Economic Stimulus and PD Summary
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Economic Stimulus and PD Question
If $500 million were included in the stimulus for adult education and we had 27 months to spend it, what should be spent on professional development in order to help lower-skilled adults go to work and experience career success?
For example, adult educators will need to help adult learners upgrade their skills and transition to work without losing sight on those learners that are hardest to serve. Adults transitioning to work might also follow different career pathways:
Traditional, sequential, linear pathway: Adults enroll first in adult education then into postsecondary once the adult learner raises his or her basic skills. For example, earning a GED then enrolling into postsecondary.
Dual or concurrent enrollment pathways: Adults dually or concurrently enroll in basic skills and postsecondary education and training. For example, taking welding and math courses, learning the welding trade while improving math skills needed for the profession.
In these (and other) situations, adult educators will need to teach in ways that integrate basic skills and postsecondary education and training content in the adult education classroom; for example, co-teaching with an occupational skills trainer. Tom Sticht recently posted two related examples here: Functional Context Education (FCE) and Microenterprise Training and Development. See "Learning for Work in Hard Times" http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment/2008/002738.html So, a few questions:
- What are the considerations for professional development if the $500 million stimulus for adult education became an immediate reality?
- What additional models already exist that we can learn from?
- How would we get up and running as quickly as possible?
Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie@jataylor.net
Summary of Subscriber Responses
1. What are the considerations for Professional Development?
- (Tom Sticht) shared a wealth of information on Functional Context Education as an integrated literacy approach to adult basic skills and vocational education and offered several related examples, such as the WOW model, I-BEST, and microenterprise Training and Development
- Massachusetts many years ago decided that 10% of its state and federal adult education funding should be used for professional development. I think that's a guideline that should be recommended to other states in all new federal funding. (David Rosen)
- The professional development training I would suggest is for the training of team teachers; i.e. content teachers to learn literacy strategies and for literacy teachers to learn how to adapt strategies to content. (Barbara Jacala)
- I agree with Barbara. So much of what we do is preparing adults for transitions to academic, vocational, or other programs (such as citizenship). Whatever the transitions, both the ESL and the other (academic, vocational, etc.) teacher need to learn from each other. An online professional development program would be very helpful, especially if it included vignettes of actula teaching in a variety of contexts so that all could get a better sense of what each context entails. (Jodi Crandall)
- While distance ed provides an effective way to reach those that can not attend face-to-face services, it can also be used to increase intensity of instruction for students who may be able to attend class only once a week but would like more instruction to reach his or her goal. This would be one way to help adults progress along their career pathway faster. (Destiny Long)
- We need to share/adapt surveys for gauging new/potential students' computer skills (Professor Contreras and Crystal Hack)
- Moving the integrated vocational and academic approach may take some curriculum development work for PD professionals also. Products could be disseminated for local use with coordinated training of trainers through existing networks or online as was mentioned. (Andy Tyskiewicz, CT)
- I would like to see a comprehensive professional development for teacher aides who want to be teachers, but lack a bachelors degree. Many of the certificate trainings that are currently offered in the state of Texas (STAR Reading, CELTA) require a minimum of a bachelors despite the fact that these individuals have extensive classroom experience and have 2 year degrees or their equivalent. These aides are often eager to learn new techniques and transition to teaching, but there is no educational path that directly addresses their needs. (Terry Shearer)
- I believe that the field needs to become much more intentional and explicit about preparing adult education students for success in postsecondary education settings so that they do not squander too much financial aid and other resources on developmental education courses that do not "count" toward a two or four year degree. PD is definitely part of this, but it is also a shift in mission to fully embrace college readiness as an adult education outcome. (Jon Engel)
- Other considerations to add here?
2. What additional models already exist that we can learn from?
- One of the adult literacy education delivery models that has great promise, but that will require significant new and additional professional development, is online learning. This is especially useful for programs that involve initial face-to-face training and/or education and then job placement, where there is still need for continued education once the person is working, but because of the work schedule there is not much opportunity to attend classes. A blended model, that involves some face-to-face, perhaps one or two Saturdays a month, and 4-10 hours a week of online learning might be an ideal model for some people in this situation. Currently there are very few adult literacy education teachers who have been trained to do online learning well. If online or blended learning significantly expands, there will be a "labor shortage" of these teachers. (David Rosen)
- I too would like to suggest we take a closer look at Washington state's I-BEST initiative. The devil is definitely in the details, so a model alone transferreth not! If I'm not mistaken, Washington has a PD component that we should look at. Here in Texas we are fairly convinced that replicating the I-BEST model would work well for us, with some modifications. But before one can modify, one needs to thoroughly understand why things were planned as they were. (Barbara Tondre)
- GED-I Distance PD models
- Pennsylvania's online/distance PD models
- Project IDEAL distance training for distance educators
- Other models to list here?
3. How would we get up and running as quickly as possible?
- We are now close to having final AALPD standards for professional development. Using those standards as a touchstone, and the knowledge gained by Project IDEAL, the Health Care Learning Network in Massachusetts, The McDonald's Corporation's English Under the Arches, programs that have used English for All (and now USA Learns) and other online and blended learning models, perhaps we could discuss here -- and archive on the ALE Wiki -- some design principles, objectives and content areas for training/professional development in online teaching.
- Discuss models suggested here in depth on the PD List
- Other suggestions?
