Retention Strategies for Correctional Education
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Retention Strategies for Correctional Education
As instructors in prison and other correctional settings, our students frequently experience the consequences of drug use and abuse, suffer possible brain injuries due to violence in their lives, deal with mental health issues, and exemplify characteristics of undocumented special learning needs. We continually covet new information to instruct these students who have so many complications to learning. Our group decided to gain better insight by posting our “burning question” to a listserv in hopes to receive information we all could use. Our specific “burning question” is: “What strategies, techniques, enrichments, or materials can we apply to increase retention?”
While the information, or lack of, obtained from the listserv was minimal, some fellow classmates participated via Forum #6, Communities of Learners with wonderful and useful information. The following shows various methods and strategies one could use/apply in the classroom to help build retention with incarcerated students.
1. Technology has had a big influence on most young adults, so any tools/techniques that involve technology help to retain interest and retention. I have had great success with a smart board.
2. Most of our students have extremely short attention spans. Exaggerated animation on the teacher’s part helps.
3. Frequent breaks with short stories or anecdotes help my students to stay focused on important points and also allow time for reflection as to how the lessons apply to real life situations.
4. Soft-rubber toys give students something to manipulate/squeeze which helps to maintain focus/retention.
5. Variation is the key. Having students snap fingers, stomp feet, cross arms, cross ankles or any other physical movement when they have completed a problem or found an answer maintains attention, focus, and participation. This sounds very juvenile, but you would be surprised at these men’s willingness to do this.
6. Individualizing instruction to match needs and learning achieves success. When instruction is structured, explicit and with as many kinesthetic modalities necessary to stimulate the neural pathways. (off internet)
Applicable entries from the listserv responses are as follows:
Besides his website Dr. Cooper has written a math book for those who learn differently. It go though all of his ideas about teaching math. It is a very good resource. It is written for K-12 but work with adults with math anxiety and other difficulties. -Sandra Grant Grant, Sandra Sandra.Grant at schools.utah.gov Wed Feb 28 11:03:36 EST 2007
Have you had any training with visual learning? I found that these
techniques helped a lot with corrections learners who had fried their
brain cells on meth, etc. Also techniques such as webbing and linear
pictorial representation help in sequencing essays.
-Va
Virginia Tardaewether tarv at chemeketa.edu
Mon Feb 26 15:46:32 EST 2007
Searching online for 'graphic organizers' will give you plenty of printable examples.
Scholastic also publishes many ESL friendly resources that are not covered in bunnies.
-Kathleen
Telluride CO
kathleen morgan dezreen at excite.com
Tue Feb 27 15:26:10 EST 2007
Richard Cooper's catalogue, at learningdifferences.com, is FULL of
wonderful graphic organizers in pads and many other wonderful things to
help learners learn in unusual ways. It is a treasure trove for any
teacher of adult learners, no matter what their issues. -Robin Lovrien
Schwarz
robinschwarz1 at aol.com robinschwarz1 at aol.com
Tue Feb 27 19:23:14 EST 2007
Here are some replies from our fellow classmates addressing our question on the discussion board:
I am not an expert in retention, but it seems that memory and long-term retention strategies fall into two groups: (a) for learners functioning at the intermediate and above level, retention strategies are often associated with study skills (e.g.; note taking, highlighting, setting purposes for learning, mnemonics, acronyms, etc.). But for learners at low-literacy levels, these study skills may not be intensive enough. Explicit, intensive programs like Wilson, Orton-Gillingham, Slingerland, Fernald, etc. have all been used successfully with lower-level learners. But, for some learners with profound disabilities, I wonder if the time it takes (and intensive 1-on-1 academic teaching) is always a wise investment. At what point do we counsel these learners to learn survival skills and not build false hopes about attaining a GED. I realize this is a very controversial statement, and I am the last one to advocate "giving up" on a learner, but...for a very few, this course may be the more humane one. Do you agree?
-Muth, William <wrmuth@vcu.edu>
. . . could their continued involvement actually stimulate some type of cognitive functioning that will either aid them in intellectually regaining some of those capabilities, or, in the case of those who seem to lack the intellectual capability, could the potential still exist to some extent for them to still make significant and meaningful gains through being part of a learning community that would enhance and enrich their lives?
LeGeros, Geo <glegeros@alltel.net>
Geo, Definitely. I do not believe it is wasted time. As we have learned...you use it or lose it! That fact is what keeps us going. Even the students who will probably never get a GED are making progress is some way. One of my students in his 50's has just learned to do fractions. Another, whose mind is drug damaged, has just mastered division for the first time in his life. The stimulation of the classroom is very positive, plus they have a teacher who believes in them and encourages them.
We have also struggled with that vague rule about students being required to "show progress." We have several students who have been in school a LONG time....a couple with life sentences who were in school before our TRD rule, and one is an elderly man for whom just coming to school is a joy in itself. He always has about 5 or 6 books checked out and carries them to school with him every day; he takes extensive notes and also carries them with him. He has health problems, and more than likely will die in prison; school is his primary joy in life. He learns the same things over and over and just stays right around a 5th to 6th grade level. He absolutely beams when he comes to school. I dread to think what would become of him if we were to terminate him from school due to lack of progress. I'm afraid he would not have anything to live for. I remember reading something during the first class about the "process" being more important than the "product." I feel that is definitely true for several of our students. They might very well never earn a GED (the product); for them the process of going to school is THE important thing.
Looks like we are getting some action on our listserv. If you haven't looked, responses include training in visual learning. Techniques such as webbing and linear pictorial representation were suggested for sequencing essays. Other suggestions include: searching online for graphic organizers, ESL friendly resources from Scholastic, Richard Cooper's catalogue at learningddifferences.com, and a math book by Dr. Cooper for K-12 but appropriate for adults with math anxiety and other difficulties.
I was excited to see a response from Robin Schwartz. I went to a workshop facilitated by her a year ago. She was very impressive. I am anxious to check my best resource for graphic organizers and see if it happens to be by Richard Cooper. Seems like our world gets small! -Lanari, Patricia <lanarita51@yahoo.com>
While no one has the guaranteed approach to increasing retention among incarcerate students, the numerous strategies and replies provide a wealth of information in which could be used in our classrooms. As I have reviewed basic skills with my students, I have noticed that the retention ability is, or seems to be, decreasing each year. Additional research is required on this particular topic of interest and hopefully one day, someone will stumble across the X factor
