************************

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) invites you to submit a
proposal for presentation at the 16th Annual National Conference on
Family Literacy, March 4-6, 2007, in Orlando, Florida. NCFL is
especially interested in session presentations that share successful,
specific outcomes and strategies that work well for the diverse
populations family literacy serves. Proposals are welcome from literacy
practitioners and are encouraged from professionals in administration,
policy and research. Deadline for submission of proposals is September
29, 2006.
 
For further information and to access the "Call for Conference
Proposals" form, please visit http://www.famlit.org/Conference/index.cfm


************************************


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)
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 


From Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov  Tue Aug  8 17:01:37 2006
From: Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov (Nguyen, My Linh)
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 17:01:37 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 197] NIFL Hosts Live Webcast on NAAL Findings for
	Below Basic & Basic Adults
Message-ID: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D4959101193DF@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>

Join the National Institute for Literacy for a LIVE webcast on:
Adults with Basic and Below Basic Literacy Levels: Findings from NAAL and
Implications for Practice.
Featuring Dr. Sheida White, Dr. John Strucker, & Brian Bosworth, and
moderated by Lori Aratani

WHEN: August 15, 2006 
1:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. EST 

The webcast can be viewed from your computer. We encourage you to register
in advance. To register for this webcast go to:
<http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=26758&s=1&k=EC4046F499FFDA3117E9FDB1758666EB>
For more information about this webcast, go to: <http://www.nifl.gov/>
 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------


The National Institute for Literacy is hosting a live webcast on Tuesday,
August 15 at 1:30 p.m. to discuss the results of the National Assessement of
Adult Literacy (NAAL) 2003, specifically relating to Americans who tested in
the Below Basic and Basic literacy levels. The webcast will feature Dr.
Sheida White, of the National Center for Education Statistics, who served as
project officer for the NAAL, who will present the findings of the NAAL for
Below Basic and Basic levels. In addition, there will be a panel of
subject-matter experts who will discuss what implications the NAAL findings
for Below Basic and Basic adults will have on programs. The panelists
include John Strucker, of the National Center for Adult Literacy and
Learning, will discuss basic skills; and Brian Bosworth, of the consulting
firm FutureWorks, will discuss implications for workforce programs.
 
The live webcast will feature: 

*	Dr. Sheida White directs the National Assessment of Adult Literacy
at the National Center for Education Statistics (or NCES). After working as
a full-time reading researcher for 6 years, she joined NCES in 1991.  During
the first 8 years at NCES, she monitored the National Assessment of
Education Progress (NAEP).  Since 1999, she has been directing the NAAL
project. Her articles have appeared in journals such as Language in Society
and Reading Research Quarterly.
*	John Strucker, Ed.D., is a Lecturer in Education and Research
Associate at the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and
Literacy (NCSALL) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He teaches a
laboratory practicum course at Harvard, "Developing Reading in Adults and
Older Adolescents," and he has been the principal investigator on two
large-scale assessment projects, NCSALL's Adult Reading Components Study
(ARCS) and the joint NCSALL/ETS Level 1 Study.  
*	Brian Bosworth is the founder and President of FutureWorks, a
private consulting and public policy research firm in Belmont,
Massachusetts, that builds regional institutions and strategies for economic
growth, workforce education, and civic improvement.  

The webcast will be moderated by Lori Aratani, Education Staff Writer at the
Washington Post.  


My Linh Nguyen
Associate Director of Communications
National Institute for Literacy
(202) 233-2041
fax (202) 233-2050
mnguyen at nifl.gov



From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Aug 11 13:28:52 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 13:28:52 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 198] newly revised LINCS Assessment Special
	Collection website launched
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A0CDA69D7@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Dear colleagues,

I hope this email finds you well.

I'm so happy to announce the launch of the newly revised site of the
LINCS Assessment Special Collection.  Please go to:
http://literacy.kent.edu/Midwest/assessment/ to check it out.

The site has on-line resources and materials that are organized based on
the roles of people involved in the work, but please do not limit
yourself to any one particular role area - many resources will be of
interest to you in other areas.  In addition, while many resources are
cross-posted, many are not, so I encourage you to surf around or do a
keyword search at the site.  

Got a great cyber resource that you don't see in the Assessment
Collection and you think it should be there?  Definitely let me know
about it and I will make sure it gets into the review process for
possible addition to the Collection.  I'm very interested in resources
for use by teachers and tutors in the classroom, self assessment
materials for students/learners, and any assessment materials from our
international colleagues (I would like to build an international
section).

Thanks!  Let me know what you think!!



marie

Marie Cora
NIFL Assessment Discussion List Moderator
marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com
Coordinator, LINCS Assessment Special Collection
http://literacy.kent.edu/Midwest/assessment/
 

*************************************************************

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)
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 


From Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov  Mon Aug 14 09:52:26 2006
From: Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov (Nguyen, My Linh)
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 09:52:26 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 199] Reminder NIFL Webcast on NAAL findings for
	Basic & Below Basic Adults
Message-ID: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D4959101194B9@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>

Hi All,

Just a reminder to join the National Institute for Literacy for a LIVE
webcast on:
Adults with Basic and Below Basic Literacy Levels: Findings from NAAL and
Implications for Practice.
Featuring Dr. Sheida White, Dr. John Strucker, & Brian Bosworth, and
moderated by Lori Aratani

WHEN: August 15, 2006
1:30 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. EDT

We encourage you to register in advance. To register for this webcast go to:


<http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=26758&s=1&k=EC4046F499FFDA3117E9FDB1758666EB>

For more information about this webcast, go to: <http://www.nifl.gov/>
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The National Institute for Literacy is hosting a live webcast on Tuesday,
August 15 at 1:30 p.m. EASTERN TIME to discuss the results of the National
Assessement of Adult Literacy (NAAL) 2003, specifically relating to
Americans who tested in the Below Basic and Basic literacy levels. The
webcast will feature Dr. Sheida White, of the National Center for Education
Statistics, who served as project officer for the NAAL, who will present the
findings of the NAAL for Below Basic and Basic levels. In addition, there
will be a panel of subject-matter experts who will discuss what implications
the NAAL findings for Below Basic and Basic adults will have on programs.
The panelists include John Strucker, of the National Center for  Adult
Literacy and Learning, will discuss basic skills; and Brian Bosworth, of the
consulting firm FutureWorks, will discuss implications for workforce
programs.

The live webcast will feature:

*	Dr. Sheida White directs the National Assessment of Adult Literacy
at the National Center for Education Statistics (or NCES). After working as
a full-time reading researcher for 6 years, she joined NCES in 1991.  During
the first 8 years at NCES, she monitored the National Assessment of
Education Progress (NAEP). Since 1999, she has been directing the NAAL
project. Her articles have appeared in journals such as Language in Society
and Reading Research Quarterly.

*	Dr. John Strucker is a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of
Education whose research for NCSALL has focused on adult reading
development. He previously taught and assessed adults with reading
difficulties at the Community Learning Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

*	Brian Bosworth is the founder and President of FutureWorks, a
private consulting and public policy research firm in Belmont,
Massachusetts, that builds regional institutions and strategies for economic
growth, workforce education, and civic improvement.

The webcast will be moderated by Lori Aratani, Education Staff Writer at the
Washington Post.

Please note: For anyone unable to view the webcast live, the National
Institute for Literacy will be archiving this webcast on its website
www.nifl.gov approximately one week later. 


My Linh Nguyen
Associate Director of Communications
National Institute for Literacy
(202) 233-2041
fax (202) 233-2050
mnguyen at nifl.gov



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Aug 14 09:56:38 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 09:56:38 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 200] Standards section updated on the Adult
	Literacy Education Wiki
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A0E6DF8A3@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

The Standards section of the Adult Literacy Wiki has now been updated:
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Standards

It includes information about online resources, websites, and standards
implementation in the U.S. The webpage also has links to other resources
such as International Standards.  Thanks to our colleagues on this list
who provided much of this information. 

If you have new or updated information that you can provide, please feel
welcome to submit it at any time.

Sincerely,
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)
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 


From sbeaman at webster.edu  Tue Aug 15 16:14:17 2006
From: sbeaman at webster.edu (Sarah Beaman-Jones)
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:14:17 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 201] Re: Standards section updated on the Adult
 Literacy Education Wiki
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A0E6DF8A3@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
References: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A0E6DF8A3@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <a06210203c107dadfa99a@[10.10.138.248]>

Aaron,
Missouri is planning to pilot our new standards this fall.  We have 
volunteer sites that cover both rural and urban and including ESOL. 
Some of the standards, particularly the Read with Understanding 
standard reflect the EFF model.  All standards and indicators were 
written by teachers and passed through a steering committee.
-- 
Sarah Beaman-Jones
Literacy Program Developer
LIFT-Missouri
815 Olive Street, Suite 22
St. Louis, MO 63101
1-800-729-4443
1-314-678-4443 x206
1-314-678-2938 [fax]
http://lift-missouri.org


From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Aug 15 16:40:00 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:40:00 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 202] Re: Standards section updated on the Adult
	Literacy Education Wiki
In-Reply-To: <a06210203c107dadfa99a@[10.10.138.248]>
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A135703AC@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Sarah,

Thanks so much for the update on Missouri.  I've added an updated blurb
to the Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki's page on Standards to
reflect this: http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Standards

Although I have volunteered as the topic leader for this section of the
Wiki, I certainly want to encourage others out there who may wish to
update their own content information- please feel welcome to do so.
That's one of the features of the ALE Wiki- you can contribute to the
content also.  However, I will be happy to also add new information as
it becomes available.

Are others finding this information on the ALE Wiki useful?  How are you
using it?

Aaron
 

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Sarah
Beaman-Jones
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 4:14 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 201] Re: Standards section updated on the
Adult Literacy Education Wiki

Aaron,
Missouri is planning to pilot our new standards this fall.  We have
volunteer sites that cover both rural and urban and including ESOL. 
Some of the standards, particularly the Read with Understanding standard
reflect the EFF model.  All standards and indicators were written by
teachers and passed through a steering committee.
--
Sarah Beaman-Jones
Literacy Program Developer
LIFT-Missouri
815 Olive Street, Suite 22
St. Louis, MO 63101
1-800-729-4443
1-314-678-4443 x206
1-314-678-2938 [fax]
http://lift-missouri.org
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov  Wed Aug 16 08:54:57 2006
From: Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov (Nguyen, My Linh)
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 08:54:57 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 203]  NAAL Webcast to be Archived
Message-ID: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D4959101194FD@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>

On behalf of the National Institute for Literacy, thank you to everyone who
tuned in to yesterday's live webcast on the results of the NAAL findings for
adults who scored in the Basic and Below Basic categories. And thank you to
our panelists: Dr. Sheida White of the National Center for Education
Statistics, Dr. John Strucker of the National Center for the Study of Adult
Learning and Literacy, and Mr. Brian Bosworth of FutureWorks. For those who
missed the live webcast or would like to see it again, we will be archiving
the webcast on our website www.nifl.gov in about one week. We'll send an
announcement when it is ready. Thank you.

My Linh Nguyen
Associate Director of Communications
National Institute for Literacy
(202) 233-2041
fax (202) 233-2050
mnguyen at nifl.gov



From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Aug 17 15:58:26 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 15:58:26 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 204]  Standards and skills for ESL instruction
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A137D5EF3@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

I have some questions from a new ESL instructor who is preparing lesson
plans for the coming year and is curious about the topic of
'Standards-based Instruction'.
Aaron

***********************************

"My students' intake forms have a stated goal of learning to speak
better English so I thought I should concentrate my instruction on the
standards- speaking and listening.  I know that reading and writing in
English are also important skills so I plan to teach those standards
also.  Are there other standards or skills that I should be teaching?
What challenges do you face in teaching these other skills?  Are there
resources available that focus on these skill areas?"

************************************



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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Aug 22 11:02:50 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 11:02:50 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 205] Re: Standards and skills for ESL instruction
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A137D5EF3@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A13C1F8AB@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

After speaking more with the ESL instructor who posted the questions
below, I have some additional details.  She has taught in ABE classroom
settings for 6 years, but now is part-time ABE and part-time ESL. She
noted that reporting demands for her program often lead to a
concentration on only those Standards that are listed on the NRS and
included in standardized tests.  So, are there other Standards outside
the ones she mentions below (speaking, listening, reading, writing) that
are important for ESL students to know and use?

Aaron


-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 3:58 PM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 204] Standards and skills for ESL instruction

Greetings all,

I have some questions from a new ESL instructor who is preparing lesson
plans for the coming year and is curious about the topic of
'Standards-based Instruction'.
Aaron

***********************************

"My students' intake forms have a stated goal of learning to speak
better English so I thought I should concentrate my instruction on the
standards- speaking and listening.  I know that reading and writing in
English are also important skills so I plan to teach those standards
also.  Are there other standards or skills that I should be teaching?
What challenges do you face in teaching these other skills?  Are there
resources available that focus on these skill areas?"

************************************



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)
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
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From lmullins89 at yahoo.com  Tue Aug 22 12:28:25 2006
From: lmullins89 at yahoo.com (Lisa Mullins)
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 09:28:25 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [ContentStandards 206] Re: Standards and skills for ESL instruction
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A13C1F8AB@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <20060822162825.67219.qmail@web30206.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

I believe that most ESL instructors will agree that
Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate is a very
important Standard.  Although most ESL students can
compute or calculate, they do not have the vocabulary
to read, comprehend, and use numbers knowledge to
solve problems or communicate.  Therefore it is
important to their survival to teach them math, math
vocabulary, and how to communicate about math.  
Lisa Mullins
Hawkins County AE
Rogersville, TN

--- "Kohring, Aaron M" <akohring at utk.edu> wrote:

> After speaking more with the ESL instructor who
> posted the questions
> below, I have some additional details.  She has
> taught in ABE classroom
> settings for 6 years, but now is part-time ABE and
> part-time ESL. She
> noted that reporting demands for her program often
> lead to a
> concentration on only those Standards that are
> listed on the NRS and
> included in standardized tests.  So, are there other
> Standards outside
> the ones she mentions below (speaking, listening,
> reading, writing) that
> are important for ESL students to know and use?
> 
> Aaron
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
> [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf
> Of Kohring, Aaron M
> Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 3:58 PM
> To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
> Subject: [ContentStandards 204] Standards and skills
> for ESL instruction
> 
> Greetings all,
> 
> I have some questions from a new ESL instructor who
> is preparing lesson
> plans for the coming year and is curious about the
> topic of
> 'Standards-based Instruction'.
> Aaron
> 
> ***********************************
> 
> "My students' intake forms have a stated goal of
> learning to speak
> better English so I thought I should concentrate my
> instruction on the
> standards- speaking and listening.  I know that
> reading and writing in
> English are also important skills so I plan to teach
> those standards
> also.  Are there other standards or skills that I
> should be teaching?
> What challenges do you face in teaching these other
> skills?  Are there
> resources available that focus on these skill
> areas?"
> 
> ************************************
> 
> 
> 
> 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)
> 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
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
> please go to
>
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
> please go to
>
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 


From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Aug 22 12:44:37 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:44:37 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 207] Upcoming webcast dealing with
	entrepreneurship
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A13C6FA86@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

You may be interested in the upcoming Webcast from The National
Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education.

Title:  Discovering the Entrepreneur in a Learner-Programs and
Strategies
Date: 8/24/2006 3:00 PM EST
http://www.nccte.org/webcasts/description.aspx?wc=204

This webcast builds on a previous webcast dealing with National Content
Standards for Entrepreneurship Education.

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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Aug 23 10:37:51 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2006 10:37:51 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 208] Job Announcement for Special Projects
	Coordinator in NYC
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A13D6E254@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

-------------------------------------------------------

Special Projects Coordinator
Queens Library
Adult Learner Program
This is a temporary grant funded position.

The Adult Learner Program (ALP) Special Projects Coordinator is
responsible for administration and implementation of ALP's special
projects. Responsible for development of distance learning instruction
via video teleconferencing to increase use of technology throughout the
Adult Learner Programs; manages the Wireless Computer Centers;
supervises the Basic Computer Literacy and Health Literacy classes;
revises and maintains Computer Literacy and Health Literacy curricula;
writes all reporting required for grant funded projects; hires and
trains staff for special projects; visits classes and evaluates
classroom instruction. Performs other duties as required. 
The schedule for this position will include Saturdays and evenings as
required.
Requires a Master's Degree in Education or related area, and/or ESOL
Certification. Adult Education experience required, at least two years
working with literacy and/or ESOL programs. Knowledge of current trends
in literacy and ESOL instruction. Must have knowledge of Computer
Assisted Instruction such as Internet, educational software, and MS
Office Software. Experience in staff /curriculum development and
supervision preferred. Excellent written and verbal communication
skills. Ability to work with diversified community. Must be able to
complete multiple projects with competing deadlines. 

About Queens Library:  Situated in New York City, the Queens Library has
one of the highest circulations of any library in the world and serves
more than two million people in one of the most ethnically diverse
counties in the United States.  The Library pulses with the
multiculturalism and excitement of life in "the greatest city in the
world".
Queens County is one of the five boroughs of New York City.  Situated
across the East River from Manhattan, Queens enjoys 7,000 acres of
beautiful parks, 196 miles of waterfront and an excellent mass transit
system.  Queens has diverse and charming neighborhoods, excellent
shopping and a wealth of ethnic eateries and shops reflecting the unique
multicultural mosaic that defines Queens. 
To apply, please send your resume with cover letter to:

QUEENS LIBRARY
Human Resources Department
89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11432
Fax: 718-658-2919
E-mail:  employment at queenslibrary.org
The Queens Library is an Equal Opportunity Employer

www.queenslibrary.org



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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Aug 24 16:57:10 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:57:10 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 208] Content Standards Guest Discussion Next Week
	- CASAS basic skills Content Standards Project
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A13F187F9@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings colleagues,

Next week, Monday, August 28 thru Friday, September 1, the Content
Standards Discussion List will be hosting a guest discussion on the
CASAS Basic Skills Content Standards Project.  Our guests will be Jane
Eguez, Jim Harrison, and Linda Taylor from CASAS.

Please read the introductory information below which includes a link to
the CASAS website to help prepare you for the discussion.

To participate, sign up for the list at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards

Aaron

Aaron Kohring
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)


************************************

Since its inception, CASAS (Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment
System) has focused on teaching and assessing basic skills in contexts
that are relevant and important to adult learners. CASAS has developed
and continues to refine a highly formalized hierarchy of competencies,
the application of basic skills that adults need to be fully functional
and productive members of society. 

In the past few years, at the request of the CASAS National Consortium,
representing approximately 30 states, CASAS has begun development of
basic skills content standards as a formal part of the CASAS system.
This enhancement of the CASAS system is intended to assist and encourage
teachers to more fully integrate basic skills content standards and
functional competencies in instruction.

The basic skills content standards for Reading and Listening contain
simple, clearly stated, detailed statements that are leveled according
to the NRS Educational Functioning Levels, and are also related to CASAS
test items in several CASAS test series. The statements are divided into
Categories to assist teachers to navigate through the standards. 

In the past two years, CASAS has worked with Iowa and California to
pilot these standards with teachers in a variety of adult education
programs. A number of useful teacher worksheets and other tools have
emerged from these efforts.

We invite you to learn more about the CASAS basic skills Content
Standards Project and to ask questions about it during the listserv
discussion next week. To prepare for this discussion, we refer you to
the CASAS website where you will find more detailed information about
the development of the standards, the standards themselves, worksheets
for teachers, and information about the pilot project in Iowa. Go to
http://www.casas.org/DirctDwnlds.cfm?mfile_id=4504&selected_id=1720&wtar
get=body 

We look forward to engaging with you in this discussion next week.

Jane Eguez (jeguez at casas.org) , Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org ) and
Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org ), CASAS





From bfortini at mmhs.u102.k12.me.us  Fri Aug 25 10:17:57 2006
From: bfortini at mmhs.u102.k12.me.us (Bonnie Fortini)
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 14:17:57 +0000
Subject: [ContentStandards 209] Re: Standards and skills for ESL	instruction
In-Reply-To: <20060822162825.67219.qmail@web30206.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <20060822162825.67219.qmail@web30206.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <20060825141757.roxm3ll000wc0sw4@mail.msln.net>

Math is sometimes the initial "language" that teachers and ESL students 
can connect through.  I would think that all the standards would be 
appropriate to use with ESL students.  In our program, with ESL and ABE 
students we talk with the students to find some of the skills that they 
do very well with before they even come to our program (listen, 
observe) which seems to give them some internal connection to what 
skill standarsa are as well as a sense of being accomplished at some 
important things already.  That helps give purpose and focus to the 
work we do with them on the communications skills that they are 
lacking.  The really nice thing about EFF has been how the skill 
standards, role maps, and common activities are so intertwined that 
they allow our teachers and students to blend and extend the learning 
and instruction.  Skills learned and mastered are transferrable and 
malleable to other purposes.

Bonnie Fortini, Machias, Maine

Quoting Lisa Mullins <lmullins89 at yahoo.com>:

> I believe that most ESL instructors will agree that
> Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate is a very
> important Standard.  Although most ESL students can
> compute or calculate, they do not have the vocabulary
> to read, comprehend, and use numbers knowledge to
> solve problems or communicate.  Therefore it is
> important to their survival to teach them math, math
> vocabulary, and how to communicate about math.
> Lisa Mullins
> Hawkins County AE
> Rogersville, TN
>
> --- "Kohring, Aaron M" <akohring at utk.edu> wrote:
>
>> After speaking more with the ESL instructor who
>> posted the questions
>> below, I have some additional details.  She has
>> taught in ABE classroom
>> settings for 6 years, but now is part-time ABE and
>> part-time ESL. She
>> noted that reporting demands for her program often
>> lead to a
>> concentration on only those Standards that are
>> listed on the NRS and
>> included in standardized tests.  So, are there other
>> Standards outside
>> the ones she mentions below (speaking, listening,
>> reading, writing) that
>> are important for ESL students to know and use?
>>
>> Aaron
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
>> [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf
>> Of Kohring, Aaron M
>> Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 3:58 PM
>> To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
>> Subject: [ContentStandards 204] Standards and skills
>> for ESL instruction
>>
>> Greetings all,
>>
>> I have some questions from a new ESL instructor who
>> is preparing lesson
>> plans for the coming year and is curious about the
>> topic of
>> 'Standards-based Instruction'.
>> Aaron
>>
>> ***********************************
>>
>> "My students' intake forms have a stated goal of
>> learning to speak
>> better English so I thought I should concentrate my
>> instruction on the
>> standards- speaking and listening.  I know that
>> reading and writing in
>> English are also important skills so I plan to teach
>> those standards
>> also.  Are there other standards or skills that I
>> should be teaching?
>> What challenges do you face in teaching these other
>> skills?  Are there
>> resources available that focus on these skill
>> areas?"
>>
>> ************************************
>>
>>
>>
>> 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)
>> 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
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
>> please go to
>>
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
>> please go to
>>
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>




From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Aug 28 08:57:47 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 08:57:47 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 210] Guest discussion begins today- CASAS Basic
	Skills Content Standards Project
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1419BD7B@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

Today begins our guest discussion on the CASAS Basic Skills Content
Standards Project.  Please welcome our guests Jane Eguez, Jim Harrison,
and Linda Taylor from CASAS.

I know our guests will attempt to answer your questions in a timely
manner, but as always, remember this list represents colleagues in
multiple time zones across the U.S. as well as International
subscribers- so we'll work together to make this a lively exchange.

I am re-posting the introductory information below for those who may
need it.

If you wish to forward this message to others who are not currently
subscribed, they can participate by signing up for the list at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards

Aaron

Aaron Kohring
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)


************************************

Since its inception, CASAS (Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment
System) has focused on teaching and assessing basic skills in contexts
that are relevant and important to adult learners. CASAS has developed
and continues to refine a highly formalized hierarchy of competencies,
the application of basic skills that adults need to be fully functional
and productive members of society. 

In the past few years, at the request of the CASAS National Consortium,
representing approximately 30 states, CASAS has begun development of
basic skills content standards as a formal part of the CASAS system.
This enhancement of the CASAS system is intended to assist and encourage
teachers to more fully integrate basic skills content standards and
functional competencies in instruction.

The basic skills content standards for Reading and Listening contain
simple, clearly stated, detailed statements that are leveled according
to the NRS Educational Functioning Levels, and are also related to CASAS
test items in several CASAS test series. The statements are divided into
Categories to assist teachers to navigate through the standards. 

In the past two years, CASAS has worked with Iowa and California to
pilot these standards with teachers in a variety of adult education
programs. A number of useful teacher worksheets and other tools have
emerged from these efforts.

We invite you to learn more about the CASAS basic skills Content
Standards Project and to ask questions about it during the listserv
discussion next week. To prepare for this discussion, we refer you to
the CASAS website where you will find more detailed information about
the development of the standards, the standards themselves, worksheets
for teachers, and information about the pilot project in Iowa. Go to 
http://www.casas.org/DirctDwnlds.cfm?mfile_id=4504&selected_id=1720&wtar
get=body

We look forward to engaging with you in this discussion next week.

Jane Eguez (jeguez at casas.org), Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org ) and
Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org ), CASAS






From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Aug 28 09:16:49 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:16:49 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 211]  CASAS weblink
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1419BF57@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings again,

If the link to the CASAS information in my previous message does not
work, you may need to try to copy it into your web browser.

http://www.casas.org/DirctDwnlds.cfm?mfile_id=4504&selected_id=1720&wtar
get=body

Hope this helps,
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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Aug 28 14:00:20 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 14:00:20 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic Skills Content
	Standards Project
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1421E890@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

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)
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 


From John.Hartwig at iowa.gov  Mon Aug 28 14:49:28 2006
From: John.Hartwig at iowa.gov (Hartwig, John [ED])
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 13:49:28 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 213] Re: [Content Standards 212] Questions on
	CASAS Basic Skills Content Standards Project
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1421E890@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <765F7CA5969C3C40A57B30354A392A9602B9ACEC@listmanager>

There are some CASAS Consortium states that are pilot testing the CASAS Content Standards.  Iowa was one of the early adopter states in pilot testing the reading content standards.  Jim will be doing an Iowa based work shop on the math content standards in April 2007.

-----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 1:00 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)
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 
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From bddavis at butlercc.edu  Mon Aug 28 16:34:25 2006
From: bddavis at butlercc.edu (Beverly Davis)
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 15:34:25 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: [ContentStandards 214] Re: Questions on CASAS Basic Skills
	Content	Standards Project
Message-ID: <2136816.1156797265332.JavaMail.bddavis@butlercc.edu>

I would like to know if CASAS plans on developing CASAS Content 
Standards for the ECS series?


Kohring, Aaron M wrote:


>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)
>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 
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>

---------------------------------------
It is not the load that breaks you, it 
is the way you carry it. 

Beverly Davis
ABE/GEDButler Community College
Instructional Coordinator
(316) 321-4030, ext. 113


From jeguez at casas.org  Mon Aug 28 18:41:49 2006
From: jeguez at casas.org (Jane Eguez)
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 15:41:49 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 215] Re: Questions on CASAS Basic Skills
	ContentStandards Project
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1421E890@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC49FCF3@XNG.casas.org>

Hi Aaron, 
Thank you for the great questions.
Q1 - 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? 

Answer: We reviewed many additional adult education standards including but not limited to those developed in: Canada, England, Australia, National Skills Standards Board Skill Scales Companion Guide (2000), National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) Equipped for the Future (EFF) Content Standards, OH, NY, the Pennsylvania (PDE/WERC) Workforce Foundation Skills, and WA Adult and Family Literacy Competencies and WA ABE Mathematics Competencies. 
We also reviewed TESOL ESL Standards for pre K-12 as well as K-12 standards from many states.

Q2 - Are the Consortium partners planning to adopt a common set of content standards? 

Answer: The Office of Vocational and Adult Education's Blueprint for Preparing America's Future (2003) provided the primary impetus for the CASAS National Consortium Basic Skills Content Standards Project. The Blueprint asserted that states could either "develop or adapt" content standards in reading and language arts, mathematics, and English language acquisition. Based on requests from the National CASAS Consortium states, the project was designed to provide assistance in developing state standards aligned to CASAS competencies and CASAS assessments. The intent continues to be that CASAS Consortium states are free to adopt or adapt these standards to reflect the unique learning needs of each state. 

Q3 - Based on the outcomes of this project, will the CASAS assessments need to be updated or modified?

Answer: We'll address CASAS assessments in three areas: reading, listening and math.

With respect to reading, the Life Skills Reading test series was recently replaced with the Life and Work Reading test series which was developed based on both CASAS Competencies and content standards. The CASAS Reading Content Standards have been revised and refined over the past two years, based on input from the Iowa and California pilot projects, as well as from insights drawn from the detailed process of coding the content standards to items in the Life and Work test series. Items in other CASAS reading series, including ECS (Employability Competency System) and WLS (Workplace Learning Systems) will soon be linked to the Reading Content Standards, with updated diagnostic reports available in TOPSpro software and in revised test support materials.

The new Life and Work Listening test series is still in development. Its content is drawn from the Listening Content Standards, as well as CASAS competencies. It is expected to be completed in 2007.

Development will begin shortly for a new Life and Work Math test series which will be based on the new CASAS Math Standards. These standards are in the initial stages of pilot testing in Kansas.

Jane Eg?ez (jeguez at casas.org), Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org), and Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org)
www.casas.org
800-255-1036 x125

-----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 11:00 AM
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)
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 
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From jeguez at casas.org  Mon Aug 28 18:46:49 2006
From: jeguez at casas.org (Jane Eguez)
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 15:46:49 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 216] Re: Questions on CASAS Basic SkillsContent
	Standards Project
In-Reply-To: <2136816.1156797265332.JavaMail.bddavis@butlercc.edu>
Message-ID: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC49FCF4@XNG.casas.org>

Beverly,

CASAS Content standards may be used with any CASAS reading, listening, and (eventually) math series.  The Employability Competency System (ECS) will be coded to our content standards in the very near future.

Jane Eg?ez
CASAS Director Program Planning
jeguez at casas.org
www.casas.org
800-255-1036 x125

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Beverly Davis
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 1:34 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 214] Re: Questions on CASAS Basic SkillsContent Standards Project

I would like to know if CASAS plans on developing CASAS Content 
Standards for the ECS series?


Kohring, Aaron M wrote:


>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)
>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 
>----------------------------------------------------
>National Institute for Literacy
>Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>

---------------------------------------
It is not the load that breaks you, it 
is the way you carry it. 

Beverly Davis
ABE/GEDButler Community College
Instructional Coordinator
(316) 321-4030, ext. 113
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com  Mon Aug 28 20:09:20 2006
From: agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com (Ajit Gopalakrishnan)
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:09:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [ContentStandards 217] Re: Questions on CASAS Basic Skills
	ContentStandards Project
Message-ID: <20060829000920.92406.qmail@web30709.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

RE: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic Skills ContentStandards 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)
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 
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www..nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

-- 
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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.6/428 - Release Date: 8/25/2006
 

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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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 Everyone is raving about the  all-new Yahoo! Mail.
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From donnaedp at cox.net  Tue Aug 29 08:32:12 2006
From: donnaedp at cox.net (Donna Chambers)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:32:12 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 218] Re: Questions on CASAS Basic
	SkillsContentStandards Project
References: <20060829000920.92406.qmail@web30709.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <005601c6cb67$2762bc50$7bcf0944@DH89L251>

RE: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic Skills ContentStandards ProjectAjit 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 Gopalakrishnan 
  To: 'The 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) 
  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 
  ---------------------------------------------------- 
  National Institute for Literacy 
  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
  ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www..nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards 

  -- 
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  Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
  Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.6/428 - Release Date: 8/25/2006 
    

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  Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  ----------------------------------------------------
  National Institute for Literacy
  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
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From DShaewitz at air.org  Tue Aug 29 12:47:05 2006
From: DShaewitz at air.org (Shaewitz, Dahlia)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 12:47:05 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing content
	standards?
Message-ID: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D704271056@dc1ex3.air.org>

Hello:

This question is for states that are applying content standards. What
are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the implementation of
standards in your state? This seems to be the next step after
formulation of the standards.

Best,

Dahlia Shaewitz

-------------- next part --------------
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From jeguez at casas.org  Tue Aug 29 12:28:12 2006
From: jeguez at casas.org (Jane Eguez)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 09:28:12 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 220] Re: Questions on CASAS
	BasicSkillsContentStandards Project
In-Reply-To: <005601c6cb67$2762bc50$7bcf0944@DH89L251>
Message-ID: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC49FD02@XNG.casas.org>

Donna,

 

In developing the content standards for the National Consortium project, CASAS followed the guidelines issued by OVAE in its Blueprint for Preparing America's Future (2003).The Blueprint emphasized the need to take into consideration the standards of elementary and secondary education, standards for entry into postsecondary education, as well as the expectations of employers for entry level workers.

 

As mentioned in more detail in yesterday's response to Aaron's questions, CASAS reviewed many adult education and K - 12 standards, including standards from many states. 

 

CASAS was assisted by representative states in the Consortium to assist in standards development.  One of their primary responsibilities was to review draft standards and compare them to the K - 12 standards in their states and to alert CASAS to any additional standards that should be considered. Based on the input from these state reviews, some standards were added to the CASAS standards. Draft CASAS reading standards were also field-tested in Iowa and selected programs in California at all levels, including ASE. Plans to field-test math draft standards at ABE and ASE levels include Kansas and Iowa during 2006-2007.

 

Jane Eg?ez (jeguez at casas.org), Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org), and Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org) 
www.casas.org 800-255-1036 x125

________________________________

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Donna Chambers
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:32 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 Gopalakrishnan <mailto:agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com>  

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

	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 
	---------------------------------------------------- 
	National Institute for Literacy 
	Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
	ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
	To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www..nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards <http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards>  

	-- 
	No virus found in this incoming message. 
	Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
	Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.6/428 - Release Date: 8/25/2006 
	  
	
	--
	No virus found in this outgoing message.
	Checked by AVG Free Edition.
	Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.6/428 - Release Date: 8/25/2006
	  

	
________________________________


	Do you Yahoo!?
	Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail. <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=42297/*http:/advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta>  

	
________________________________


	----------------------------------------------------
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	Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
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	To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Aug 29 15:42:24 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 15:42:24 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 221] Re: How are states implementing
	contentstandards?
In-Reply-To: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D704271056@dc1ex3.air.org>
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A143C755F@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Can John from Iowa or Ajit from Connecticut give us some perspective for
how this is happening with the CASAS Content Standards??  Or input from
other state efforts?
 
Aaron

________________________________

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Shaewitz, Dahlia
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:47 PM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing
contentstandards?


Hello:

This question is for states that are applying content standards. What
are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the implementation of
standards in your state? This seems to be the next step after
formulation of the standards.

Best,

Dahlia Shaewitz

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From John.Hartwig at iowa.gov  Tue Aug 29 15:52:57 2006
From: John.Hartwig at iowa.gov (Hartwig, John [ED])
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:52:57 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 222] Re: [Content Standards 221] Re: How are
	states implementing content standards?
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A143C755F@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <765F7CA5969C3C40A57B30354A392A9602B9ACFC@listmanager>

The Iowa documentation is posted on the CASAS website.  Jane or Jim can give you the exact link.  Once you have reviewed the Iowa documentation and still have questions, give me a call at 515.281.3636 or e-mail me at john.Hartwig at Iowa.go.  Jim Harrison can also give you a great perspective on the Iowa effort since we worked hand  in glove with him and others from the CASAS staff to implement the content standards initiative in Iowa.

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 2:42 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 221] Re: How are states implementingcontentstandards?


Can John from Iowa or Ajit from Connecticut give us some perspective for how this is happening with the CASAS Content Standards??  Or input from other state efforts?
 
Aaron

  _____  

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Shaewitz, Dahlia
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:47 PM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing contentstandards?


Hello:

This question is for states that are applying content standards. What are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the implementation of standards in your state? This seems to be the next step after formulation of the standards.

Best,

Dahlia Shaewitz

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From John.Hartwig at iowa.gov  Tue Aug 29 15:58:09 2006
From: John.Hartwig at iowa.gov (Hartwig, John [ED])
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:58:09 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 223] Re: [Content Standards 222] Re: [Content
	Standards 221] Re: How are states implementing content standards?
In-Reply-To: <765F7CA5969C3C40A57B30354A392A9602B9ACFC@listmanager>
Message-ID: <765F7CA5969C3C40A57B30354A392A9602B9ACFD@listmanager>

Correction:  John's e-mail address is john.hartwig at iowa.gov.

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Hartwig, John [ED]
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 2:53 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 222] Re: [Content Standards 221] Re: How arestates implementing content standards?


The Iowa documentation is posted on the CASAS website.  Jane or Jim can give you the exact link.  Once you have reviewed the Iowa documentation and still have questions, give me a call at 515.281.3636 or e-mail me at john.Hartwig at Iowa.go.  Jim Harrison can also give you a great perspective on the Iowa effort since we worked hand  in glove with him and others from the CASAS staff to implement the content standards initiative in Iowa.

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 2:42 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 221] Re: How are states implementingcontentstandards?


Can John from Iowa or Ajit from Connecticut give us some perspective for how this is happening with the CASAS Content Standards??  Or input from other state efforts?
 
Aaron

  _____  

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Shaewitz, Dahlia
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:47 PM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing contentstandards?


Hello:

This question is for states that are applying content standards. What are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the implementation of standards in your state? This seems to be the next step after formulation of the standards.

Best,

Dahlia Shaewitz

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From bfortini at mmhs.u102.k12.me.us  Tue Aug 29 15:59:25 2006
From: bfortini at mmhs.u102.k12.me.us (Bonnie Fortini)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 19:59:25 +0000
Subject: [ContentStandards 224] Re: How are states implementing
	content	standards?
In-Reply-To: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D704271056@dc1ex3.air.org>
References: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D704271056@dc1ex3.air.org>
Message-ID: <20060829195925.mzdlki88jkw88g80@mail.msln.net>

Here in Maine we are in the midst of a legislated review process (every 
ten years)of our content standards for K-12, and all adult education 
diploma programs must follow their district standards and assessment 
systems.  The revisions will be easier to manage, in my opinion, and 
should result in an exciting time to be a teacher and a student!

The state implemented a review process that had the districts look at 
their standards and assessment systems through the lens of a document 
that was applied statewide.  From that I believe the intention is to 
develop a system that will be essentially a self-monitoring one with 
support and input (and check-up) from the state.  It seems to be based 
on learning from the data collected through summative student 
assessment as far as AYP, but also includes standards around community 
support, PD, resources, and so on.

Our adult ed system also has a monitoring document that has references 
to the EFF standards in it, but not all programs offer diplomas for 
adults, so the impact of the standards is more in terms of student 
expectations and program delivery.

Overall I would say that Maine is working on developing a pre K-20 
approach that will be standards driven and accountable.  If anyone is 
interested, the Commissioner of Education has posted a pdf document 
titled "Achieving Prosperity For All Maine Citizens" on the DoE website 
<www.maine.gov/education> that gives an overall picture of the 
collaborative efforts going on here.

Bonnie Fortini,
director of the adult ed program in Machias, Maine



Quoting "Shaewitz, Dahlia" <DShaewitz at air.org>:

> Hello:
>
> This question is for states that are applying content standards. What
> are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the implementation of
> standards in your state? This seems to be the next step after
> formulation of the standards.
>
> Best,
>
> Dahlia Shaewitz
>
>




From jeguez at casas.org  Tue Aug 29 16:15:41 2006
From: jeguez at casas.org (Jane Eguez)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:15:41 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 225] Re: [Content Standards 222] Re: Re: How are
	states implementing content standards?
In-Reply-To: <765F7CA5969C3C40A57B30354A392A9602B9ACFD@listmanager>
Message-ID: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC49FD10@XNG.casas.org>

The direct link to The Report on Iowa Professional Development Content Standards Implementation Plans and Results is: http://www.casas.org/Downloads/more.cfm?mfile_id=4507&bhcp=1

 

Jane Eg?ez

CASAS Director Program Planning

jeguez at casas.org <mailto:jeguez at casas.org> 

www.casas.org

800-255-1036 x125

________________________________

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Hartwig, John [ED]
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:58 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 223] Re: [Content Standards 222] Re: [ContentStandards 221] Re: How are states implementing content standards?

 

Correction:  John's e-mail address is john.hartwig at iowa.gov.

	-----Original Message-----
	From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Hartwig, John [ED]
	Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 2:53 PM
	To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
	Subject: [ContentStandards 222] Re: [Content Standards 221] Re: How arestates implementing content standards?

	The Iowa documentation is posted on the CASAS website.  Jane or Jim can give you the exact link.  Once you have reviewed the Iowa documentation and still have questions, give me a call at 515.281.3636 or e-mail me at john.Hartwig at Iowa.go.  Jim Harrison can also give you a great perspective on the Iowa effort since we worked hand  in glove with him and others from the CASAS staff to implement the content standards initiative in Iowa.

		-----Original Message-----
		From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M
		Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 2:42 PM
		To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
		Subject: [ContentStandards 221] Re: How are states implementingcontentstandards?

		Can John from Iowa or Ajit from Connecticut give us some perspective for how this is happening with the CASAS Content Standards??  Or input from other state efforts?

		 

		Aaron

		 

		
________________________________


		From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Shaewitz, Dahlia
		Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:47 PM
		To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
		Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing contentstandards?

		Hello:

		This question is for states that are applying content standards. What are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the implementation of standards in your state? This seems to be the next step after formulation of the standards.

		Best,

		Dahlia Shaewitz

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From donnaedp at cox.net  Tue Aug 29 19:49:00 2006
From: donnaedp at cox.net (Donna Chambers)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 19:49:00 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 226] Re: Questions on
	CASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project
References: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC49FD02@XNG.casas.org>
Message-ID: <005c01c6cbc5$b5510720$7bcf0944@DH89L251>

RE: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic Skills ContentStandards ProjectJane,

Thanks for your response.  The introduction to the discussion indicated  that the draft of the math content standards is available for review and you mentioned that Iowa and Kansas will be field-testing the math standards at the ABE and ASE levels.  Where can these be seen?   Am I missing it?  Thanks again. Donna
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jane Eguez 
  To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List 
  Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:28 PM
  Subject: [ContentStandards 220] Re: Questions on CASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project


  Donna,

   

  In developing the content standards for the National Consortium project, CASAS followed the guidelines issued by OVAE in its Blueprint for Preparing America's Future (2003).The Blueprint emphasized the need to take into consideration the standards of elementary and secondary education, standards for entry into postsecondary education, as well as the expectations of employers for entry level workers.

   

  As mentioned in more detail in yesterday's response to Aaron's questions, CASAS reviewed many adult education and K - 12 standards, including standards from many states. 

   

  CASAS was assisted by representative states in the Consortium to assist in standards development.  One of their primary responsibilities was to review draft standards and compare them to the K - 12 standards in their states and to alert CASAS to any additional standards that should be considered. Based on the input from these state reviews, some standards were added to the CASAS standards. Draft CASAS reading standards were also field-tested in Iowa and selected programs in California at all levels, including ASE. Plans to field-test math draft standards at ABE and ASE levels include Kansas and Iowa during 2006-2007.

   

  Jane Eg?ez (jeguez at casas.org), Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org), and Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org) 
  www.casas.org 800-255-1036 x125


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Donna Chambers
  Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:32 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 Gopalakrishnan 

    To: 'The 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) 
    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 
    ---------------------------------------------------- 
    National Institute for Literacy 
    Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
    ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
    To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www..nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards 

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    Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail. 


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    ----------------------------------------------------
    National Institute for Literacy
    Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
    ContentStandards at nifl.gov
    To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



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  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
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From jpreul at mail.ncmissouri.edu  Tue Aug 29 21:53:21 2006
From: jpreul at mail.ncmissouri.edu (Jamy Preul)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 20:53:21 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 227] Re: How are states implementing
	contentstandards?
References: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D704271056@dc1ex3.air.org>
Message-ID: <001b01c6cbd7$177e2cf0$46e69cce@AELLPT02>

Hi,

I'm glad you asked that question.  We in MO are in the process of piloting our Content Standards.  We just started the 16 hour workshop today.  We have a group of teachers from various size and types of classrooms from around the state.  They will pilot about 6 months, and during that time we will have a couple of meetings for them to discuss and evaluate how the CS are working/being presented/etc.  At the end of the 6 months, we will evaluate what has happened with the CS, re-write or tweak the standards and then prepare to begin implementation next summer.

I have also wondered how other states have piloted/implemented and what has worked/not worked.  Any tips would be appreciated.  If you are interested in our agenda, let me know.

Cheers,
JP

Jamy Preul
Professional Development Coordinator
Missouri AEL Professional Development Center
North Central Missouri College
573-445-9703


"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, 
in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever 
can."  John Wesley


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Shaewitz, Dahlia 
  To: contentstandards at nifl.gov 
  Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 11:47 AM
  Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing contentstandards?


  Hello:

  This question is for states that are applying content standards. What are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the implementation of standards in your state? This seems to be the next step after formulation of the standards.

  Best,

  Dahlia Shaewitz



------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  ----------------------------------------------------
  National Institute for Literacy
  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
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From agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com  Tue Aug 29 23:09:31 2006
From: agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com (Ajit Gopalakrishnan)
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 20:09:31 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [ContentStandards 228] Re: Questions on CASAS
	BasicSkillsContentStandards Project
Message-ID: <20060830030931.80633.qmail@web30704.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}..shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}RE: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic SkillsContentStandards Projectst1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }     
Hi Donna,

 

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

 

I said:

 

>>I would imagine that many stateswill adopt them while others may need to reference 9-12 high school standardsespecially for their adult high school diploma programs.

 

I would have added &#8220;also&#8221; after&#8220;may&#8221; in the above sentence. I meant to say that reference to 9-12high school standards may also be necessary in addition to the basic skillcontent standards.

 

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

 

I hope this clarifies my comment. The contentstandards that CASAS is developing most definitely address the expectations forsecondary levels functioning with respect to the basic skills. CASASassessments also measure student abilities well into the adultsecondary levels. The High Adult Secondary NRS level for reading and mathbegins at 246 on the CASAS scale. Level D CASAS assessments measure studentperformance into the high 250s (may be even a little higher). As an aside, theGED test which is a goal/outcome for many learners is attainable to thosefunctioning at lower NRS levels i.e. the ABE High Intermediate and the LowAdult Secondary levels. Many of these learners squeak through the GED withminimal pass scores but then face challenges with postsecondaryentrance/success. I would anticipate that students with higherabilities (i.e. the High Adult Secondary level - CASAS scale 246 andhigher) are even better prepared to enter/succeed in postsecondarysituations.

 

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

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

(ii)              how they are measured (e.g. selectedresponse versus constructed response; problem solving-applied performance focusversus 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

AjitGopalakrishnan 

 

 

---------------------------------


From:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Donna Chambers
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 20068:32 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 highschool standards for their adult high school diploma programs.  Does thismean that CASAS does not align with common 9-12 standards at thelow and high ASE levels?  Is the intention to do so,especially with the math standards?  This is an important concern forstates that are dealing with high stakes testing for competency determinationin issuing diplomas.  Thanks.  


 


Donna Chambers


 


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


From: AjitGopalakrishnan 


To: 'TheAdult Education Content Standards Discussion List' 


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


Subject: [ContentStandards217] Re: Questions on CASAS Basic SkillsContentStandards Project


 


Aaronasked: 

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

Here aresome thoughts from a state perspective. 

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

It wasthe National Consortium of States that requested CASAS to coordinate the effortto develop these basic skill content standards. in order to better supportteachers to integrate competencies and content standards into theirinstruction. 

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

I wouldimagine that many states will adopt them while others may need to reference9-12 high school standards especially for their adult high school diplomaprograms.

 

CASAS isfirst a consortium of states 

We hopeto adopt the standards that are being developed here. 

 

-----OriginalMessage----- 
From:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M 
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 2:00PM 
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 212]Questions on CASAS Basic Skills ContentStandards Project 

We haveover 50 new subscribers to the list- so welcome to you all. 
Hopefully to get us started as Iknow it's not fun to be the first 
poster! - I have some of my ownquestions for the CASAS team with us for 
this week's discussion.

Inaddition to the content standards for CA, NY, MA, AZ, MD, and FL that
you mention reviewing as part ofthis project, can you tell us what 
other state and National adulteducation content standards were 
reviewed?  Are the Consortiumpartners planning to adopt a common set of 
content standards?  Based onthe outcomes of this project, will the 
CASAS assessments need to beupdated or modified? 

Thks,
Aaron 

 

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

Centerfor Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee 
EFF Center for Training andTechnical Assistance 
Phone:(865) 974-4109 main
     (865) 974-4258 direct 
Fax:  (865) 974-3857
e-mail: akohring at utk.edu
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standardsmailing list 
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change yoursubscription settings, please go to http://www...nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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Everyone is raving about the all-newYahoo! Mail. 

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Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go tohttp://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



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From kabeall at comcast.net  Wed Aug 30 07:56:03 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 07:56:03 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 229]  New from NCSALL--NCSALL by Role
Message-ID: <005101c6cc2b$44a67ee0$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

NCSALL by Role <http://www.ncsall.net/?id=787>  



This new section of NCSALL's Web site offers a variety of professional
development ideas on:

*         adult multiple intelligences

*         adult student persistence

*         authentic context

*         General Educational Development (GED)

*          reading

 

Professional developers and program administrators access guides for
facilitating half-day seminars and multi-session study circles. 

 

Policymakers read relevant research articles and reflect on policy-related
questions. 

 

Teachers and tutors access self-studies that invite them to (1) read the
related research, (2) reflect on this research and their practice, and (3)
focus on an aspect of their practice.

 

Check out NCSALL by Role at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=787. 

 

 

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From RSherman at air.org  Wed Aug 30 08:39:42 2006
From: RSherman at air.org (Sherman, Renee)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 08:39:42 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 230] Re: How are states
	implementingcontentstandards?
Message-ID: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D704E1C476@dc1ex3.air.org>

Hi, 
 
There is a section in  "A Process Guide for Establishing State Adult
Education Content Standards that discusses strategies for field testing
standards, that may be helpful for your pilot.  There is also a chapter
on implementation of standards.   You can download the Guide on the
Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse at
http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org
 
Renee
 

American Institutes for Research 
1000 Thomas Jefferson, NW 
Washington, DC 20007-3541 
202-403-5327 
rsherman at air.org 

 

  _____  

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Jamy Preul
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 9:53 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 227] Re: How are states
implementingcontentstandards?


Hi,
 
I'm glad you asked that question.  We in MO are in the process of
piloting our Content Standards.  We just started the 16 hour workshop
today.  We have a group of teachers from various size and types of
classrooms from around the state.  They will pilot about 6 months, and
during that time we will have a couple of meetings for them to discuss
and evaluate how the CS are working/being presented/etc.  At the end of
the 6 months, we will evaluate what has happened with the CS, re-write
or tweak the standards and then prepare to begin implementation next
summer.
 
I have also wondered how other states have piloted/implemented and what
has worked/not worked.  Any tips would be appreciated.  If you are
interested in our agenda, let me know.
 
Cheers,
JP

Jamy Preul
Professional Development Coordinator
Missouri AEL Professional Development Center
North Central Missouri College
573-445-9703
 

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you
can, 
in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as you
ever 
can."  John Wesley
 
 

	----- Original Message ----- 
	From: Shaewitz, Dahlia <mailto:DShaewitz at air.org>  
	To: contentstandards at nifl.gov 
	Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 11:47 AM
	Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing
contentstandards?

	Hello:

	This question is for states that are applying content standards.
What are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the
implementation of standards in your state? This seems to be the next
step after formulation of the standards.

	Best,

	Dahlia Shaewitz

	
  _____  


	

	----------------------------------------------------
	National Institute for Literacy
	Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
	ContentStandards at nifl.gov
	To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go
to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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From aburruss2 at cox.net  Wed Aug 30 08:58:42 2006
From: aburruss2 at cox.net (Ann Burruss)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 08:58:42 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 231] Re: Questions
	onCASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project
References: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC49FD02@XNG.casas.org>
	<005c01c6cbc5$b5510720$7bcf0944@DH89L251>
Message-ID: <003901c6cc34$05862180$0202a8c0@D1WJ3821>

RE: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic Skills ContentStandards ProjectI, too, am interested in seeing the draft math standards. Where might I find them?
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Donna Chambers 
  To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List 
  Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 7:49 PM
  Subject: [ContentStandards 226] Re: Questions onCASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project


  Jane,

  Thanks for your response.  The introduction to the discussion indicated  that the draft of the math content standards is available for review and you mentioned that Iowa and Kansas will be field-testing the math standards at the ABE and ASE levels.  Where can these be seen?   Am I missing it?  Thanks again. Donna
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Jane Eguez 
    To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List 
    Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:28 PM
    Subject: [ContentStandards 220] Re: Questions on CASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project


    Donna,

     

    In developing the content standards for the National Consortium project, CASAS followed the guidelines issued by OVAE in its Blueprint for Preparing America's Future (2003).The Blueprint emphasized the need to take into consideration the standards of elementary and secondary education, standards for entry into postsecondary education, as well as the expectations of employers for entry level workers.

     

    As mentioned in more detail in yesterday's response to Aaron's questions, CASAS reviewed many adult education and K - 12 standards, including standards from many states. 

     

    CASAS was assisted by representative states in the Consortium to assist in standards development.  One of their primary responsibilities was to review draft standards and compare them to the K - 12 standards in their states and to alert CASAS to any additional standards that should be considered. Based on the input from these state reviews, some standards were added to the CASAS standards. Draft CASAS reading standards were also field-tested in Iowa and selected programs in California at all levels, including ASE. Plans to field-test math draft standards at ABE and ASE levels include Kansas and Iowa during 2006-2007.

     

    Jane Eg?ez (jeguez at casas.org), Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org), and Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org) 
    www.casas.org 800-255-1036 x125


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Donna Chambers
    Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:32 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 Gopalakrishnan 

      To: 'The 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) 
      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 
      ---------------------------------------------------- 
      National Institute for Literacy 
      Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
      ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
      To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www..nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards 

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      Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
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      ----------------------------------------------------
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      Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
      ContentStandards at nifl.gov
      To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ----------------------------------------------------
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    Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
    ContentStandards at nifl.gov
    To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  ----------------------------------------------------
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  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
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From aburruss2 at cox.net  Wed Aug 30 09:00:25 2006
From: aburruss2 at cox.net (Ann Burruss)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 09:00:25 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 232] Re: How are states
	implementingcontentstandards?
References: <8123523374E3514EACEE6B70E8FE31D704271056@dc1ex3.air.org>
	<001b01c6cbd7$177e2cf0$46e69cce@AELLPT02>
Message-ID: <004801c6cc34$42d07040$0202a8c0@D1WJ3821>

Jamy,
Am extremely interested in your agenda! Please send
Ann Burruss
aburruss2 at cox.net
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jamy Preul 
  To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List 
  Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 9:53 PM
  Subject: [ContentStandards 227] Re: How are states implementingcontentstandards?


  Hi,

  I'm glad you asked that question.  We in MO are in the process of piloting our Content Standards.  We just started the 16 hour workshop today.  We have a group of teachers from various size and types of classrooms from around the state.  They will pilot about 6 months, and during that time we will have a couple of meetings for them to discuss and evaluate how the CS are working/being presented/etc.  At the end of the 6 months, we will evaluate what has happened with the CS, re-write or tweak the standards and then prepare to begin implementation next summer.

  I have also wondered how other states have piloted/implemented and what has worked/not worked.  Any tips would be appreciated.  If you are interested in our agenda, let me know.

  Cheers,
  JP

  Jamy Preul
  Professional Development Coordinator
  Missouri AEL Professional Development Center
  North Central Missouri College
  573-445-9703


  "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, 
  in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever 
  can."  John Wesley


    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Shaewitz, Dahlia 
    To: contentstandards at nifl.gov 
    Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 11:47 AM
    Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing contentstandards?


    Hello:

    This question is for states that are applying content standards. What are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the implementation of standards in your state? This seems to be the next step after formulation of the standards.

    Best,

    Dahlia Shaewitz



----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ----------------------------------------------------
    National Institute for Literacy
    Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
    ContentStandards at nifl.gov
    To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  ----------------------------------------------------
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  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
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From Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov  Wed Aug 30 13:17:30 2006
From: Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov (Nguyen, My Linh)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:17:30 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 233]  NIFL Webcast Now Available in Archive
Message-ID: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D495911889562@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>

Hi Everyone,

The National Institute for Literacy has now made available an archived
version of its latest webcast: "Adults with Basic and Below Basic Literacy
Levels: Findings from NAAL and Implications for Practice" from August 15,
2006. 

We have made the entire webcast available (include transcript and slides for
download) on our website at www.nifl.gov. Look under the heading "What's
New."

Thank you.

My Linh Nguyen
Associate Director of Communications
National Institute for Literacy
(202) 233-2041
fax (202) 233-2050
mnguyen at nifl.gov



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Aug 30 14:39:01 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 14:39:01 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 234]  Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14473BE1@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

We are now mid-week in our discussion with our CASAS guests (Jane Eguez,
Jim Harrison, and Linda Taylor) on the CASAS Basic Skills Content
Standards Project.  We've learned something about the background and
research behind the project, heard from a couple of the states involved
with the project, and know about some of the next steps.  We've also
generated a more general discussion around next steps/processes for
states applying or implementing the content standards that they've
developed.

If you have missed part of this discussion or need to catch up, you can
check the public archives at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards by clicking on
"Read Current Posted Messages".

You still have time to participate in the current discussions or ask
additional questions of our CASAS guests so feel free to send in your
questions or input!

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)
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 


From mwpotts2001 at aol.com  Wed Aug 30 14:56:24 2006
From: mwpotts2001 at aol.com (mwpotts2001 at aol.com)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 14:56:24 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 235] Re: Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14473BE1@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
References: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14473BE1@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <8C89A7D201A51B0-FD4-21A8@FWM-M41.sysops.aol.com>

Hi Jane, Jim and Linda,
 
Now that a table has been developed, listing correspondences among EFF Levels, NRS, ABE and ESL Educational Functioning Levels and CASAS Scores for both ESL and ABE, how do you propose using this table as a guide for programs who are mandated to use CASAS and who are also mandated or simply want to use EFF?
 
Also, are any of the states with whom you are working using portfolio assessment? If so, can you give us a brief overview of how they compile their evidence to show gains?
 
Thanks, and I miss seeing you.
 
Meta Potts
Focus on Literacy
Glen Allen, VA
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: akohring at utk.edu
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Sent: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 2:39 PM
Subject: [ContentStandards 234] Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers


Greetings all,

We are now mid-week in our discussion with our CASAS guests (Jane Eguez,
Jim Harrison, and Linda Taylor) on the CASAS Basic Skills Content
Standards Project.  We've learned something about the background and
research behind the project, heard from a couple of the states involved
with the project, and know about some of the next steps.  We've also
generated a more general discussion around next steps/processes for
states applying or implementing the content standards that they've
developed.

If you have missed part of this discussion or need to catch up, you can
check the public archives at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards by clicking on
"Read Current Posted Messages".

You still have time to participate in the current discussions or ask
additional questions of our CASAS guests so feel free to send in your
questions or input!

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)
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 
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
________________________________________________________________________
Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email and IM. All on demand. Always Free.
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From jeguez at casas.org  Wed Aug 30 16:21:42 2006
From: jeguez at casas.org (Jane Eguez)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:21:42 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 236] Re: Questions
	onCASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project
In-Reply-To: <005c01c6cbc5$b5510720$7bcf0944@DH89L251>
Message-ID: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC49FD32@XNG.casas.org>

Hi Donna and Ann,

 

CASAS math content standards are in early draft form.  At this stage of development, we have a list of proposed standards, but they have not been assigned to specific CASAS or NRS levels. We anticipate that within 6 - 8 weeks we will have completed this and they will be posted at the following address:

 

http://www.casas.org/DirctDwnlds.cfm?mfile_id=4504&selected_id=1720&wtarget=body

 

 

Jane Eg?ez (jeguez at casas.org), Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org), and Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org) 
www.casas.org 800-255-1036 x125

________________________________

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Donna Chambers
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 4:49 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 226] Re: Questions onCASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project

 

Jane,

 

Thanks for your response.  The introduction to the discussion indicated  that the draft of the math content standards is available for review and you mentioned that Iowa and Kansas will be field-testing the math standards at the ABE and ASE levels.  Where can these be seen?   Am I missing it?  Thanks again. Donna

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

	From: Jane Eguez <mailto:jeguez at casas.org>  

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

	Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:28 PM

	Subject: [ContentStandards 220] Re: Questions on CASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project

	 

	Donna,

	 

	In developing the content standards for the National Consortium project, CASAS followed the guidelines issued by OVAE in its Blueprint for Preparing America's Future (2003).The Blueprint emphasized the need to take into consideration the standards of elementary and secondary education, standards for entry into postsecondary education, as well as the expectations of employers for entry level workers.

	 

	As mentioned in more detail in yesterday's response to Aaron's questions, CASAS reviewed many adult education and K - 12 standards, including standards from many states. 

	 

	CASAS was assisted by representative states in the Consortium to assist in standards development.  One of their primary responsibilities was to review draft standards and compare them to the K - 12 standards in their states and to alert CASAS to any additional standards that should be considered. Based on the input from these state reviews, some standards were added to the CASAS standards. Draft CASAS reading standards were also field-tested in Iowa and selected programs in California at all levels, including ASE. Plans to field-test math draft standards at ABE and ASE levels include Kansas and Iowa during 2006-2007.

	 

	Jane Eg?ez (jeguez at casas.org), Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org), and Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org) 
	www.casas.org 800-255-1036 x125

	
________________________________


	From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Donna Chambers
	Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:32 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 Gopalakrishnan <mailto:agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com>  

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

		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 
		---------------------------------------------------- 
		National Institute for Literacy 
		Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
		ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
		To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www..nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards <http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards>  

		-- 
		No virus found in this incoming message. 
		Checked by AVG Free Edition. 
		Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.6/428 - Release Date: 8/25/2006 
		  
		
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		Checked by AVG Free Edition.
		Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.11.6/428 - Release Date: 8/25/2006
		  

		
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From cdebay at tmcc.edu  Wed Aug 30 20:24:28 2006
From: cdebay at tmcc.edu (Claudia Bianca-DeBay)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 17:24:28 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 237] Re: How are
	states	implementingcontentstandards?
Message-ID: <44F5C9CC0200005900002092@webmail.tmcc.edu>

I am the CASAS state manager/trainer, primary content standards
developer, and resource specialist for Nevada.
Nevada is also starting a pilot study with two programs - one large
community college-based and one small faith-based. Eight teachers
volunteered to be part of this study in the community college-based
program and four teachers volunteered from the faith-based program. The
main purpose of this year's pilot study is to introduce the ESL/EL
Civics Content Standards to volunteer teachers in these two programs who
are interested in implementing two or three standards during this next
year. They are not being paid to do this, so 'buy-in' is important. I
sent an initial questionnaire to these volunteer teachers, asking them
what standards they chose to implement, how will they build those
standards into their students' goals, how would they like to begin
implementing them, which standards would they like to start with, how
will they implement the standard, how long and how often would they like
to spend teaching the standard, would they like help from me (lesson
ideas, lesson plans, resources, feedback in/out of the classroom,
co-teach), how will they assess if their students mastered the standard,
how will they involve their students in the standards implementation,
and would they like a workshop, individual meeting, and/or help in the
classroom.
The agreement between these teachers and me is this:
The teachers agreed to look over the standards for their level and
choose two or three that they want to implement in their classroom.
They will keep a log of how the implementation is going (either journal
or email) once a week to me.
I, too, will keep a log of the process in both programs, reflecting on
what worked, what didn't work) and then present a report to the other
Directors at the August 2007 Director's Meeting. 
This year's initial pilot study is purposely unstructured, a phase one
"ease into" the implementation of the standards. Teachers are reticent
and fearful of more work put upon them. I am cognizant of the fact that
standards can be wonderful guidance tools but worthless if left on a
shelf. The goal of piloting the standards in this way is to ease their
fears, give them the opportunity to see that the standards can be
useful, relevant tools for teachers and students, peek their interest,
and, hopefully, if they had a good experience this year, entice them to
want to add on more standards in the future. After the final report,
hopefully other programs will ASK to get on board! That's the plan -
we'll see!
Claudia Bianca-DeBay

>>> "Ann Burruss" <aburruss2 at cox.net>  >>>
Jamy,
Am extremely interested in your agenda! Please send
Ann Burruss
aburruss2 at cox.net
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jamy Preul 
  To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List 
  Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 9:53 PM
  Subject: [ContentStandards 227] Re: How are states
implementingcontentstandards?


  Hi,

  I'm glad you asked that question.  We in MO are in the process of
piloting our Content Standards.  We just started the 16 hour workshop
today.  We have a group of teachers from various size and types of
classrooms from around the state.  They will pilot about 6 months, and
during that time we will have a couple of meetings for them to discuss
and evaluate how the CS are working/being presented/etc.  At the end of
the 6 months, we will evaluate what has happened with the CS, re-write
or tweak the standards and then prepare to begin implementation next
summer.

  I have also wondered how other states have piloted/implemented and
what has worked/not worked.  Any tips would be appreciated.  If you are
interested in our agenda, let me know.

  Cheers,
  JP

  Jamy Preul
  Professional Development Coordinator
  Missouri AEL Professional Development Center
  North Central Missouri College
  573-445-9703


  "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways
you can, 
  in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as you
ever 
  can."  John Wesley


    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Shaewitz, Dahlia 
    To: contentstandards at nifl.gov 
    Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 11:47 AM
    Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing
contentstandards?


    Hello:

    This question is for states that are applying content standards.
What are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the
implementation of standards in your state? This seems to be the next
step after formulation of the standards.

    Best,

    Dahlia Shaewitz



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From bjacala at guamcc.edu  Wed Aug 30 20:39:47 2006
From: bjacala at guamcc.edu (Barbara Jacala)
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 10:39:47 +1000
Subject: [ContentStandards 238] Re: Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14473BE1@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <!~!UENERkVCMDkAAQACAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgAAAAAAAAAmOA2jlsUUUOMhylZQ3OoP8KAAAAQAAAAnsUWyOqfgk6rfTdiSJgHUAEAAAAA@guamcc.edu>

Hi. I have been following the conversation and thank you all for sharing. In
most likelihood, Guam would follow what is set up as a national standard. As
far as our own development, we have recently revamped our adult high school
diploma program to include a minimum entry level determined through a CASAS
appraisal. A detailed description is available at
http://www.guamcc.net/admissions/catalog/guambook.pdf.

Barbara Jacala
Guam Community College

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006 4:39 AM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 234] Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers

Greetings all,

We are now mid-week in our discussion with our CASAS guests (Jane Eguez,
Jim Harrison, and Linda Taylor) on the CASAS Basic Skills Content
Standards Project.  We've learned something about the background and
research behind the project, heard from a couple of the states involved
with the project, and know about some of the next steps.  We've also
generated a more general discussion around next steps/processes for
states applying or implementing the content standards that they've
developed.

If you have missed part of this discussion or need to catch up, you can
check the public archives at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards by clicking on
"Read Current Posted Messages".

You still have time to participate in the current discussions or ask
additional questions of our CASAS guests so feel free to send in your
questions or input!

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)
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 
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From donnaedp at cox.net  Thu Aug 31 08:53:26 2006
From: donnaedp at cox.net (Donna Chambers)
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 08:53:26 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 239] Re: Questions on
	CASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project
References: <20060830030931.80633.qmail@web30704.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <002701c6ccfc$776ec1d0$7bcf0944@DH89L251>

RE: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic Skills ContentStandards ProjectAjit,

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 Gopalakrishnan 
  To: 'The 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 Gopalakrishnan 

    To: 'The 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) 
    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 
    ---------------------------------------------------- 
    National Institute for Literacy 
    Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
    ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
    To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www...nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Aug 31 09:20:44 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 09:20:44 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 240] New Article - Intergenerational Literacy
	Programs for Incarcerated Parents and Their Families
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1451A2B3@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Posted on behalf of Dianna Baycich.
Aaron

*******************************

There is a new article in the on-line journal "Exploring Adult Literacy"
at http://literacy.kent.edu/cra/new.html The article is titled
Intergenerational Literacy Programs for Incarcerated Parents and Their
Families: A Review of the Literature By William R. Muth, Ph.D. Please
take time to read what research has found out about the effects of
family literacy activities on incarcerated parents and their children.
 
Dianna Baycich
Ohio Literacy Resource Center
Research 1 - 1100 Summit Street,
P.O. Box 5190
Kent State University
Kent, OH 44242-0001
330.672.7841  330.672.4841 (fax)



Aaron Kohring
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)


From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Aug 31 09:22:55 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 09:22:55 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 241] International Community Virtual Visit Project
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1451A2DC@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Posted on Behalf of David Rosen.
Aaron

***************************************

The International Classroom and School Virtual Visit (Virtual School)
project is beginning its eighth year, linking classrooms across the
world to enable students to meet each other virtually, share information
about their cultures, their classrooms, and their communities, and to
build cultural understanding. Classes can include English as a Second or
Other Language (ESOL/ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE, GED),  elementary
or secondary education, or family literacy.  Students can be from age
seven to adult.

As in past years, we hope classes will engage in lively written
discussion, and possibly choose a film, book or current event to
discuss. This year we have set up a free wiki, so classes don't have to
create their own web pages, and we will help teachers to use free
Internet telephony so their classes can talk to each other if they can
find a time that works to do that.

If you would like to participate in this year's project,

1. Sign up on the I.C.V.V. e-list  by going to:

        http://lists.literacytent.org/mailman/listinfo/icvv

        Scroll down the page to choose an ID and password.  That's it,
easy and free.

2. Once you receive confirmation that you are on the I.C.V.V. e-list,
send an e-mail to:

          icvv at lists.literacytent.org

indicating your interest in participating this year.  Be sure to
describe your class, when it will begin, and what age group or
nationality you would prefer to partner with.

If you would like to look at classroom virtual visit projects from
previous years go to:

        http://www.otan.us/webfarm/emailproject/school.htm

and then choose

      http://www.otan.us/webfarm/emailproject/school2003.htm

We look forward to your joining the project.  Let one of us know if you
have questions.

And please pass this information on -- by e-mail or electronic list
-- to teachers who you think might be interested.

All the best,


David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

Susan Gaer
sgaer at yahoo.com



**********************************
Aaron Kohring
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)


From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Aug 31 10:03:22 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 10:03:22 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 242] Re: How are states
	implementingcontentstandards?
In-Reply-To: <001b01c6cbd7$177e2cf0$46e69cce@AELLPT02>
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1451A5A0@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Jamy,
 
You might also want to take a look at the Standards section of the Adult
Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki:
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Standards
 
It has links to useful resources as well as some information on
Standards implementation in the U.S. and Internationally.
 
Aaron

________________________________

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Jamy Preul
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 9:53 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 227] Re: How are states
implementingcontentstandards?


Hi,
 
I'm glad you asked that question.  We in MO are in the process of
piloting our Content Standards.  We just started the 16 hour workshop
today.  We have a group of teachers from various size and types of
classrooms from around the state.  They will pilot about 6 months, and
during that time we will have a couple of meetings for them to discuss
and evaluate how the CS are working/being presented/etc.  At the end of
the 6 months, we will evaluate what has happened with the CS, re-write
or tweak the standards and then prepare to begin implementation next
summer.
 
I have also wondered how other states have piloted/implemented and what
has worked/not worked.  Any tips would be appreciated.  If you are
interested in our agenda, let me know.
 
Cheers,
JP

Jamy Preul
Professional Development Coordinator
Missouri AEL Professional Development Center
North Central Missouri College
573-445-9703
 

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you
can, 
in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as you
ever 
can."  John Wesley
 
 

	----- Original Message ----- 
	From: Shaewitz, Dahlia <mailto:DShaewitz at air.org>  
	To: contentstandards at nifl.gov 
	Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 11:47 AM
	Subject: [ContentStandards 219] How are states implementing
contentstandards?

	Hello:

	This question is for states that are applying content standards.
What are the processes or strategies you use to monitor the
implementation of standards in your state? This seems to be the next
step after formulation of the standards.

	Best,

	Dahlia Shaewitz

	
________________________________


	

	----------------------------------------------------
	National Institute for Literacy
	Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
	ContentStandards at nifl.gov
	To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go
to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

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From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Aug 31 14:34:50 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:34:50 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 243] Special Topic: Formative Assessment in
	International Education
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1456002B@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Posted on behalf of David Rosen.
-------

Colleagues,

In preparation for celebrating International Literacy Day, on September
5th-7th the Special Topics Discussion List is pleased to welcome  Ms.
Janet Looney representing the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development(OECD).  Janet is the leader of the Centre for Educational
Research and Innovation program known as What Works in Innovation in
Education. Its current focus is formative assessment.  The discussion
will serve to introduce some of OECD's work in international education.
The primary focus of the discussion will be on the value of formative
assessment for promoting higher levels of learner achievement, greater
equity of outcomes, and the development of "learning to learn" skills.

Not a term widely known in the U.S., formative assessment refers to what
teachers and learners do in the classroom to assess learning progress.
An assessment is _formative_ when information gathered in the assessment
process is used to modify teaching and learning activities.  It's an
assessment _for_ learning  not just _of_ learning.

Between 2002 and 2004, the What Works program explored formative
assessment in lower secondary classrooms in eight international systems
[see Formative Assessment: Improving Learning in Secondary Classrooms
(2005)].  OECD will publish a second study addressing formative
assessment for adult basic skill learners in 2007.

Together, the two studies are intended to strengthen understanding of
effective approaches to lifelong learning.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS

While many teachers incorporate aspects of formative assessment into
their teaching, it is not often practiced systematically.  The What
Works study, Formative Assessment: Improving Learning in Secondary
Classrooms (2005), features exemplary cases from secondary schools in
eight systems and international research reviews, and relates these to
the broader policy environment.  The study shows how teachers have
addressed barriers to systematic practice, and how school and policy
leaders may apply the principles of formative assessment to promote
constructive cultures of assessment and evaluation throughout education
systems.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN ADULT BASIC SKILL PROGRAMS

Formative approaches may be particularly appropriate for adults with  
basic skill needs, the focus of the current What Works study.   
Instructors using formative approaches are able to tailor instruction
more closely to the needs of diverse adult learners.  Formative
approaches also place an explicit focus on identifying and building upon
learners' prior knowledge and skills - whether gained in formal
education settings, or informal work or other settings.

The OECD study on "Improving Teaching and Learning for Adults with Basic
Skill Needs through Formative Assessment" , now underway, is:

1. Developing studies of exemplary teaching and assessment practice for
adults with basic skill needs 2. Bringing together international
scholarship on teaching and assessment for adults with basic skill needs
3. Identifying effective policy levers for improving the quality of
provision in the adult basic skills sector, and 4. Creating
opportunities for policy officials, researchers and practitioners to
exchange insights and ideas on promoting effective teaching, assessment
and evaluation.

We look forward to your subscribing to this three-day discussion.  To do
so, go to:

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/SpecialTopics

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

----------------

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)
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 


From jeguez at casas.org  Thu Aug 31 19:20:55 2006
From: jeguez at casas.org (Jane Eguez)
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 16:20:55 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 244] Re: Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers
In-Reply-To: <8C89A7D201A51B0-FD4-21A8@FWM-M41.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC49FD5D@XNG.casas.org>

Hi Meta,

So good to hear from you! For many years, CASAS has been providing guidance to states and local programs that are using EFF with CASAS assessment. With the introduction of the CASAS Basic Skills Content Standards, we believe that it may now be easier for programs to make this connection to EFF. Washington State has recently completed a study comparing CASAS Content Standards to EFF, and various programs in Hawaii and several other states have been successfully integrating the two systems for some time.

 

Regarding your question about portfolio assessment, CASAS has been working together with California's EL Civics programs and the California Department of Education to successfully implement "additional assessments".  These assessments are performance-based portfolio assessments which complement the required standardized assessments.  They were created to assess priority leaner objectives based on statewide student needs assessments - see Relationship Between California EL Civics Objectives and CASAS Competencies at: http://www.casas.org/Downloads/more.cfm?mfile_id=3561&bhcp=1 <http://www.casas.org/Downloads/more.cfm?mfile_id=3561&bhcp=1> 

 

Each objective is linked to language and literacy content standards at specific instructional levels and linked to appropriate performance (additional) assessments. The results of these performance assessments and CASAS standardized assessment help to inform instruction and improve programs.  The performance assessments encompass listening, speaking, reading, and writing tasks in demonstrated performances, portfolios, and projects. To view the objectives, supporting language and literacy standards, and performance assessment go to: http://www.casas.org/elc/index.cfm?fuseaction=elc.home

 

EL Civics learners and teachers are excited because they are connecting student goals with standards, instruction, and assessment. A number of California EL Civics programs have received awards - whose students are making a difference in their communities - because their students have demonstrated ways in which they are using their newly acquired English skills to interact with and enrich the communities in which they live. http://www.casas.org/Downloads/more.cfm?mfile_id=4303

 

Regards,

Jane Eg?ez (jeguez at casas.org), Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org), and Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org) 
www.casas.org 800-255-1036 x125

 

 

________________________________

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of mwpotts2001 at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 11:56 AM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 235] Re: Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers

 

Hi Jane, Jim and Linda,

 

Now that a table has been developed, listing correspondences among EFF Levels, NRS, ABE and ESL Educational Functioning Levels and CASAS Scores for both ESL and ABE, how do you propose using this table as a guide for programs who are mandated to use CASAS and who are also mandated or simply want to use EFF?

 

Also, are any of the states with whom you are working using portfolio assessment? If so, can you give us a brief overview of how they compile their evidence to show gains?

 

Thanks, and I miss seeing you.

 

Meta Potts

Focus on Literacy

Glen Allen, VA

 

 

 
-----Original Message-----
From: akohring at utk.edu
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Sent: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 2:39 PM
Subject: [ContentStandards 234] Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers

Greetings all,

 

We are now mid-week in our discussion with our CASAS guests (Jane Eguez,

Jim Harrison, and Linda Taylor) on the CASAS Basic Skills Content

Standards Project.  We've learned something about the background and

research behind the project, heard from a couple of the states involved

with the project, and know about some of the next steps.  We've also

generated a more general discussion around next steps/processes for

states applying or implementing the content standards that they've

developed.

 

If you have missed part of this discussion or need to catch up, you can

check the public archives at:

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards by clicking on

"Read Current Posted Messages".

 

You still have time to participate in the current discussions or ask

additional questions of our CASAS guests so feel free to send in your

questions or input!

 

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)

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 <mailto:akohring%40utk.edu>  

----------------------------------------------------

National Institute for Literacy

Adult Education Content Standards mailing list

ContentStandards at nifl.gov <mailto:ContentStandards%40nifl.gov> 

To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

________________________________

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From mwpotts2001 at aol.com  Fri Sep  1 00:17:29 2006
From: mwpotts2001 at aol.com (mwpotts2001 at aol.com)
Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:17:29 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 245] Re: Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers
In-Reply-To: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC49FD5D@XNG.casas.org>
Message-ID: <8C89B94AC371BAB-1B4-7A8D@FWM-M20.sysops.aol.com>

Thank you Jane, Jim and Linda.  This information is very useful.
 
All the Best,
 
Meta Potts 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: jeguez at casas.org
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Sent: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 7:20 PM
Subject: [ContentStandards 244] Re: Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers


Hi Meta,
So good to hear from you! For many years, CASAS has been providing guidance to states and local programs that are using EFF with CASAS assessment. With the introduction of the CASAS Basic Skills Content Standards, we believe that it may now be easier for programs to make this connection to EFF. Washington State has recently completed a study comparing CASAS Content Standards to EFF, and various programs in Hawaii and several other states have been successfully integrating the two systems for some time.
 
Regarding your question about portfolio assessment, CASAS has been working together with California?s EL Civics programs and the California Department of Education to successfully implement ?additional assessments?.  These assessments are performance-based portfolio assessments which complement the required standardized assessments.  They were created to assess priority leaner objectives based on statewide student needs assessments ? see Relationship Between California EL Civics Objectives and CASAS Competencies at: http://www.casas.org/Downloads/more.cfm?mfile_id=3561&bhcp=1
 
Each objective is linked to language and literacy content standards at specific instructional levels and linked to appropriate performance (additional) assessments. The results of these performance assessments and CASAS standardized assessment help to inform instruction and improve programs.  The performance assessments encompass listening, speaking, reading, and writing tasks in demonstrated performances, portfolios, and projects. To view the objectives, supporting language and literacy standards, and performance assessment go to: http://www.casas.org/elc/index.cfm?fuseaction=elc.home
 
EL Civics learners and teachers are excited because they are connecting student goals with standards, instruction, and assessment. A number of California EL Civics programs have received awards - whose students are making a difference in their communities - because their students have demonstrated ways in which they are using their newly acquired English skills to interact with and enrich the communities in which they live. http://www.casas.org/Downloads/more.cfm?mfile_id=4303
 
Regards,
Jane Eg?ez (jeguez at casas.org), Jim Harrison (jharrison at casas.org), and Linda Taylor (ltaylor at casas.org) 
www.casas.org 800-255-1036 x125
 
 



From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of mwpotts2001 at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 11:56 AM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 235] Re: Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers
 
Hi Jane, Jim and Linda,
 
Now that a table has been developed, listing correspondences among EFF Levels, NRS, ABE and ESL Educational Functioning Levels and CASAS Scores for both ESL and ABE, how do you propose using this table as a guide for programs who are mandated to use CASAS and who are also mandated or simply want to use EFF?
 
Also, are any of the states with whom you are working using portfolio assessment? If so, can you give us a brief overview of how they compile their evidence to show gains?
 
Thanks, and I miss seeing you.
 
Meta Potts
Focus on Literacy
Glen Allen, VA
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: akohring at utk.edu
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Sent: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 2:39 PM
Subject: [ContentStandards 234] Mid-week with CASAS guest speakers
Greetings all,
 
We are now mid-week in our discussion with our CASAS guests (Jane Eguez,
Jim Harrison, and Linda Taylor) on the CASAS Basic Skills Content
Standards Project.  We've learned something about the background and
research behind the project, heard from a couple of the states involved
with the project, and know about some of the next steps.  We've also
generated a more general discussion around next steps/processes for
states applying or implementing the content standards that they've
developed.
 
If you have missed part of this discussion or need to catch up, you can
check the public archives at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards by clicking on
"Read Current Posted Messages".
 
You still have time to participate in the current discussions or ask
additional questions of our CASAS guests so feel free to send in your
questions or input!
 
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)
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 
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


size=2 width="100%" align=center> 
Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email and IM. All on demand. Always Free.
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
________________________________________________________________________
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From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Sep  1 09:53:11 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 09:53:11 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 246] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
In-Reply-To: <002701c6ccfc$776ec1d0$7bcf0944@DH89L251>
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14560D3A@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

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

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

		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 
		---------------------------------------------------- 
		National Institute for Literacy 
		Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
		ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
		To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
please go to http://www...nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
<http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards>  

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From djrosen at comcast.net  Fri Sep  1 10:34:09 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 10:34:09 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 247] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14560D3A@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
References: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14560D3A@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <DF942E8F-5F8A-4A16-87A0-898C6687FBEE@comcast.net>

Hello Aaron and others,

On Sep 1, 2006, at 9:53 AM, you wrote:

> 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?

I have thought about this recurrent question and propose the following:

The key is for each learner, in many cases with the help of a teacher  
or counsel, to examine what  "I want my GED" means.
  " _Why_ do you want to get a GED (or ADP or EDP) ?"  "If you had  
it, what would you hope it would do for you?"  The answers will  
mostly fall in three categories:

1. GED as a terminal diploma or certificate

? I want to hold my head up as a holder of a GED or adult high school  
diploma.  Personal pride and satisfaction.  Not so much for my job or  
my career.
or
? I have to have a GED or h.s. diploma to keep my job.  I need this  
as soon as possible.
or
? I need a job now. I can't get one because I don't have a high  
school diploma.  I think, with a GED I can get a job. I don't care if  
it's a low-paying job.  I need money as soon as possible.

2. GED as a key to entering Post-Secondary education

? I want a good job, one that will enable me (and my family) to be  
self-sufficient. I understand that the GED is not enough, that I have  
to get at least a year of college, too, but the GED is needed first.
? I want to succeed in college, I understand that a GED may be enough  
to get in, but I want to take regular, not developmental study  
courses so I want to be prepared to do academic work in college, and  
in other ways to be prepared for college before I enroll.

3. Limbo

?  I don't know.  I really don't. I was told to come here by my  
social worker (parole officer, mother....)

Category 1 folks are "true GED" people.  Category 2 folks are college  
prep people.  They need a GED or h.s. diploma _and_ transition to  
college/college prep work.  Category 3 people may or may not belong  
in an adult education program. For example, some out-of-school youth  
programs are designed help young adults get motivated.

A high quality, seamless adult education system (not necessarily  
every program in the system) should offer all three options, and the  
screening process should be such that students get referred to the  
right option for their goal, so that "fast track for employment: GED  
students get 1, GED for increased lifetime earning folks get 2,  and  
those who need motivation and counseling, and maybe a stimulating  
program of education with try-out work, get 3.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net





From Karen.Limkemann at fwliteracyalliance.org  Fri Sep  1 10:57:37 2006
From: Karen.Limkemann at fwliteracyalliance.org (Limkemann, Karen)
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 10:57:37 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 248] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
Message-ID: <CE2433C9A4C39B4E9216463CCBC67D4F050174@server1.TLA.lan>

Hello All,

 

I'll weigh in here.  This is a huge issue for our agency.  We have
operated with waiting list for several years now so the pressure to move
students through in order to serve the students who are waiting is
great.  However we are keenly aware of the requirements of both the
workforce and the postsecondary schools that are "next steps" for ours
students. Just passing the GED is not enough in both instances.

 

One thing that we have become very strict about is attendance and
personal responsibility.  We require 100% for the first month and
nothing less than 80%.  We talk with the students about the fact that
the "soft skills" are often as important as the academic proficiencies,
particularly in the workforce.  With funding tied to performance and
outcomes student commitment is critical. Many of our students fall into
the 16-21 age group and were unsuccessful in school due to that lack of
commitment.  Our "tough love" approach results in many being exited.
When they come back onto the wait list, and they usually do, their level
of commitment is much better when they get back into class.

 

Karen Limkemann

Ft. Wayne, IN

 

 

________________________________

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006 10:01 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 Gopalakrishnan <mailto:agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com>  

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

	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 Gopalakrishnan
<mailto:agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com>  

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

		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 
		---------------------------------------------------- 
		National Institute for Literacy 
		Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
		ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
		To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings,
please go to http://www...nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
<http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards>  

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From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Sep  1 12:10:12 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 12:10:12 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 249]  Final questions for CASAS guests
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A145B40F3@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Hi everyone, 

What a great and rich discussion we have had this week, thank you all
for your participation!  This is the last day with our CASAS guests, so
I encourage you to ask any final questions or make any comments.

However, the ongoing discussion topics can certainly continue beyond
this week!  So we welcome any further insights you wish to share.

 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)
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 


From KHinson at future-gate.com  Fri Sep  1 14:02:42 2006
From: KHinson at future-gate.com (Katrina Hinson)
Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2006 20:02:42 +0200
Subject: [ContentStandards 250]   Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
In-Reply-To: <DF942E8F-5F8A-4A16-87A0-898C6687FBEE@comcast.net>
References: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14560D3A@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
	<DF942E8F-5F8A-4A16-87A0-898C6687FBEE@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <44F83D3F.121C.00A0.0@future-gate.com>

Well said!!

>>> David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 9/1/2006 10:34 am >>>
Hello Aaron and others,

On Sep 1, 2006, at 9:53 AM, you wrote:

> 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?

I have thought about this recurrent question and propose the
following:

The key is for each learner, in many cases with the help of a teacher 

or counsel, to examine what  "I want my GED" means.
  " _Why_ do you want to get a GED (or ADP or EDP) ?"  "If you had  
it, what would you hope it would do for you?"  The answers will  
mostly fall in three categories:

1. GED as a terminal diploma or certificate

* I want to hold my head up as a holder of a GED or adult high school
 
diploma.  Personal pride and satisfaction.  Not so much for my job or 

my career.
or
* I have to have a GED or h.s. diploma to keep my job.  I need this 

as soon as possible.
or
* I need a job now. I can't get one because I don't have a high  
school diploma.  I think, with a GED I can get a job. I don't care if 

it's a low-paying job.  I need money as soon as possible.

2. GED as a key to entering Post-Secondary education

* I want a good job, one that will enable me (and my family) to be  
self-sufficient. I understand that the GED is not enough, that I have 

to get at least a year of college, too, but the GED is needed first.
* I want to succeed in college, I understand that a GED may be enough
 
to get in, but I want to take regular, not developmental study  
courses so I want to be prepared to do academic work in college, and  
in other ways to be prepared for college before I enroll.

3. Limbo

*  I don't know.  I really don't. I was told to come here by my  
social worker (parole officer, mother....)

Category 1 folks are "true GED" people.  Category 2 folks are college 

prep people.  They need a GED or h.s. diploma _and_ transition to  
college/college prep work.  Category 3 people may or may not belong  
in an adult education program. For example, some out-of-school youth  
programs are designed help young adults get motivated.

A high quality, seamless adult education system (not necessarily  
every program in the system) should offer all three options, and the  
screening process should be such that students get referred to the  
right option for their goal, so that "fast track for employment: GED  
students get 1, GED for increased lifetime earning folks get 2,  and  
those who need motivation and counseling, and maybe a stimulating  
program of education with try-out work, get 3.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net 



----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From djrosen at comcast.net  Sat Sep  2 18:58:08 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 18:58:08 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 251] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
In-Reply-To: <44F83D3F.121C.00A0.0@future-gate.com>
References: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14560D3A@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
	<DF942E8F-5F8A-4A16-87A0-898C6687FBEE@comcast.net>
	<44F83D3F.121C.00A0.0@future-gate.com>
Message-ID: <1C0F44D1-40BC-44BD-8D67-BAB429FC938D@comcast.net>

Thanks, Katrina

All the best,

David

On Sep 1, 2006, at 2:02 PM, Katrina Hinson wrote:

> Well said!!
>
>>>> David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 9/1/2006 10:34 am >>>
> Hello Aaron and others,
>
> On Sep 1, 2006, at 9:53 AM, you wrote:
>
>> 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?
>
> I have thought about this recurrent question and propose the
> following:
>
> The key is for each learner, in many cases with the help of a teacher
>
> or counsel, to examine what  "I want my GED" means.
>   " _Why_ do you want to get a GED (or ADP or EDP) ?"  "If you had
> it, what would you hope it would do for you?"  The answers will
> mostly fall in three categories:
>
> 1. GED as a terminal diploma or certificate
>
> * I want to hold my head up as a holder of a GED or adult high school
>
> diploma.  Personal pride and satisfaction.  Not so much for my job or
>
> my career.
> or
> * I have to have a GED or h.s. diploma to keep my job.  I need this
>
> as soon as possible.
> or
> * I need a job now. I can't get one because I don't have a high
> school diploma.  I think, with a GED I can get a job. I don't care if
>
> it's a low-paying job.  I need money as soon as possible.
>
> 2. GED as a key to entering Post-Secondary education
>
> * I want a good job, one that will enable me (and my family) to be
> self-sufficient. I understand that the GED is not enough, that I have
>
> to get at least a year of college, too, but the GED is needed first.
> * I want to succeed in college, I understand that a GED may be enough
>
> to get in, but I want to take regular, not developmental study
> courses so I want to be prepared to do academic work in college, and
> in other ways to be prepared for college before I enroll.
>
> 3. Limbo
>
> *  I don't know.  I really don't. I was told to come here by my
> social worker (parole officer, mother....)
>
> Category 1 folks are "true GED" people.  Category 2 folks are college
>
> prep people.  They need a GED or h.s. diploma _and_ transition to
> college/college prep work.  Category 3 people may or may not belong
> in an adult education program. For example, some out-of-school youth
> programs are designed help young adults get motivated.
>
> A high quality, seamless adult education system (not necessarily
> every program in the system) should offer all three options, and the
> screening process should be such that students get referred to the
> right option for their goal, so that "fast track for employment: GED
> students get 1, GED for increased lifetime earning folks get 2,  and
> those who need motivation and counseling, and maybe a stimulating
> program of education with try-out work, get 3.
>
> David J. Rosen
> djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to  
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net





From donnaedp at cox.net  Sun Sep  3 14:51:04 2006
From: donnaedp at cox.net (Donna Chambers)
Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2006 14:51:04 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 252] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
References: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14560D3A@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu><DF942E8F-5F8A-4A16-87A0-898C6687FBEE@comcast.net><44F83D3F.121C.00A0.0@future-gate.com>
	<1C0F44D1-40BC-44BD-8D67-BAB429FC938D@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <000701c6cf89$e95c5750$7bcf0944@DH89L251>

David,

I agree with Katrina that you have clearly defined the type of adult 
learners who come to our program to "get their GED."  I think that orienting 
the learner to the reality of understanding how long it will take to get to 
the GED, what skills need to be attained, and what the GED will do for the 
individual is all a critical piece to the intake.  Also the intake process 
will help us and the learner understand  both the immediate and long term 
goals and what the GED will mean in terms of these goals. While I like the 
categories, I feel as though instruction can  prepare people beyond the GED 
at all levels and all categories, even if the learner is on a fast track to 
GED course.  I would very much like to continue this discussion and how it 
relates to content standards if anyone is interested.  Donna Chambers


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Rosen" <djrosen at comcast.net>
To: "The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List" 
<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 6:58 PM
Subject: [ContentStandards 251] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?


> Thanks, Katrina
>
> All the best,
>
> David
>
> On Sep 1, 2006, at 2:02 PM, Katrina Hinson wrote:
>
>> Well said!!
>>
>>>>> David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 9/1/2006 10:34 am >>>
>> Hello Aaron and others,
>>
>> On Sep 1, 2006, at 9:53 AM, you wrote:
>>
>>> 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?
>>
>> I have thought about this recurrent question and propose the
>> following:
>>
>> The key is for each learner, in many cases with the help of a teacher
>>
>> or counsel, to examine what  "I want my GED" means.
>>   " _Why_ do you want to get a GED (or ADP or EDP) ?"  "If you had
>> it, what would you hope it would do for you?"  The answers will
>> mostly fall in three categories:
>>
>> 1. GED as a terminal diploma or certificate
>>
>> * I want to hold my head up as a holder of a GED or adult high school
>>
>> diploma.  Personal pride and satisfaction.  Not so much for my job or
>>
>> my career.
>> or
>> * I have to have a GED or h.s. diploma to keep my job.  I need this
>>
>> as soon as possible.
>> or
>> * I need a job now. I can't get one because I don't have a high
>> school diploma.  I think, with a GED I can get a job. I don't care if
>>
>> it's a low-paying job.  I need money as soon as possible.
>>
>> 2. GED as a key to entering Post-Secondary education
>>
>> * I want a good job, one that will enable me (and my family) to be
>> self-sufficient. I understand that the GED is not enough, that I have
>>
>> to get at least a year of college, too, but the GED is needed first.
>> * I want to succeed in college, I understand that a GED may be enough
>>
>> to get in, but I want to take regular, not developmental study
>> courses so I want to be prepared to do academic work in college, and
>> in other ways to be prepared for college before I enroll.
>>
>> 3. Limbo
>>
>> *  I don't know.  I really don't. I was told to come here by my
>> social worker (parole officer, mother....)
>>
>> Category 1 folks are "true GED" people.  Category 2 folks are college
>>
>> prep people.  They need a GED or h.s. diploma _and_ transition to
>> college/college prep work.  Category 3 people may or may not belong
>> in an adult education program. For example, some out-of-school youth
>> programs are designed help young adults get motivated.
>>
>> A high quality, seamless adult education system (not necessarily
>> every program in the system) should offer all three options, and the
>> screening process should be such that students get referred to the
>> right option for their goal, so that "fast track for employment: GED
>> students get 1, GED for increased lifetime earning folks get 2,  and
>> those who need motivation and counseling, and maybe a stimulating
>> program of education with try-out work, get 3.
>>
>> David J. Rosen
>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
> David J. Rosen
> djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> 




From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Sep  5 09:30:35 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 09:30:35 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 253]  CASAS discussion thanks!
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1464045C@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to thank Jane, Jim, and Linda from CASAS for being our
Guests last week!  And thanks to all of you who contributed to the
discussion - I hope subscribers found the discussion both interesting
and informative. 

I will prepare the Discussion in a user-friendly format, and post it to
the Guest Speaker archive on the National Institute for Literacy website
(I'll send out a notice when this is ready): 
- (http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html) 
- click on the Guest Speakers button in the toolbar for the archives of
Guests.

You can read the entire thread now if you go to the Content Standards
public archive at: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards

- click on Read Current Posted Messages. 

It sounds like there is interest in carrying on some of last week's
discussion so please feel free to contribute to the conversation.

Thanks to all again,
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)
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 


From Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov  Tue Sep  5 09:44:42 2006
From: Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov (Nguyen, My Linh)
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 09:44:42 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 254] National Institute for Literacy Launches
	International Perspective Webpages
Message-ID: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D4959118895CD@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>

Just in time for International Literacy Day on September 8, the National
Institute for Literacy has launched a series of webpages on its website
(www.nifl.gov) to highlight worldwide efforts to address and combat literacy
problems. The International Perspectives webpages allow American adult
literacy and English language teachers and students quick access to
information about:
	*	adult literacy education in other countries and cultures,
including both developing and industrialized countries, and including
curriculum and outcomes standards for adult education in other countries 
	*	international comparative studies of adult literacy and
PreK-12 education, and 
	*	international efforts to raise literacy levels (e.g.UNESCO,
International Reading Association, and the Venezuelan and Argentinian
literacy campaigns) 
The Institute plans to continue to build on the information on the
International Perspective pages
(<http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/international/intro.html>) as they develop into a
central site for worldwide literacy resources.
	The National Institute for Literacy provides leadership on literacy
issues, including the improvement of reading instruction for children,
youth, and adults. In consultation with the U.S. Departments of Education,
Labor, and Health and Human Services, the Institute serves as a national
resource on current, comprehensive literacy research, practice, and policy.


My Linh Nguyen
Associate Director of Communications
National Institute for Literacy
(202) 233-2041
fax (202) 233-2050
mnguyen at nifl.gov



From khinson at future-gate.com  Tue Sep  5 12:24:12 2006
From: khinson at future-gate.com (Katrina Hinson)
Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:24:12 +0200
Subject: [ContentStandards 255] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
Message-ID: <44FDC0CC020000A00000336E@fgwiel01a.wie.de.future-gate.com>

I'm interested! (on many levels)

I think you are right - regarding orienting students at the beginning.
I'm interested in finding out just what kind of "intake" process
programs have in place where this might can occur. Is intake only a
series of forms and tests or is it more structured? Who does the intake?
What is covered in "intake" and how do you really orient a student who
has been out of school for a number of years to the process of being
back in a classroom environment.

I think it's crucial for the student to understand the GED options and
to understand how he/she might move through the program. I also think
students need goals - whether it's employment or academic. Likewise, I
think the instructor(s) need to know that information. I think students
need to be given a strong foundation when they come into a program
and/or move from one to the next.  

Many times that foundation begins with an "intake" process and too often
that process is simply a matter of "placement" testing and forms and
perhaps lacks meat. I could be wrong...hence why I'm curious what other
programs consider "intake."

As students finish the GED, what happens? Is there an exit interview?
Should their be one to ensure students are steered in the right
direction - joblink, curriculum counselors etc. Are students who are
interested in the academic arena really prepared to succeed in the
Post-Secondary classes? How do we ensure they are.  Do they really
possess employability skills once they attain their GED - again, what do
we do to give them "marketable" skills that make them better employees
or more employable than they were when they came through our doors.  I
think there are many questions around this topic and perhaps not enough
emphasis.

Regards,

Katrina Hinson
>>> "Donna Chambers" <donnaedp at cox.net> 09/03/06 11:51 AM >>>
David,

I agree with Katrina that you have clearly defined the type of adult 
learners who come to our program to "get their GED."  I think that
orienting 
the learner to the reality of understanding how long it will take to get
to 
the GED, what skills need to be attained, and what the GED will do for
the 
individual is all a critical piece to the intake.  Also the intake
process 
will help us and the learner understand  both the immediate and long
term 
goals and what the GED will mean in terms of these goals. While I like
the 
categories, I feel as though instruction can  prepare people beyond the
GED 
at all levels and all categories, even if the learner is on a fast track
to 
GED course.  I would very much like to continue this discussion and how
it 
relates to content standards if anyone is interested.  Donna Chambers


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Rosen" <djrosen at comcast.net>
To: "The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List" 
<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 6:58 PM
Subject: [ContentStandards 251] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?


> Thanks, Katrina
>
> All the best,
>
> David
>
> On Sep 1, 2006, at 2:02 PM, Katrina Hinson wrote:
>
>> Well said!!
>>
>>>>> David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 9/1/2006 10:34 am >>>
>> Hello Aaron and others,
>>
>> On Sep 1, 2006, at 9:53 AM, you wrote:
>>
>>> 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?
>>
>> I have thought about this recurrent question and propose the
>> following:
>>
>> The key is for each learner, in many cases with the help of a teacher
>>
>> or counsel, to examine what  "I want my GED" means.
>>   " _Why_ do you want to get a GED (or ADP or EDP) ?"  "If you had
>> it, what would you hope it would do for you?"  The answers will
>> mostly fall in three categories:
>>
>> 1. GED as a terminal diploma or certificate
>>
>> * I want to hold my head up as a holder of a GED or adult high school
>>
>> diploma.  Personal pride and satisfaction.  Not so much for my job or
>>
>> my career.
>> or
>> * I have to have a GED or h.s. diploma to keep my job.  I need this
>>
>> as soon as possible.
>> or
>> * I need a job now. I can't get one because I don't have a high
>> school diploma.  I think, with a GED I can get a job. I don't care if
>>
>> it's a low-paying job.  I need money as soon as possible.
>>
>> 2. GED as a key to entering Post-Secondary education
>>
>> * I want a good job, one that will enable me (and my family) to be
>> self-sufficient. I understand that the GED is not enough, that I have
>>
>> to get at least a year of college, too, but the GED is needed first.
>> * I want to succeed in college, I understand that a GED may be enough
>>
>> to get in, but I want to take regular, not developmental study
>> courses so I want to be prepared to do academic work in college, and
>> in other ways to be prepared for college before I enroll.
>>
>> 3. Limbo
>>
>> *  I don't know.  I really don't. I was told to come here by my
>> social worker (parole officer, mother....)
>>
>> Category 1 folks are "true GED" people.  Category 2 folks are college
>>
>> prep people.  They need a GED or h.s. diploma _and_ transition to
>> college/college prep work.  Category 3 people may or may not belong
>> in an adult education program. For example, some out-of-school youth
>> programs are designed help young adults get motivated.
>>
>> A high quality, seamless adult education system (not necessarily
>> every program in the system) should offer all three options, and the
>> screening process should be such that students get referred to the
>> right option for their goal, so that "fast track for employment: GED
>> students get 1, GED for increased lifetime earning folks get 2,  and
>> those who need motivation and counseling, and maybe a stimulating
>> program of education with try-out work, get 3.
>>
>> David J. Rosen
>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
> David J. Rosen
> djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> 


----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Sep  5 14:36:18 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 14:36:18 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 256] Family Literacy List Guest Speaker next week
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A146C2587@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Hello all,

Please note below the guest speaker on the Family Literacy List next
week.
Aaron


*********************************
On September 11th through the 13th, Cyndy Colletti, Literacy Program
Manager at the Illinois State Library,  will join the Family Literacy
Discussion List as a guest speaker/discussion leader. Cyndy's topic will
be "Implementing Interactive Parent Child Activities"-- a topic of much
interest to those working with families.

Cyndy's biography is given below. Before she begins her discussion on
September 11, I will post some questions for your consideration. They
will be the questions that will guide Cyndy's discussion.

We look forward to having Cyndy join us and know that you will make her
time with us rewarding and valuable by responding to her comments and
questions. I will remind you of this discussion again as we get closer
to the date.

Read on for Cyndy's biography.

Cyndy Colletti, currently the Literacy Program Manager at the Illinois
State Library (ISL), worked as the Family Literacy Coordinator at ISL
for nine years.  In that position, she was responsible for comprehensive
grant administration including developing and implementing the Family
Literacy Grant Program, a comprehensive five component program including
library services as the fifth component. The Illinois State Library has
consistently funded between 40 and 55 family literacy projects annually
since 1991.  She has worked cooperatively with the practitioners in
Illinois to develop programmatic resources for the Family Literacy
projects such as parent-child activities (The Story Kits, online at
http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/publish/ccollett/storykit/sitemap.html  are an
example.) and workshops on other issues vital to family literacy. She
has a master's degree from the University of Illinois and more than 20
years experience in the field of adult education and literacy and social
service. Her current responsibility as Literacy Program Manager includes
grants management and facilitating the effectiveness of program
implementation on the local level by providing resource materials,
training and support for local adult education and family literacy
providers throughout Illinois.

To participate in the discussion, sign up for the Family Literacy
Discussion List at http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/familyliteracy


Gail J. Price
Multimedia Specialist
National Center for Family Literacy
325 West Main Street, Suite 300
Louisville, KY 40205

Phone: 502 584-1133, ext. 112
Fax: 502 584-0172


**************************************

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)
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 


From aburruss2 at cox.net  Tue Sep  5 22:05:55 2006
From: aburruss2 at cox.net (Ann Burruss)
Date: Tue, 5 Sep 2006 22:05:55 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 257] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
References: <44FDC0CC020000A00000336E@fgwiel01a.wie.de.future-gate.com>
Message-ID: <004501c6d158$fd1c5ee0$0202a8c0@D1WJ3821>

Katrina,
I do so agree with you!  I teach at the local jail, and getting the GED is a BEGINNING!  There is so much more we need to do, particularly when you are addressing the needs of middle aged population who is now released.  Having a GED will NOT get that person a job...UNLESS he/she has acquired some other skills!  More later, if you are interested.
Ann Burruss
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Katrina Hinson 
  To: donnaedp at cox.net ; contentstandards at nifl.gov 
  Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 12:24 PM
  Subject: [ContentStandards 255] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?


  I'm interested! (on many levels)

  I think you are right - regarding orienting students at the beginning.
  I'm interested in finding out just what kind of "intake" process
  programs have in place where this might can occur. Is intake only a
  series of forms and tests or is it more structured? Who does the intake?
  What is covered in "intake" and how do you really orient a student who
  has been out of school for a number of years to the process of being
  back in a classroom environment.

  I think it's crucial for the student to understand the GED options and
  to understand how he/she might move through the program. I also think
  students need goals - whether it's employment or academic. Likewise, I
  think the instructor(s) need to know that information. I think students
  need to be given a strong foundation when they come into a program
  and/or move from one to the next.  

  Many times that foundation begins with an "intake" process and too often
  that process is simply a matter of "placement" testing and forms and
  perhaps lacks meat. I could be wrong...hence why I'm curious what other
  programs consider "intake."

  As students finish the GED, what happens? Is there an exit interview?
  Should their be one to ensure students are steered in the right
  direction - joblink, curriculum counselors etc. Are students who are
  interested in the academic arena really prepared to succeed in the
  Post-Secondary classes? How do we ensure they are.  Do they really
  possess employability skills once they attain their GED - again, what do
  we do to give them "marketable" skills that make them better employees
  or more employable than they were when they came through our doors.  I
  think there are many questions around this topic and perhaps not enough
  emphasis.

  Regards,

  Katrina Hinson
  >>> "Donna Chambers" <donnaedp at cox.net> 09/03/06 11:51 AM >>>
  David,

  I agree with Katrina that you have clearly defined the type of adult 
  learners who come to our program to "get their GED."  I think that
  orienting 
  the learner to the reality of understanding how long it will take to get
  to 
  the GED, what skills need to be attained, and what the GED will do for
  the 
  individual is all a critical piece to the intake.  Also the intake
  process 
  will help us and the learner understand  both the immediate and long
  term 
  goals and what the GED will mean in terms of these goals. While I like
  the 
  categories, I feel as though instruction can  prepare people beyond the
  GED 
  at all levels and all categories, even if the learner is on a fast track
  to 
  GED course.  I would very much like to continue this discussion and how
  it 
  relates to content standards if anyone is interested.  Donna Chambers


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "David Rosen" <djrosen at comcast.net>
  To: "The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List" 
  <contentstandards at nifl.gov>
  Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 6:58 PM
  Subject: [ContentStandards 251] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?


  > Thanks, Katrina
  >
  > All the best,
  >
  > David
  >
  > On Sep 1, 2006, at 2:02 PM, Katrina Hinson wrote:
  >
  >> Well said!!
  >>
  >>>>> David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 9/1/2006 10:34 am >>>
  >> Hello Aaron and others,
  >>
  >> On Sep 1, 2006, at 9:53 AM, you wrote:
  >>
  >>> 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?
  >>
  >> I have thought about this recurrent question and propose the
  >> following:
  >>
  >> The key is for each learner, in many cases with the help of a teacher
  >>
  >> or counsel, to examine what  "I want my GED" means.
  >>   " _Why_ do you want to get a GED (or ADP or EDP) ?"  "If you had
  >> it, what would you hope it would do for you?"  The answers will
  >> mostly fall in three categories:
  >>
  >> 1. GED as a terminal diploma or certificate
  >>
  >> * I want to hold my head up as a holder of a GED or adult high school
  >>
  >> diploma.  Personal pride and satisfaction.  Not so much for my job or
  >>
  >> my career.
  >> or
  >> * I have to have a GED or h.s. diploma to keep my job.  I need this
  >>
  >> as soon as possible.
  >> or
  >> * I need a job now. I can't get one because I don't have a high
  >> school diploma.  I think, with a GED I can get a job. I don't care if
  >>
  >> it's a low-paying job.  I need money as soon as possible.
  >>
  >> 2. GED as a key to entering Post-Secondary education
  >>
  >> * I want a good job, one that will enable me (and my family) to be
  >> self-sufficient. I understand that the GED is not enough, that I have
  >>
  >> to get at least a year of college, too, but the GED is needed first.
  >> * I want to succeed in college, I understand that a GED may be enough
  >>
  >> to get in, but I want to take regular, not developmental study
  >> courses so I want to be prepared to do academic work in college, and
  >> in other ways to be prepared for college before I enroll.
  >>
  >> 3. Limbo
  >>
  >> *  I don't know.  I really don't. I was told to come here by my
  >> social worker (parole officer, mother....)
  >>
  >> Category 1 folks are "true GED" people.  Category 2 folks are college
  >>
  >> prep people.  They need a GED or h.s. diploma _and_ transition to
  >> college/college prep work.  Category 3 people may or may not belong
  >> in an adult education program. For example, some out-of-school youth
  >> programs are designed help young adults get motivated.
  >>
  >> A high quality, seamless adult education system (not necessarily
  >> every program in the system) should offer all three options, and the
  >> screening process should be such that students get referred to the
  >> right option for their goal, so that "fast track for employment: GED
  >> students get 1, GED for increased lifetime earning folks get 2,  and
  >> those who need motivation and counseling, and maybe a stimulating
  >> program of education with try-out work, get 3.
  >>
  >> David J. Rosen
  >> djrosen at comcast.net
  >>
  >>
  >>
  >> ----------------------------------------------------
  >> National Institute for Literacy
  >> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  >> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
  >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
  >> ----------------------------------------------------
  >> National Institute for Literacy
  >> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  >> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  >> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
  >> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
  >
  > David J. Rosen
  > djrosen at comcast.net
  >
  >
  >
  > ----------------------------------------------------
  > National Institute for Literacy
  > Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  > ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
  > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
  > 


  ----------------------------------------------------
  National Institute for Literacy
  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
  http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

  ----------------------------------------------------
  National Institute for Literacy
  Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
  ContentStandards at nifl.gov
  To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
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From bjacala at guamcc.edu  Wed Sep  6 01:07:02 2006
From: bjacala at guamcc.edu (Barbara Jacala)
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 15:07:02 +1000
Subject: [ContentStandards 258] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
In-Reply-To: <44FDC0CC020000A00000336E@fgwiel01a.wie.de.future-gate.com>
Message-ID: <200609060456.k864u3cO019543@mail.guamcc.net>

I am interested in continuing the discussion on GED and beyond. Here on Guam
we do have a brief intake process as well as an exit process.

At intake, we do have the series of forms. We gather student information. We
find out the student's short term and long term goals. We provide
information on the test, where they can find study materials, where they can
get tutoring or attend preparatory classes. We even try to find financial
assistance for them. 

At exit, we present the student with a "Congratulations, graduate!" folder.
In it are the transcript, waiver forms, update forms, as well as
informational materials for postsecondary programs. We take a picture of the
student and publish it with a little write up in a blogspace.

We have not tracked the effectiveness of this strategy, but we have seen a
number of students come back to enroll in postsecondary programs. Our
program does not employ a counselor but we have been advocating for one. We
feel that such a person will be valuable in steering students to the right
direction. 

Barbara Jacala
Adult Education Program Specialist
Guam Community College
Telephone: 671-735-5625
 
-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Katrina Hinson
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 2:24 AM
To: donnaedp at cox.net; contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 255] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?

I'm interested! (on many levels)

I think you are right - regarding orienting students at the beginning.
I'm interested in finding out just what kind of "intake" process
programs have in place where this might can occur. Is intake only a
series of forms and tests or is it more structured? Who does the intake?
What is covered in "intake" and how do you really orient a student who
has been out of school for a number of years to the process of being
back in a classroom environment.

I think it's crucial for the student to understand the GED options and
to understand how he/she might move through the program. I also think
students need goals - whether it's employment or academic. Likewise, I
think the instructor(s) need to know that information. I think students
need to be given a strong foundation when they come into a program
and/or move from one to the next.  

Many times that foundation begins with an "intake" process and too often
that process is simply a matter of "placement" testing and forms and
perhaps lacks meat. I could be wrong...hence why I'm curious what other
programs consider "intake."

As students finish the GED, what happens? Is there an exit interview?
Should their be one to ensure students are steered in the right
direction - joblink, curriculum counselors etc. Are students who are
interested in the academic arena really prepared to succeed in the
Post-Secondary classes? How do we ensure they are.  Do they really
possess employability skills once they attain their GED - again, what do
we do to give them "marketable" skills that make them better employees
or more employable than they were when they came through our doors.  I
think there are many questions around this topic and perhaps not enough
emphasis.

Regards,

Katrina Hinson
>>> "Donna Chambers" <donnaedp at cox.net> 09/03/06 11:51 AM >>>
David,

I agree with Katrina that you have clearly defined the type of adult 
learners who come to our program to "get their GED."  I think that
orienting 
the learner to the reality of understanding how long it will take to get
to 
the GED, what skills need to be attained, and what the GED will do for
the 
individual is all a critical piece to the intake.  Also the intake
process 
will help us and the learner understand  both the immediate and long
term 
goals and what the GED will mean in terms of these goals. While I like
the 
categories, I feel as though instruction can  prepare people beyond the
GED 
at all levels and all categories, even if the learner is on a fast track
to 
GED course.  I would very much like to continue this discussion and how
it 
relates to content standards if anyone is interested.  Donna Chambers


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Rosen" <djrosen at comcast.net>
To: "The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List" 
<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 6:58 PM
Subject: [ContentStandards 251] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?


> Thanks, Katrina
>
> All the best,
>
> David
>
> On Sep 1, 2006, at 2:02 PM, Katrina Hinson wrote:
>
>> Well said!!
>>
>>>>> David Rosen <djrosen at comcast.net> 9/1/2006 10:34 am >>>
>> Hello Aaron and others,
>>
>> On Sep 1, 2006, at 9:53 AM, you wrote:
>>
>>> 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?
>>
>> I have thought about this recurrent question and propose the
>> following:
>>
>> The key is for each learner, in many cases with the help of a teacher
>>
>> or counsel, to examine what  "I want my GED" means.
>>   " _Why_ do you want to get a GED (or ADP or EDP) ?"  "If you had
>> it, what would you hope it would do for you?"  The answers will
>> mostly fall in three categories:
>>
>> 1. GED as a terminal diploma or certificate
>>
>> * I want to hold my head up as a holder of a GED or adult high school
>>
>> diploma.  Personal pride and satisfaction.  Not so much for my job or
>>
>> my career.
>> or
>> * I have to have a GED or h.s. diploma to keep my job.  I need this
>>
>> as soon as possible.
>> or
>> * I need a job now. I can't get one because I don't have a high
>> school diploma.  I think, with a GED I can get a job. I don't care if
>>
>> it's a low-paying job.  I need money as soon as possible.
>>
>> 2. GED as a key to entering Post-Secondary education
>>
>> * I want a good job, one that will enable me (and my family) to be
>> self-sufficient. I understand that the GED is not enough, that I have
>>
>> to get at least a year of college, too, but the GED is needed first.
>> * I want to succeed in college, I understand that a GED may be enough
>>
>> to get in, but I want to take regular, not developmental study
>> courses so I want to be prepared to do academic work in college, and
>> in other ways to be prepared for college before I enroll.
>>
>> 3. Limbo
>>
>> *  I don't know.  I really don't. I was told to come here by my
>> social worker (parole officer, mother....)
>>
>> Category 1 folks are "true GED" people.  Category 2 folks are college
>>
>> prep people.  They need a GED or h.s. diploma _and_ transition to
>> college/college prep work.  Category 3 people may or may not belong
>> in an adult education program. For example, some out-of-school youth
>> programs are designed help young adults get motivated.
>>
>> A high quality, seamless adult education system (not necessarily
>> every program in the system) should offer all three options, and the
>> screening process should be such that students get referred to the
>> right option for their goal, so that "fast track for employment: GED
>> students get 1, GED for increased lifetime earning folks get 2,  and
>> those who need motivation and counseling, and maybe a stimulating
>> program of education with try-out work, get 3.
>>
>> David J. Rosen
>> djrosen at comcast.net
>>
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>> ----------------------------------------------------
>> National Institute for Literacy
>> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
>> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>
> David J. Rosen
> djrosen at comcast.net
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
> 


----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Sep  6 14:39:48 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 14:39:48 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 259] Questions posted for Family Literacy
	Discussion
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A146F3FB1@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Please note the update below to the Family Literacy discussion next week
with questions for participants to consider.
Aaron

***********************************

This is a reminder that Cyndy Colletti will be joining the Family
Literacy Discussion List  Monday, September 11, through Wednesday,
September 13. 

Cyndy, currently the Literacy Program Manager at the Illinois State
Library (ISL), worked as the Family Literacy Coordinator at ISL for nine
years. She has worked cooperatively with the practitioners in Illinois
to develop programmatic resources for the Family Literacy projects such
as parent-child activities. She will be facilitating a discussion on
"Implementing Interactive Parent Child Activities."

Following are some questions about PACT to consider in anticipation of
the discussion.

Design and development --
      How do we design PACT that includes diverse learners and low level
learners? 
      How do we communicate the value of PACT to enrolled parents who
just "want to go to GED class today?" 
      Do you have some Web or hard copy resources on developing PACT
activities you want to share? 

Implementation --
        What are some successful activities you want to share? 

Outcomes --  
     What are the outcomes for the program of a successful PACT
component?
     What are the outcomes for the participants of a successful PACT
component? 
     How do we communicate the value of PACT to funders and the
community?

If you are interested in joining the discussion, you can subscribe to
the Family Literacy Discussion List by going to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/familyliteracy



Gail J. Price
Multimedia Specialist
National Center for Family Literacy
325 West Main Street, Suite 300
Louisville, KY 40205

Phone: 502 584-1133, ext. 112
Fax: 502 584-0172

****************************************



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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Sep  6 14:52:24 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 14:52:24 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 260]  FW: Re: GED and College Admissions
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A146F402C@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

I'm forwarding this message from the Assessment Discussion List which
branched off from our discussion on the GED this past week!  Note the
references to college prep and standards/skills for going beyond the
GED...
Aaron

-----Donna's Message-----

Getting students "college ready" has been an issue for years,
particularly not knowing exactly what college ready means from state to
state or from college to college. In Ohio, we are crosswalking college
readiness standards with our ABLE standards to identify the gaps and
make needed revisions. I'd be interested to hear from states or programs
that are currently involved in or have completed this process. 

Donna Albanese, Consultant
Ohio Department of Education
Adult Basic and Literacy Education
25 South Front Street, Stop 614
Columbus, Ohio  43215-4183
Phone:  614-466-5015
Fax:  614-728-8470
e-mail:  donna.albanese at ode.state.oh.us
 
-----June's Message-----

For many years prior to my employment with the federal government, I
directed a university learning center that offered developmental
classes, ran the university's placement testing program, and offered
tutoring, ESL classes, and services for those with learning disabilities
and other physical disabilities.  Over a 20 year period I saw the test
results for at least 15,000 students and I can say without any doubt
that having a GED was NOT a guarantee that an entering student had the
reading, writing, or math skills that were required as the basic skills
before attempting college-level classes.  We saw many adults enter
college with a GED who had large gaps between what we anticipated would
be the skill level of high school graduates and those who just passed
high school with minimum skill levels.  And, unfortunately, we saw many
of them leave college in academic difficulty - and with debts for
tuition. (I was the person, in the end, who interviewed all these people
and had to send the final letters of
dismissal.)

Adults who wish to go on for more education need to be advised that
having a piece of paper that says you have a high school diploma is not
sufficient.
There are basic skills and then there are more advanced skills and the
person who will be successful at the college level has to be able to
perform competently from the beginning.  Just as about 1/3 of high
school graduates are not ready for the level of work required at a
college, the GED does not adequately prepare most students.  If we could
connect jobs to skill levels and make this clear to students and parents
and employers and employees, this would be a real boon to the American
economy and school system.

Perhaps it is time to consider levels of readiness and make it clear to
high school students and to adults in adult education that there are
varying levels depending on the end goal.  People need to know how they
need to be able to perform for the goals they set for themselves.  Paper
just doesn't do it; performance is the key to success. 
June Crawford
-------------------------------


From MMaralit at NIFL.gov  Wed Sep  6 15:27:05 2006
From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo)
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 15:27:05 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 261] Re: The Health Literacy of America's Adults:
	Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B0B93313A@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

The following announcement is posted on behalf of The National Center for
Education Statistics:

The Health Literacy of America's Adults: Results from the 2003 National
Assessment of Adult Literacy (9/6/2006) 

Results from the Health Literacy component of the 2003 National Assessment
of Adult Literacy (NAAL) were just released. The health literacy findings
are based on the first large-scale national assessment designed specifically
to measure the health literacy of adults living in America. This report
measures health literacy among American adults including their ability to
read, understand, and apply health-related information in English. 

Findings include:
*	The majority of American adults (53 percent) had Intermediate health
literacy. Fewer than 15 percent of adults had either Below Basic or
Proficient health literacy. 
*	Women had higher average health literacy than men. 
*	Adults who were ages 65 and older had lower average health literacy
than younger adults. 
*	Hispanic adults had lower average health literacy than adults in any
other racial/ethnic group. 

To download, view and print the publication as a PDF file, please visit:
<http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006483>

To view other NAAL reports and for more information, visit
<http://nces.ed.gov/naal>

Jaleh Behroozi Soroui
Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI-Stat)
American Institutes for Research 
1990 K Street, NW Suite 500 
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202/403-6958
email: jsoroui at air.org



From ropteacher at gmail.com  Thu Sep  7 09:44:53 2006
From: ropteacher at gmail.com (Gloria Fuentes)
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 06:44:53 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 262] Re: FW: Re: GED and College Admissions
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A146F402C@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
References: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A146F402C@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <38914de00609070644p2d947819gb605ffc610373dfa@mail.gmail.com>

I know I am a little bit late jumping into this discussion. But--as a high
school drop out in the 9th grade and someone who came from an immigrant
family, meaning I spent more years working the fields with my family than
going to elementary school. I had not been able to keep up with the other
students so by the time I hit junior high school I was completely lost.

My father officially signend me out of school at the age of 15, and I then
went to work full time. Well when I had my own children and by this time I
was beginning to understand the value of an education when I couldn't help
my children with their homework and also when two of my boys decided they
didn't want to finish school. Well by this time I knew I had to do something
so I went to the adult education school where I obtained my GED. From there
my oldest daughter talked me into going to the community college.

I started going to a community college soon afterwards and had a really hard
time. But with the help of the Learning Resource Center I was able to catch
up to the other students who had finished all the k through 12 years in
school. Today I am a secretary at a community college and also teach an
ROP/Office Occupations & GED preparation class part-time. I teach 16 to 21
year olds.

My students are at all different levels, some were like me and never really
grasped things at the elementary level others just got side tracked in the
junior or senior years of school. I stress to my students the importance of
learning more than what just the GED teaches. We have a career development
skills section we also teach in our classroom.  Some of my students only
want to get their GED to get a job, others need their GED to go on to higher
education. What ever my students want to pursue that is what we work for.

If they plan on going on to higher education then we study more indepth with
those ones. With the ones who only want a GED for a job, and thats all they
care about getting then we only study the basics to pass the GED and job
skills.

One thing I really stress when they first come into my classroom, is if they
want to go on to higher education they are really going to have to and WANT
to work hard for it. Some of them will have to be tutored in different areas
that  they never grasped during their k-12 years.  We do that with them in
our classroom. I have an awesome case technician that helps me with this. We
do go out of our way to work with our students in what ever they desire. But
they know they have to have the desire if they want to succeed.

We have some students that are coming back to us now after having gotten
their GED but are struggling with a college course they are taking. We make
the time to help them even if we don't get paid for it. I guess for our
classroom it is once our student, always our student!

Okay I have rambled on enough this morning and I hope I made some sense with
all of this.

Gloria

On 9/6/06, Kohring, Aaron M <akohring at utk.edu> wrote:
>
> Greetings all,
>
> I'm forwarding this message from the Assessment Discussion List which
> branched off from our discussion on the GED this past week!  Note the
> references to college prep and standards/skills for going beyond the
> GED...
> Aaron
>
> -----Donna's Message-----
>
> Getting students "college ready" has been an issue for years,
> particularly not knowing exactly what college ready means from state to
> state or from college to college. In Ohio, we are crosswalking college
> readiness standards with our ABLE standards to identify the gaps and
> make needed revisions. I'd be interested to hear from states or programs
> that are currently involved in or have completed this process.
>
> Donna Albanese, Consultant
> Ohio Department of Education
> Adult Basic and Literacy Education
> 25 South Front Street, Stop 614
> Columbus, Ohio  43215-4183
> Phone:  614-466-5015
> Fax:  614-728-8470
> e-mail:  donna.albanese at ode.state.oh.us
>
> -----June's Message-----
>
> For many years prior to my employment with the federal government, I
> directed a university learning center that offered developmental
> classes, ran the university's placement testing program, and offered
> tutoring, ESL classes, and services for those with learning disabilities
> and other physical disabilities.  Over a 20 year period I saw the test
> results for at least 15,000 students and I can say without any doubt
> that having a GED was NOT a guarantee that an entering student had the
> reading, writing, or math skills that were required as the basic skills
> before attempting college-level classes.  We saw many adults enter
> college with a GED who had large gaps between what we anticipated would
> be the skill level of high school graduates and those who just passed
> high school with minimum skill levels.  And, unfortunately, we saw many
> of them leave college in academic difficulty - and with debts for
> tuition. (I was the person, in the end, who interviewed all these people
> and had to send the final letters of
> dismissal.)
>
> Adults who wish to go on for more education need to be advised that
> having a piece of paper that says you have a high school diploma is not
> sufficient.
> There are basic skills and then there are more advanced skills and the
> person who will be successful at the college level has to be able to
> perform competently from the beginning.  Just as about 1/3 of high
> school graduates are not ready for the level of work required at a
> college, the GED does not adequately prepare most students.  If we could
> connect jobs to skill levels and make this clear to students and parents
> and employers and employees, this would be a real boon to the American
> economy and school system.
>
> Perhaps it is time to consider levels of readiness and make it clear to
> high school students and to adults in adult education that there are
> varying levels depending on the end goal.  People need to know how they
> need to be able to perform for the goals they set for themselves.  Paper
> just doesn't do it; performance is the key to success.
> June Crawford
> -------------------------------
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
>



-- 
Gloria Fuentes
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From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Sep  7 09:38:23 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 09:38:23 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 263]  Webcast Casts Web of Doubt
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14766B4C@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Posted on behalf of Tom Sticht.

**************************

August 31, 2003

National Institute for Literacy Webcast Casts Web of Doubt About
Commitment to Adult Literacy Education

Tom Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education

On 15 August 2006 the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) presented a
webcast about the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) of 2003.
Entitled "Adults with Basic and Below Basic Literacy Levels:  Findings
from NAAL and Implications for Practice" the webcast focussed on the
adults who scored at the lowest two levels of the NAAL, those in the
Basic and Below Basic levels, and implications for reading instruction
and workforce development. Unfortunately, as far as I can discern, the
webcast presented nothing of any substance for policy or practice for
adult literacy/numeracy education nor for workforce development. In
fact, it presented a number of statements about education, literacy, and
workforce development of dubious validity. Here are some of these
statements.

1. Sheida White from the National Center for Education Statistics, which
sponsored the NAAL, made the statement that "Nearly two-thirds, which is
actually 67% of all the jobs created over the next decade, will require
a college degree."  But in the Statistics and Facts section of the NIFL
web site it is claimed that 69.8% percent of job openings from 2000
through 2010 will NOT require college but only some sort of work-related
training, 57% of which will be short or moderate term training. Other
data from the Department of Labor indicates that in 1998 78% of jobs
required non-college levels of education while in 2008 76% will be
non-college jobs. A 2006 report from the Educational Testing Service
(ETS) by Paul Barton also raises questions about the education levels
required by jobs. He presents data showing that the 44 occupations that
account for half of the 26 million average annual job openings  during
2001-2012 require only short-term education or on-the-job training, not
post-secondary education, and 25 of the 44 occupations have workforces
with 50 percent or more having high school or less education. Clearly,
there is reason to question the claim that two-thirds of all jobs
created over the next decade will require a college degree.

2. John Strucker called attention to the well known gaps in performance
on the tests among whites, blacks, and Hispanics, but he had nothing to
say about what to do about the situation other than we need to do
something. He talked about age and literacy and focussed on the problems
of younger adults, but he did not comment on the fact that the NAAL may
not be valid across the lifespan, especially for older adults, as other
research has suggested. He also commented on the fact that quantitative
literacy
(numeracy) had larger percentages of adults in the lower two levels than
on the prose or document literacy scales. He also mentioned that there
could be real problems with decoding, vocabulary, and  fluency for
adults in the Below Basic and Basic levels, and there could be large
numbers of learning disabilities in these groups. But there was really
nothing that I read that lead to insights regarding how teachers or
programs should go about changing their adult reading, numeracy, or
English language instruction.

3. Brian Bosworth simply repeated the oft stated notions that low
literacy can consign workers to low paying jobs and reduce America's
global competitiveness. He made a plea for a demand side approach to
skills development that seemed very much like a call for a return to
workplace literacy programs in which employers and employees determine
their skills needs and work together to design and deliver instruction.
Again, however, there was nothing that I read that produced solid
evidence of how workers with low skills actually perform important job
tasks in specific jobs or what returns to investment in workforce
education business, workers, or the rest of the nation might experience
if investments in worker literacy or
numeracy education were increased.   It would be useful if the NIFL or
some
other government agency  would support this type of research.

Noticeably missing from the presentation was a discussion of just how
arbitrary the whole enterprise of literacy assessment in the NAAL was,
including the naming of levels as Below Basic or Basic (instead of Below
Average and Average for instance). There was also no discussion of how
Prose, Document, and Quantitative literacy might "add up" across the
three scales to form a person's total literacy ability.

Nor was there any discussion of the very large differences between what
the test developers said about adults' reading and math skills based on
the standardized tests and what adults have said about their own skills
as they perceive their adequacy to be for work and daily life. Some 95
percent of adults in the NALS thought their skills met their needs and
the recent international Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) report
developed a methodology for examining the mismatch between workers
skills and their job demands for these skills. The report said that 80
percent of adults had literacy and numeracy skills that matched or
exceeded their job demands, while 20 percent were working in jobs with
demands that exceed their skills in these areas.

These huge differences between tested and self-perceived skills should
receive considerable study because it is adults' self-perceptions of
their skill needs that will eventually move them to seek help in
upgrading their skills. Perhaps a future webcast can address some of
these serious issues in determining the scale of need for and the desire
for adult literacy education.

Brian Bosworth said "I think that it's unlikely that we are going to see
a significant change and reform from the federal level to deal with most
of these workplace literacy issues." I think this was probably the most
significant policy- and practice-related statement in the entire
webcast.
It has been clear since the NALS of 1993 in which 90 million (47%) of
adults were said to lack the skills needed to cope with contemporary
society, including the world of work, that the federal government that
produced this result did not actually believe it. For three years after
that report the federal budget for the Adult Education and Literacy
System went down. After that it rose for a while, but stayed at a
pitiful level in which per adult enrollee funds equaled about $200.
After the 2003 NAAL which indicated that over 93 million adults
possessed only Basic or Below Basic prose literacy, the present
administration (1) asked for a cut in funding for adult literacy
education from around $575 million to $200 million and a complete drop
of funds for the Even Start family literacy program; (2) formed an
interagency committee to coordinate their work; and (3) the committee
met in early 2006 and it was reported that the meeting went well and it
would meet again later on. At no time in the Bush administration has it
called for more funding for the Adult Education and Literacy System,
even while repeatedly making dire warnings of impending disasters in
global competition and the American economy due to the poor literacy
skills of the workforce.

Perhaps the webcast about the NAAL, reading instruction, and the
workforce will have some positive effects on some aspect of adult
literacy education.
Clearinghouses, committees, meetings, and web discussions may possibly
be useful in meeting the need for adult literacy education in the
Nation. But there is nothing like a large infusion of money into an
obscenely under-funded education system to move the Nation forward.

So far, for me, the NIFL NAAL webcast has reinforced a web of doubt
about the federal government's sincerity and commitment to providing the
funds needed to move the Adult Education and Literacy System from the
margins to the mainstream of education in the United States.

Thomas G. Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
2062 Valley View Blvd.
El Cajon, CA 92019
Tel/fax: (619) 444-9133
Email: tsticht at aznet.net


********************************************


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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Thu Sep  7 09:44:19 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 09:44:19 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 264] Upcoming Technology and Literacy List
	discussion
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14766B6B@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Hi all,
Please note the upcoming discussion on the Technology and Literacy List.
Might be an opportunity for us to learn more about leveraging existing
and emerging technologies to enhance teaching and learning.
Aaron


***********************************
Dear colleagues,

Beginning Tuesday, September 19th through Friday, September 22nd, there
will be a guest discussion on the NIFL Technology and Literacy list on
"Assistive Technology, Instructional Technology, and Universal Design
Strategies for Adult Literacy" with guest facilitator Dr. Dave Edyburn
of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
To participate in the discussion, sign up for the Technology and
Literacy List at 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Technology

Title: Assistive Technology, Instructional Technology, and Universal
Design Strategies for Adult Literacy

Overview

Adult literacy professionals and volunteers are well aware of the
effects of school failure and the lifelong impact of failing to acquire
functional reading skills. In this online event, Dr. Dave Edyburn a
professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will engage
participants in a discussion about three forms of technology and their
application for adult literacy learners and programs.

On day one, participants will be introduced to the concept of assistive
technology and learn about products that have been designed to support
struggling readers.

On day two, conversations will focus on instructional technology. That
is, how can technology be used to teach and assess critical literacy
skills.

On day three, participants will learn about universal design for
learning and the promise of this approach to address the needs of
diverse learners in ways that combine the best attributes of assistive
and instructional technology.

Participants in this online event will have the opportunity to learn
about practical applications of technology in adult literacy programs,
ask questions, and obtain information about software and web resources.

Bio
Dave L. Edyburn, Ph.D.

Dave L. Edyburn, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Exceptional
Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Edyburn's
teaching and research interests focus on the use of technology to
enhance teaching, learning, and performance. 

He has authored over 100 articles and book chapters on assistive and
instructional technology. He is a co-editor of the recently published
book, Handbook of Special Education Technology Research and Practice. 

He is a past president of the Special Education Technology Special
Interest Group (SETSIG) in the International Society for Technology in
Education (ISTE) as well as a past president of the Technology and Media
(TAM) Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). He is a
frequent conference presenter and national workshop leader. 


Mariann Fedele
Associate Director,
NYC Regional Adult Education Network
Literacy Assistance Center
Moderator,
NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List
32 Broadway 10th Floor
New York, New York 10004
212-803-3325
mariannf at lacnyc.org
www.lacnyc.org

********************************


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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Sep  8 08:35:48 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2006 08:35:48 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 265] Re: FW: Re: GED and College Admissions
In-Reply-To: <38914de00609070644p2d947819gb605ffc610373dfa@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A147A7263@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Gloria,
 
Thanks so much for sharing your story and your experience.
 
This article (below) from the Public Education Network's Weekly
Newsblast relates to our discussion on college preparation/remediation
classes.  Sounds like there is a broader issue of what learners are
expected to know and be able to do in order to be successful in college.
Gloria shared some strategies that her community college is using.  How
are others dealing with these issues?
 
Aaron
 
PAYING DOUBLE

According to "Paying Double: Inadequate High Schools and Community
College Remediation," a new issue brief from the Alliance for Excellent
Education, the United States spends over $1.4 billion each year to
provide community college remediation education for recent high school
graduates who did not acquire the basic skills necessary to succeed in
college or at work. The brief, which was produced with support from
MetLife Foundation, also finds that the nation loses almost $2.3 billion
annually in wages as a result of the significantly reduced earnings
potential of students whose need for remedial reading make them more
likely to drop out of college without a degree. Therefore, by increasing
the number of students graduating from high school prepared to succeed
in college, an additional $3.7 billion annually would flow into the
nation's economy. The brief offers no simple solutions but does point
out that improving the nation's high schools could certainly reduce the
number of students who need remediation in college. It points to "weak
curricula, vague standards, and lack of alignment between high school
content and the expectations of colleges and employers" as reasons for
the need for remediation. It adds that students who take a rigorous high
school curriculum are less likely to need remedial courses than students
whose course load is less demanding. Finally, it suggests that statewide
performance standards for college admission would enable educators to
assess student progress toward readiness for college. To view the
complete issue brief, which includes a breakdown of state-by-state
costs, visit: 

http://www.all4ed.org/publications/remediation.pdf

 

 


________________________________

From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Gloria Fuentes
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 9:45 AM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 262] Re: FW: Re: GED and College Admissions


I know I am a little bit late jumping into this discussion. But--as a
high school drop out in the 9th grade and someone who came from an
immigrant family, meaning I spent more years working the fields with my
family than going to elementary school. I had not been able to keep up
with the other students so by the time I hit junior high school I was
completely lost. 

My father officially signend me out of school at the age of 15, and I
then went to work full time. Well when I had my own children and by this
time I was beginning to understand the value of an education when I
couldn't help my children with their homework and also when two of my
boys decided they didn't want to finish school. Well by this time I knew
I had to do something so I went to the adult education school where I
obtained my GED. From there my oldest daughter talked me into going to
the community college. 

I started going to a community college soon afterwards and had a really
hard time. But with the help of the Learning Resource Center I was able
to catch up to the other students who had finished all the k through 12
years in school. Today I am a secretary at a community college and also
teach an ROP/Office Occupations & GED preparation class part-time. I
teach 16 to 21 year olds. 

My students are at all different levels, some were like me and never
really grasped things at the elementary level others just got side
tracked in the junior or senior years of school. I stress to my students
the importance of learning more than what just the GED teaches. We have
a career development skills section we also teach in our classroom.
Some of my students only want to get their GED to get a job, others need
their GED to go on to higher education. What ever my students want to
pursue that is what we work for. 

If they plan on going on to higher education then we study more indepth
with those ones. With the ones who only want a GED for a job, and thats
all they care about getting then we only study the basics to pass the
GED and job skills. 

One thing I really stress when they first come into my classroom, is if
they want to go on to higher education they are really going to have to
and WANT to work hard for it. Some of them will have to be tutored in
different areas that  they never grasped during their k-12 years.  We do
that with them in our classroom. I have an awesome case technician that
helps me with this. We do go out of our way to work with our students in
what ever they desire. But they know they have to have the desire if
they want to succeed. 

We have some students that are coming back to us now after having gotten
their GED but are struggling with a college course they are taking. We
make the time to help them even if we don't get paid for it. I guess for
our classroom it is once our student, always our student! 

Okay I have rambled on enough this morning and I hope I made some sense
with all of this. 

Gloria

 -- Gloria Fuentes 
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From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Sep  8 14:23:21 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2006 14:23:21 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 266]  New from CAELA: Brief on transitions
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A147A7BF2@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Hi all,

Please note the following resource posted by Miriam Burt at CAELA.  It's
quite timely in relation to our current discussions!  Also note that she
mentions a future publication dealing with content standards and ESL.

Aaron

*********************************************

Hello, everyone,
 
The latest brief from CAELA, Supporting Adult English Language Learners'
Transitions to Postsecondary Education, by Julie Mathews-Aydinli, is now
availabe on line at
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/transition.html. 
 
Adult immigrants studying English in the United States have diverse
educational backgrounds. Some have earned graduate degrees, while others
have had little or no access to education. Their goals and expectations
for future education and employment are also diverse. 
 
This CAELA brief focuses on transitions from adult ESL programs
postsecondary education. For a discussion of classroom-level (e.g., how
to develop vocabulary needed for academic classes, types of reading to
do in class, etc.) and programmatic (e.g., orientation needed,
suggestions for how the adult ESL programs can collaborate with the
associated postsecondary institutions, etc.) approaches that can further
such transitions, read the brief at
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/transition.html. 
 
 
 
Coming this fall: briefs on content standards for the adult English
language classroom and integrating instruction, content standards, and
assessment in the adult ESL classroom.
 
Miriam
 
**********
Miriam Burt
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA)

Center for Applied Linguistics
4646 40th Street NW
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 362-0700
(202) 363-7204 (fax)
miriam at cal.org 
 

**********************************************

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)
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 


From agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com  Sun Sep 10 09:26:58 2006
From: agopalakrishnan at yahoo.com (Ajit Gopalakrishnan)
Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 06:26:58 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [ContentStandards 267] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
Message-ID: <20060910132658.37111.qmail@web30712.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}..shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}RE: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic SkillsContentStandards Projectst1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }     
I am glad that this discussion on teachingbeyond the GED has continued into the next week. Let me jump back in!

 

I don&#8217;t see the skills to entercollege/work that are needed in addition to those required for passing the GED as&#8220;beyond the basics&#8221;. To me, they are still basic skills that all highschool graduates (whether K-12 or adult ed) should be proficient in prior tograduation.

 

That said, it is not good enough for me tosimply accept that some of these skills (a few of which may be highly abstract)are necessary only to pass &#8220;gatekeeper&#8221;postsecondary entrance examinations and have no relevance for life or work. Insteadof simply accepting this, I believe that we should push for the alignment of knowledgemeasured in such entrance exams with the student&#8217;s proposed course ofstudy and interested profession.

 

The relevance is absolutely there butneeds to be made explicit. In the CASAS system for example, higher levelreading/math test items don&#8217;t become abstract but retain their connectionto relevant priority competencies. However, few students including GEDgraduates achieve these higher levels of proficiency.

 

People also tend to forget abstractknowledge if there is not some application. Computer training is a classicexample. Millions are spent on teaching people how to utilize every featurewithin Microsoft products and three weeks later, the individual may remember 20%of the content &#8211; often the 20% that is used regularly.

 

The transition ability gap is real and canbe 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, 20069:53 AM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 246]Re: Teaching beyond the GED?


 

Donna,

 

You raise some interesting points about theGED and whether the focus of instruction and assessment should go beyondpreparation for the GED.  It sounds like you believe that metacognitiveskills - reasoning/thinking/analyzingskills- are also very important.  I know there is some level of tensionin the field when you have learners and/or programs stressing achievement ofthe GED in as short a time as possible as the ultimate goal vs. "preparing the adult learner fortoday's economy" as you have suggested.  What do others think aboutthis?  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, 20068:53 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 Janeboth clarified your comment. I see that states who are dealing with adult highschool completion programs should also look at the content standards thatmust be measured for K12 requirements for the individual state. These may be inaddition to CASAS standards.


 


As you mentioned, the GED as an goal/outcome for manylearners can be achieved without the learner having mastered skills that aremeasured by the Level D CASAS assessment.  This poses a concern when theindividual learner's need is to become more gainfully employed and go tocollege or any other  postsecondary training.  Must we thenprepare the individual to go beyond the GED?  This may mean that thefocus of instruction and assessment  be on reasoning/thinking/analyzingskills so that  the learner understands concepts such as inmath, not just manipulating formulas. 


 


The quandary arises from the definition of "basicskills".  My work in adult education has always lead me to focuson 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 aparent, citizen and worker?  However, my recent work hasrequired that I look closer at what adults need to know and be able to do andthis closer look changes the picture somewhat.  The list of skills Iwould have come up with five years ago, today becomes the very basicskills.  What adults need to know today goes beyond thesebasics.  When the question  becomes "What does an adult need toknow in order to pass a test that the employer requires or the Accuplacer Testin order to move into credit bearing college classes, etc?" the listchanges.  Why does an adult GED student need to know how to demonstratethe symbolic manipulation of polynomial expressions or analyze properties ofthree dimensional geometric shapes when they can
 pass the GED without knowingthis?  The answer is simple, even if we know that all students are notgoing to college. Because developing these concepts helps astudent develop necessary reasoning/thinking skills and positions thestudent to advance in his/her education if they so choose.  Lookingat and working toward this big picture better prepares students forsuccess as they exit our programs.


 


My work in RI and Massachusettshas caused me to look  closely at current K12 standards and alignthese standards with ABE/ASE instruction since both states require competencydetermination in the K12 standards to earn a high school diploma. Rather than focusing on the lower levels to move forward,  we asinstructors are looking at the whole picture.  Whatunderstanding of number sense must the student have from thebeginning level that will prepare that student to understand the number senseconcepts at the higher level?   We are looking across all levels inintroducing content standards that begin to develop good thinking skills and  integrating all the content areas.  This does not necessarilychange the content standards, but does require that we look at theinstruction differently.  How can we integrate the instruction to assurethat concepts are learned in a way that can be applied to any life and/oracademic situation. If we see our job as preparing the adultlearner for today's
 economy, we must consider all students at every levelcapable of developing the thinking skills necessary to meet whatever goal theywant to achieve.  


 


Thanks, 


Donna Chambers


 


 


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


From: AjitGopalakrishnan 


To: 'TheAdult Education Content Standards Discussion List' 


Sent: Tuesday, August29, 2006 11:09 PM


Subject: [ContentStandards228] Re: Questions on CASASBasicSkillsContentStandards Project


 


Hi Donna,

 

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

 

I said:

 

>>I would imagine that many stateswill adopt them while others may need to reference 9-12 high school standardsespecially for their adult high school diploma programs.

 

I would have added &#8220;also&#8221; after&#8220;may&#8221; in the above sentence. I meant to say that reference to 9-12high school standards may also be necessary in addition to the basic skillcontent standards.

 

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

 

I hope this clarifies my comment. The contentstandards that CASAS is developing most definitely address the expectations forsecondary levels functioning with respect to the basic skills. CASASassessments also measure student abilities well into the adultsecondary levels. The High Adult Secondary NRS level for reading and mathbegins at 246 on the CASAS scale. Level D CASAS assessments measure studentperformance into the high 250s (may be even a little higher). As an aside, theGED test which is a goal/outcome for many learners is attainable to thosefunctioning at lower NRS levels i.e. the ABE High Intermediate and the LowAdult Secondary levels. Many of these learners squeak through the GED withminimal pass scores but then face challenges with postsecondaryentrance/success. I would anticipate that students with higherabilities (i.e. the High Adult Secondary level - CASAS scale 246 andhigher) are even better prepared to enter/succeed in postsecondarysituations.

 

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

(i)                which ofthe standards are measured on these exit tests (i.e. just basic skills oralso science, social studies, etc.);

(ii)              how they aremeasured (e.g. selected response versus constructed response; problemsolving-applied performance focus versus non-contextual/abstract academicsubcomponent focus); and 

(iii)            the levelof mastery that is expected (10th, 11th, or 12th oreven 9th grade standards).

 

 Ajit

AjitGopalakrishnan 

 

 

---------------------------------


From:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Donna Chambers
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 20068:32 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 highschool standards for their adult high school diploma programs.  Does thismean that CASAS does not align with common 9-12 standards at thelow and high ASE levels?  Is the intention to do so,especially with the math standards?  This is an important concern forstates that are dealing with high stakes testing for competency determinationin issuing diplomas.  Thanks.  


 


Donna Chambers


 


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


From: AjitGopalakrishnan 


To: 'The AdultEducation Content Standards Discussion List' 


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


Subject: [ContentStandards217] Re: Questions on CASAS Basic SkillsContentStandards Project


 


Aaronasked: 

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

Here aresome thoughts from a state perspective. 

Connecticut is a member of the CASAS NationalConsortium and the CASAS Policy Council. Several CASAS states have a strong historyof 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 wasthe National Consortium of States that requested CASAS to coordinate the effortto develop these basic skill content standards. in order to better supportteachers to integrate competencies and content standards into theirinstruction. 

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

I wouldimagine that many states will adopt them while others may need to reference9-12 high school standards especially for their adult high school diplomaprograms.

 

CASAS isfirst a consortium of states 

We hope toadopt the standards that are being developed here. 

 

-----OriginalMessage----- 
From:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M 
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2006 2:00PM 
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 212]Questions on CASAS Basic Skills ContentStandards Project 

We haveover 50 new subscribers to the list- so welcome to you all. 
Hopefully to get us started as Iknow it's not fun to be the first 
poster! - I have some of my ownquestions for the CASAS team with us for 
this week's discussion.

Inaddition to the content standards for CA, NY, MA, AZ, MD, and FL that
you mention reviewing as part ofthis project, can you tell us what 
other state and National adulteducation content standards were 
reviewed?  Are the Consortiumpartners planning to adopt a common set of 
content standards?  Based onthe outcomes of this project, will the 
CASAS assessments need to beupdated or modified? 

Thks,
Aaron 

 

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

Centerfor Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee 
EFF Center for Training andTechnical Assistance 
Phone:(865) 974-4109 main
     (865) 974-4258 direct 
Fax:  (865) 974-3857
e-mail: akohring at utk.edu
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standardsmailing list 
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From bonniesophia at adelphia.net  Sun Sep 10 17:28:55 2006
From: bonniesophia at adelphia.net (Bonnie Odiorne)
Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2006 17:28:55 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 268] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
In-Reply-To: <20060910132658.37111.qmail@web30712.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <000d01c6d520$24a3eb70$0202a8c0@PC979240272114>

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 
---------------------------------------------------- 
National Institute for Literacy 
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www....nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards
<http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards>  

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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Sep 11 12:39:44 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:39:44 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 269] Special Topics Discussion on Corrections
	Education next week
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14876B78@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Posted on behalf of David Rosen, Moderator of the Special Topics
Discussion List.
Aaron
---------------------

Dear Colleagues,

 From September 18-22, on the Special Topics Discussion List, we are  
pleased to have a panel of expert guests in corrections education.   
The topic will focus on research and professional wisdom in corrections
family literacy, and on the transition from corrections  
education to community education for inmates who have been released.   
Our guests are:

John Linton, Correctional Education, Office of Safe and Drug Free
Schools, U.S. Department of Education

John is the program officer for two correctional education grant
programs ("Lifeskills for State and Local Prisoners" and "Grants to
States for Workplace and Community Transition Training for Incarcerated
Youth Offenders") in the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools of the U.
S. Department of Education.  John formerly served the State of Maryland
as the director of adult correctional education programs.  He has been
with the federal agency since 2001, originally with the Office of
Vocational and Adult Education.

Stephen J. Steurer, Ph.D., Executive Director, Correctional Education
Association The Correctional Education Association is a professional
organization of educators who work in prisons, jails and juvenile
settings.

William R. Muth, PhD, Assistant Professor, Reading Education and Adult
Literacy, Virginia Commonwealth University

Bill is an Assistant Professor of Adult and Adolescent Literacy at
Virginia Commonwealth University. Until August 2005, he was the
Education Administrator for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Other
positions with the FBOP included: reading teacher, principal, and Chief
of the Program Analysis Branch. In 2004 Bill earned his doctorate in
adult literacy from George Mason University. His dissertation,
"Performance and Perspective: Two Assessments of Federal Prisoners in
Literacy Programs" won the College Reading Association's Dissertation of
the Year Award. His research interests include Thirdspace and Reading
Components theories, especially as these apply to prison-based family
literacy programs and children of incarcerated parents.

========================================================================
===========================================
To subscribe to the Special Topics Discussion List, go to http://
www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics , fill in your name, email
address and pick a password. After you have subscribed you will receive
an email asking you to confirm your subscription.  Please reply
immediately.
========================================================================
===========================================

  The following readings are recommended by the panelists as background
for the discussion:

1. "Locked Up and Locked Out, An Educational Perspective on the US
Prison Population," Coley, Richard J. and Barton, Paul E., 2006
Available on line at the ETS web site:

http://tinyurl.com/qmzfa (short URL)

2. "Learning to Reduce Recidivism: A 50-state analysis of postsecondary
correctional education policy," Institute for Higher  
Education Policy, Erisman, Wendy and Contardo, Jeanne B., 2005.   
Available on line at the IHEP web site:

http://tinyurl.com/pj2sh (short URL)

3. "Understanding California Corrections" from the California Policy
Research Center, U of C. (Chapter 4) http://www.ucop.edu/cprc/
documents/understand_ca_corrections.pdf

John Linton believes that California is a watershed state in corrections
issues and policies , and that how things unfold there has great
national significance.  He says that this is a thoughtful and
well-informed report on the "overview" of the corrections  
situation in California -- including the role of treatment programs.   
Education is not presented as a central issue, but it has a place -- as
a piece of a bigger puzzle.

4. An article by Bill Muth in Exploring Adult Literacy can be found at

http://literacy.kent.edu/cra/2006/wmuth/index.html

The article contains other on-line links related to prison-based
intergenerational programs. He recommends especially the link to the
Hudson River Center's excellent publication, Bringing Family Literacy to
Incarcerated Settings: An Instructional Guide at:

http://www.hudrivctr.org/products_ce.htm


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


*************************************

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)
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 


From ewoods at isothermal.edu  Thu Sep 14 12:53:14 2006
From: ewoods at isothermal.edu (Evelyn Woods)
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 12:53:14 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 270] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
Message-ID: <450950BB020000A100001950@email.eisdata.com>

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 
---------------------------------------------------- 
National Institute for Literacy 
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
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<http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards>  

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From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Sep 15 09:27:27 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 09:27:27 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 271] Cross-list discussion on ELL in the
	Workplace next week
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A149C6C24@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Hi all,

For those who've been discussing English Lnaguage Learners in the past
couple weeks.  This upcoming discussion may be of interest.
Aaron

***************************************

Announcing a discussion on ELL in the workplace!
 
 One issue that has been of interest on the Workplace Literacy
Discussion List has been serving the needs and goals of employers while
at the same time serving the needs of adult immigrants on the job and in
their lives. On the Adult English Language Discussion List, issues
related to workplace and adult English language learners have been
discussed for many years. Workplace ESOL classes are not new, but, as
more workplaces throughout the country hire immigrants who may not be
proficient in English, new teachers come on board and new needs (and
funding sources) arise. New questions also arise.  

We have home-grown expertise on both the Workplace and ELL Discussion
Lists. Subscribers on both lists have been involved in managing state
and federal workplace grants, developing curricula and materials,
teaching or training other teachers in workplace contexts.  We could all
learn a lot from sharing questions and experiences.    Lynda Terrill,
moderator of the English Language Learner Discussion List and  Donna
Brian, moderator of the Workplace Literacy Discussion List,  invite you
to  access this combined expertise in a cross-list discussion: a
focused, simultaneous, shared discussion on both lists on issues related
to the workplace and adult immigrants.  We hope that you will  join us
in sharing  philosophies, approaches, and techniques-lessons
learned-with each other in a week long dialogue combining the two lists.
We have set next week-September 18-22-as the time scheduled for this
shared discussion to take place. 

Discussion Questions
Some important questions we hope may be addressed in the discussion are:

*	What are effective ways of planning, implementing, and
evaluating (adult ESL) workplace classes? 
*	What types of workplace classes have proven most effective and
why? 
*	How can teachers and administrators develop curricula and
materials that meet the needs and goals of the learners in class as well
as the needs and expectations of employers? 
*	What are effective and appropriate approaches for teaching
issues related to culture, civil rights, and responsibilities on the
job? 
Background Reading and Resources 
Below is a small sample of the best available materials we know of. We
hope subscribers will suggest others that have been useful to them:

Issues in Improving Immigrant Workers' English Language Skills (Burt,
M., 2003, Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics)
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/Workplaceissues.html. 

ESOL in the Workplace: A Training Manual for ESOL Supervisors and
Instructors. (Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Office of Adult Education and University of Tennessee Center for
Literacy Studies, 2003). 
http://www.cls.utk.edu/pdf/esol_workplace/Tenn_ESOL_in_the_Workplace.pdf
Getting to Work: A Report on How Workers with Limited English Skills Can
Prepare for New Jobs (Working for America Institute)
http://www.workingforamerica.org/documents/PDF/GTW50704.pdf

Getting to Work: A Report on How Workers with Limited English Skills Can
Prepare for New Jobs (Working for America Institute)
http://www.workingforamerica.org/documents/PDF/GTW50704.pdf

Steps to Employment in Ontario. 
http://209.121.217.200/main.html
 
************* 
 
 You may take part in the discussion by subscribing to either list :
Adult English Language list
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Englishlanguage
Workplace Literacy list: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Workplace/

We look forward to hearing your experiences, questions, and advice!
 
 
Donna Brian  and Lynda Terrill, Moderators 
Workplace Literacy Discussion List  and  English Language Learners
Discussion List
 

*****************************

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)
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 


From donnaedp at cox.net  Fri Sep 15 11:56:01 2006
From: donnaedp at cox.net (Donna Chambers)
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:56:01 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 272] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
References: <20060910132658.37111.qmail@web30712.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <002101c6d8df$719a1db0$fa84c848@DH89L251>

RE: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic Skills ContentStandards ProjectAjit and All,

I agree with Ajit that we must push for the alignment of knowledge measured whatever the students goal may be. Preparing a learner for a college entrance test should not be any different from preparing a learner for work and or life.  A changing society and economic system requires a continual redefinition of the context of literacy. As I referenced in my August 31 message as adult educators we must adapt to the change and be aware of developing conceptual thinking skills to position the learner  to advance in his/her education if they so choose. This requires faith in a learners ability to acquire whatever skills are necessary even if it means  changing the way we have been teaching for years. 

For example, I am currently working in Rhode Island with a groups of adults who entered our program to get their GED.  Since my work is primarily with the External Diploma Program, a competency based assessment system, I  tend to focus on a learner understanding concepts and being able to apply the learning in a number of different situations.  Placement testing showed that these individuals had low level math skills and they all declared that they "were not good in math".   I told the group that we were not going to work in GED books, except maybe to do some practice work, but that I would help them learn math in a way that was different and this may mean learning math beyond what they needed to know to pass the test.  Our work would include understanding numbers and operations and how they relate to each other and that once they had this understanding, they should be better prepared for the math that they would encounter on any test, not just the GED.  

They all agreed and so we began using colored popsicle sticks and other manipulative to see, touch, and understand what it means to add, subtract, divide and multiply numbers.  Before long we were discussing fractions, percents, and even ratio proportion with a clear understanding.  The learners in my class now know what a variable is and can not only show an example of an algebraic expression using the manipulative, but can also write and solve simple algebraic equations. They may be able to pass the GED without knowing algebra, but this understanding has lead to a true understanding of 20% of 300; 4800 by 8 or 80;  and 1:2 as 2:4, 3:6, etc which will help them to pass the test.  It didn't take long for the learners to start saying, "I get it" and "this is fun".  

Using a hands on approach for math and getting away from going page by page in a workbook takes some planning, but the benefits are tremendous.  How can we challenge an adult's thinking and help them become critical thinker?  The answer to this question may mean looking at what we are doing differently. Developing activities centered around developing thinking skills, critical reading, separating fact from fiction and making predictions will help prepare our learners for the real world.  ,Looking at and working toward this big picture better prepares students for success as they exit our programs. Exactly how we all do this and make it all relevant is what I see as the great challenge.  change is not easy, but often necessary.  Let us begin to look at a bigger picture beyond the GED and develop a list of standards to measure the  concrete and abstract knowledge and skills that are needed for life. 

I invite anyone and everyone to chime in here.  

Donna Chambers


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ajit Gopalakrishnan 
  To: 'The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List' 
  Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 9:26 AM
  Subject: [Content 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 Gopalakrishnan 

    To: 'The 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 Gopalakrishnan 

      To: 'The 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) 
      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 
      ---------------------------------------------------- 
      National Institute for Literacy 
      Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
      ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
      To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www....nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards 

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From aburruss2 at cox.net  Fri Sep 15 13:43:46 2006
From: aburruss2 at cox.net (Ann Burruss)
Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 13:43:46 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 273] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?
References: <20060910132658.37111.qmail@web30712.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
	<002101c6d8df$719a1db0$fa84c848@DH89L251>
Message-ID: <003301c6d8ee$7edff3a0$0202a8c0@D1WJ3821>

RE: [ContentStandards 212] Questions on CASAS Basic Skills ContentStandards ProjectDonna,
Sounds as though you my have had some middle school experience.  This is precisely the manner in which we have found WORKS!
Additionally, incorporating writing in math class is another 2 fold benefit:  writing skills improve, understanding improves when you have to articulate the process (and it's a life skill, not just a pass the test skill).
One of the most difficult problems, as I see it, is being able to join the 21st century - changing methods and materials.  Congratulations in making that change!
Ann Burruss
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Donna Chambers 
  To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List 
  Sent: Friday, September 15, 2006 11:56 AM
  Subject: [ContentStandards 272] Re: Teaching beyond the GED?


  Ajit and All,

  I agree with Ajit that we must push for the alignment of knowledge measured whatever the students goal may be. Preparing a learner for a college entrance test should not be any different from preparing a learner for work and or life.  A changing society and economic system requires a continual redefinition of the context of literacy. As I referenced in my August 31 message as adult educators we must adapt to the change and be aware of developing conceptual thinking skills to position the learner  to advance in his/her education if they so choose. This requires faith in a learners ability to acquire whatever skills are necessary even if it means  changing the way we have been teaching for years. 

  For example, I am currently working in Rhode Island with a groups of adults who entered our program to get their GED.  Since my work is primarily with the External Diploma Program, a competency based assessment system, I  tend to focus on a learner understanding concepts and being able to apply the learning in a number of different situations.  Placement testing showed that these individuals had low level math skills and they all declared that they "were not good in math".   I told the group that we were not going to work in GED books, except maybe to do some practice work, but that I would help them learn math in a way that was different and this may mean learning math beyond what they needed to know to pass the test.  Our work would include understanding numbers and operations and how they relate to each other and that once they had this understanding, they should be better prepared for the math that they would encounter on any test, not just the GED.  

  They all agreed and so we began using colored popsicle sticks and other manipulative to see, touch, and understand what it means to add, subtract, divide and multiply numbers.  Before long we were discussing fractions, percents, and even ratio proportion with a clear understanding.  The learners in my class now know what a variable is and can not only show an example of an algebraic expression using the manipulative, but can also write and solve simple algebraic equations. They may be able to pass the GED without knowing algebra, but this understanding has lead to a true understanding of 20% of 300; 4800 by 8 or 80;  and 1:2 as 2:4, 3:6, etc which will help them to pass the test.  It didn't take long for the learners to start saying, "I get it" and "this is fun".  

  Using a hands on approach for math and getting away from going page by page in a workbook takes some planning, but the benefits are tremendous.  How can we challenge an adult's thinking and help them become critical thinker?  The answer to this question may mean looking at what we are doing differently. Developing activities centered around developing thinking skills, critical reading, separating fact from fiction and making predictions will help prepare our learners for the real world.  ,Looking at and working toward this big picture better prepares students for success as they exit our programs. Exactly how we all do this and make it all relevant is what I see as the great challenge.  change is not easy, but often necessary.  Let us begin to look at a bigger picture beyond the GED and develop a list of standards to measure the  concrete and abstract knowledge and skills that are needed for life. 

  I invite anyone and everyone to chime in here.  

  Donna Chambers


  ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Ajit Gopalakrishnan 
    To: 'The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List' 
    Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2006 9:26 AM
    Subject: [Content 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 Gopalakrishnan 

      To: 'The 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 Gopalakrishnan 

        To: 'The 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) 
        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 
        ---------------------------------------------------- 
        National Institute for Literacy 
        Adult Education Content Standards mailing list 
        ContentStandards at nifl.gov 
        To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www....nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Sun Sep 17 20:17:09 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:17:09 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 274] Professional Development through the ALE Wiki
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A09C3EC5F@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Posted on behalf of David Rosen.
Aaron
************************************************
 

Colleagues,

The Adult Literacy Education Wiki (now with over 750 pages and nearly 
700 registered users) is becoming a very useful resource for teachers 
and other practitioners in adult literacy education.  It includes 30 
topics linking research, professional wisdom, and practice.  It 
offers easy-to-read archived discussions that were held on this and 
other discussion lists, links to research and other resources, 
questions (and sometimes answers) from teachers and other 
practitioners and researchers, a comprehensive adult literacy 
glossary, and more.  It's free, and it's designed for you.  Best of 
all, it's not only a set of informative web pages.  It's a community 
of practice.  You -- and your colleagues -- can easily add to and 
improve it. It's a wiki!

To check out the ALE wiki, go to:

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page <https://tmail.utk.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page> 

You will see that some ALE topics need to be nurtured, and to grow. 
They need a Topic Leader.  Perhaps you would be the right person to 
be a Topic Leader. To see a list of topics and leaders, go to

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Topic_Leaders <https://tmail.utk.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Topic_Leaders> 

If you are interested in being a (volunteer) Topic Leader for an 
existing topic, or if you would like to help develop a new topic, e-
mail me and tell me about yourself and your interest.

David J. Rosen
ALE Wiki Organizer and Wikiteer
djrosen at comcast.net

 

 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Sep 18 16:40:15 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:40:15 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 275] Special Topics List Discussion Announcement
	- Corrections Education
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A09C3EC61@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

---------------------

Dear Colleagues,

Beginning today, on the Special Topics Discussion List, we are 
pleased to have a panel of expert guests in corrections education. 
The topic will focus on research and professional wisdom in 
corrections family literacy, and on the transition from corrections 
education to community education for inmates who have been released.

Our guests are:

John Linton, Correctional Education, Office of Safe and Drug Free 
Schools, U.S. Department of Education

John is the program officer for two correctional education grant 
programs ("Lifeskills for State and Local Prisoners" and "Grants to 
States for Workplace and Community Transition Training for 
Incarcerated Youth Offenders") in the Office of Safe and Drug Free 
Schools of the U. S. Department of Education.  John formerly served 
the State of Maryland as the director of adult correctional education 
programs.  He has been with the federal agency since 2001, originally
with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education.

Stephen J. Steurer, Ph.D., Executive Director, Correctional Education 
Association. The Correctional Education Association is a professional 
organization
of educators who work in prisons, jails and juvenile settings.

William R. Muth, PhD, Assistant Professor, Reading Education and 
Adult Literacy, Virginia Commonwealth University

Bill is an Assistant Professor of Adult and Adolescent Literacy at 
Virginia Commonwealth University. Until August 2005, he was the 
Education Administrator for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Other 
positions with the FBOP included: reading teacher, principal, and 
Chief of the Program Analysis Branch. In 2004 Bill earned his 
doctorate in adult literacy from George Mason University. His 
dissertation, "Performance and Perspective: Two Assessments of 
Federal Prisoners in Literacy Programs" won the College Reading 
Association's Dissertation of the Year Award. His research interests 
include Thirdspace and Reading Components theories, especially as 
these apply to prison-based family literacy programs and children of 
incarcerated parents.

===========================================
To subscribe to the Special Topics Discussion List, go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics <https://tmail.utk.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics>  ,
fill in your name, email address and pick a password.
After you have subscribed you will receive an email
asking you to confirm your subscription.  Please
reply immediately.
===========================================

The following readings are recommended by the panelists as background 
for the discussion:

1. "Locked Up and Locked Out, An Educational Perspective on the US 
Prison Population," Coley, Richard J. and Barton, Paul E., 2006
Available on line at the ETS web site:

http://tinyurl.com/qmzfa <https://tmail.utk.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://tinyurl.com/qmzfa>  (short URL)

2. "Learning to Reduce Recidivism: A 50-state analysis of 
postsecondary correctional education policy," Institute for Higher 
Education Policy, Erisman, Wendy and Contardo, Jeanne B., 2005. 
Available on line at the IHEP web site:

http://tinyurl.com/pj2sh <https://tmail.utk.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://tinyurl.com/pj2sh>  (short URL)

3. "Understanding California Corrections" from the California Policy 
Research Center, U of C. (Chapter 4)
http://www.ucop.edu/cprc/documents/understand_ca_corrections.pdf <https://tmail.utk.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.ucop.edu/cprc/documents/understand_ca_corrections.pdf> 

John Linton believes that California is a watershed state in 
corrections issues and policies , and that how things unfold there 
has great national significance.  He says that this is a thoughtful 
and well-informed report on the "overview" of the corrections 
situation in California -- including the role of treatment programs.
Education is not presented as a central issue, but it has a place -- 
as a piece of a bigger puzzle.

4. An article by Bill Muth in Exploring Adult Literacy can be found at

http://literacy.kent.edu/cra/2006/wmuth/index.html <https://tmail.utk.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://literacy.kent.edu/cra/2006/wmuth/index.html> 

The article contains other on-line links related to prison-based 
intergenerational programs. He recommends especially the link to the 
Hudson River Center's excellent publication, Bringing Family Literacy 
to Incarcerated Settings: An Instructional Guide at:

http://www.hudrivctr.org/products_ce.htm <https://tmail.utk.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.hudrivctr.org/products_ce.htm> 

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



 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Sep 18 18:31:00 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:31:00 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 276] Announcing Guest Speaker on Content
	Standards List for Next Week!!
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A09C3EC63@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings colleagues,

 

Next week, Monday, September 25 through Friday, September 29, the Content Standards Discussion List will be hosting a discussion on the U.S. Department of Education's efforts to support state-level adoption and institutionalization of content standards for adult learning.  Our guest will be Ronna Spacone from the Department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL).

 

Please read the introductory information below, which includes a link to the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse Website, to help prepare you for the discussion.  

 

You may begin posting your questions to Ronna this week.  I will collect the questions together and re-post when the discussion starts next week.

 

To participate in the discussion, sign up for the list at:

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards <http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards> 

 

Aaron

 

Aaron Kohring

Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content  

Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)

 

********************************************************************************************

 

For the past several years, the U.S. Department of Education, OVAE, has used National Leadership Activity funds to provide technical assistance and support to states already committed to standards-based education reform.  

 

OVAE's efforts to promote the implementation of state-level content standards began with the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse Project, operated by the American Institutes of Research (AIR), 2003-2005.  The project included:

 

1.	Technical assistance and networking for state collaborative working groups or consortia in 14 states,

 

2.	The development and publication of "A Process Guide for Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards" and

 

3.	The development of the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse (AECSW) Website.  The AECSW site provides universal access to existing state standards as well as nationally developed content standards in the areas of reading, mathematics, and English language acquisition.  Since it was launched in May 2005, eleven states and CASAS and Equipped for the Future have contributed their standards for posting.  The site also serves to disseminate the "Process Guide for Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards" as well as the professional development materials that were developed for the State Standards Consortia project.  In preparation for our listserv discussion next week, I invite you to please visit the AECSW Website located at: (http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org <http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/> ), which AIR continues to operate with OVAE. 

 

In September 2005, with the conclusion of the State Standards Consortia activities, OVAE funded a new activity to identify how best to continue to support states committed to the implementation of standards.  A six-month planning project was then conducted by MPR Associates, Inc., along with partner organizations Design Perspectives and World Education.  Planning activities included a literature review of noteworthy practices, an evaluation of the electronic warehouse, and an assessment of the needs of states to support standards-based education.  Twenty-four states chose to participate in the project.  Based on the results, OVAE has moved ahead and made plans for a new project scheduled to begin next month.

 

As in the past, the new activities will provide opportunities for interested states to work together and learn about standards-based education.  The project is expected to focus especially on the implementation of standards, including: how to translate standards into classroom instruction and curriculum and how to assess the implementation of standards to guide instructional improvement and program practice. 

 

I invite you to learn more about the Department of Education's efforts to promote state-level adoption of content standards and to ask questions about these activities during the listserv discussion.  Please refer to the various sections of the AECSW Website (http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org <http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/> ) including the Guide, Warehouse, and Field Resources as well as the OVAE DAEL Website located at: (http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/index.html). 

 

I look forward to an interesting, engaging discussion and appreciate the opportunity to take part.  Thanks.

 

Ronna Spacone

Education Program Specialist

Office of Vocational and Adult Education

U.S. Department of Education

Ronna.spacone at ed.gov 

 

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From Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov  Wed Sep 20 13:19:35 2006
From: Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov (Nguyen, My Linh)
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 13:19:35 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 277] CROSS-POSTED: Tips to handling multiple
	postings
Message-ID: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D49591188976E@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>

From: My Linh Nguyen
National Institute for Literacy

CROSSPOSTED: Tips to handling multiple postings 

As you know, the National Institute for Literacy's Discussion Lists are very
active. In addition to messages directly related to the subject of each
Discussion List, often we have announcements that are posted to all the
lists. If you are subscribed to two, three or all lists, you may receive
multiple copies of one post - this is called "cross-posting." We do this to
ensure that the maximum number of subscribers receives the messages -
usually an announcement that may be of interest to subscribers on more than
one list. While this can be cumbersome, this is done to ensure that you, our
subscribers, are kept up-to-date on the latest news, guest speakers, etc.

Here are a few tips to help you manage the number of repeat emails into your
inbox.

	1)	Change your subscriber settings to receive postings in
digest format. 
	2)	Disable mail delivery from the lists while you are away. You
still remain subscribed to the list, but will not receive postings while you
are away. When you return, you can review the archives for posts that you
missed while you were away.
	3)	You do not have to subscribe to a list to benefit from a
discussion. Discussions are archived at the Institute's website and can be
sorted by thread, date, and author, and can also be searched by keyword.
	4)	When sending a message to multiple lists, start with
CROSS-POSTED in the subject line, so that other subscribers can recognize
that it is a cross-post that they may have already received.

For information and instructions on changing your subscriber settings please
visit our Discussion List Help page at
<http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/help/help_mailman.html>

To access Discussion List archives, visit
<http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/list_archives.html>

We hope that these tips will help you reduce the number of emails you
receive every day, while still keeping you well-informed. Thank you for your
continued support and participation in the National Institute for Literacy's
Discussion Lists.


My Linh Nguyen
Associate Director of Communications
National Institute for Literacy
(202) 233-2041
fax (202) 233-2050
mnguyen at nifl.gov



From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Sep 22 09:45:48 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 09:45:48 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 278]  Meeting of the Minds II Symposium
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14BE6729@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

********** 

National Adult Education Researcher-Practitioner Symposium: A Meeting of
the Minds II

Join us for this exciting dialogue among adult education researchers,
practitioners, and policy makers! 
Nationally recognized adult education researchers will discuss their
studies in such areas as reading, learner persistence, English as a
Second Language instructional strategies, technology innovations,
transitioning adults to college, authentic materials, health literacy,
adult numeracy, family literacy, social justice, innovations in
statewide assessment, practitioner inquiry, professional development,
and many more. In addition, a featured concurrent session consists of a
panel of adult literacy learners.   
 
Presenters include Kathleen Bailey, Hal Beder, Alisa Belzer, Beth
Bingman, John Comings, Larry Condelli, Ros Davidson, Ron Glass, John
Fleishman, Daphne Greenberg, Kathy Harris, Erik Jacobson, Jere Johnston,
Tara Joyce, Cheryl Keenan, Mark Kutner, Susan Levine, Myrna Manly,
Dennis Porter, Paul Porter, Steve Reder, Pat Rickard, Rima Rudd, Maricel
Santos, Robin Schwarz, Renee Sherman, Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, Cristine
Smith, John Strucker, Robin Waterman, Cynthia Zafft, and others.
 
Throughout the symposium, each research presentation will be followed by
a panel of practitioners who will respond to the presentations, and then
by group discussions among participants who will share their reactions
and explore implications from their perspectives as practitioners,
researchers, and policy makers. 
 
The opening plenary session on Thursday features presentations by John
Comings on Advice from NCSALL Research on Building High Quality Programs
and by Mark Kutner on results of the National Assessment of Adult
Literacy (NAAL) and the Health Literacy survey. The plenary session on
Friday features a panel discussion on the topic of how research
influences policy in adult literacy education. 
 
Dates of the Symposium are November 30-December 2, 2006, at the Sheraton
Grand Hotel, Sacramento.
To register online for the Symposium, visit the Web site
www.researchtopractice.org. The complete program schedule will be posted
to the Symposium Web site within the next few days. Registration is open
now.
 
Sponsors of the Symposium are the California Department of Education
(CDE), the American Institutes for Research, the California Adult
Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO), and National Center
for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL). 
 
Don't miss this exciting opportunity! Registration is limited to the
first 300 people. Visit the Symposium Web site and register now!  We
look forward to seeing you in Sacramento on November 30.

-Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D.
CALPRO Director and Symposium Coordinator
American Institutes for Research 


******************************
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)
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 


From donnaedp at cox.net  Sat Sep 23 08:33:40 2006
From: donnaedp at cox.net (donnaedp at cox.net)
Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 8:33:40 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 279] Re: Meeting of the Minds II Symposium
Message-ID: <7219202.1159014820636.JavaMail.root@eastrmwml08.mgt.cox.net>

Aaron,

Who do we contact to request that such a rich gathering of presentations be video/audio taped and/or journaled  for those who cannot attend?  Donna Chambers

---- "Kohring wrote: 
> ********** 
> 
> National Adult Education Researcher-Practitioner Symposium: A Meeting of
> the Minds II
> 
> Join us for this exciting dialogue among adult education researchers,
> practitioners, and policy makers! 
> Nationally recognized adult education researchers will discuss their
> studies in such areas as reading, learner persistence, English as a
> Second Language instructional strategies, technology innovations,
> transitioning adults to college, authentic materials, health literacy,
> adult numeracy, family literacy, social justice, innovations in
> statewide assessment, practitioner inquiry, professional development,
> and many more. In addition, a featured concurrent session consists of a
> panel of adult literacy learners.   
>  
> Presenters include Kathleen Bailey, Hal Beder, Alisa Belzer, Beth
> Bingman, John Comings, Larry Condelli, Ros Davidson, Ron Glass, John
> Fleishman, Daphne Greenberg, Kathy Harris, Erik Jacobson, Jere Johnston,
> Tara Joyce, Cheryl Keenan, Mark Kutner, Susan Levine, Myrna Manly,
> Dennis Porter, Paul Porter, Steve Reder, Pat Rickard, Rima Rudd, Maricel
> Santos, Robin Schwarz, Renee Sherman, Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, Cristine
> Smith, John Strucker, Robin Waterman, Cynthia Zafft, and others.
>  
> Throughout the symposium, each research presentation will be followed by
> a panel of practitioners who will respond to the presentations, and then
> by group discussions among participants who will share their reactions
> and explore implications from their perspectives as practitioners,
> researchers, and policy makers. 
>  
> The opening plenary session on Thursday features presentations by John
> Comings on Advice from NCSALL Research on Building High Quality Programs
> and by Mark Kutner on results of the National Assessment of Adult
> Literacy (NAAL) and the Health Literacy survey. The plenary session on
> Friday features a panel discussion on the topic of how research
> influences policy in adult literacy education. 
>  
> Dates of the Symposium are November 30-December 2, 2006, at the Sheraton
> Grand Hotel, Sacramento.
> To register online for the Symposium, visit the Web site
> www.researchtopractice.org. The complete program schedule will be posted
> to the Symposium Web site within the next few days. Registration is open
> now.
>  
> Sponsors of the Symposium are the California Department of Education
> (CDE), the American Institutes for Research, the California Adult
> Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO), and National Center
> for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL). 
>  
> Don't miss this exciting opportunity! Registration is limited to the
> first 300 people. Visit the Symposium Web site and register now!  We
> look forward to seeing you in Sacramento on November 30.
> 
> -Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D.
> CALPRO Director and Symposium Coordinator
> American Institutes for Research 
> 
> 
> ******************************
> 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)
> 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 
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From akohring at utk.edu  Sat Sep 23 13:54:49 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2006 13:54:49 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 280] Re: Meeting of the Minds II Symposium
References: <7219202.1159014820636.JavaMail.root@eastrmwml08.mgt.cox.net>
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A09C3EC6C@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Donna,

I'd suggest contacting Mary Ann Corley- MCorley at air.org

Aaron

-----Original Message-----
From: donnaedp at cox.net [mailto:donnaedp at cox.net]
Sent: Sat 9/23/2006 8:33 AM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Cc: Kohring, Aaron M
Subject: Re: [ContentStandards 278]  Meeting of the Minds II Symposium
 
Aaron,

Who do we contact to request that such a rich gathering of presentations be video/audio taped and/or journaled  for those who cannot attend?  Donna Chambers

---- "Kohring wrote: 
> ********** 
> 
> National Adult Education Researcher-Practitioner Symposium: A Meeting of
> the Minds II
> 
> Join us for this exciting dialogue among adult education researchers,
> practitioners, and policy makers! 
> Nationally recognized adult education researchers will discuss their
> studies in such areas as reading, learner persistence, English as a
> Second Language instructional strategies, technology innovations,
> transitioning adults to college, authentic materials, health literacy,
> adult numeracy, family literacy, social justice, innovations in
> statewide assessment, practitioner inquiry, professional development,
> and many more. In addition, a featured concurrent session consists of a
> panel of adult literacy learners.   
>  
> Presenters include Kathleen Bailey, Hal Beder, Alisa Belzer, Beth
> Bingman, John Comings, Larry Condelli, Ros Davidson, Ron Glass, John
> Fleishman, Daphne Greenberg, Kathy Harris, Erik Jacobson, Jere Johnston,
> Tara Joyce, Cheryl Keenan, Mark Kutner, Susan Levine, Myrna Manly,
> Dennis Porter, Paul Porter, Steve Reder, Pat Rickard, Rima Rudd, Maricel
> Santos, Robin Schwarz, Renee Sherman, Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, Cristine
> Smith, John Strucker, Robin Waterman, Cynthia Zafft, and others.
>  
> Throughout the symposium, each research presentation will be followed by
> a panel of practitioners who will respond to the presentations, and then
> by group discussions among participants who will share their reactions
> and explore implications from their perspectives as practitioners,
> researchers, and policy makers. 
>  
> The opening plenary session on Thursday features presentations by John
> Comings on Advice from NCSALL Research on Building High Quality Programs
> and by Mark Kutner on results of the National Assessment of Adult
> Literacy (NAAL) and the Health Literacy survey. The plenary session on
> Friday features a panel discussion on the topic of how research
> influences policy in adult literacy education. 
>  
> Dates of the Symposium are November 30-December 2, 2006, at the Sheraton
> Grand Hotel, Sacramento.
> To register online for the Symposium, visit the Web site
> www.researchtopractice.org. The complete program schedule will be posted
> to the Symposium Web site within the next few days. Registration is open
> now.
>  
> Sponsors of the Symposium are the California Department of Education
> (CDE), the American Institutes for Research, the California Adult
> Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO), and National Center
> for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL). 
>  
> Don't miss this exciting opportunity! Registration is limited to the
> first 300 people. Visit the Symposium Web site and register now!  We
> look forward to seeing you in Sacramento on November 30.
> 
> -Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D.
> CALPRO Director and Symposium Coordinator
> American Institutes for Research 
> 
> 
> ******************************
> 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)
> 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 
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Sep 25 08:33:55 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 08:33:55 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 281] Guest discussion begins today- State-level
	adoption and institutionalization of Content Standards
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14C38A2D@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

Today begins our guest discussion on the U.S. Department of Education's
efforts to support state-level adoption and institutionalization of
content standards for adult learning.  Please welcome our guest Ronna
Spacone from the Department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(OVAE), Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL).

I am re-posting the introductory information below.

If you wish to forward this message to others who are not currently
subscribed, they can participate by signing up for the list at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards

Aaron

Aaron Kohring
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)

************************************

For the past several years, the U.S. Department of Education, OVAE, has
used National Leadership Activity funds to provide technical assistance
and support to states already committed to standards-based education
reform.  

OVAE's efforts to promote the implementation of state-level content
standards began with the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse
Project, operated by the American Institutes of Research (AIR),
2003-2005.  The project included:

1.	Technical assistance and networking for state collaborative
working groups or consortia in 14 states,

2.	The development and publication of "A Process Guide for
Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards" and

3.	The development of the Adult Education Content Standards
Warehouse (AECSW) Website.  The AECSW site provides universal access to
existing state standards as well as nationally developed content
standards in the areas of reading, mathematics, and English language
acquisition.  Since it was launched in May 2005, eleven states and CASAS
and Equipped for the Future have contributed their standards for
posting.  The site also serves to disseminate the "Process Guide for
Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards" as well as the
professional development materials that were developed for the State
Standards Consortia project.  In preparation for our listserv discussion
next week, I invite you to please visit the AECSW Website located at:
(http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org), which AIR continues to operate
with OVAE. 

In September 2005, with the conclusion of the State Standards Consortia
activities, OVAE funded a new activity to identify how best to continue
to support states committed to the implementation of standards.  A
six-month planning project was then conducted by MPR Associates, Inc.,
along with partner organizations Design Perspectives and World
Education.  Planning activities included a literature review of
noteworthy practices, an evaluation of the electronic warehouse, and an
assessment of the needs of states to support standards-based education.
Twenty-four states chose to participate in the project.  Based on the
results, OVAE has moved ahead and made plans for a new project scheduled
to begin next month.

As in the past, the new activities will provide opportunities for
interested states to work together and learn about standards-based
education.  The project is expected to focus especially on the
implementation of standards, including: how to translate standards into
classroom instruction and curriculum and how to assess the
implementation of standards to guide instructional improvement and
program practice. 

I invite you to learn more about the Department of Education's efforts
to promote state-level adoption of content standards and to ask
questions about these activities during the listserv discussion.  Please
refer to the various sections of the AECSW Website
(http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org) including the Guide, Warehouse,
and Field Resources as well as the OVAE DAEL Website located at:
(http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/index.html). 

I look forward to an interesting, engaging discussion and appreciate the
opportunity to take part.  Thanks.
 
Ronna Spacone
Education Program Specialist
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education
Ronna.spacone at ed.gov 




From Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov  Mon Sep 25 14:50:40 2006
From: Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov (Spacone, Ronna)
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:50:40 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 282]  Evidence of validity of standards
Message-ID: <0C05326017A779439EB52BFBCEA008DE08FE4093@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Hello everyone - 

I'm pleased to join the list this week for a discussion about adult
education content standards and the U.S. Department of Education's recent
efforts to promote the implementation of state-level standards.  I'd like to
begin by looking at the validation of standards. 

Are developers of standards conducting reviews of their draft standards to
confirm that they target the appropriate content?  If yes, how are the
reviews conducted?  Validity reviews can be conducted in different ways for
different purposes, engaging a wide range of participants.  For example, has
anyone conducted field reviews as well as external, expert reviews?  Used
surveys or focus groups?

Last week, I heard from one subscriber who is especially interested in the
validation of education standards. He thinks it tends to be overlooked by
standards developers.  I'm interested in what other folks think about this,
because I believe it's a critical step to finalizing standards. Validity
reviews help ensure standards are understandable and acceptable to the folks
who will be charged with standards' implementation.   

For some background information on this topic please refer to "Conducting
Reviews to Improve Draft Standards," Chapter 4 in "A Process Guide for the
Establishment of Adult Education Content Standards"
{http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/howto.asp}. Pages 85-92 cover what
the validation of standards is and why it's important, as well as,
strategies for conducting validation reviews and how to use the feedback
from reviews to finalize standards.

I think this discussion list has numerous subscribers who have hands-on
experience in the validation of standards. A number of states that
participated in the State Standards Consortia Project are working, or have
worked, through this stage of the standards development process.  Equipped
for the Future's standards, as another example, supported field reviews to
validate the frameworks and standards.

So, in your opinions, to what degree are developers of standards conducting
reviews of their draft standards to confirm that they target the appropriate
content?  How?  Finally, are there any other questions about standards you'd
like to cover this week? 

Thanks.    

Ronna

Ronna Spacone
Education Program Specialist
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(202) 245-7755



From djrosen at comcast.net  Mon Sep 25 20:24:39 2006
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:24:39 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 283] Re: Guest discussion begins today-
	State-level adoption and institutionalization of Content Standards
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14C38A2D@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
References: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14C38A2D@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <BE4CED9C-0C52-46BF-A83E-919B7BB9CD9F@comcast.net>

Hello Ronna,

It is useful for states to have content standards.  It would be more  
useful if, as a nation, we could agree on _national_ content standards.

I wonder if you can explain why the U.S. Department of Education does  
not endorse national content standards, such as Equipped for the Future.

I also wonder if you -- or anyone -- can tell me if there is a set of  
common adult education content standards (not endorsed national  
standards as such, but a set of standards that are common to several  
of the best sets of state standards, or common to all the states'  
standards.

I am asking because I think some content developers, especially those  
who develop online content, would find adult literacy education  
(including ESOL and numeracy)  more attractive as a market if we were  
all working from the same set of content standards. I also believe  
that, with a world economy, there are actually international content  
standards in some areas, and I am concerned that while other  
countries _are_ developing world standards adult education curriculum  
content, we may not be.

Your thoughts, please.

Thanks,

David

David J. Rosen

On Sep 25, 2006, at 8:33 AM, Kohring, Aaron M wrote:

> Greetings all,
>
> Today begins our guest discussion on the U.S. Department of  
> Education's
> efforts to support state-level adoption and institutionalization of
> content standards for adult learning.  Please welcome our guest Ronna
> Spacone from the Department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education
> (OVAE), Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL).
>
> I am re-posting the introductory information below.
>
> If you wish to forward this message to others who are not currently
> subscribed, they can participate by signing up for the list at:
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards
>
> Aaron
>
> Aaron Kohring
> Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
> Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/ 
> Contentstandards)
>
> ************************************
>
> For the past several years, the U.S. Department of Education, OVAE,  
> has
> used National Leadership Activity funds to provide technical  
> assistance
> and support to states already committed to standards-based education
> reform.
>
> OVAE's efforts to promote the implementation of state-level content
> standards began with the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse
> Project, operated by the American Institutes of Research (AIR),
> 2003-2005.  The project included:
>
> 1.	Technical assistance and networking for state collaborative
> working groups or consortia in 14 states,
>
> 2.	The development and publication of "A Process Guide for
> Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards" and
>
> 3.	The development of the Adult Education Content Standards
> Warehouse (AECSW) Website.  The AECSW site provides universal  
> access to
> existing state standards as well as nationally developed content
> standards in the areas of reading, mathematics, and English language
> acquisition.  Since it was launched in May 2005, eleven states and  
> CASAS
> and Equipped for the Future have contributed their standards for
> posting.  The site also serves to disseminate the "Process Guide for
> Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards" as well as the
> professional development materials that were developed for the State
> Standards Consortia project.  In preparation for our listserv  
> discussion
> next week, I invite you to please visit the AECSW Website located at:
> (http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org), which AIR continues to  
> operate
> with OVAE.
>
> In September 2005, with the conclusion of the State Standards  
> Consortia
> activities, OVAE funded a new activity to identify how best to  
> continue
> to support states committed to the implementation of standards.  A
> six-month planning project was then conducted by MPR Associates, Inc.,
> along with partner organizations Design Perspectives and World
> Education.  Planning activities included a literature review of
> noteworthy practices, an evaluation of the electronic warehouse,  
> and an
> assessment of the needs of states to support standards-based  
> education.
> Twenty-four states chose to participate in the project.  Based on the
> results, OVAE has moved ahead and made plans for a new project  
> scheduled
> to begin next month.
>
> As in the past, the new activities will provide opportunities for
> interested states to work together and learn about standards-based
> education.  The project is expected to focus especially on the
> implementation of standards, including: how to translate standards  
> into
> classroom instruction and curriculum and how to assess the
> implementation of standards to guide instructional improvement and
> program practice.
>
> I invite you to learn more about the Department of Education's efforts
> to promote state-level adoption of content standards and to ask
> questions about these activities during the listserv discussion.   
> Please
> refer to the various sections of the AECSW Website
> (http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org) including the Guide,  
> Warehouse,
> and Field Resources as well as the OVAE DAEL Website located at:
> (http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/index.html).
>
> I look forward to an interesting, engaging discussion and  
> appreciate the
> opportunity to take part.  Thanks.
>
> Ronna Spacone
> Education Program Specialist
> Office of Vocational and Adult Education
> U.S. Department of Education
> Ronna.spacone at ed.gov
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to  
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net





From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Sep 26 10:21:32 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:21:32 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 284] Re: Guest discussion begins today-
	State-leveladoption and institutionalization of Content Standards
In-Reply-To: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14C38A2D@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14C9D153@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Ronna,

I'm interested in OVAE's new project you mentioned that is focused on
standards implementation.  Can you say anything more about it? 

Aaron


-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 8:34 AM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 281] Guest discussion begins today-
State-leveladoption and institutionalization of Content Standards

Greetings all,

Today begins our guest discussion on the U.S. Department of Education's
efforts to support state-level adoption and institutionalization of
content standards for adult learning.  Please welcome our guest Ronna
Spacone from the Department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(OVAE), Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL).

I am re-posting the introductory information below.

If you wish to forward this message to others who are not currently
subscribed, they can participate by signing up for the list at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards

Aaron

Aaron Kohring
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)

************************************

For the past several years, the U.S. Department of Education, OVAE, has
used National Leadership Activity funds to provide technical assistance
and support to states already committed to standards-based education
reform.  

OVAE's efforts to promote the implementation of state-level content
standards began with the Adult Education Content Standards Warehouse
Project, operated by the American Institutes of Research (AIR),
2003-2005.  The project included:

1.	Technical assistance and networking for state collaborative
working groups or consortia in 14 states,

2.	The development and publication of "A Process Guide for
Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards" and

3.	The development of the Adult Education Content Standards
Warehouse (AECSW) Website.  The AECSW site provides universal access to
existing state standards as well as nationally developed content
standards in the areas of reading, mathematics, and English language
acquisition.  Since it was launched in May 2005, eleven states and CASAS
and Equipped for the Future have contributed their standards for
posting.  The site also serves to disseminate the "Process Guide for
Establishing State Adult Education Content Standards" as well as the
professional development materials that were developed for the State
Standards Consortia project.  In preparation for our listserv discussion
next week, I invite you to please visit the AECSW Website located at:
(http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org), which AIR continues to operate
with OVAE. 

In September 2005, with the conclusion of the State Standards Consortia
activities, OVAE funded a new activity to identify how best to continue
to support states committed to the implementation of standards.  A
six-month planning project was then conducted by MPR Associates, Inc.,
along with partner organizations Design Perspectives and World
Education.  Planning activities included a literature review of
noteworthy practices, an evaluation of the electronic warehouse, and an
assessment of the needs of states to support standards-based education.
Twenty-four states chose to participate in the project.  Based on the
results, OVAE has moved ahead and made plans for a new project scheduled
to begin next month.

As in the past, the new activities will provide opportunities for
interested states to work together and learn about standards-based
education.  The project is expected to focus especially on the
implementation of standards, including: how to translate standards into
classroom instruction and curriculum and how to assess the
implementation of standards to guide instructional improvement and
program practice. 

I invite you to learn more about the Department of Education's efforts
to promote state-level adoption of content standards and to ask
questions about these activities during the listserv discussion.  Please
refer to the various sections of the AECSW Website
(http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org) including the Guide, Warehouse,
and Field Resources as well as the OVAE DAEL Website located at:
(http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/index.html). 

I look forward to an interesting, engaging discussion and appreciate the
opportunity to take part.  Thanks.
 
Ronna Spacone
Education Program Specialist
Office of Vocational and Adult Education U.S. Department of Education
Ronna.spacone at ed.gov 


----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov  Tue Sep 26 17:57:50 2006
From: Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov (Spacone, Ronna)
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 17:57:50 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 285]  Set of Common Standards
Message-ID: <0C05326017A779439EB52BFBCEA008DE08FE4097@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Hello David -- thanks for your questions. I hope other subscribers will
weigh in on these subjects, but here are my thoughts:

Regarding your first question: the U.S. Department of Education (ED) doesn't
endorse national content standards, because ED is not in the business of
endorsing educational products. This includes products like tests,
textbooks, curricula and content standards. The relationship between the
states and ED allows for the states to decide what programs can or cannot
teach. To the best of my knowledge, there's been no movement on the parts of
states for ED to change in that way. 

As for your second question: is there a set of adult education standards
that are common to several of the best sets of state standards or common to
all the state standards? Not that I know of, no. I received a related
question last week: Does ED have any plans to analyze how disparate the
standards (in the warehouse) might be from state to state. That too would be
interesting, though ED has no plans to do that type of analysis. Nor can I
say which adult education standards are the best standards. Unlike K-12,
there are no report cards that rank/rate state standards or reports like the
"2006 The State of State Standards" published by the Thomas Fordham
Foundation {www.edexcellance.net/institute}. 

I think it's important for people who are using the Adult Education Content
Standards Warehouse to understand that it doesn't identify what's best or
vouch for the quality of the standards posted there. The warehouse was
developed to be an electronic repository for all existing adult education
standards in the areas of reading, mathematics and English language
acquisition (ELA). The standards posted in the warehouse serve as examples
for states and programs to study to help inform their own standards efforts,
but "buyer beware." 

I've learned it's important to critically review other standards documents
using a set of criteria for quality standards. Look, for example, at the
criteria included in Exhibit 3.3 on page 60 of "A Process Guide for
Establishing Adult Education Content Standards"
{http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/howto.asp}. It shows elements to
consider when reviewing standards documents.

Thinking about David's questions and the commonalities of adult education
content standards reminded me of the three content frameworks located
developed for the standards warehouse
{http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/Source/ExploreDiscipline.asp}. The
details on their development are described in the "About the Warehouse"
section of the site, but, basically, in order to determine a structure for
presenting standards in the "search portion" warehouse -- the staff
identified a framework or set of skills and knowledge for each subject area
(reading, math, and ELA) 

The set of skills and knowledge determined for each framework is not
intended as the only perspective on the content area, nor are the related
terms and definitions meant to be seen as prescriptive; rather, they
represent a consensus of expert opinion based on current research and
practice. Many knowledgeable people were involved in developing them. Has
anyone used these frameworks to consider what content might be appropriate
for your standards?

Ronna

Ronna Spacone   
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(202) 245-7755


From Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov  Tue Sep 26 18:37:29 2006
From: Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov (Spacone, Ronna)
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 18:37:29 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 286] Re: Support for State Implementation of
	Standards-Based Education
Message-ID: <0C05326017A779439EB52BFBCEA008DE08FE4099@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Hi Aaron,

As I said in my introductory message, OVAE's new project, Support for State
Implementation of Standards-Based Education, will focus on the
implementation of standards: how to translate standards into classroom
instruction and curriculum and how to assess the implementation of standards
to guide instructional improvement and program practice. Unfortunately,
there is little more I can say about the project until it's official
beginning next month. Then more information will be made available
describing how the three-year project is expected to unfold and how states
might benefit from particpating in the pilot activities.  All state
directors will receive detailed information about the project at the
National COnfeence of  State Directors of Adult Education, November 14-17,
2006. I expect information will also be shared via the various discussion
lists. 

Ronna 

Ronna Spacone
Education Program Specialist
Office of Vocational and Adult Education 
U.S. Department of Education
Ronna.spacone at ed.gov 
(202) 245-7755
 





From akohring at utk.edu  Wed Sep 27 14:55:47 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:55:47 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 287]  Mid-week with our guest speaker from OVAE
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14D336D0@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

We are now mid-week in our discussion with Ronna Spacone from the
Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(OVAE), Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL).  Ronna has
shared with us some of OVAE's recent work in supporting states in the
implementation of standards.  We've also heard about topics such as
validation of standards and a national or common set of standards.

If you have missed part of this discussion or need to catch up, you can
check the public archives at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards by clicking on
"Read Current Posted Messages".

You still have time to participate in the current discussions, ask
additional questions of our guest speaker, or respond to some of the
thought-provoking questions that Ronna has posted. 

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)
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 


From jharrison at casas.org  Wed Sep 27 17:22:45 2006
From: jharrison at casas.org (Jim Harrison)
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:22:45 -0700
Subject: [ContentStandards 288] Re: Set of Common Standards
In-Reply-To: <0C05326017A779439EB52BFBCEA008DE08FE4097@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>
Message-ID: <F422E6BAA45FFC4E98D5D52EFBBA97AC51A896@XNG.casas.org>

I am writing in response to questions raised by Ronna Spacone and David
Rosen relative to content standards.

The first question concerns a set of common adult education content
standards.  The Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS),
at the request of the approximately 30 states comprising the National
CASAS Consortium, has undertaken a content standards project to develop
content standards in reading and math for ABE and ASE and in reading and
listening for ESL/ELL populations.  Reading standards have been
finalized and listening standards, still in draft form, are undergoing a
final review. Math standards are still in early draft stages.  The
primary purpose of developing these standards is to assist states adopt,
and where necessary adapt, a set of common content standards for local
adult education agencies to use.  While these standards are not intended
to be national standards, they nevertheless provide for greater
consistency among states that use the CASAS basic skills remediation and
assessment system. 

The second question concerns the validation of content standards.  The
CASAS National Consortium Content Standards Project has used a series of
formative and summative validation processes in the development of its
standards.  First of all, CASAS formed a 13 state technical work group
to assist in the initial drafting and review of content standards.
Technical work group representatives reviewed draft standards with local
adult education agencies in their states and provided ongoing feedback
into the development and refinement of standards.  Once draft standards
were developed, they were formally pilot tested in the classroom,
reviewed and evaluated by practitioners in two states against a set of
criteria for quality standards development.  Finally, the set of reading
content standards were reviewed again by an external reading expert.
Modifications have been incorporated at each major juncture along the
way.  CASAS intends to have an external reviewer examine the listening
and math standards before they are finalized as well.  

CASAS reading and listening standards are posted on the CASAS web site
(www.casas.org) and on the AIR Warehouse
(www.adultedcontentstandards.org).
 

Thank you.  

Jim Harrison
CASAS
Senior Research Associate
Strategic Planning, Policy, and Implementation
45 North Mill Circle
Guilford, CT 06437
858-292-2900 X191 

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Spacone, Ronna
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 2:58 PM
To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
Subject: [ContentStandards 285] Set of Common Standards

Hello David -- thanks for your questions. I hope other subscribers will
weigh in on these subjects, but here are my thoughts:

Regarding your first question: the U.S. Department of Education (ED)
doesn't
endorse national content standards, because ED is not in the business of
endorsing educational products. This includes products like tests,
textbooks, curricula and content standards. The relationship between the
states and ED allows for the states to decide what programs can or
cannot
teach. To the best of my knowledge, there's been no movement on the
parts of
states for ED to change in that way. 

As for your second question: is there a set of adult education standards
that are common to several of the best sets of state standards or common
to
all the state standards? Not that I know of, no. I received a related
question last week: Does ED have any plans to analyze how disparate the
standards (in the warehouse) might be from state to state. That too
would be
interesting, though ED has no plans to do that type of analysis. Nor can
I
say which adult education standards are the best standards. Unlike K-12,
there are no report cards that rank/rate state standards or reports like
the
"2006 The State of State Standards" published by the Thomas Fordham
Foundation {www.edexcellance.net/institute}. 

I think it's important for people who are using the Adult Education
Content
Standards Warehouse to understand that it doesn't identify what's best
or
vouch for the quality of the standards posted there. The warehouse was
developed to be an electronic repository for all existing adult
education
standards in the areas of reading, mathematics and English language
acquisition (ELA). The standards posted in the warehouse serve as
examples
for states and programs to study to help inform their own standards
efforts,
but "buyer beware." 

I've learned it's important to critically review other standards
documents
using a set of criteria for quality standards. Look, for example, at the
criteria included in Exhibit 3.3 on page 60 of "A Process Guide for
Establishing Adult Education Content Standards"
{http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/howto.asp}. It shows elements to
consider when reviewing standards documents.

Thinking about David's questions and the commonalities of adult
education
content standards reminded me of the three content frameworks located
developed for the standards warehouse
{http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/Source/ExploreDiscipline.asp}.
The
details on their development are described in the "About the Warehouse"
section of the site, but, basically, in order to determine a structure
for
presenting standards in the "search portion" warehouse -- the staff
identified a framework or set of skills and knowledge for each subject
area
(reading, math, and ELA) 

The set of skills and knowledge determined for each framework is not
intended as the only perspective on the content area, nor are the
related
terms and definitions meant to be seen as prescriptive; rather, they
represent a consensus of expert opinion based on current research and
practice. Many knowledgeable people were involved in developing them.
Has
anyone used these frameworks to consider what content might be
appropriate
for your standards?

Ronna

Ronna Spacone   
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(202) 245-7755
----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
ContentStandards at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards


From donnaedp at cox.net  Thu Sep 28 12:09:37 2006
From: donnaedp at cox.net (Donna Chambers)
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 12:09:37 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 289] Re: Support for State Implementation
	ofStandards-Based Education
References: <0C05326017A779439EB52BFBCEA008DE08FE4099@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>
Message-ID: <000d01c6e318$808e7da0$e0ce0944@DH89L251>

Ronna and All,

I am weighing in.  I have been doing a lot of work with content standards 
over the past few years, specifically, with adult standards and how they 
align with k12 standards.  I believe that there is a commonality with most 
of what I have seen.  In other words being able to read (and all that this 
involves)  is being able to read, no matter which state is proposing the 
reading standards.  That said, there is some disconnect between the states' 
k12 standards (including the national standards) and the adult standards 
that have been written in terms of content and level.  For example in ELA, 
k12 expects students to be able to read within the context of literature; 
while adult standards focus on contextual readings for workplace; life 
documents, etc.  I believe that this is the way it should be, however, it 
does pose  a problem when the adults we are working with need to know 
figurative language and the elements of literature in order to move forward 
to post-secondary  testing and all its requirements. We want our learners to 
have the basic skills compete in today's world. and what basic skills are 
needed has changed.  The times are changing and our ABE must keep up in 
order to best serve our learners.  What an adult needs to know today goes 
far beyond what they needed to know ten years ago. I believe what they need 
to know should be dealt with in our ABE programs so that they are better 
prepared for college if that is where they are headed.  This thought crosses 
over to the previous discussion of teaching beyond the GED.

As many of you know, aligning k12 with adult content standards is difficult 
when we look at low and high ASE Math levels. What k12 requires for discreet 
math concepts go far beyond what we require of the adults.  Although Algebra 
and Geometry appear on the GED test and the External Diploma Program 
Assessment; these topics are not assessed anywhere near to the level that 
the k12 system content standards.  Most adult programs that I am familiar 
with concentrate on the minimal basic skills of math  to get by.  This 
works; except when the adult needs to go beyond the high school level.  How 
do we prepare the adult for this?

I am currently working with Massachusetts to develop a competency based 
system to assess the k12 Grade 10 standards  using adult contextual 
materials and application to meet high stakes testing competency 
determination to be able to receive a traditional high school diploma.  It 
is not easy, but we are moving forward.  In order for this work to succeed, 
however, the classroom instructors must be ready to instruct to these 
standards at the  ASE level.  The Massachusetts ABE Curriculum Frameworks 
does align with much of these standards. By doing this  we are preparing our 
students, not just to get their GED, but to be ready to move forward in 
whatever postsecondary goal that they wish to achieve.

I am THRILLED that OVAE is looking at and will fund ways for us to translate 
standards into classroom instruction and curriculum.  How do we make the 
necessary changes?   How do we assess the implementation of standards to 
guide instructional improvement and program practice?  This is SO necessary. 
To me this is "where the rubber meets the road".   Ronna, thanks for being 
on top of this and I look forward to OVAE's official word on this next 
month.

Donna Chambers


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Spacone, Ronna" <Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov>
To: "The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List" 
<contentstandards at nifl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 6:37 PM
Subject: [ContentStandards 286] Re: Support for State Implementation 
ofStandards-Based Education


> Hi Aaron,
>
> As I said in my introductory message, OVAE's new project, Support for 
> State
> Implementation of Standards-Based Education, will focus on the
> implementation of standards: how to translate standards into classroom
> instruction and curriculum and how to assess the implementation of 
> standards
> to guide instructional improvement and program practice. Unfortunately,
> there is little more I can say about the project until it's official
> beginning next month. Then more information will be made available
> describing how the three-year project is expected to unfold and how states
> might benefit from particpating in the pilot activities.  All state
> directors will receive detailed information about the project at the
> National COnfeence of  State Directors of Adult Education, November 14-17,
> 2006. I expect information will also be shared via the various discussion
> lists.
>
> Ronna
>
> Ronna Spacone
> Education Program Specialist
> Office of Vocational and Adult Education
> U.S. Department of Education
> Ronna.spacone at ed.gov
> (202) 245-7755
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards 




From abarter at windham.k12.me.us  Thu Sep 28 14:02:46 2006
From: abarter at windham.k12.me.us (Ann Marie Barter)
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 14:02:46 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 290] Re: Set of Common Standards
Message-ID: <827AA3FA092C0C4AA3A0221EC9B83D0801BBA97D@EX2K.ad.wsd.windham.k12.me.us>

Hi Ronna - Can you please clarify for me whether OVAE has a working definition for the term *standard* or *content standard*?  I'm wondering if we're all talking about the same thing when we use the term standards, or are there times when we're talking about skills and competencies and how does that enlighten or complicate this discussion?  Thanks, Ann Marie Barter

________________________________



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From Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov  Thu Sep 28 15:19:31 2006
From: Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov (Spacone, Ronna)
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 15:19:31 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 291]  definition for content standard
Message-ID: <0C05326017A779439EB52BFBCEA008DE08FE409D@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Hi Anne Marie -
Definitions may vary from place to place, so thanks for your question. Here
are the basic definitions that OVAE's projects are using:  
*	Content standards define what learners should know and be able to do
within a specific content area. 
*	Indicators or benchmarks describe the specific set of skills that
learners need to develop and achieve to meet the more broadly stated content
standards. 
*	Performance standards describe how well or to what extent learners
meet the content standards. 
*	Program standards describe the design, delivery, and management of
programs and instructional services. 
*	Curriculum frameworks outline the scope and sequence for
instruction.

These definitions can be found on the Adult Education Content Standards
Warehouse Website {http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/default.aspand}
and in A Process Guide for Establishing Adult Education Content Standards
{http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/howto.asp}.  

"Definitions" was a subject that the State Standards Consortia teams
discussed, so there are some related materials in the warehouse that might
interest you. Look under the Professional Development Materials >>> Start-up
at:
{http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/field_resources.asp#professional}.  


Ronna

Ronna Spacone
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education
(202) 245-7755
ronna.spacone at ed.gov




From Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov  Thu Sep 28 18:21:17 2006
From: Ronna.Spacone at ed.gov (Spacone, Ronna)
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2006 18:21:17 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 292] Re: ABE standards for Postsecondary Success
Message-ID: <0C05326017A779439EB52BFBCEA008DE08FE409E@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Hi Donna,

Thanks for sharing about your work in Massachusetts to align the Curriculum
Frameworks to address the upper levels, especially in mathematics.  Other
states and programs have also begun looking at their what they're teaching
in relation to the academic content required by community colleges.
Kentucky, for one example, has been developing standards adapted from the
American Diploma Project, which outlines college and workplace readiness
benchmarks in English and mathematics.  It's encouraging to see the
increasing interest in the field to advance the goals of adult education
from high school equivalency to college preparation.  The number of sessions
on transitions at COABE 2006 is evidence plus they were well attended.  

As more and more standards-based education programs begin to focus efforts
on the importance of ABE students transitioning to college, I trust they'll
also do whatever is needed to ensure their content standards present a clear
progression of skills that align with postsecondary course standards.  The
role of ABE as a bridge to further education and training is central to
OVAE's vision for adult education programs, recognizing that adults who end
their education with high school will probably not achieve jobs and careers
that offer family-sustaining wages.  Thanks again, Donna, for raising the
topic of teaching beyond the GED as it relates to setting high(er)standards.

Ronna

Ronna Spacone
Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education
(202) 245-7755
ronna.spacone at ed.gov

       




From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Sep 29 10:19:26 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 10:19:26 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 293]  Final questions or thoughts
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14DCABF0@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Hi everyone, 

Today is the last day with our guest Ronna Spacone from OVAE, so I
encourage you to ask any final questions or share any additional
thoughts on the current topics.   

Aaron 


Aaron Kohring
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)


From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Sep 29 16:29:48 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:29:48 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 294]  Brief on Adult ESL Content Standards
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14DCB49D@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Hi all,

See below for info on ESL Content Standards.
Aaron


*********************************

Hello, everyone:
 
The latest brief from the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition
(CAELA), Understanding Adult ESL Content Standards, by CAELA staff
member Sarah Young and by Cristine Smith from the National Center for
the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), has been released and
can be found on the Web site at
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/contentstandards.html. It
can be downloaded in both html and in pdf formats. 
 

This brief defines different types of standards and describes the
instructional benefits of using adult ESL content standards. It also
describes uses of content standards in the adult ESL field and discusses
research about the implementation of content standards. 

 

Coming this fall: Another brief on content standards, Aligning Content
Standards with Instruction and Assessment for Adult ESL Instruction, by
Kirsten Schaetzel and Sarah Young.

 
Thanks.
 Miriam
*******
Miriam Burt

CAELA
Center for Applied Linguistics
4646 40th Street NW
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 362-0700, ext 556
(202) 363-7204 (fax)
miriam at cal.org 

 ****************************

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)
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 


From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Sep 29 16:34:59 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:34:59 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 295] Action Research as Professional Development
	discussion next week
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14DCB4B5@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Note the upcoming discussion on the Professional Development List next
week.
Aaron

Aaron Kohring
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Discussion Topic: Action Research as Professional Development Discussion
Dates: October 2 - 9, 2006 To Participate: Subscribe by visiting:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment 

To Prepare: View this short streaming video for background about action
research in the District of Columbia

http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/webcast_ac
tion.html  (or try: http://tinyurl.com/krah5 )

General Overview: Join our guests from the University of the District of
Columbia and teacher researchers (listed below) on the Adult Literacy
Professional Development Discussion List to discuss a broad range of
topics related to action research in adult literacy professional
development (PD), including:

* Defining action research
* Problems/questions from instruction that could become action research
* Teachers' experiences with action research
* Action Research in Adult Basic Education in the District of Columbia
* Using practitioner inquiry as professional development
* Ancillary support systems for action research
* Tools that give teachers different modes for examining their practice
and to build a PD community
* Role of action research in "evidence-based practice"
* Action research as a transformative professional development
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GUESTS:

Teacher Researchers:

Patricia DeFerrari works for Academy of Hope which runs several adult
education programs including ABE/GED classes.  Her research was on the
use of authentic materials to improve attendance in ABE reading class.

Adrienne Jones works for Catholic Charities GED program.  Her research
was on how daily interactive, self-paced computer learning and
discussion time with peers and the instructor effect written posttest
scores in science, reading and social studies.

Kris Garvin works for Notre Dame Adult Education Center.  Her research
was on using authentic material to improve social studies scores in GED.
Her research also focused on building, highlighting, and reinforcing
personal connections learners have to community, history, and current
events.

Cheryl Jackson works as an independent consultant teaching workplace
education classes for the District Department of Transportation
employees.  Her research topic focused on how computer technology could
be used to improve reading comprehension and word recognition skills for
low-level readers participating in a workplace education program.

Chenniah Randolph works for Metropolitan Delta GED program.  Her
research was on the instructional gap between CASAS assessment
instrument and GED instructional materials.


University of the District of Columbia Researchers:

Maigenet Shifferraw, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Coordinator of the
Graduate Certificate Program in Adult Education, Department of
Education, University of the District of Columbia

Dr. Shifferraw is the Principal Investigator for the Action Research
project in Adult Basic Education at the University of the District of
Columbia.  The actual researchers are the adult education teachers who
are teaching in community based organization, but we (the team) is also
responsible for evaluating the benefits of guided action research to
enhancing the professional development of adult education teachers.

Janet Burton, DSW, Professor and Director, Social Work Program,
University of the District of Columbia

As a member of the Action research team, Dr. Janet Burton provides
consultation on research particularly related to social factors and
adult education.  She is conducting a study that examines how social
factors impact participation in adult basic education. 

George W. Spicely, Adjunct Professor, Department of Education,
University of the District of Columbia; and Education Consultant

Professor George Spicely coordinates the work of the Action Research
Project Team and provides support to the participating
teacher-researchers.  Specifically, he coordinates planning,
implementation and follow-up of project activities, and leads research
related discussion on administrative and research issues using
Blackboard software.

Supplemental Materials:


Streaming Video: Action Research in Adult Basic Education in the
District of Columbia

http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/webcast_ac
tion.html  (or try: http://tinyurl.com/krah5 ) 

(b)     About the D.C. Action Research Project:
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/action.htm
l 

(c)     "What is Research?"    Focus on Basics,   Volume 1, Issue A:
February 1997,
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy:
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=166 

Includes articles:   "Research with Words:  Qualitative Inquiry"
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=468  

"Knowing, Learning,  Doing: Participatory Action Research
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=479  

(d)     "Learning from Practice"
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/able/cwp/view.asp?a=215&Q=110064 

A Project of the Pennsylvania ABLE Lifelong Learning 

     Shares information on Project's three Learning from Practice Models

         o Pennsylvania Action Research Network (PAARN)
         o Pennsylvania Adult Literacy Practitioner Inquiry Network
         o Agency Research Projects

(e)     New! The Action Research Topic Area of the ALE Wiki:

        http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Action_Research  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Subscribe, Visit:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment 

I hope you will join us! Jackie

Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator,
jataylor at utk.edu

National Institute for Literacy http://www.nifl.gov/ 

Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers
http://www.aalpd.org/


From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Oct  2 10:09:07 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 10:09:07 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 296]  Thanks to our guest Ronna Spacone!
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A14E3CFCF@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to thank Ronna Spacone from OVAE for being our Guest last
week!  And thanks to all of you who contributed to the discussion. 

I will prepare the Discussion in a user-friendly format, and post it to
the Guest Speaker archive on the National Institute for Literacy website
(I'll send out a notice when this is ready): 
- (http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html)
- click on the Guest Speakers button in the toolbar for the archives of
Guests.

You can read the entire thread now if you go to the Content Standards
public archive at: http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards
- click on Read Current Posted Messages. 


Thanks to all again,
Aaron


Aaron Kohring
Moderator, National Institute for Literacy's Content Standards
Discussion List (http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Contentstandards)


From macorley1 at earthlink.net  Mon Oct  2 16:21:47 2006
From: macorley1 at earthlink.net (Mary Ann Corley)
Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 16:21:47 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
Subject: [ContentStandards 297] Full Schedule for Meeting of the Minds II
 Symposium Now Available on Web Site
Message-ID: <1986169.1159820507962.JavaMail.root@elwamui-polski.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

Dear List Subscribers:
 
I'm writing to let you know that the full conference schedule for the Meeting of the Minds II Symposium is now available at www.researchtopractice.org. This is a national adult education practitioner-researcher conference, the goal of which is to create dialogue between adult education researchers and adult education teachers and administrators, with the aim of enhancing literacy practice. The Symposium is scheduled for November 30 through December 2, 2006, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel, Sacramento, California.
 
Participating researchers are from the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), from the American Institutes for Research (AIR), as well as from various universities and non-profit organizations. The opening plenary session on Thurday morning will feature Mark Kutner from AIR, who will present results of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy and the Health Literacy Survey, and John Comings, who will provide an overview of what NCSALL has learned from 10 years of research in adult literacy. 
 
A plenary session on Friday afternoon will feature a discussion on "how research has influenced adult literacy education policy at the national and state levels." Hal Beder from Rutgers University will provide an overview of the topic and moderate this session. Panelists include Cheryl Keenan, Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy, US Department of Eduation; Sandra Baxter, Director of the National Institute for Literacy; and three state-level administrators: Bob Bickerton from Massachusetts; Jean Scott from California; and Israle Mendoza from Washington state. 
 
The three-day schedule is structured to include six strands of six concurrent sessions each, for a total of 36 sessions. Each session consists of a presentation of research, followed by a brief discussion/reaction from two practitioners, followed by an activity that involves session attendees, in small groups, in brainstorming implications of the research for practice, policy, and further research. CALPRO will post the list of implications to the Symposium Web site following the Symposium. 
 
Deadline for registering for the Symposium is November 15, 2006. There is no on-site registration.
Deadline for registering for a hotel room at the Sheraton Grand (at the CA staterate of $84/night) is November 9, 2006. The Symposium Web site, www.researchtopractice.org, will take you to registration links for both the symposium and the hotel.
 
Plan to attend this Symposium, network with other practitioners and researchers, and consider implications of research for your delivery of adult literacy education! Hope to see you in Sacramento in November!!
 
-Mary Ann Corley, Ph.D.
CALPRO Director and Symposium Coordinator
American Institutes for Research        
 


From gspangenberg at caalusa.org  Mon Oct  9 10:26:25 2006
From: gspangenberg at caalusa.org (Gail Spangenberg)
Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2006 10:26:25 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 298] Launch of National Commission on Adult
	Literacy (cross posted)
Message-ID: <B9D50A49-A360-4C09-862F-B34929D94E91@caalusa.org>

Friends,

I think you will be pleased by the attached news release, issued  
jointly today by Dollar General Corporation and CAAL. This has been  
in the making for some months. I hope it will bring a new sense of  
hope and possibility to those who toil in the adult education and  
literacy trenches of service, planning, and policy development and  
who appreciate the findings of the 2003 NAALs. Should you be unable  
to access the PDF attachment, you can see essentially the same  
information at the CAAL website (www.caalusa.org).

?

Gail Spangenberg
President
Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy
1221 Avenue of the Americas - 46th Fl
New York, NY 10020
212-512-2362, F: 212-512-2610
www.caalusa.org



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From kabeall at comcast.net  Tue Oct 10 08:29:09 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 08:29:09 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 299]  Back Issues of Focus on Basics Available
Message-ID: <003601c6ec67$b96e2d70$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

After ten years of research and development, the National Center for the
Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) project is coming to an end.
NCSALL's dissemination efforts will end in March 2007.  The Web site
(www.ncsall.net) will remain available for free downloading of NCSALL
materials.  

 

NCSALL is happy to offer printed copies of our magazine, Focus on Basics.
Attached is a list of the back issues of Focus on Basics that are available
either free (for orders of less than 100 copies) or for minimal shipping
costs (for orders of more than 100 copies).

 

Order Requirements:

Due to staffing, we will only accept orders on a first-come, first-served
basis with the following requirements:

- Minimum quantity per order: 50 copies

- Minimum quantity per issue: 10 copies

- Orders of more than 100 copies will be charged a minimal shipping cost;
see order form for details.

 

Order Instructions:

E-mail Caye Caplan at ccaplan at worlded.org with order information:

Volume and Issue, Quantity per Issue, Mailing Address (provide street
address), and Shipping Payment Method (if applicable).

Or

Fill out the attached "Comp FOB Order Form", 

Fax to: 617 482-0617 attn: NCSALL/ Caye Caplan   or,

Mail to:  Caye Caplan, NCSALL/World Education, 44 Farnsworth St., Boston, MA
02210

 

Shipment will be UPS Ground; please provide street address (physical
address, "NO" PO Box please!).  

 

Allow 4 - 5 weeks for delivery. 

 

Please forward this e-mail to interested programs / parties.

 

 

 

Caye Caplan

Coordinator of NCSALL Dissemination

World Education

44 Farnsworth Street

Boston, MA  02210-1211

Tel: (617) 482-9485

Fax: (617) 482-0617

E-mail: ccaplan at worlded.org

Web-site: www.ncsall.net

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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Oct 16 09:47:54 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:47:54 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 300] Adult Education and Literacy System marks
	milestone
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A09C3EC73@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings,

This message is posted on behalf of Tom Sticht.

Aaron

****************************************

Colleagues: The following article appears in Reading TODAY, the official
newspaper of the International Reading Association with a readership of
some 160,000 worldwide. I hope all of you NIFL list members are planning
celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the AELS on November 3rd.
Tom Sticht

Reading TODAY October/November 2006 Vol. 24, No. 2 page

U. S. Adult Education and Literacy System marks milestone

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Adult Education and Literacy
System (AELS) in the United States, which continues today as Title 2: The
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of the Workforce Investment Act of
1998. Over the past four decades, adults have produced some 100 million
enrollments in AELS. Yet establishing the system took years of effort.

A merger of interests.

By the beginning of the 1960s, the adult education community had become
fragmented into several factions: those seeking recognition for adult
education as a broad, liberal educational component of the national
education system; those seeking education for the least educated, least
literate adults; and those seeking to enhance America's security and
increase the industrial productivity of the nation by giving education and
job training to adults stuck in poverty.

None of these groups, however, was having much success getting adult
education or adult literacy education implemented in federal legislation.
Finally, leverage to break the log jam came from the nation's military. In
the summer of 1963, a task force on manpower conservation was established
by the Department of Labor. The task force, led by Daniel Patrick Moynihan,
set out to understand why so many young men were failing the military's
standardized entrance screening exam, the Armed Forces Qualification Test
(AFQT), and to recommend what might be done to alleviate this problem.

The task force's report was delivered on January 1, 1964, to President
Lyndon B. Johnson, who had taken office in November following the
assassination of John F. Kennedy. The report revealed that one third of the
young men called for military service did not meet the standards of health
and education. It went on to recommend methods for using the AFQT to
identify young adults with remediable problems and to provide them
services, and it also recommended the enactment of new legislation that
would provide additional education and training.

In launching his  "Great Society" programs  in May 1964, Johnson argued that
"The  Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an
end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in
our time"

By appealing to "abundance and liberty," Johnson captured the interest of
those in Congress concerned with employment, productivity, and poverty as
well as those concerned with national security. In August 1964, Johnson
signed the Economic Opportunity Act into law. It contained within it Title
IIB: the Adult Basic Education program.

In 1966, adult educators lobbied to move the Adult Basic Education program
to the U. S. Office of Education and to change the name to the Adult
Education Act, broadening its applicability beyond basic education.
Congress agreed, and, on November 3, 1966, Johnson signed an amendment to
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 that  included Title
III: The Adult Education Act of 1966.

With the passing of the Adult Education Act, the seed from which the AELS
would grow was finally planted. For 40 years, adults have used the AELS to
help them find abundance and liberty from the bonds of poverty and
underemployment for themselves and their families. For tens of millions of
adults this hope has been fulfilled.

[Note: Most of the foregoing is adapted from " The rise of the Adult
Education and Literacy System in the United States: 1600-2000" by Thomas
Sticht, in John Comings,  Barbara Garner, and Cristine Smith (Eds.), The
annual review of adult learning and literacy (volume 3, pages 10-43). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001.

Thomas G. Sticht
International Consultant in Adult Education
El Cajon, California, USA




 

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From Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov  Wed Oct 18 11:33:48 2006
From: Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov (Nguyen, My Linh)
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 11:33:48 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 301] CROSSPOSTED: Update on Content Standards and
	Program Leadership & Improvement lists
Message-ID: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D495911889A51@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>

	Dear Discussion List subscribers,

	As the National Institute for Literacy enters a new fiscal year, we
have taken steps to streamline the way we deliver professional development
through our discussion lists. A major change that will directly affect you
is the closing of the Content Standards and Program Leadership & Improvement
lists as of October 30, 2006.

The Institute would like to thank Aaron Kohring for moderating the Content
Standards List and Peggy Maguire for moderating the Program Leadership &
Improvement List. They have worked hard to bring relevant issues to the
forefront and to stimulate discussions that help explore issues of content
standards and program leadership and improvement. We will continue to
provide access to discussion archives on our website.

	We recognize that many of the issues that impact Content Standards
and Program Leadership & Improvement carry across all the subject areas of
other Discussion Lists. For that reason, we invite you to subscribe to any
or all of our other Discussion Lists. We encourage you to be active
participants in these lists.

	The Institute's lists include:

	Adult Literacy Professional Development 
	Assessment 
	Adult English Language Learners
	Family Literacy 
	Focus on Basics 
	Health & Literacy 
	Learning Disabilities 
	Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy*
	Special Topics 
	Technology & Literacy 
	Workplace Literacy

	Descriptions and instructions on how to register for the Institute's
Discussion Lists can be found at
http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html

* Please note that we are combining the Women and Literacy List with the
Poverty, Race and Literacy List as of November 6, 2006, because the issues
that affect one list, often overlap with issues on the other list.

My Linh Nguyen
Associate Director of Communications
National Institute for Literacy
(202) 233-2041
fax (202) 233-2050
mnguyen at nifl.gov



From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu  Wed Oct 18 18:44:49 2006
From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Janet Isserlis)
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:44:49 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 302] Re: CROSSPOSTED: Update on Content Standards
 and Program Leadership & Improvement lists
In-Reply-To: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D495911889A51@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>
Message-ID: <C15C26A1.11592%Janet_Isserlis@brown.edu>

Aside from the reasons given here, are there other substantive reasons for
eliminating these two lists?  While their content *may* overlap, at times,
there are also distinct purposes to each, and useful information particular
to each exchanged, and - at times - cross posted to various other lists.

I'm very sorry to see these two lists being eliminated.

Janet Isserlis


> From: "Nguyen, My Linh" <Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov>
> Reply-To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
> <contentstandards at nifl.gov>
> Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 11:33:48 -0400
> To: <contentstandards at nifl.gov>, <programleadership at nifl.gov>
> Conversation: CROSSPOSTED: Update on Content Standards and Program Leadership
> & Improvement lists
> Subject: [ContentStandards 301] CROSSPOSTED: Update on Content Standards and
> Program Leadership & Improvement lists
> 
> Dear Discussion List subscribers,
> 
> As the National Institute for Literacy enters a new fiscal year, we
> have taken steps to streamline the way we deliver professional development
> through our discussion lists. A major change that will directly affect you
> is the closing of the Content Standards and Program Leadership & Improvement
> lists as of October 30, 2006.
> 
> The Institute would like to thank Aaron Kohring for moderating the Content
> Standards List and Peggy Maguire for moderating the Program Leadership &
> Improvement List. They have worked hard to bring relevant issues to the
> forefront and to stimulate discussions that help explore issues of content
> standards and program leadership and improvement. We will continue to
> provide access to discussion archives on our website.
> 
> We recognize that many of the issues that impact Content Standards
> and Program Leadership & Improvement carry across all the subject areas of
> other Discussion Lists. For that reason, we invite you to subscribe to any
> or all of our other Discussion Lists. We encourage you to be active
> participants in these lists.
> 
> The Institute's lists include:
> 
> Adult Literacy Professional Development
> Assessment 
> Adult English Language Learners
> Family Literacy 
> Focus on Basics 
> Health & Literacy
> Learning Disabilities
> Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy*
> Special Topics 
> Technology & Literacy
> Workplace Literacy
> 
> Descriptions and instructions on how to register for the Institute's
> Discussion Lists can be found at
> http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html
> 
> * Please note that we are combining the Women and Literacy List with the
> Poverty, Race and Literacy List as of November 6, 2006, because the issues
> that affect one list, often overlap with issues on the other list.
> 
> My Linh Nguyen
> Associate Director of Communications
> National Institute for Literacy
> (202) 233-2041
> fax (202) 233-2050
> mnguyen at nifl.gov
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov  Fri Oct 20 16:38:42 2006
From: Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov (Nguyen, My Linh)
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:38:42 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 303] CROSSPOSTED Update on Discussion Lists -
	Response
Message-ID: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D495911889AF6@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>

Dear Janet,

Thank you for your comments about the upcoming changes to some of the
Discussion Lists. We do feel that many of the issues that impact Content
Standards and Program Leadership & Improvement carry across all the subject
areas of other Discussion Lists. You are right to point out that each list
has its own distinct purposes, but we believe that those purposes and ideas
can be carried over to our other lists. 

We hope that by widening the circle of participation by narrowing down the
numbers of similar lists may reduce the amount of messages cross-posted for
subscribers who are on multiple lists.

We hope that you and other members of the lists that are closing or merging
will contribute your viewpoints through either the merged Poverty, Race and
Women's List or any of our other lists. 

We look forward to continue learning from the varied and rich perspectives
all of the Institute's list subscribers bring to the Institute's forums.

My Linh Nguyen
Associate Director of Communications
National Institute for Literacy
(202) 233-2041
fax (202) 233-2050
mnguyen at nifl.gov



From Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu  Fri Oct 20 17:41:24 2006
From: Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu (Janet Isserlis)
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 17:41:24 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 304] Re: CROSSPOSTED Update on Discussion Lists -
 Response
In-Reply-To: <CB4082E7B582144084C72EC6C98D495911889AF6@wdcrobe2m04.ed.gov>
Message-ID: <C15EBAC4.116A6%Janet_Isserlis@brown.edu>

Thank you, My Linh

I do understand what you're saying, but think that the women and literacy
and poverty/race/literacy lists are somewhat distinct and not altogether
overlapping   (as you may have read on that women/lit list).

I don't know what, if anything, can be done to address this, but think it
bears consideration.

thank you

Janet


> From: "Nguyen, My Linh" <Mylinh.Nguyen at ed.gov>
> Reply-To: The Adult Education Content Standards Discussion List
> <contentstandards at nifl.gov>
> Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:38:42 -0400
> To: <womenliteracy-owner at nifl.gov>, <contentstandards at nifl.gov>,
> <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
> Conversation: CROSSPOSTED Update on Discussion Lists - Response
> Subject: [ContentStandards 303] CROSSPOSTED Update on Discussion Lists -
> Response
> 
> Dear Janet,
> 
> Thank you for your comments about the upcoming changes to some of the
> Discussion Lists. We do feel that many of the issues that impact Content
> Standards and Program Leadership & Improvement carry across all the subject
> areas of other Discussion Lists. You are right to point out that each list
> has its own distinct purposes, but we believe that those purposes and ideas
> can be carried over to our other lists.
> 
> We hope that by widening the circle of participation by narrowing down the
> numbers of similar lists may reduce the amount of messages cross-posted for
> subscribers who are on multiple lists.
> 
> We hope that you and other members of the lists that are closing or merging
> will contribute your viewpoints through either the merged Poverty, Race and
> Women's List or any of our other lists.
> 
> We look forward to continue learning from the varied and rich perspectives
> all of the Institute's list subscribers bring to the Institute's forums.
> 
> My Linh Nguyen
> Associate Director of Communications
> National Institute for Literacy
> (202) 233-2041
> fax (202) 233-2050
> mnguyen at nifl.gov
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Adult Education Content Standards mailing list
> ContentStandards at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/contentstandards



From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Oct 23 11:20:45 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 11:20:45 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 305] Aligning Career and Technical Education
	Programs to Real-World Technical Skills webcast
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A153A0431@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

You may be interested in this upcoming webcast this Thursday.
Aaron

******************************************
"Aligning Career and Technical Education Programs to Real-World
Technical Skills" Focus of Next Webcast

The National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education
will present a webcast entitled "Aligning Career and Technical Education
Programs to Real-World Technical Skills" on Thursday, October 26, 2006,
from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. (EDT). This interactive event and previous
webcasts can be viewed on any computer with Internet access at
http://www.nccte.org.

All workers in the 21st century are going to need more highly developed
technical skills if our nation is going to remain competitive in the
global marketplace. Additionally, all students need to be prepared to
enter either college or employment upon completion of high school. Those
who enter employment also need to be able to earn a living wage. Career
and technical education programs play an important role in this process.

Building these rigorous career and technical programs at the state and
local levels for all students requires knowledge about what technical
skill content is needed, how the instructional content is aligned with
the required technical skills, and how student performance is evaluated
in the technical skill content area.
This program will bring together three state and local education leaders
who have developed strong technical programs. The experiences of these
leaders will help others who plan to develop similar programs.

The presenters for this webcast include the following: Bryan Butz,
Health Science Teacher and Human Services Chairman, White Knoll High
School, Lexington, SC; Wende Dallain, Career Coach, Chicago High School
for Agricultural Sciences; and John L. Davidson, Deputy Director,
Arkansas Department of Workforce Education.

Butz serves as the health sciences teacher and human services chairman
at White Knoll High School. He served on the curriculum team that
rewrote the South Carolina standards and competencies used in teaching
sports medicine classes and developed the "Sports Medicine Teacher
Resource Guide," a CD-ROM given to all new teachers of sports medicine
classes in South Carolina. He has spoken at professional development
conferences and the South Carolina Business and Education Summit. Butz
has also been very involved with the South Carolina Health Occupations
Students of America (HOSA) sports medicine competitions and his students
have won the state sports medicine competition. Butz is a graduate of
Friends University (Wichita, KS).

Dallain worked in the food industry for 10 years as a quality control
manager at Beatrice Foods, Archer Daniels Midland, and Nation Pizza
Products before becoming a teacher. She began working at the Chicago
High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS) in 1987 as the head of the
Food Science Career Pathway. Since coming to the CHSAS, Dallain has been
a leader in many reform efforts-especially those connected to education
to careers. Continuing in that role, she serves as the coordinator of
the High Schools That Work initiative at the CHSAS. She earned her
degree in food science at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.

As Deputy Director for the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education,
Davidson is responsible for Secondary Career and Technical Education,
Carl D. Perkins funding, and Tech Prep. Davidson has been in Arkansas
education since 1973-as a teacher, principal, and district-level
vocational director. He is past-president of the Arkansas Vocational
Association, and received the 2003 National Educational Leader Award
from Jobs for America's Graduates. Davidson serves as cochair for the
National Law, Public Safety, and Security Career Cluster. He is a member
of the Arkansas Pygmalion Commission on Nontraditional Education, and
also serves on the board of the Multistate Academic and Vocational
Curriculum Consortium, VTECS ("A Consortium for Innovative Career and
Workplace Development Resources"), and High Schools That Work. Davidson
earned an associate degree in science from Arkansas Tech University and
a bachelor's of science degree in agriculture and a master's degree in
vocational education, both from the University of Arkansas.

Sign up before the webcast starts for an NCCTE chatroom account in order
to use the chatroom. This chatroom allows you to interact with other
webcast viewers and moderators who are at the event. Moderators can
present your questions to the speaker(s). Please allow ample time (at
least one business day), as your account must be validated by an e-mail
confirmation.

Click here if you have an account but have forgotten your password.
To subscribe or unsubscribe from this e-mail list, please visit this web
page: http://www.nccte.org/ctemail/subscription.asp or send an e-mail to
nagy.8 at osu.edu or contact Barbara Reardon above.
 
The work reported herein was supported under the National Dissemination
Center for Career and Technical Education (PR/Award No. VO51A990004)
and/or under the National Research Center for Career and Technical
Education (PR/Award No. VO51A990006), as administered by the Office of
Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. However,
the contents do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of
the Office of Vocational and Adult Education or the U.S. Department of
Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal
government. The National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical
Education and the National Research Center for Career and Technical
Education are funded by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education,
U.S. Department of Education.

************************************
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)
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 


From baera at floridaliteracy.org  Tue Oct 24 16:04:17 2006
From: baera at floridaliteracy.org (Alyssa Baer)
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 16:04:17 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 306]  2007 Florida Literacy Conference
Message-ID: <003301c6f7a7$9702cca0$1e02a8c0@floridaliteracy.org>

Please join us for the 2007 Florida Literacy Conference!  

 

Dates:  May 2-4, 2007, with May 1, 2007 pre-conference

Location: Orlando Marriott, Lake Mary, Florida

 

One of Florida's premier literacy events, this three day annual conference
offers a wide range of training and networking opportunities to literacy
practitioners and volunteers.  

 

Full Conference Early Bird: postmarked by March 9: Member $170 /Non-Member
$195        

Full Conference: postmarked by April 13: Member $195 / Non-Member $220    

Full Conference: on-site, after April 13: $235                    

Full Conference: Adult Learner: $70 (no fee for adult learners attending May
2nd only)

 

                         

Call for Presenters!  

To help make the 2007 Conference a success, the Florida Literacy Coalition
seeks session proposals throughout the state and nation in the following
topic ideas:  

Adult Learner, Corrections, Family Literacy, English Literacy, Learning
Disabilities, Library Literacy, Program Management, Reading, Technology,
Volunteers in Literacy and Workforce Education (ABE, GED and adult high
school).

  

We welcome your participation and encourage you to propose a session by
December 13 by downloading the Call for Presenters form from
www.floridaliteracy.org.

 

On behalf of the Florida Literacy Coalition, thank you and we hope to see
you in May.

 

Alyssa Baer, AmeriCorps*VISTA Member

Florida Literacy Coalition

 <mailto:baera at floridaliteracy.org> baera at floridaliteracy.org

Telephone: 407.246.7110 extension 207

Facsimile: 407.246.7104

934 North Magnolia Avenue, Suite 104

Orlando, Florida 32803

 <http://www.floridaliteracy.org/> www.floridaliteracy.org

 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Fri Oct 27 10:18:13 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2006 10:18:13 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 307] Seeking Model Programs for Accountability
	Project
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A1546BDCA@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,

This message might be of interest to you as content standards play an
important part in our accountability and program improvement efforts.
Aaron

******************************
Dear Colleagues, 

As you know, funders in both the public and private sectors are placing
heightened expectations upon people who manage literacy and adult
education programs. The funders want to know:
o	Are programs able to demonstrate real learning gains among
students?
o	Are programs worthy of the trust placed in them by community
partners, business volunteers, students, and other stakeholders?
o	Do program personnel have the information they need to improve
their
programs and allocate precious resources wisely?

ProLiteracy, in partnership with the Dollar General Literacy Foundation,
is working to help program managers acquire the knowledge and tools they
need to answer questions like these. This new, three-year project is
called the Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability
Initiative. Together, we will 1) identify successful accountability
practices being used in a variety of literacy and adult education
programs, and 2) use the practices to develop and deliver training
modules and print resources to improve performance accountability. 

Right now we are looking for up to eight exemplary literacy and adult
education programs to serve as models as we develop the first training
module: Data Collection and Management. You may be part of a program
that does a good job collecting and managing data. If so, please
consider nominating your program. If you know of another program that
would be a good model, please forward this message to that program's
director. We would also appreciate your help in disseminating this call
for model programs throughout your networks. The nomination information
and form may be downloaded from the ProLiteracy Web site by using the
following links:

*	www.proliteracy.org/downloads/guidelines.doc
*	www.proliteracy.org/downloads/application_form.doc

It is important to act quickly, as our deadline for accepting
nominations via e-mail or mail is 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006.
You may fill out and submit the nomination form on paper or online. See
the form for detailed instructions.

Model programs will receive a $1,500 stipend, increased visibility, and
an opportunity to make a positive impact on the adult education and
literacy field.

We appreciate your help in this critical endeavor and hope to hear from
you by Nov. 8.

If you have any questions, please contact me via e-mail at
mdaniels at proliteracy.org.

Thank you,

Melanie Daniels, Project Manager
Dollar General/ProLiteracy Performance Accountability Initiative
ProLiteracy Worldwide 1320 Jamesville Avenue Syracuse, NY 13210
mdaniels at proliteracy.org http://www.proliteracy.org

****************************************

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)
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 


From kabeall at comcast.net  Fri Oct 27 11:24:49 2006
From: kabeall at comcast.net (Kaye Beall)
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:24:49 -0400
Subject: [ContentStandards 308]  New from NCSALL
Message-ID: <008801c6f9dc$0cfa7620$0202a8c0@your4105e587b6>

Research on the Economic Impact of the GED Diploma Panel

The National Institute for Literacy (Institute) and the National Center for
the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) announce the Research on
the Economic Impact of the GED Diploma Panel, a 30-minute video produced by
the Institute. This panel discussion focuses on the economic benefits that
accrue to holders of the General Educational Development (GED) credential.
It is based on a review by John Tyler of eight recent (published and
working) research papers on the GED.  Several of these papers were authored
by John Tyler, Richard Murnane, and John Willett, researchers with NCSALL
whose work has influenced what we know about the economic benefits of the
GED.  Presenters include John Tyler, Sara Fass, and Sue Snider; the
moderator is David Rosen.

To view in streaming format, go to:
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/ged/webcast_ged.html
To order in DVD for $5.00 from NCSALL, go to: www.ncsall.net/?id=675 
To order DVD version from NIFL, send request with mailing address to:
info at nifl.gov 

Transitioning Adults to College: Adult Basic Education Program Models
by Cynthia Zafft, Silja Kallenbach, and Jessica Spohn
This NCSALL Occasional Paper describes five models that the staff at the New
England Literacy Resource Center at World Education, Inc., categorized
through a survey of adult education centers with transition components from
around the United States. This NCSALL Occasional Paper describes the five
models-Advising, GED-Plus, ESOL, Career Pathways, and College
Preparatory-and themes and recommendations that others contemplating adult
transition services might find helpful. It also chronicles the experiences
of four states (Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, and Oregon) in their efforts
to institutionalize transitions for adults. To download the paper, go to
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=26

Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices About the GED and Your Future
Newly revised to include new data and information on the Internet, this
guide for GED instructors offers lesson plans and helps teachers develop as
professionals. It also gives adult learners an opportunity to practice
writing, use graphs, read charts, and analyze research findings on the
economic impact of the GED. To download the guide, go to
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=35. 

 

 

****************

Kaye Beall

Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project

World Education

4401 S. Madison St.

Muncie, IN  47302

Tel: 765-717-3942

Fax: 208-694-8262

kaye_beall at worlded.org

http://www.ncsall.net

 

 

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From akohring at utk.edu  Mon Oct 30 16:08:35 2006
From: akohring at utk.edu (Kohring, Aaron M)
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:08:35 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 309]  Thank you to Standards List Subscribers
Message-ID: <6A5CE13D731DE249BC61CB8C5C474B0A09C3EC88@UTKFSVS1.utk.tennessee.edu>

Greetings all,
 
I wanted to thank all the subscribers to the Content Standards Discussion List for your contributions to the dialogue on Content Standards over the past year.  I hope you have found the List as a useful resource for materials, information, and exchange with others that has contributed to your professional development or linked you with the tools you need.
 
Before the List closes, I hope you have considered subscribing to one or more of the Institute's other Discussion Lists so this valuable dialogue on Content Standards can continue in the relevant contexts or topical areas.
 
Best to you all,
Aaron
 
 
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From mwpefp at comcast.net  Mon Oct 30 16:31:27 2006
From: mwpefp at comcast.net (mwpefp at comcast.net)
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:31:27 +0000
Subject: [ContentStandards 310] Re: Thank you to Standards List Subscribers
Message-ID: <103020062131.25166.45466F2E000E6C810000624E22165258069F000A9F9903@comcast.net>

Thank YOU, Aaron.  I know how difficult it is to keep the list going, and you have done a very fine job.

All the Best,

Meta Potts

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "Kohring, Aaron M" <akohring at utk.edu> 

Greetings all,

I wanted to thank all the subscribers to the Content Standards Discussion List for your contributions to the dialogue on Content Standards over the past year.  I hope you have found the List as a useful resource for materials, information, and exchange with others that has contributed to your professional development or linked you with the tools you need.

Before the List closes, I hope you have considered subscribing to one or more of the Institute's other Discussion Lists so this valuable dialogue on Content Standards can continue in the relevant contexts or topical areas.

Best to you all,
Aaron
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Subject: [ContentStandards 309]  Thank you to Standards List Subscribers
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:24:40 +0000
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From andy_nash at worlded.org  Mon Oct 30 17:42:49 2006
From: andy_nash at worlded.org (Andy Nash)
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 17:42:49 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 311] Re: Thank you to Standards List	Subscribers
Message-ID: <s5463a92.076@mail.jsi.com>

Thank you, Aaron, for moderating this challenging topic. There are so
many layers to the subject, some of which are difficult to talk about on
the list. I hope that discussion of standards-based education continues
on the assessment list, where many related themes are naturally
surfacing. 
Andy Nash
NELRC/World Education

>>> akohring at utk.edu 10/30/2006 4:08 PM >>>
Greetings all,
 
I wanted to thank all the subscribers to the Content Standards
Discussion List for your contributions to the dialogue on Content
Standards over the past year.  I hope you have found the List as a
useful resource for materials, information, and exchange with others
that has contributed to your professional development or linked you with
the tools you need.
 
Before the List closes, I hope you have considered subscribing to one
or more of the Institute's other Discussion Lists so this valuable
dialogue on Content Standards can continue in the relevant contexts or
topical areas.
 
Best to you all,
Aaron
 
 


From MMaralit at NIFL.gov  Wed Nov  1 16:19:31 2006
From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo)
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2006 16:19:31 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 312] Thank you to Aaron and Content Standards
	List Subscribers
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B12501D5D@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Hello, All,
 
The Institute would like to thank Aaron Kohring and the Center for Literacy
Studies for their work with the Adult Education Content Standards List. Over
the years, the list has grown from the original focus on the National
Institute for Literacy's Equipped for the Future Standards-based Adult
Literacy System Reform Initiative to a broader area of discussion on Content
Standards, looking at lessons learned and the issues involved with
implementing standards, and the impact of standards on state and local
programs.  Thanks also to Meta Potts, who moderated before Aaron took over,
and countless others who were involved in developing the list over the
years.
 
We would also like to thank you -- the subscribers, throughout the years you
have shared your experiences, stories, resources and ideas.  Please note
that the archives for this list will remain up on the Institute's servers,
we find that they serve as an important resource for the adult education and
literacy field.  
 
The list will close on Friday afternoon, November 3. We encourage you to
continue to participate on other Institute sponsored lists, for more
information go to: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html.
 
Regards,
Jo
 
Jo Maralit 
National Institute for Literacy 
1775 I Street, NW; Suite 730; Washington, DC 20006 
mmaralit at nifl.gov 
< http://www.nifl.gov/>   
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Kohring, Aaron M
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 4:09 PM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 309] Thank you to Standards List Subscribers


Greetings all,
 
I wanted to thank all the subscribers to the Content Standards Discussion
List for your contributions to the dialogue on Content Standards over the
past year.  I hope you have found the List as a useful resource for
materials, information, and exchange with others that has contributed to
your professional development or linked you with the tools you need.
 
Before the List closes, I hope you have considered subscribing to one or
more of the Institute's other Discussion Lists so this valuable dialogue on
Content Standards can continue in the relevant contexts or topical areas.
 
Best to you all,
Aaron
 
 

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From marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com  Wed Nov  1 10:32:45 2006
From: marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com (Marie Cora)
Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2006 10:32:45 -0500
Subject: [ContentStandards 313] Re: Thank you to Standards List Subscribers
In-Reply-To: <s5463a92.076@mail.jsi.com>
Message-ID: <0abd01c6fdca$fae3c4d0$0302a8c0@LITNOW>

Hi Aaron and Andy,

Aaron, thank you so much for moderating the Standards List - there have
been a number of excellent discussions on your List that are extremely
important for our field.  Your skills as moderator have been super!

Thanks to Andy for suggesting that any discussions regarding Content
Standards or related issues/topics can continue on the Assessment
Discussion List - I hope to see folks raise ideas, thoughts, and issues
over there!  It's true that many themes are common to both the Standards
and Assessment Lists, so I hope that Standards List Subscribers will
feel comfortable and welcome to join and add your voices to the
discussion.  If you are not already subscribed, go to:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment

Looking forward to carrying on discussions on Standards!

marie


Marie Cora
marie.cora at hotspurpartners.com
NIFL Assessment Discussion List Moderator
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/assessment
Coordinator, LINCS Assessment Special Collection
http://literacy.kent.edu/Midwest/assessment/


-----Original Message-----
From: contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:contentstandards-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Andy Nash
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 5:43 PM
To: contentstandards at nifl.gov
Subject: [ContentStandards 311] Re: Thank you to Standards List
Subscribers

Thank you, Aaron, for moderating this challenging topic. There are so
many layers to the subject, some of which are difficult to talk about on
the list. I hope that discussion of standards-based education continues
on the assessment list, where many related themes are naturally
surfacing. 
Andy Nash
NELRC/World Education

>>> akohring at utk.edu 10/30/2006 4:08 PM >>>
Greetings all,
 
I wanted to thank all the subscribers to the Content Standards
Discussion List for your contributions to the dialogue on Content
Standards over the past year.  I hope you have found the List as a
useful resource for materials, information, and exchange with others
that has contributed to your professional development or linked you with
the tools you need.
 
Before the List closes, I hope you have considered subscribing to one
or more of the Institute's other Discussion Lists so this valuable
dialogue on Content Standards can continue in the relevant contexts or
topical areas.
 
Best to you all,
Aaron
 
 
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