Summary - Economic Recovery and Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Model February 16 - March 1, 2009 | Adult Education and Literacy

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3027] Week 1 Begins Today! Economic Recovery and the I-BEST Model
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Mon Feb 16 12:15:57 EST 2009

Dear Colleagues,

Since last Monday, 75 have subscribed to our online professional
development community. Welcome! I'm pleased you've joined us and I look
forward to learning from the experiences you bring to our group.

Today begins the first part of a two-part discussion of Economic
Recovery and the I-BEST Model.

Week 1: February 16-22 - Discussion Primer
Week 2: February 23 - March 1 - Discussion with Guests

To get us started:

Consider reviewing the discussion resources or learn more about our
guests by browsing through the biographies (links below).

Post an introduction to the list by sending your email to:
professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov

In your message tell us, what do you look forward to discussing about
Economic Recovery and the I-BEST Model? What do you want to know from
our various guests?

I look forward to hearing from you...Jackie

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Discussion Preparation:

About our Guests, List of Terms

http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/09ibest.html

Resources:

Transition Team on Youth Education and Employment:

State Decision Points for Getting Started with Career Pathways
http://www.ncsdae.org/Washington%20Views/2009/Factors%20for%20successful%20integrated%20education%20and%20training.doc

I-BEST Program Guidelines
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/docs/education/workforce/ibest_guidelines.pdf

Student Success page from SBCTC Web Page
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/e_studentsuccess.aspx

Building Pathways to Success for Low-Skill Adult Students: Lessons for
Community College Policy and Practice from a Longitudinal Student
Tracking Study (The "Tipping Point" Research)
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/docs/data/research_reports/resh_06-2_tipping_point.pdf

Increasing Student Achievement for Basic Skills Students, Research
Report 08-1
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/education/resh_rpt_08_1_student_achieve_basic_skills_003.pdf

Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Pilot Programs,
Research Report 05-2
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/assessment/i_best_research_report_05-2.doc

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3028] (no subject)
From: Susan Seymore sseymore at vhcc.edu
Date: Mon Feb 16 13:01:03 EST 2009

We conducted a pilot transition class for GED recipients last year using
grant funding. When the funding stopped, we had to discontinue the
class. We had a difficult time finding texts and curricula for this
specific purpose. Our goal was to prepare the students to pass the
COMPASS with a grade high enough to avoid having to take developmental
classes. A conversation centered around curriculum would be
wonderful....

Thanks!

Susan Seymore

Regional Program Manager

MOUNT ROGERS REGIONAL ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3029] Re: (no subject)
From: Anderson, Philip Philip.Anderson at fldoe.org
Date: Mon Feb 16 14:03:54 EST 2009

I second this request. It has a lot of potential areas that need to be
talked about, like what are the elements in the sending program, the
gatekeeper test and the receiving program that are missing or deficient?
Are there students that succeed in passing the COMPASS but are still
lacking skills to succeed in college level work? Are the college
classes in or out of sync with the COMPASS test? What parts of a
developmental class are redundant or totally out of context with the
student's previous class work? I acknowledge that this might all have
been covered and is in the archives, and if so, please just let me know.
Thanks!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Philip Anderson

Adult ESOL Program

Florida Department of Education

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3030] exploring curriculum issues
From: Wrigley, Heide heide at literacywork.com
Date: Mon Feb 16 14:36:00 EST 2009

I think Phil's questions and others would be terrific to explore and discuss. I would very much be interested in hearing about programs that have developed a curriculum (or a framework) that spans institutions (from CBO to adult school to CC, for example) or even within an institution where the sending and receiving program normally don't do joint planning (or even communicate about transition)

Heide

Heide Spruck Wrigley

Literacywork International

Mesilla, NM

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3031] Re: (no subject)
From: David Rosen DJRosen at theworld.com
Date: Mon Feb 16 14:36:46 EST 2009

Susan,

On the NIFL Assessment list, between February 3 - 9, there was a
discussion about Transition to Higher Ed. Part of it focused on the
need to prepare students who want to enroll in college so they don't
get placed in developmental courses. One part of the discussion, that
included Massachusetts GED Test Examiner, Thompson (Tom) Mechem,
focused on Tom's assessment of math skills and knowledge needed for a
college placement test called the Accuplacer. Tom has found that the
math tested by the GED test and the math tested by the Accuplacer test
are quite different. I think Tom may be working on a curriculum to
prepare GED students (who want to go to post secondary ed) for the
math they need to pass the Accuplacer. Check the archives of that
discussion at

http://lincs.ed.gov/pipermail/assessment/2009/date.html

Messages #1630 - #1769

David J. Rosen

DJRosen at theworld.com

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3032] Re: Week 1 Begins Today! EconomicRecovery and the I-BEST Model
From: Brian, Dr Donna J G djgbrian at utk.edu
Date: Mon Feb 16 15:24:55 EST 2009

I'm looking forward to this discussion, and I have urged members of the
Workplace Literacy Discussion List to join the PD list and take part in
the discussion.

I have lots of questions that I hope will be discussed during this
event!

1. How "exportable" to other states is the I_BEST model? What adjustments might need to be made to the model to make it "work" for other states?

2. Did Washington state have a Community College model for adult education to begin with, or was adult education a function of LEAs or was it administered in some other way?

3. How do the offerings of technical certificates differ from one community college to the next? What is the same from one program to the next?

4. What is the success for the students with the very lowest skill levels? Are adaptations to the program needed to provide extra support for such students?

5. How could the addition of Economic Recovery money change the I-BEST program? Are there added complications if the federal government gets involved?

Thanks for organizing this discussion, Jackie, and for providing such
good background material and other resources. You're the best!

Donna

Donna Brian

Moderator, LINCS Workplace Literacy Discussion List

Off-list contact djgbrian at utk.edu

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3033] Re: exploring curriculum issues
From: Jon Engel jengel at communityaction.com
Date: Mon Feb 16 15:45:35 EST 2009

I would be interested in a discussion around this issue as well. We are in
the beginning stages of a College Readiness Program for adult education
student and "graduates" and are finding the curriculum piece/gap to be quite
a challenge.

Jon Engel

Adult Education Director

Community Action Inc.

Web www.communityaction.com

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3034] Re: exploring curriculum issues
From: George Demetrion gdemetrion at msn.com
Date: Mon Feb 16 16:35:56 EST 2009

Good afternoon, all.

Curriculum would be a great topic. Speaking of that, could any one recommend a good book on adult education curriculum that one could use in teaching a course on this topic at the upper undergraduate and Masters level.

Best,

George Demetrion

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3041] Re: exploring curriculum issues
From: Gabb, Sally S. Sally.Gabb at bristolcc.edu
Date: Tue Feb 17 09:16:55 EST 2009

Hi all - as an adult educator for many years now in college developmental reading, am well aware of the challenges. Will speak to several issues:

1) the 'gateway' tests: here at Bristol Community college in Fall River MA we use the College Placement Test (ACCUPLACER) with mixed success. It is a fair 'gross' measure of a student's ability to handle college text reading and studying, but the issue of 'cut off' scores is always key: many students who could benefit from college reading/studying prep squeak through, while others who test badly are required to take the class. The very structure of this particular test, and the online presentation is challenging to some, and not always a good indicator of college ready reading/learning skills. I suggest that all adult educators concerned with transition take one of these gateway tests themselves to evaluate what is tested and in what format, for better preparation. There is an online version of the CPT developed by the New England Institute for Technology that is easily accessible online.

2) 'readiness' for college reading/writing: I find a number of issues for both GED grads and underprepared HS grads. First, most students who were not engaged in high school do not read much: the issue of the volume of reading required in college (including the cc's) is huge for these students. Fluency, including skimming, scanning and summarizing skills, is a major issue for many students. Encouraging book clubs, book discussions, etc. can be a tremendous advantage for ABE students. Also, textbook reading prep - introduction to the ways that textbooks are designed for the learning process - can help transitioning students.

3) academic vocabulary: most GED students and underprepared hs grads have limited reading vocabulary due to limited reading. Emphasis on vocabulary development can provide a distinct advantage to transitioning students. Making vocab development a part of the entire ABE center can be exciting and worthwhile.

4) understanding of what the 'disciplines' mean: how academia has traditionally organized pursuit of knowledge, I find, can help students better understand what it means to get a college degree.

These are just a few of the areas that I think are important in the transition process. Now that I am a 'developmental reading (college level) specialist', I also realize that college reading instruction has it's own approach and language of instruction. I recommend seeking the resources through NADE, the National Association of Developmental Education: www.nade.net<http://www.nade.net> - and the College Reading Association www.collegereadingassociation.org<http://www.collegereadingassociation.org> for excellent dialogue and resources.

I consider myself an ABE 'mole' in the world of developmental education - love the chance for dialogue with ABE folks! Sally Gabb, Reading Skills Specialist, Bristol Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3042] Re: (no subject)
From: Gabb, Sally S. Sally.Gabb at bristolcc.edu
Date: Tue Feb 17 09:23:16 EST 2009

Another response relating to 'transitions' and developmental courses at the community college level: it's important that ABE/ GED classes go beyond just enabling students to pass the gateway tests: students need to be prepared for the intensity and volume of college reading, writing and math. Curriculum at the ABE level for those desiring transition needs to reflect a 'college prep' orientation that considers the full complexity of the college learning experience. Many of the 'transitions' programs have done a fabulous job in developing curriculum - the Nellie May projects funded through the New England Literacy Resources Center are excellent examples. See the 'Focus on Basics' issues that review the programs and successes - www.ncsall.net - for a wide variety of resources on the subject. Sally Gabb

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3045] Re: ProfessionalDevelopment Digest, Vol 41, Issue 15
From: Sara Brooks saralobro at hotmail.com
Date: Tue Feb 17 10:22:10 EST 2009

In my state the adult classes are not conducted at a community college. Our colleges don't share what is on the compass tests or even what scores students need to have. For those programs that are trying to improve student scores on the college entrance tests, how did you begin discussions?

Sara W. Brooks

Academic Advisor

Southgate Adult and Community Education

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3047] new topic: curriculum
From: Karen Farrar kwfarrar at cogeco.ca
Date: Tue Feb 17 14:20:13 EST 2009

I think that adult literacy curriculum would be a great topic. I am also
looking for resources on developing adult (literacy) curriculum and
curriculum theory.

Karen

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3044] Re: exploring curriculum issues
From: Christy Nelson cnelson at nwm.cog.mi.us
Date: Tue Feb 17 16:33:28 EST 2009

I just came in on this discussion, so forgive me if this suggestion has
been posted already.

Our Adult Education program is in the middle of an initiative called the
TAPET project. (Transitioning Adults into Postsecondary Education and
Training). We have been working closely with our Community and 4 year
colleges to help successfully transition adults into postsecondary
education. One of the initiatives in this project is to administer the
Compass diagnostic tests which will provide specific information
regarding remediation needs. When I researched the Compass information,
it stated that the educational software PLATO is linked to the Compass
test.

Christina Luckey-Nelson

Adult Education Coordinator

TBAISD Adult Education/NW MI Works!

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3048] Re: exploring curriculum issues
From: Wrigley, Heide heide at literacywork.com
Date: Tue Feb 17 17:03:03 EST 2009

Alright then, socialism it is (from each ... to each.. etc)

How about a FREE chapter on Orientations to Curriculum (including the Social Change orientation). It's from Bringing Literacy to Life (we have the intellectual copyright and it's in the public domain) and the references are a bit dated, but hey - gift horse etc. So feel free to Xerox for your students

I forget if this list serve allows attachments but if this doesn't come through, I'll be happy to send a copy to your private e-mail

Best

Marlene

Heide Spruck Wrigley

Literacywork International

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3052] I-BEST Model discussion intro
From: Mason, Kristina kmason at highline.edu
Date: Wed Feb 18 10:59:38 EST 2009

Hi

I was the ESL/ABE instructor for our first Phlebotomy I-BEST at Highline CC and helped develop the class at the beginning.
www.phlebotomyibest.com is the website we are maintaining to feature our students.
The I-BEST link on our college website is http://flightline.highline.edu/cg/ibest.html

I would like to know how to create more I-BEST programs, particularly for healthcare occupations.

Our first phlebotomy I-BEST class had some great outcomes.

thanks

Kris

Kris Mason

Interim Director

Puget Sound Welcome Back Center

Highline Community College
http://welcomeback.highline.edu

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3056] Why I-BEST?
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Wed Feb 18 14:41:46 EST 2009

Welcome to the state directors and state staff, community college staff,
professional developers, and adult education and workplace literacy
colleagues who recently subscribed. Thanks to all for sending the I-BEST
discussion announcement to your networks.

So why are we having this discussion? "Why I-BEST?"

BACKGROUND:

Many on this AALPD/NIFL List use it as a national community of practice
(http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/ABELJournal08PD.pdf). We
collaborate in large and small work groups to identify solutions and
advance the field of adult literacy professional development.

In December 2008, we discussed what professional development would need
to do in the event that we saw Stimulus funding for PD to aid in
economic recovery
(http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Economic_Stimulus_and_PD_Summary

). Among the issues, we said that we should:

a. Take a closer look at Washington state's I-BEST initiative and related professional development component

b. Explore training team teachers - literacy/numeracy/ELL and content teacher teams

c. Expand online/blended learning for adult learners

d. Discuss/develop a model for distance PD to train distance education teachers

e. Recommend a policy model for states for funding professional development with any new federal funding

A team from Washington State, as well as Lennox McLendon, Special
Advisor with the National Council of State Directors of Adult Education,
graciously agreed to join us next week to discuss adult education's role
in economic recovery and Washington state's I-BEST model. More on that
soon.

Some discussions you see this week (Re: "Design Elements Guide")
pertains to item "d" above. In January, a work group, consisting of
about 20 professionals from MA, MI, TN, PA, IL, and other states, formed
to develop a Design Elements draft. This week they've shared their draft
for our feedback:

http://home.comcast.net/~djrosen/Design_Elements_2.16.09.rtf

The audience for the Design Elements document includes state and
national professional developers, state ABE Directors, and national
administrators who have (will have) responsibility for Online
Professional Development. Feedback can be posted here or sent directly
to David Rosen at djrosen1 at gmail.com .

More soon...

Jackie

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3057] Career Pathways
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Wed Feb 18 14:43:20 EST 2009

Hello again!

Please continue posting your questions for our guests or email them to
me direct. I noticed much interest around curriculum and transitions
issues. I'm wondering if someone from the I-BEST team would like to
address some of these points this week?

While we'll explore the I-BEST model next week, several states, regions,
and programs are also doing work in career pathways. I'd like to hear
about that work, too, which brings me to questions for the group:

What have been your experiences with career pathways initiatives, team teaching, contextual instruction, concurrent or dual enrollment, or basic skills instruction in the context of work?'

What type of policy or structural barriers do you face in moving students to college level work?

Looking forward ~

jackie

Jackie Taylor, List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3058] Re: Career Pathways
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Wed Feb 18 15:32:53 EST 2009

Hi Jackie, thank you for your questions and for the opportunity to
participate as a guest in this discussion.

I will start by introducing myself to the group. My name is Kim Ward and
I work at Tacoma Community College in Washington State. I have also
noticed the discussion and interest around curriculum for transition
courses. This has been an ongoing "hot topic" on our campus so I look
forward to learning about what you all are doing around this issue. I
also look forward to discussing how we have worked around some of these
issues at our college with the integration of the I-BEST model. We have
done some exploration of the traditional transition course, but have
done more work in the area of aligning curriculum and developing
pathways with other areas of the college that enable our students to
bypass college placement exams. I look forward to discussing this and
more next week.

Cheers,

Kim Ward

Associate Dean for Adult Basic Skills

Tacoma Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3059] Re: ProfessionalDevelopment Digest, Vol 41, Issue 15
From: Julie Scoskie jscoskie at adulted.win.net
Date: Wed Feb 18 16:10:27 EST 2009

I would ask the college how many GED recipients are attending their college,
how many students are entering at very low levels, if they are satisfied
with their overall retention of students, etc. I would stress that by
working together and combining resources you can improve the services
rendered to students or potential students. Our fiscal agent is a public
school system; however, we have successfully partnered with our local
community college since 2003 to provide an integrated, seamless system. You
may obtain information and view materials we have developed to align
curricula by visiting www.workforcetraining4u.com
<http://www.workforcetraining4u.com/> and clicking on EES/Transitions.
Also, the National COABE Conference will have an entire transition strand
devoted to issues relating to dual enrollment and building success
transition models. The conference is April 18-22 in Louisville, Kentucky.
For more information, visit http://coabe2009.org

Julie

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3061] Re: ProfessionalDevelopment Digest, Vol 41, Issue 15
From: Christy Nelson cnelson at nwm.cog.mi.us
Date: Wed Feb 18 17:42:29 EST 2009

Wow Julie! I was so thrilled with the information on your site. You
have done an awesome job with this. I encourage everyone to take a look
at this website. It is so informative with great information!

Our Adult Education Program is in the middle of what's called our TAPET
project - to help Transition our Adults into Ps Education and Training.
While looking at your site, it appears that we are very similar
programs. Our program collaborates with Northwest Michigan Works! and
we are housed inside their one-stop service centers. Many of the
initiatives in the TAPET project are very similar to yours, but we are
only in the 2nd year of the process. You are so much further along than
we are so it is great to see what we are attempting can work!

Some of the initiatives include:

Meetings with our local 2 year and 4 year colleges. We are on the 2nd round of discussions with them. Your MOU's samples are invaluable in helping to get an idea of other ways we can collaborate.
Career Education and Training Fairs at each of the Michigan Works! Service centers with the representatives of the 2 and 4 year colleges as well as short term training providers. These are similar to college night for high school students, but are geared towards adults with an emphasis on Career Planning, financial aid and educational

training searches.

College Prep and Career Prep classes. Much of your topics on your website are exactly what our classes include!
We are just about to implement a Peer Mentoring training to take place this summer to be ready for Fall students. Mentors are previous Adult Education students that have already been attending postsecondary education. They will be paired with new students will mentor for one year and will receive a small stipend for their time.
We are just now beginning to administer the COMPASS test so that remediation can take place before they attend college and have to pay expensive costs. (Your PowerPoint really shows this well!)
We have created a Study Skills class that is offered to the public as well as our Adult Education students. Again, it is very similar to classes that you have provided on the website.
Campus Days for Adult Education Students. Recognizing that many of our students are first generation college students and may have never been on a campus, our teachers take them for a visit and tour.

It is difficult to convince some staff of the need for higher scores on
the GED to insure success in PS education. They have always felt that
their job was just to educate to pass the test. In addition, career
awareness for adults in an adult education program also seems to be a
difficult task. I Again, I really liked the way you describe this need
to educate "to a job" and your examples of income and home ownership in
your presentation! Your PowerPoint's seem to be echoing my staff meeting
presentations.

Thank you for your posting! I would have never seen your site if not
for this listserve message. Great job and thanks for creating paths for
our adult learners and sharing your information!

Christina Luckey-Nelson

Adult Education Coordinator

TBAISD Adult Education/NW MI Works!

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3062] Re: ProfessionalDevelopment Digest, Vol 41, Issue 22
From: Barbara Jacala barbara.jacala at guamcc.edu
Date: Wed Feb 18 18:08:42 EST 2009

Kris,

Thank you for the link to your IBEST website. At Guam Community College we
are looking at implementing something like an IBEST. Your site is a helpful
model. Are there any other IBEST internet sites we can visit?

Barbara Jacala

Guam Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3065] I-BEST Model of Integrated Literacy Works!
From: tsticht at znet.com tsticht at znet.com
Date: Thu Feb 19 14:16:28 EST 2009

Colleagues: Re: Upcoming I-BEST discussion. The following note discusses US
and international examples of integrated language, literacy, numeracy and
vocational models similar to the I-BEST model. Some relevant resources are
at the end of the note. Tom Sticht

Integrated Literacy Works! Making Workforce Development Efficient and
Effective in Industrialized Nations

February 11, 2007

Tom Sticht

International Consultant in Adult Education

Throughout the industrialized nations of the world, which are fast becoming
the informationalized nations of the world, there is an urgent need to
up-skill the literacy, numeracy, and English language skills of what are
increasingly becoming under-skilled workforces. International adult
literacy surveys showing one- to two-fifths of a nation's workforce with
lower than expected literacy, numeracy, or English language skills, and an
emergent globalization of work being sent to lower wage nations have
heightened the need for effective and efficient ways to help adults
re-skill, up-skill, and cross-train as jobs shift globally and
technologically.

One approach to improving the efficiency of basic skills and job skills
training that is gaining in popularity in developed nations follows what I
have called a Functional Context Education approach. In this approach,
basic literacy, numeracy, and English language skills education is
integrated into, or embedded in, or contextualized within, vocational
education or job skills training. This approach is more efficient because
it shortens the learners overall time required to be in education and
training, and increases the amount of time that can be spent on a job
providing productive activity in the marketplace and bringing home a
paycheck. It does this because it removes the need to have learners spend
time first raising their basic skills to some established level before they
can enter into vocational education. Instead, the integrated approach makes
it possible to both raise basic skills and learn vocational knowledge and
skills at the same time.

In January 2007 I presented three speeches in the Dublin, Ireland area
called Integrated Literacy Works! In one speech on 23 January at the
National University of Ireland (NUI) at Maynooth I summarized a hundred
years of professional wisdom using Functional Context Education to
integrate literacy instruction with important skills training such as
farming, banking, working, and parenting. Then I summarized four lines of
scientific (quasi-experimental) research from the United States and United
Kingdom that supports the integrated literacy approach to adult basic
skills and vocational education.

The foregoing speech was followed by a two hour workshop in which I
presented four case studies of Functional Context Education integrating
literacy and vocational education, including methods, materials,
evaluation, and outcomes. Cases included job training in a large
organization, vocational English for English Language Learners (ELL/ESOL),
integrated basic skills and electronics education, and examples of
materials for integrating literacy and numeracy in five occupational
education programs: Construction Trades, Automotive Industries, Electricity
& Electronics, Office Technology, & Health Occupations.

Both the speech and the workshop at NUI Maynooth were especially relevant on
23 January because the university was celebrating the graduates of a unique
certificate program in Integrated Literacy that was jointly sponsored with
the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) in Ireland. NALA was the
originator of the Integrated Literacy effort in Ireland in which literacy,
numeracy, and English language skills are taught integrated into vocational
training.

The Integrated Literacy approach developed at NALA was picked-up by adult
literacy educators in New Zealand, where a recent report on integrating
literacy in other courses was developed. In a policy-oriented speech on 24
January for a group of policymakers and literacy education sponsors I spoke
about the international efforts at integrated literacy in Australia, Canada,
New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the UK Integrated
Literacy is referred to as Embedded Literacy and I reviewed recent research
showing that the greater the extent of embedding of literacy into
vocational training, the greater the completion rates, achievements of
qualifications, and other important outcomes for both literacy and
vocational qualifications.

In the policy-oriented presentation I also reviewed the use of Functional
Context Education with integrated/embedded/contextualized literacy and
special subject matter content in job training in a large organization,
vocational English for English Language Learners (ELL/ESOL), electronics
education, and occupational education.

Implications were drawn for a policy and strategy on vocational and
work-related education and training, based on Functional Context Education
principles, including integrated literacy, numeracy, and English language
education, which provide multiple returns to investments in adult literacy
education. These "multiplier effects" of Functional Context Education go
beyond the training in literacy, numeracy, English language and
work/vocational skills and tend to return benefits in health, community
activity, and, importantly, in parenting and grand-parenting that helps
children with their school learning.

Ireland's NALA has produced a very important set of products for adult
educators showing how to integrate literacy with vocational training, and
it has pioneered a university level certificate program at a prestigious
university for the professional development of adult educators who can work
to integrate basic skills and jobs skills training. These activities provide
a solid model for workforce development in our globalized world.

Given the increasing need for both basic skills and work-related skills in
industrialized/informationalized nations, integrated literacy education
provides a cost-beneficial approach for more rapidly advancing adults into
the work they want and with the basic skills they need. In short,
Integrated Literacy Works!

Online Resources:

For NALA's resources on integrating literacy go to www.nala.ie and click on
Projects to find Integrating Literacy into Further Education and Vocational
Training; under NALA's Publications search for Integrating Literacy
Guidelines. For Functional Context Education reports go to

www.nald.ca/fulltext/fce/cover.htm and see Functional Context Education:
Making Learning Relevant in the 21st Century. Chapter 2 in this report
provides information about integrated/embedded/contextualized literacy in
six industrialized/informationalized nations. For integrated literacy in
New Zealand go to www.workbase.org.nz and search publications for a guide
to integrating literacy into other courses. For embedded literacy in the
United Kingdom go to www.nrdc.org.uk

Thomas G. Sticht

International Consultant in Adult Education

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3067] Re: ProfessionalDevelopment Digest, Vol 41, Issue 15
From: Silja Kallenbach silja_kallenbach at worlded.org
Date: Fri Feb 20 11:50:53 EST 2009

Hello,

The College Transition Toolkit developed by the National College
Transition Network at World Education is one resource for how to start
discussions with community colleges or other post-secondary providers
about college placement testing and a host of other topics that are
important to effective or smooth transitions for adult learners. The
adult ed programs that we have worked with in New England and beyond
have found that it is a an ongoing process of relationship building.
Much like any other relationship, you're never quite done with it. There
are always new developments, players and layers to consider. Often, the
relationship building begin with Deans (ideally) or staff at Academic
Affairs, Admissions and Student Support Services (or whatever name those
offices go by in the particular college). The toolkit has examples
from programs and . . . some tools. Go to
http://www.collegetransition.org/toolkit.html

Silja

Silja Kallenbach, Director

New England Literacy Resource Center

World Education

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3068] Re: I-BEST websites at Highline CC
From: Mason, Kristina kmason at highline.edu
Date: Sat Feb 21 15:14:37 EST 2009

Hi, Barbara requested the websites for our I-BEST programs

http://flightline.highline.edu/cg/ibest.html

www.phlebotomyibest.com

Here are the I-BEST websites for Highline CC. On the first link, there are links to all our I-BEST programs and descriptions.

Kris Mason

Interim Director

Puget Sound Welcome Back Center

Highline Community College
http://welcomeback.highline.edu

Week Two: Transition Team and Career Pathways Recommendations

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3071] Economic recovery and I-BEST
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Mon Feb 23 08:29:32 EST 2009

Hello!

My first question today goes to Lennox McLendon, who works in
Washington, D.C. as special advisor to the National Council of State
Directors of Adult Education (NCSDAE), the professional association of
state ABE directors. I welcome responses to Q#2 from any of our guests
and subscribers.

1. Lennox, last December the Obama Transition Team contacted you for recommendations about how adult education can contribute to economic recovery and what would that look like. Please tell us about your experience working with the Transition Team. For example, what was it like? What was the genesis of the discussion with them? What did they want to know? What was the state directors' response and how did you arrive at these recommendations? What was the role of the I-BEST and other models in the state directors' recommendations?

2. Tell us more about "Career Pathways". What are some challenges adult learners and programs face following a traditional "transitions" model? What are the advantages, from both a policy and practice standpoint, of career pathways?

~ Jackie

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Terms:
http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/09ibest_terms.html

From the National Coalition for Literacy's Workforce Investment Act

(WIA) Recommendations:

Career and College Pathways Services:

Career and College Pathway Services are defined as integrated adult
education services and postsecondary education and training content or
which dually or concurrently enroll students in adult education services
and postsecondary education and training that lead to industry-based
certification or institutionally-granted certification, diplomas, or
degrees necessary for high demand jobs.

From Washington State's I-BEST:

Career Pathways:

Career pathways have been described as "a series of connected education
and training programs and support services that enable individuals to
secure employment within a specific industry or occupational sector, and
to advance over time to successively higher levels of education and
employment in that sector. Each step on a career pathway is designed
explicitly to prepare the participant for the next level of employment
and education." Ultimately, a fully developed pathway will demonstrate
success all along the way with students starting, stopping, and
rejoining it at multiple access points and with each stop-out clearly
marked by students who have increased knowledge, skills, and employment.
(Source: SBCTC Student Achievement & Success Initiatives).

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3072] Transition Team
From: Lennox McLendon lennox422 at gmail.com
Date: Mon Feb 23 09:31:38 EST 2009

Greetings,

1. Transition Team

Tell us about your experience working with the Transition Team. For example,
what was it like? What was the genesis of the discussion with them? What did
they want to know? What was the state directors' response and how did you
arrive at these recommendations? What was the role of the I-BEST and other
models in the state directors' recommendations?

"It is not what you know but who you know." After the election, everyone in
town was trying to get to the Transition Team. As it so happens, a
colleague of mine, who had been the policy director for OVAE under the
Clinton administration, was coaxed out of retirement to work on the job
training team. He called me and asked me to talk with the team about what
adult education could do to put people to work quickly, especially young
adults.

Aside: as it turns out, there was not one Transition Team but multiple
teams*perhaps hundreds. In the transition headquarters on 12th street in
DC, every conference room on every floor was filled with meetings of teams
and practitioners. At first I thought it must just be show*asking all these
people to come in and give advice*you know the "benevolent dictatorship"*ask
people what they think and then go on and do what you intended from the
start. However, when I got into my team meeting along with a dozen other
practitioners, I soon learned that the team members were asking hard
questions and they really wanted to know what we practitioners thought.
Needless to say, it was refreshing to the point of elation because the
former administration had asked for no input from outside the administration
for eight years.

The stimulus/recovery mission was to get people to work quickly. So we were
advised not to think about our long term programs which were effective in
their own right, but to think about what we could do to get people to work
quickly.

Naturally, I-BEST and the integrated adult education and occupational
training came to mind. After a short description everyone was quiet and
pensive for a few moments.

I left feeling like I had been heard and was pleased. That night, a Tuesday
night, the team called and asked for a plan by noon on Thursday that
identified what it would take to make integrated training happen*two pages
maximum. Wednesday I surveyed the states and got responses from thirteen
states. Using their recommendations I put together a plan in two pages and
sent it by noon on Thursday as directed. That night the phone rang again
with the team asking me to send it first thing Friday morning to four Senate
staff members who were writing the stimulus legislation.

We had done training with state directors at the November National Training
Institute using NCEE's integrated training principles--having converted
those principles into decision points for states. I assumed very few states
had adapted or adopted such programming. However, my urgent survey
identified at least thirteen states with some form of integrated basic
skills and occupational training services. I have since heard from others
but at the time I had a twelve hour turn around.

This spring NCEE will release their report on integrated programs and their
work will be of great benefit to all of us.

Aside: The sad part is that we have limited champions in Congress. So when
push came to shove, only two Senators and no Representatives banged on the
table and said "This is important to me." As a result, adult education did
not get direct funding in the stimulus package.

Lennox

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3073] Career Pathways
From: Lennox McLendon lennox422 at gmail.com
Date: Mon Feb 23 09:30:10 EST 2009

Greetings,

2. Career Pathways

Tell us more about "Career Pathways". What are some challenges adult
learners and programs face following a traditional "transitions" model? What
are the advantages, from both a policy and practice standpoint, of career
pathways?

We are just now developing a vocabulary to talk about the various options so
I am taking liberty in creating language as I go.

The language distinction between 'transition' and 'integrate pathways."

Transition to post secondary is 'sequential." First you get your GED or
improve your English to a certain point, and once you have completed that
benchmark, you move on to the next component in the sequence*occupational
training or associate of arts/science degree at the community college.

So this pathway is a 'sequential' pathway.

The second pathway is an "integrated" pathway in which you are enrolled in
basic skills (e.g. GED or ESOL) and occupational training at the same
time--either concurrent enrollment or dual enrollment. Dual enrollment
connotes being enrolled in the two programs (e.g., basic skills and
occupational training) in the same institution with team teaching like the
I-BEST model.

Concurrent enrollment connotes being enrolled in a basic skills program in
one institution (say a public school or CBO program) and enrolled in
occupational training at the community college or regional voc/tech center.
The two teachers may share ideas but they do not team teach. The tie between
the curricula is not as tight.

There are probably multiple options but the distinction I wanted to make is
between a) sequential programs and b) integrated programs.

The goal of each is to get the student to earn an industry based certificate
in a high demand job area.

On the instructional side, we all know it is easier teach carpentry math (or
reading or English) that it is to teach math from a work text set in a
context that may be foreign to the learner.

We have added 'college and career pathways' a) purpose and b) definition to
the proposed amendments to WIA in order to 1) legitimize and support the
integrated approach and 2) to remove any barriers from programs setting up
such services.

Lennox

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3074] Re: Transition Team
From: George Demetrion gdemetrion at msn.com
Date: Mon Feb 23 10:25:19 EST 2009

Thanks Lennox and thank you for taking the time to discuss this important topic with us.

It is unfortunate that there wasn't some stimulus funds for adult education, but the hope is that with the new administration there is some hope not only for some new ABE funding over the next few years, but a broadened focus on the purposes and values of adult education in which, of course, employment is a critical issue. Yet, hopefully the policy discourse will extend to the other critical areas of health, family, civic, consumer literacy as well as the metacognitive purpose of enhancing student capacity of learning to learn which is now embedded both in CASAS and EFF and a good deal of the writing of Tom Sticht on functional-context theory. If the NCEE white paper titled, "Rethinking and Redesigning Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: What Contemporary Research and Theory Suggest is any indication, I think we're going to be looking forward to a very important document. I heartily recommend that those interested in the interface between curriculum, instruction, and assessment take a close look at the NCEE paper which can be accessed here http://www.skillscommission.org/pdf/commissioned_papers/Rethinking%20and%20Redesigning.pdf

Best,

George Demetrion

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3076] Re: Transition team
From: tsticht at znet.com tsticht at znet.com
Date: Mon Feb 23 15:08:16 EST 2009

Lennox: Are there any written documents prepared for the transition team
that can be shared with the list members? Tom Sticht

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3078] Re: Transition team
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Mon Feb 23 15:35:35 EST 2009

Hi Tom, (Lennox, and All)

1. Tom, here is a copy of the State Decision Points for Getting Started with Career Pathways, though Lennox may have more to pass along:

http://tinyurl.com/b72vur

2. Question for Lennox: would you please clarify what you mean by "adult education did not get direct funding"? Does this mean that stimulus funding may come from different channels and if so could you say more about that?

3. Last, here is a related news article that may be of interest to the group:

Demand for GED Increases

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090223/ap_on_re_us/meltdown_ged_demand

Thanks,

Jackie

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3084] Re: Transition team
From: Lennox McLendon lennox422 at gmail.com
Date: Mon Feb 23 19:52:42 EST 2009

Greetings Tom,

I have attached the brief developed for the transition team and subsequently
delivered to the Senate staff. I think Jackie had posted this document
before but a little explanation might be helpful.

The first two pages are the brief I prepared for the Transition Team. The
second set of pages lists decision points state directors need to consider
when planning pathway services. The decision points grew out of some draft
work being done by the National Center for Education and the Economy. They
are completing a detailed report on pathway services and they allowed us to
use a draft of their principles as a base to which we added the decision
points for state directors. NCEE's final report will be out this summer I
believe.

The two page brief was in response to the request from the Transition
Team--"What would make integrated education and training (Adult Basic
Education/GED/ESL and occupational training) work in the context of economic
recovery? What factors are important?" * *

In the thirty six hours I had to prepare the brief I received
recommendations from the states and territories listed at the top of the
brief. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of states responding. I know
other states have pathway programs and some of them contacted me later.

At that point, the Transition Team was focusing on youth; ergo this brief
focuses on youth but pathways apply to all ages.

I hope this helps and I look forward to any comments or thoughts.

Lennox

SCANS and IBEST

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3085] Re: Transition team
From: Roberta K McKnight/FS/VCU rmcknight at vcu.edu
Date: Mon Feb 23 23:31:17 EST 2009

Lennox,

Thank you for this brief. Would a review of the Department of Labor
Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) reports have
some utility in this process?

http://wdr.doleta.gov/opr/fulltext/document.cfm?docn=6140

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as7scans.htm

Roberta McKnight, PhD, RN

Continuing Professional Development & Evaluation Studies (CPDE)

School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University

"The highest result of education is tolerance." Helen Keller

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3086] Re: Transition team
From: Lennox McLendon lennox422 at gmail.com
Date: Tue Feb 24 08:46:29 EST 2009

Hi Roberta,

I am certainly not a curriculum guru but from the discussions I hear, the
SCANS Competencies and the SCANS Foundation Skills are the foundation for
integrated education and training programs. The interest in "using
resources" and "using information" for example equals the interest in
reading, math and writing. The practitioners on this discussion can be more
specific probably but the discussions I hear value the 'soft skills' along
with the education skills.

The other resource is O-NET (http://online.onetcenter.org/) -- the old paper
version that I knew was the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. This
electronic version provides information on I suppose every job title in the
country including the skills and education needed for each.

So, once a local area identifies the high-demand jobs, O-NET can help
identify the skills and education needed and SCANS can be a resource for the
adult education and occupational training folks to build an integrated
curriculum. I am sure there are many more practical resources that our
colleagues who have built and/or are building integrated services can add.

Sometimes we forget about SCANS so it is good for you to remind us of its
value.

Lennox

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3088] Re: Transition team
From: George Demetrion gdemetrion at msn.com
Date: Tue Feb 24 09:16:07 EST 2009

Hello Lennox and Roberta,

From what I understand SCANS has been embedded within CASAS and EFF both of which include a strong workforce focus, but extend as well to other critical content areas for adult literacy education, which in my view, and those of many others, should have equal billing with workforce education.

Perhaps it would be useful to look synergistically at these two national content-based frameworks, both of which include solid learning-to-learn applications to provide a sense of broader direction through which to structure policy proposals and directions.

The hard and comprehensive work that has gone into the development of both these frameworks merits our most serious attention.

Best,

George Demetrion

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3089] Re: Transition team
From: Israel Mendoza imendoza at sbctc.edu
Date: Tue Feb 24 11:12:55 EST 2009

Hello,

This is israel mendoza from Washington state and I believe the SCANS report is very relevant. Would you happen to have an electronic version of it? thanks idm

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3090] Re: Transition team
From: Federico Salas-Isnardi fs_dos at yahoo.com
Date: Tue Feb 24 11:20:29 EST 2009

Israel

The full report is available in the DOL website that Roberta shared earlier. It is over 500 pages long. In a few minutes I will attach a couple of other documents that I have used to develop curriculum that reflects the SCANS.

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as7scans.htm

federico

Federico Salas-Isnardi

Chair Elect, Diversity Committee, TESOL

Past Chair, Adult Education Interest Section, TESOL

Secretary, Executive Board, AALPD

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3092] SCANS links
From: Brian, Dr Donna J G djgbrian at utk.edu
Date: Tue Feb 24 11:37:42 EST 2009

Try these links.

http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/whatwork/whatwork.pdf

http://wdr.doleta.gov/opr/FULLTEXT/1999_35.pdf

Donna Brian

Moderator, LINCS Workplace Literacy Discussion List

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3094] Re: SCANS
From: Federico Salas-Isnardi fs_dos at yahoo.com
Date: Tue Feb 24 12:13:56 EST 2009

Dear colleagues

The discussion has been very good so far. I am glad the SCANS came up because I still think they are very relevant (agree with Roberta and Israel here) and we often forget the value of "old things." Yes, the SCANS report is nearly two decades old but the work-related competencies and foundation skills workers need remain the same whether we name them SCANS or anything else.

The O-NET resource is great to tailor curriculum to a specific occupation/title but the SCANS are very helpful in designing programs for the general employability skills of the workforce. Lennox, you used the word "integrated" (education and training) and that reminded me of a question that came up a lot during SCANS training (I did a lot of training on the SCANS in the 1990's and early 2000's) when people ask how to "integrate" the SCANS into the curriculum. I never saw the SCANS as something to be integrated "into" the curriculum but rather as a framework to see that there is a constant interaction of foundation skills and workforce competencies in the classroom and, consequently, in curriculum development.

I am sharing, for what it's worth, a matrix that makes this idea of the interaction between foundation skills and work related competencies. A couple of colleagues from Texas and I developed it in 1994 for an ESL curriculum we developed for hospital workers. The matrix helped us, as curriculum developers, look at the intersections of different foundational skills with each and every one of the work competencies.

You will notice that, for the purposes of the work in the hospitals we added a sixth competency: Safety. We thought that in addition to the five identified by the report, Safety was a critical competency for workers in the hospital environment. We articulated the safety competency as:

Understand Importance of Safety in the Workplace

Understands the concepts underlying unsafe acts and conditions and can correct or bring them to the attention of supervisors;
Practices preventive measures to reduce the risk of an accident;
Uses proper clothing and/or equipment;
Understands safety procedures in the event of a fire or emergency

federico

Federico Salas-Isnardi

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3096] Re: SCANS
From: Barbara Tondre btondre at earthlink.net
Date: Tue Feb 24 13:53:14 EST 2009

Dear Colleagues,

One of the finest examples of putting SCANS and EFF into practice includes
what I've observed happening in Pennsylvania. From the adaptation of the
EFF foundation skills wheel to work-related needs, to competencies, and a
rubric with which to measure - plus a collection of Innovative Strategies:
Ideas that Work. Is anyone from PA following this discussion? Actually,
I'm from Texas but very impressed with their work!

Barbara Tondre

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3091] FW: Curriculum Models applicable to segments of the ABLE population
From: Richard Gacka at Stairwaysbh.org
Tue Feb 24 11:33:41 EST 2009

This comment is in response to a posting by Roberta McKnight and is also
related to postings dealing with the I-Best curriculum sequence. The
discussion has been quite interesting in terms of the role and evolution
of adult education in economic recovery and workforce development. I am
also a member of our regional Workforce Investment Board and live in an
area that is in the process of developing a community college so the
postings are quite informative.

A possible guide for the content of ABLE instruction at the formative
levels might be found in the Brigance materials published by Curriculum
Associates. While it is not a "curriculum" in the traditional sense, it
is a criterion referenced assessment that does define important
knowledge in a wide range of areas, and as such could be viewed as an
outline of "what students should know." There are several forms of the
Brigance Inventories, but two have relevance to basic ABLE programs, the
Basic Skills Inventory (adult level) and Employability Skills Inventory.
If either version were combined with a comprehensive inventory or
checklist of "soft skills" the combination would provide many programs
with a guide for instructional content. What I have always found useful
is the fact that the student record books and checklists can easily
facilitate objective skill monitoring, providing a grass roots type of
"evidence based" approach to basic skills instruction. My experience has
been that students who can demonstrate proficiency in the skills
identified in the Brigance Inventory are generally ready to attempt
instruction at an entry level of technical education. For programs at a
"foundation building" level of ABE, these inventories may be worth some
exploration. They are much more specific in terms of instructional
content than the SCANS documents.

As a former director of Tech Prep and School to Work programs, I would
recommend that Adult Education practitioners review the materials that
have been developed through, or are used by, those programs. In fact,
there is much that can be "borrowed from" the entry level technical
education practitioners. The Applied Academics curriculums (math,
communication, etc.), the CORD mathematics materials, and the High
Schools that Work materials all are on the same wavelength as the
current discussion of I-Best. There are a lot of good materials that
have already been developed and as a field we can move ahead much more
quickly by using what already exists.

As ABLE continues to move toward more rigorous vocationally focused
instructional programs, I hope that they recognize that multiple models
may be needed to accommodate the realities of the diverse environment of
students and programs that is adult basic education.

Richard Gacka Ed.D.

Director: NW PA Professional Development Center and PA ABLE Learning
Differences Projects
http://web.mac.com/nwpdc
http://web.mac.com/ldconsultants

What Is IBEST? How Is It Funded?

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3075] I-BEST, what is it and how did WA get started?
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Mon Feb 23 14:59:01 EST 2009

Dear Colleagues,

I have a question for our I-BEST guests and for all of you.

Lennox mentioned that the I-BEST model was an example of dual
enrollment. What does that mean for Washington State? How did this model
get started in your state?

To others, Lennox mentioned that at least 13 other states had some form
of integrated basic skills and occupational training services. In order
for us to get the most from the discussions this week, please also tell
us about your work. I'd like to hear as many state examples as possible
these next couple of days.

Last, I've compiled the questions we've raised and pasted them in below
for easy reference. As time permits, I'll also compile threads for an
easy way to catch up on discussions. You can find them here:

http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Economic_Recovery_IBEST

I look forward to hearing from you ~

Jackie

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Curriculum gaps and Transitions

What do students need to be prepared to succeed in postsecondary education?
For those programs that are trying to improve student scores on the college entrance tests, how did you begin discussions?
How to bypass college placement exams
What are the elements in the sending program, the gatekeeper test and the receiving program that are missing or deficient? Are there students that succeed in passing the COMPASS but are still lacking skills to succeed in college level work? Are the college classes in or out of sync with the COMPASS test? What parts of a developmental class are redundant or totally out of context with the student's previous class work?
I would very much be interested in hearing about programs that have developed a curriculum (or a framework) that spans institutions (from CBO to adult school to CC, for example) or even within an institution where the sending and receiving program normally don't do joint planning (or even communicate about transition)

On I-BEST

How "exportable" to other states is the I_BEST model? What adjustments might need to be made to the model to make it "work" for other states?
Did Washington state have a Community College model for adult education to begin with, or was adult education a function of LEAs or was it administered in some other way?
How do the offerings of technical certificates differ from one community college to the next? What is the same from one program to the next?
What is the success for the students with the very lowest skill levels? Are adaptations to the program needed to provide extra support for such students?
How could the addition of Economic Recovery money change the I-BEST program? Are there added complications if the federal government gets involved?
I would like to know how to create more I-BEST programs, particularly for healthcare occupations.

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3077] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
Date: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
From: Mon Feb 23 15:34:08 EST 2009

Hello Everyone, I'll start off with a brief description of what I-BEST
looks like at Tacoma Community College. Here, dual enrollment is just
as Lennox described. Our basic skills students are enrolled in both
basic skills and professional / technical training programs. Our model
at TCC includes both team teaching as well as additional basic skills
support classes.

In the professional/technical courses, the basic skills and professional
technical faculty work side by side in the classroom. The professional
technical instructor delivers the content, and the basic skills
instructor provides support and reinforcement. In most programs, we
have offered 100% overlap in the classroom, meaning that both
instructors are in the class the entire time. The state model only
requires 50% overlap.

In addition to the team teaching, we enroll the I-BEST students in
additional support classes. I would describe these as "contextualized"
basic skills courses where the basic skills instruction is directly
related to content and themes presented in the professional/technical
courses.

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3079] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
From: Joanie Rethlake jrethlake at hcde-texas.org
Date: Mon Feb 23 16:00:19 EST 2009

I have a question about the time both teachers are in the classroom.

From what funding source is the Adult Education teacher paid while in the college classroom?

Thanks for any input on this topic.

Joanie Rethlake

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3080] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Mon Feb 23 16:51:16 EST 2009

Hi Joanie, the model in Washington provides us with enhanced FTE
reimbursement at a rate of 1.75 for I-BEST students. This helps offset
the increased cost of the model. I'll be honest, it doesn't cover all
the costs so I have done a couple of things.

#1: We designate some of our Perkins funding to support I-BEST and

#2: as our program has grown, we have made I-BEST a priority. Instead of adding more traditional basic skills courses, we have put new funds and resources into expanding I-BEST.

We feel the investment pays off in terms of providing students with
options to move further faster.

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3081] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
From: Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu
Date: Mon Feb 23 16:58:37 EST 2009

Good afternoon,

In Washington state, adult basic education is part of the community and technical college system. In our state, the system receives a state allocation for adult basic education as one of the three mission areas. The FTE reimbursement rate for adult basic education FTEs is the same as for transfer or workforce. Also, we have been fortunate to receive $4.9 million from the Legislature in the 2007-09 biennium to specifically fund I-BEST.

Tina Bloomer

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3081] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
Date: Mon Feb 23 17:00:28 EST 2009

I-BEST programs at Green River Community College are structured similarly to those at Tacoma Community College, with students dual enrolled in basic skills and professional/technical programs. Some of our programs include an additional support class (office assistant, for example) while others do not (auto body, for example).

Our Adult Education instructors are paid from the same funding sources for I-BEST classes as they are for all other adult education classes. Those funding sources are a mixture of college general fund and other state and federal grants.

Development of the integrated curriculum has been paid from various supplemental sources.

Leslie Heizer Newquist

Leslie Heizer Newquist

Green River Community College

lheizer at greenriver.edu

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3082] Re: I-BEST, what is it and how did WA get started?
From: Grossman, Helene [ED] Helene.Grossman at iowa.gov
Date: Mon Feb 23 17:00:38 EST 2009

The delivery of adult literacy is through the community college system
in Iowa. We have many locations offering such courses as pre-CNA,
pre-dairy and pre-welding. These courses offer basic literacy skills AND
begin to prepare the learner for the career program.

Helene Grossman

State Director for Adult Education and Literacy, and
GED Administrator

Iowa Dept. of Education

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3083] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
From: Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu
Date: Mon Feb 23 17:09:31 EST 2009

Kim mentioned the 1.75 FTE. I should have mentioned in my previous response that the funding using the $4.9 million allowed us to fund some of I-BEST at a higher rate rather than just using the enhanced 1.75 FTE.

Colleges received an allocation to grow and expand I-BEST (in 2007-08 they received 7 to 8 FTE and in 2008-09 they received an additional 7 to 8 FTE). Each college now has 14 to 16 new FTE in their base funded at $9750 per FTE.

Tina

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3098] Three notes from Wisc re I-BEST
From: Johnson, Mark mark.johnson at wtcsystem.edu
Date: Tue Feb 24 16:49:31 EST 2009

Three notes from Wisconsin:

1) Here in Wisconsin ABE is delivered primarily in the Wisconsin Technical College System. In response to emerging needs (and with help of the Washington state folks and others) we have developed the following curricula (most of which is designed to be team-taught in college settings):

IBEST to Collegiate Certificate programs

Integrated ELL/CNA
Integrated ELL/ABE/Welding
Integrated ELL/ABE/Artisan Baking

Under Development

Integrated ABE/ELL Hotel/Hospitality
Integrated ABE/ELL Information Technology

We also have various efforts proceeding in:

Integrated ELL/ABE pre-college Welding
Integrated ELL/ABE pre-college Health
Integrated ELL/ABE pre-college CNA
Integrated ELL/ABE pre-college Culinary Arts
Integrated ELL/ABE pre-college Business (under development)
Bridge courses for trade and industry collegiate programs
Much other stuff

Many of these efforts are still emerging. Efforts are funded by a
limited amount of competitive state funding as well as the Joyce
Foundation's Shifting Gears initiative. We don't have enough
quantitative data yet but teachers and students give us lots and lots of
positive anecdotal feedback. Added instructional costs are an issue but
we expect to have benefits outweigh the costs.

2) We have worked with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center on Wisconsin Strategy (http://www.cows.org/) to create a Pipeline Data Analysis (much like Washington's) which presents results on transition rates, enrollment, and diploma and degree completion for adults accessing a wide variety of basic skills, developmental, remedial, and postsecondary courses and programs at WTCS. We're looking not only for our own earnings "tipping point", but also for course success points but also for where the biggest leaks are in the adult training pipeline.

3) I have sent to Jackie Taylor for posting four very recent and still draft ELL/CNA IBEST course documents (structured in our statewide technical college curriculum format), just as an FYI. You will find two pairs of documents that include course outcome summaries and learning plans/teaching notes. These two courses will be taught concurrently, and at times in an integrated team format. The ELL course is designed to provide English Language Learning students enrolled in the CNA program with support in acquiring the language and reading skills necessary to succeed in the college level CNA course and become certified as nursing assistants. Students will learn study skills, practice strategies for reading textbooks effectively and for taking standardized multiple choice tests. Students will gain background knowledge in language related to concepts pertaining to body systems and diseases, will learn how to research diseases in order to become informed practitioners, and will gain understanding of medical terminology and CNA vocabulary. They will read CNA documents and prepare for their state certification examination. Finally, they will learn to report accurately and communicate effectively and appropriately with residents, coworkers, and supervisors. Finally, students will be introduced to the health occupations pathways.

The target population is English Language Learners who are taking the
ELL/CNA Contextualized IBEST course through Northcentral Technical
College. While these students are relatively fluent in English, they
need additional support and practice in order to gain knowledge of the
necessary medical concepts, terminology, and skills related to the role
of CNAs.

I know that there are lots of questions people want addressed re the
whole implementation process, but great discussion so far!

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3099] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
From: Tyskiewicz, Andy atyskiewicz at crec.org
Date: Tue Feb 24 18:10:07 EST 2009

Thanks for info. Like the inclusion model a bit in special ed. Andy Tyskiewicz

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3104] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
From: JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall crandall at umbc.edu
Date: Wed Feb 25 11:35:12 EST 2009

It's also similar to Vocational/Career ESL Programs in which native
speakers are enrolled in the career class. The VESL course is an addition
for the adult English Language Learners (ELLs).

For those teaching in community colleges or other postsecondary
institutions, it also resembles what has been called the "adjunct" model
of content-based instruction. In this model, students are enrolled in a
general education course such as History or Sociology (in which there are
English-speaking students and ELLs) and also in an ESL course focused on
academic reading and/or writing.

So there are lots of terms for similar co-enrollment models.

Jodi

JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall

Professor of ESOL/Bilingual Education

Director, Ph.D. Program in Language, Literacy & Culture

University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
http://www.umbc.edu/llc/
http://www.umbc.edu/esol/
http://www.umbc.edu/esol/peacecorps.html

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3108] Transition to College and Careers, a CBO based model
From: Sandy Goodman sandy_goodman at worlded.org
Date: Wed Feb 25 16:34:01 EST 2009

Greetings from Boston:

At the New England Literacy Resource Center (NELRC) we're piloting a
college transition/career pathways model at 6 community based ABE
programs that are partnering with local colleges and healthcare
employers. The pilot is called Transition to College and Careers (TCC)
and builds on the design of our ABE-to-College pilot, both funded by the
Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

We developed the design as a way to support community based ABE
programs in smaller communities, where recruiting an entire cohort of
students interested in one career field would be quite difficult. My
experience, even in urban CBO setting has been that it can be difficult
to fill a classroom with students all interested in and prepared for the
same course of study/career.

We also recognized that CBOs don' t necessarily have the capacity to
develop and deliver contextualized curricula for a variety of career
pathways or interests, but can nevertheless, increase their capacity to
guide students through a well-researched career planning process and, in
partnership with a college, help them identify and attain the
educational steps along a career pathway or lattice.

Each TCC pilot site is funded to offer two program cycles, serving 15
students/cycle. Of that 15, they will recruit at least 4 students with
an interest in exploring careers in health care, starting with the
certificate and AA programs offered by the partnering college. In
addition to the academic courses taught onsite at the ABE program, this
sub-cohort of health care career students are also enrolled in an
online Introduction to Health Science course that we developed and
facilitate for the students at all 6 sites (in partnership with an
organization called the Health Care Learning Network). At this stage,
the course doesn't satisfy any prerequisites for the college health care
programs, but it does refresh or expose students to science and
prepares them for the science to come, if they continue in the field.
The pilot sites are also partnering with health care employers to
introduce students to the world of health care - some send HR folks to
speak about career pathways, other do site visits - the role of the
employers is expected to intensify in the coming year.

Another key feature of the TAC model is increased attention to career
awareness and career planning for all enrolled students. To that end, we
increased the funding and attention on counseling services in this pilot
and are promoting the use of a curriculum called Integrating Career
Awareness in the ABE/ESOL Classroom that was developed here in
Massachusetts by SABES. Since the SCANS report has been mentioned in
this discussion, I should say that the curriculum lessons are tied to
SCANS competencies.

The pilot just launched this month, so I can't say much yet about
outcomes. But Nellie Mae has funded an external evaluation, so we should
have some interim outcomes at the end of the year and an 18-month report
in the fall of 2010. I've attached a description here, although I don't
know if the server will accept it.

Feel free to contact me with questions. - Sandy Goodman

Director, New England College Transition Project

National College Transition Network

New England Literacy Resource Center

World Education
http://www.nelrc.org
http://www.collegetransition.org

Getting Started with IBEST

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3087] Getting started with I-BEST
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Tue Feb 24 08:50:48 EST 2009

Hello Tina, Leslie, Kim,

Thanks for sharing what I-BEST looks like in your programs and the
funding details. One question many folks may have is 'how in the world
do I get started with something like I-BEST?' So it would be helpful, I
think, if you shared with us details from your experience:

How did I-BEST get started in Washington State and what kind of
information or data did you collect to document that it worked?

What is this tipping point phrase we keep hearing about in relation to
I-BEST?

Thanks so much,

Jackie

Jackie Taylor, Professional Development List Moderator,
jackie at jataylor.net

>
Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers www.aalpd.org
<http://www.aalpd.org/>

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3095] Re: Getting started with I-BEST at TCC
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Tue Feb 24 13:41:15 EST 2009

Greetings; I will respond to how we got started at TCC, with a bit of
history at the state level.

The integrated model was happening in Washington State long before the
birth of I-BEST. Several colleges had program models that ranged from
the traditional VESL model, to something similar to what I-BEST looks
like today. If my memory serves me correctly, many of these programs
targeted the TANF populations / programs on our campuses.

I believe our state office was interested in the various models out
there and wanted to take a closer look at these how they worked.
Recognizing the changing demographics in our community and the need to
look at ways to move our populations in to training opportunities that
lead to better paying jobs ,The State Board for Community and Technical
Colleges put out an RFP for pilot projects to explore, develop, and
document various integrated models. The RFP called for a joint
partnership / collaboration between basic skills and workforce
departments on each campus. TCC was chosen as one of 10 pilot projects.

At TCC, we started small, choosing a certificate that included only 9
credits, but also enabled students to continue on. The certificate we
chose was a Child Development Associate, a nationally recognized
certificate that on our campus could count toward 9 credits in our
Paraeducator program. This was the beginning of our first "pathway" that
started at the basic skills level. The program we worked with had an
experienced faculty member/program chair who had a long history of
working with underprepared students. Her program was one that didn't
have strict entry requirements, so she often had students who struggled
with basic skills. The idea of this model was very appealing to her, so
she became our first "champion".

I will let Tina respond to the question about the data collected and the
tipping point research.

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3097] Re: Getting started with I-BEST at TCC
From: Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu
Date: Tue Feb 24 14:30:39 EST 2009

Hello all,

Kim did a great job of responding. I'll give a bit of the state-level perspective.

How did I-BEST get started in Washington State and what kind of information or data did you collect to document that it worked?

The state board staff began to recognize a significant demographic shift in the students attending Adult Basic Education programs. English as a Second Language (ESL) was growing and the system data indicated the students were coming to prepare themselves for work. College faculty and staff at some of the system colleges were beginning to combine workforce education and adult basic education programming in new ways to address the needs of the students. Staff to begin to look for national research around combining these program areas and found there was not much available. Research was limited and primarily focused on using ESL to teach workplace vocabulary not skills training. SBCTC became particularly interested in some programs with potential in this area being delivered at some of the Washington system colleges.

Concurrently, there was an increasing focus on economic development and the role community and technical colleges played in providing a workforce training based on a sectoral approach. The board had been working on a number of system initiatives to address the needs of the workforce system in Washington state.

To document that I-BEST worked, we utilized our system data to look at progression of the students in terms of accumulation of college level credits and basic skills gains. We published the results in one of the research reports provided by Jackie as background reading. Colleges also tracked their own data. One of the pilot colleges also tracked the students using a comparison group of traditional workforce students and saw excellent results in terms of GPA and basic skills gains.

Washington has implemented a new performance measurement system since I-BEST started. We are now measuring the students in terms of the achievement points (milestones) developed in that system. The results for I-BEST continue to hold up. We have written a research report on these results as well (also available with the background material).

Here is summary of the results of the first full implementation year of I-BEST:

Twenty-four (24) colleges offered I-BEST programs and reported 900 student enrollments (273 ESL and 627 ABE/GED). This represents an increase by 55 percent in these colleges (65 percent for ESL students and 50 percent for ABE/GED) of students who were able to enroll in college-level course work during the same year they enrolled in basic skills.
In the programs studied in this report, both I-BEST students and other students were more likely to attempt college-level work when they reached ABE level 4, GED levels 1-2 and ESL levels 5 and 6 than students from lower levels.
While increasing their basic skills is essential to getting ready for college-level work, students do not gather college momentum until they transition into college-level courses. There is evidence in the programs studied that I-BEST helps students build first year momentum for earning college credits and thereby increases their preparation and possibilities for going even further. The percentages of I-BEST students who earn their first 15 college credits is substantially higher than in cases when basic skills students attempt college coursework in other ways (53 percent versus 11 percent for ESL and 61 percent versus 26 percent for ABE/GED students). This momentum point for all students is significant for providing a solid start on a college-level pathway to the "tipping point" as tested in the achievement initiative and found in other research. Furthermore, I-BEST students maintain momentum better by completing 30 or more credits at a higher rate than ABE/GED students enrolled in college courses in other ways (32 percent for I-BEST students compared to 11 percent for other students).

What is this tipping point phrase we keep hearing about in relation to I-BEST?

The "tipping point" refers to an educational tipping point identified by state board research on our state-wide system data. The study was written by David Prince and Davis Jenkins titled, Building Pathways to Success for Low-Skill Adult Students: Lessons for Community College Policy and Practice from a Longitudinal Student Tracking Study. The study set out to look at "the unique experiences and the educational and employment outcomes of adults who enter community college with limited education" knowing that their experiences and outcomes differ from those of traditional college-aged students. The study examined educational attainment and earnings of approximately 35,000 students who were either first-time college students who were adults age 25 or older with a high school education or less and who started in 1996-97 or in 1997-98. Also included in the cohorts were 18- to 24-year-old, first time students who lacked a high school diploma or GED.

The study found that "Nearly 30 percent of the students who started with a GED, and 35 percent of those who started with a high school diploma, earned at least 45 credits or a credential in five years. Fourteen percent of the students who started with a GED, and 18 percent of students who started with a high school diploma, earned an advanced certificate or an associate degree in five years.

Not surprisingly, the higher students' educational attainment after five years, the higher the wages they earned on average. Compared with students who earned fewer than ten college credits, those who took at least one year's worth of college-credit courses and earned a credential had an average annual earnings advantage: $7,000 for students who started in ESL; $8,500 for those who started in ABE or GED; and $2,700 and $1,700 for those entering with a GED or high school diploma, respectively."

Based on this information, our system's thinking changed. We realized the importance of designing programs and pathways that got students to at least forty-five college level credits (Washington is on the quarter system) and a meaningful credential. At that point students had a good foothold in their educational experience and were much more likely to earn better wages and also get to the next educational level.

That's a bit long to say, so we just call it the tipping point.

Tina

Key Elements and Implementation Considerations

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3102] Key elements and implementation considerations
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Wed Feb 25 08:58:08 EST 2009

Tina, All,

Tina, thank you so much for this rich description of how I-BEST began
and the revealing information about the tipping point. You wrote:

Would you or others say more about how you then used the tipping point
research to inform program design and professional development? What are
the key elements that get students to at least forty-five college level
credits in your system?

Thanks,

Jackie

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3129] Re: Key elements and implementation considerations
From: Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu
Date: Fri Feb 27 18:43:20 EST 2009

Hello all,

Jackie asked that we address, "Would you or others say more about how you then used the tipping point research to inform program design and professional development? And

What are the key elements that get students to at least forty-five college level credits in your system?"

First a reminder that the tipping point refers to at least 45 college-level quarter credits and a credential. The tipping point research was really one of those watershed moments. It has had broad effect across the Washington system at the policy level from the State Board's ten-year vision statement to the new performance funding system we are implementing by increasing the focus on access and success. The vision statement has three broad goals of economic demand, student success, and innovation. Under student success the goals are:

Achieve increased educational attainment for all residents across the state.
Enroll more underserved populations.
Improve academic achievement for all students.
Ensure community and technical college is affordable and accessible, especially for basic skills and part-time students, by developing bold, creative and innovative methods, including low tuition, need based tuition waivers and restructured financial aid.
Provide smooth transitions from K12 to colleges to universities.
Expand the pipeline to associate and bachelor's degrees, particularly in math, science, engineering and health sciences.

As a result of the Board's vision, we have implemented the Student Achievement Initiative. It is a statewide initiative within Washington's community and technical college system to develop an incentive system that rewards colleges for improving student achievement. The areas that the colleges are measured on include:

Improving preparation for college level courses (this includes adult basic education, GED, ESL, and developmental education)
Building to a year of college credit
Completing college level math
Completing certificates, degrees, and apprenticeship training

There are more points available at the lowest level because we were trying to ensure that the system measured equivalent student effort and that we created an incentive system that would leave the lower level students out. In looking at I-BEST, colleges receive points based in both the improving preparation for college level courses and in building to a year of college credit at the same time. This has helped colleges focus on designing I-BEST programs with high level of college credits in them, which ultimately helps them get to the tipping point.

At the individual college level, the tipping point has had an impact as well. From a professional development stand point, the State Board office worked very hard on getting this information to the system. Washington has a series of system groups comprised of the presidents at the highest level, vice president commissions, and a number of councils comprised of various staff levels. Information on the tipping point was presented to the system at the quarterly meetings of these groups in addition to presentations at a number of system conferences. This office issues competitive requests for proposals to the system and the tipping point was referred to in all of those and presented as information at bidding conferences.

As we know community and technical college outcomes are more incremental than four year colleges and universities. They serve a wider range of students for a wider range of purposes. The Student Achievement Initiative provides these incremental measures that allow them to see the broader effects of their efforts beyond certificates, degrees, and job placements. Colleges are focusing on the issues that were raised by the tipping point research and now have a measurement system in place that will capture the great work these hard working faculty and staff are doing.

What are the key elements that get students to at least forty-five college level credits in your system?"

There isn't a silver bullet for sure! That said, the key elements in getting students to this level (not in order of importance because it's all important) are having a well designed contextual program that has a clear pathway way to the next educational level and employment as well as intensive student support and services. Not a small order by any means.

Tina

Cultivating Champions for Integrated Training

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3101] Cultivating champions
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Wed Feb 25 08:39:45 EST 2009

Hi Kim, All,

Kim, I was struck by your last sentence, "The idea of this model was
very appealing to her, so she became our first "champion".

From your perspective, how important was/is it to have champions in
creating the first (and subsequent) pathways? How easy or difficult was
it to convince other faculty to participate in this endeavor? Please say
more about the role of champions and whether this is something we should
think about cultivating (and how) when implementing integrated pathways.

Thanks, Jackie

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3105] Re: Cultivating champions
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Wed Feb 25 11:48:28 EST 2009

Jackie, I'm so glad you asked this question. Finding champions on our
campus, I believe, has been essential to making this work at TCC.
Getting buy-in from the workforce side isn't always easy and for good
reason. Many of these programs have national certification exams,
employer relationships are often built on the basis of providing
qualified workers, and the list goes on. Most instructors want to be
sure that students are ready for the rigor of their programs.
Convincing instructors to open the door to "underprepared" students can
be a challenge.

Consider the following when looking for your "champions":

1. Are there any programs that already have students who are academically underprepared?

2. Do you have any programs that can start with courses that don't have college level entry requirements? Who teaches them?

3. Who are the faculty or program chairs who are already willing to "waive" entry requirements for their courses and go the extra mile to help these folks succeed?

4. Which faculty or program chairs are already thinking outside the box in terms of how to better serve students?

5. Are there faculty members who have been involved in other initiatives that address the needs of underprepared students?

6. Most importantly, who are the individuals on your campus that have the "respect" of the other faculty, are involved, and just have that energy and enthusiasm that gets people excited.

The folks on the professional technical side who I consider our
"champions" have done so much to spread the word about I-BEST on our
campus. They talk with other instructors about how it works, why it
works, and the outcomes they are seeing with their students. They talk
about how I-BEST has helped them improve their own teaching; they talk
about how this model has improved student outcomes and how it has
brought more attention to their programs / courses. One of our
champions at TCC is the chair of our accounting program. If she had it
her way, I think she would "I-BEST" the whole college. She's that
excited about it and everyone knows it.

Community and Technical Colleges are full of instructors like these. I
believe that this all means a lot more coming from the professional
technical side than it does coming from basic skills faculty or
administrators. This has been my experience as both an administrator
and as a basic skills / ESOL instructor.

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

kward at tacomacc.edu

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3106] Re: Cultivating champions
From: Cheek, Sandy sandyc at bigbend.edu
Date: Wed Feb 25 11:49:54 EST 2009

As an administrator of I-BEST programs and as of late, an instructor in one, I will say that the role of a 'champion' is critical -and that your champion needs to be housed in the professional-technical wing of your college. (Basic skills folks are already on board with this; we're inevitably the ones who try and persuade others to do I-BEST programs!) We have had very successful, smooth-running programs and those that were not so smooth. The difference could be attributed to the knowledge base of the administrators and the prof-tech faculty. Everyone 'loves' I-BEST because it makes sense, helps students who need it, and it brings the college enhanced FTE. However, understanding the challenges and implementing the details of what's needed to make it work-for that, you need a truly engaged 'champion' -or two--from the professional program you're attempting to change into an I-BEST model.

Sandy

Sandy Cheek

Director of Basic Skills

Big Bend Community College

Moses Lake, WA 98837

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3110] Re: Cultivating champions
From: Gary Bartolina BartolinaG at NYSCSEAPARTNERSHIP.ORG
Date: Wed Feb 25 18:37:03 EST 2009

We use Champion's at every NYS agency to recruit participants for our
ABE program. I use these bullets when making a recruitment
presentation....or introducing the planning stages of our program

Characteristics of an ABE CHAMPION

Willing to commit "real time"
Respected by peers
Interested in collaboration
Able to relate to management
"Can Do" personality
Advocate for others
Available to attend orientation/training session

ABE Champion's Role

Help distribute information
Recruit course applicants
Meet with management and supervisors to promote ABE program
Select participants using agency criteria
Point person for our program
Provide ongoing support to applicants

Ms. Gary Bartolina, Program Manager

Adult Education Basics

NYS & CSEA Partnership for Education & Training

Corporate Plaza East - Suite 502

240 Washington Avenue Extension

Albany, NY 12203

Teacher Compensation and IBEST Professional Development

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3100] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
From: Lynn Pinder ywaction1 at yahoo.com
Date: Wed Feb 25 06:58:29 EST 2009

I would love to get feedback on how community colleges and other community-based adult and family literacy providers use state allocated funds and private foundation dollars to provide (1) paid opportunities for instructors to teach ABE/GED classes to Native English speakers; (2) paid planning/prep time for instructors to teach ABE/GED classes to Native English speakers; and (3) paid professional development to instructors to teach ABE/GED classes to Native English speakers.

Are there industry standards for paying adult/family literacy instructors, providing paid planning and prep time, and providing paid professional development to instructors who teach ABE/GED classes to Native English speakers? If so, please share a resource where I might find more data on this topic. Thanks!

Lynn Pinder

Senior Consultant

The TAKE ACTION! Network
www.thetakeactionnetwork.com

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3107] Re: Dual Enrollment and the I-BEST Model at TCC
From: Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu
Date: Wed Feb 25 12:24:42 EST 2009

Hi Lynn,

I can answer from the state-level perspective. Hopefully, Kim or Leslie can address the campus issues. Perhaps Leslie can chime in here to discuss the Center of Excellence in Education and the team teaching professional development opportunities they have provided and also about the Career Pathways Overview and Mini-Institute.

At the state level, we realized early on that it was key to bring the 10 pilots together to discuss the learning. We provided a couple of opportunities that brought together teams from the colleges representing both workforce and adult basic education. We took a facilitated discussion approach and really tried to give them space to voice what they were experiencing, while still providing technical assistance to the conversations.

The result of those discussions lead to the design of the model we have today including and enhance FTE model/high funded model that we have today. The funding models acknowledge the increased cost it takes to run I-BEST courses, which was a critical element voiced by those early innovators. The participants gave us high marks for these meetings.

As we wanted to move the program across our system, we first held a statewide planning meeting in part funded by our Ford Foundation Bridges to Opportunity Initiative grant. We strongly encouraged participation by all of the system's 34 colleges (yes, we made phone calls to all the folks who hadn't signed up). We had all colleges represented. They brought up to five people representing adult basic education, workforce education, student services, faculty and administrators. One of the purposes of the Bridges Initiative was to break down silos and we were definitely doing that here. We had a panel of peers from the demonstration project colleges as well as a presentation from David Prince of Tipping Point fame. SBCTC staff also spoke to the group about the vision and goals of I-BEST. Then there was team planning time to allow them to begin developing their I-BEST programs using a planning document that we provided. SBCTC and demonstration project staff spent time with the teams one-on-one to answer questions and help them along.

A year later, using the same funds, we had another statewide event focused on developing integrated learning outcomes. These are a critical component of the programs and clearly needed some attention. We were fortunate in having people in our system from Pierce college who were officially trained in Ruth Stiehl's and were able to provide training that day. We also purchased a copy of Ruth Stiehl's Outcomes Primer for each of the colleges. We had nearly 100% attendance from the colleges. Again they were asked to bring cross-function teams. Additionally, we had a breakout session for the administrators to talk about the challenges they were facing and come up with solutions.

The following year we held a statewide Career Pathways Institute, again using the same funds. The Institute was focused on developing a common vision, definition, and understanding of career pathways; clarifying the understanding of the value, benefits, and key characteristics of career pathways; and strengthening college teams and plan for college action. There were multiple concurrent sessions with a good amount of times for the teams to interact together. We brought in outside speakers for the two-day event. The purpose was to provide professional development for staff to expand their understanding of career pathways and strengthen their teams. Again the same type cross-functional teams were encouraged. Colleges could bring up to 8 team members. This event was very well received by the colleges and we have been asked to hold another one.

Tina

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3121] Professional Development with I-BEST
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Fri Feb 27 10:02:21 EST 2009

Hi Tina, All,

Tina - thank you for your rich description of Washington State's I-BEST
professional development! I can see that integrated education and
training doesn't happen unless basic skills teachers, faculty, and
administrators are trained.

I'm hearing some annual PD objectives that were key for Washington
State. Could you help break this down for us or fill in the gaps on
professional development purposes and/or objectives, from your
experience? Do you have annual objectives and sample agendas from your
trainings you could share? Here are key elements I'm garnering from your
post below:

Pilots:

Share team teaching experiences
Identify key areas for designing a state model

Going to Scale:

Year 1: Purpose: how to plan and develop an I-BEST program and the
necessary elements to bring about a cultural shift:

Bringing together silos (Basic Skills and

Professional/Technical)

Training across teams (faculty, admin, Work Force, ABE)
Administrative training

Year 2: Integrated Learning Outcomes Training Purpose:

Included all team members
break-out for administrators

Year 3: Career Pathways Institute Purpose: expand staff understanding of
career pathways and strengthen teams

Develop a common vision, mission, definition and understanding

for career pathways

Clarify the understanding of the value, benefits, and key

characteristics of career pathways

Strengthen college teams and plan for college action

Year 4: ?

As you can see my understanding's still a bit vague. Any specifics you
can offer would be great, including more about what integrated learning
outcomes are, what one looks like, what the current PD need is and what
you envision for next steps with PD for Washington State.

Thanks so much, Jackie

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3147] Re: Professional Development with I-BEST
From: Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu
Date: Mon Mar 2 19:28:50 EST 2009

Hi Jackie, All,

You asked for an example of a professional development agenda (file attached) and what integrated learning outcomes look like. Colleges take the outcomes for the vocational course and integrate them with the adult basic education learning standards (or vice versa). The adult basic education learning standards are available on SBCTC's website at http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/_e-abe_learningstandards.aspx). I am including a file developed by Jon Kerr, Lower Columbia College, that describes the process.

So for example integrated outcomes for Early Childhood Education could ( we don't prescribe what they should be, so there isn't a standard) look like the following:

1) Read with understanding to perform competently as a child care professional:

Recognize specialized, and abbreviated words related to Early Childhood Education.
Demonstrate confidence and familiarity with specialized content knowledge and vocabulary within authentic ECE materials.
Ability to locate important information in early learning specific text using a variety of strategies.
Monitor and enhance early learning for young children using a variety of strategies (i.e. problem solving, language development, literacy development).
Demonstrate recall, simple sequencing, categorization, paraphrasing, and graphs and charts to organize information and materials.
Demonstrate confidence in applying prior knowledge to assisting in understanding child and family education information, documents, and procedures.

2) Convey ideas in writing to perform competently as a child care professional:

Determine the purpose and audience for communicating in writing in order to perform required duties as a child care provider.
Use pre-writing and writing strategies to identify and organize ideas to support a single focus (i.e. reporting a safety incident, child progress report to staff and/or family members, provide instructions) and prepare a legible and comprehensible document.
Appropriate use of familiar and specialized early childhood education vocabulary to monitor child's behavior and progress.
Demonstrate ability to make simple revisions in writing with these revisions based upon review and feedback from others.
Produce lesson plans and activity reports related to early childhood education.

3) Speak so others can understand in order to perform competently as a child care professional:

Appropriate use and recall of vocabulary and grammar in order to communicate effectively with children and parents within an early childhood education work setting.
Demonstrated ability to elaborate ECE concepts with detail and examples, as well as select, organize, and relay information related to child development progress and learning as needed.
Application of a variety of verbal and non-verbal language skills to monitor and enhance communication effectiveness with staff, children, and parents within an early childhood education work setting.

4) Listen actively in order to perform competently as a child care professional:

Adapt response to diverse speakers and contexts when language is not specifically for English language learners in order to understand and respond appropriately to extensive discussion regarding children and family contexts.
Effectively use a variety of strategies to discern gaps in understanding as well as give feedback regarding procedures and processes necessary to maintain the safety and well-being of young children in the child care or early learning work environment.
Apply linguistic, socio-cultural and other knowledge to understand literal as well as implied intent of the speaker and to respond appropriately.

5) Use math to solve problems in order to communicate competently as an early childhood professional:

Use mathematical procedures appropriately to record data relating to the development of children. This includes providing accurate information on reports, plans, and charts.
Ability to communicate solutions to problems with visual representations on tables, charts, or graph, or elementary statistics.
Define, select, and organize common mathematical data.
Ability to measure with appropriate tools, orally describe patterns, and use procedures to develop mathematical lesson plans and activities appropriate in a child care or early learning setting.

Jackie, I think you've captured what we've done so far very well. We still have work to do on the professional development front ourselves. We are currently working on our next learning opportunity. What I would say is that I-BEST or anything that requires a significant cultural change needs reinforcement in as many ways as possible to keep the system moving forward. The development needs will be different based on system structure and the issues that arise. For example the current economic situation was unanticipated, so that was not built into any previous training. The key is having a system where people feel they can share their concerns as well as their successes and then being flexible enough to design opportunities that will keep the effort moving forward.

Tina

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3109] Re: professional development and compensation for instructors
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Wed Feb 25 15:11:14 EST 2009

Hi Lynn, I will also chime in here and hopefully respond to your question about how we were able to pay instructors to participate. As you can see, professional development has been well supported at the state level which I think sends a clear message to the colleges about its importance to the success of I-BEST.

Our basic skills instructors are all part of our collective bargaining agreement, so they are paid in the same way any other academic or professional/technical instructor would be paid. In our collective bargaining agreement, we have a defined rate for "non instructional activities" and professional development can fall under this category. I set aside funds to provide stipends for faculty participating in these activities and pay instructors at that defined rate.

One thing that we have done on our campus is developed some "guidelines" for I-BEST instructors that outline expectations. Included in these guidelines is the expectation that instructors will meet on a regular basis to coordinate curriculum etc. We pay instructors for this time as well at that same "non instructional activities" rate.

I hope that helps to answer your question.

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3111] Re: professional development and compensation for instructors
From: Leslie Heizer Newquist LHeizer at greenriver.edu
Date: Wed Feb 25 19:19:42 EST 2009

Chiming in on professional development at the state level for I-BEST instructors.

Washington is fortunate to have 11 Centers of Excellence, housed at community and technical colleges across the state. Each center provides statewide leadership within an industry that is critical to state economic growth. In collaboration with industry, each Center provides statewide education and training. (more at: http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/_e-wkforcecentersofexcellence.aspx)

The Center of Excellence for Careers in Education has provided professional development for I-BEST instructors based on expressed needs of instructors and colleges. Topics have included: 1-day overview of I-BEST, intensive 3-day team teaching and shared outcomes development institute, and additional training for more experienced instructors. As Tina Bloomer noted, the Career Pathways Institute sponsored by the state board was very well received. The Center of Excellence for Careers in Education worked with SBCTC to provide a follow-up to this institute, which included education and career pathway information and dedicated work time for college teams to apply new learning.

Leslie HN

Leslie Heizer Newquist

Green River Community College

lheizer at greenriver.edu

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3113] Re: professional development and compensation for instructors
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Thu Feb 26 12:47:45 EST 2009

Hi Kim, All,

Kim: I'm very interested in the document you mentioned on setting
expectations with instructors to implement professional development. Do
you have a copy you could share?

Also, you mentioned that teachers are paid to attend professional
development, have paid planning time and time to collaborate with one
another to coordinate curriculum. Are there any challenges you face in
implementing I-BEST? If so, what are they?

I'd like to hear from others on these points, too! Keep it coming.

Thanks...Jackie

Jackie Taylor, jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3119] Re: Instructor guidelines and challenges
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Fri Feb 27 00:36:33 EST 2009

Hi All, attached are the guidelines we developed. Notice the document is
still in draft form as this is something we are trying out this year. it
seems like we are constantly learning, changing, and exploring new ways
to approach all of this. It is definitely a work in progress. Jackie
asked if there are challenges in implementing I-BEST. For us the answer
is definitely yes. I'll start with just a couple of challenges we
faced, but please feel free to ask about others:

#1 Finding the right match: We joke on our campus that I-BEST is like
an arranged marriage. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. A
team teaching environment can be a difficult place to be, especially if
one person or the other sees the endeavor as the other program's
initiative. You have to find teams who are equally invested in the
program. The team members also have to be open to constructive
criticism, feedback, and open to completely changing the way they are
used to doing things. This isn't the place for the instructor who is
reluctant to speak up when something isn't working nor is it for the
instructor who likes routine and "the predictable".

#2 coordination: Coordination at every level and in every way can be a
challenge. We have I-BEST programs in three different divisions.
Getting instructors together for professional development activities has
been very difficult for us, especially when departments or divisions are
doing last minute hires or folks are still working in industry or have
obligations to teach at other colleges in the area. The state board
has done a great job of providing opportunities for professional
development, and they have been very good. Unfortunately, the workshops
aren't always available when you need them. We have discussed
developing something in-house, but have not been able to coordinate the
time to do it.

At TCC we integrate our I-BEST and traditional college level students.
So, coordinating schedules with the professional technical departments,
arranging for "slots" in certain classes, finding times when you can get
instructors together to meet, etc. etc.

Thanks,

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Teacher Quality and Career Advancement-IBEST Example

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3131] Teacher quality and career advancement
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Fri Feb 27 20:29:46 EST 2009

Hi Kim, All,

Kim, thank you for these details and for the draft teacher expectations
document, very helpful! It sounds like your college may be doing well in
supporting the working conditions teachers need to access and benefit
from professional development, including paying them to attend PD and
planning time to coordinate curricula.

A few more things to think about for Monday:

Please say more about coordinating curricula. How many hours a week are
they paid to do this? How are they paid to do it - for example, is it
added to the existing work load for full time staff or are they given
additional paid hours or some combination thereof? What about the part
time instructors?

These questions are for Kim, Leslie, and others:

I'd like to know more about the nature of your college's teaching profession for I-BEST or other integrated education and training programs. What % of basic skills instructors are part time and what % are full time? What about the technical instructors who team teach? Assuming that some of your basic skills teachers are part time, are there opportunities for them for stable, full-time employment? If so, what's that look like?
What's staff turnover like among the ABE/ESL instructors; what are the barriers and what strategies do you use to keep them?
Are there "career pathways" (in this sense, meaning instructor opportunities for advancement) or career ladders for the ABE/ESL instructors and if so, what do those look like?

The reason I ask is because 80% of adult basic education and literacy
instructors nationwide are part time and thousands are volunteers; most
are funded on year-to-year grant programs. Many are not paid release
time to attend PD nor are they paid planning time. The Association of
Adult Literacy Professional Developers (AALPD), the Commission on Adult
Basic Education (COABE) and the National Coalition for Literacy (NCL)
have made WIA recommendations to improve teacher quality and
professionalize our field. I'd like to know whether you face some of
these issues with I-BEST.

Thanks,

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3144] Re: Teacher quality and career advancement
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Mon Mar 2 14:14:37 EST 2009

Hi All, in response to Jackie's questions:

1. Please say more about coordinating curricula. How many hours a week are they paid to do this? How are they paid to do it - for example, is it added to the existing work load for full time staff or are they given additional paid hours or some combination thereof? What about the part time instructors?

We had a difficult time coming up with a formula of how many hours each
team would get for planning because all of the courses and programs
differ. So, we have been pretty flexible. Most seem to only need about
an hour or two per week to coordinate curriculum. Our experience has
been that the more organized the P/T instructor is with his or her
curriculum, the less time the instructors need to meet. As an
administrator, I realize that some courses are more complex than others,
so I have left it pretty open and not assigned a "formula". All
instructors are paid the hourly professional services rate I mentioned
before for joint meeting and planning. If they are full time faculty,
this is in addition to their regular load.

If a course requires more work or preparation, instructors can also
submit a request for I-BEST curriculum planning funds. I have attached a
sample proposal form for your review. We use Perkins funds for this, so
instructors are required to submit the "product" of their work together.
This form is new so it is also a work in progress.

2. What % of basic skills instructors are part time and what % are full time? What about the technical instructors who team teach? Assuming that some of your basic skills teachers are part time, are there

opportunities for them for stable, full-time employment? If so, what's that look like?

The percent changes from quarter to quarter, but most of my basic skills
faculty teaching I-BEST are full time. And, believe it or not, most of
my faculty choose to do I-BEST as a "moonlight" contract. This quarter
in I-BEST, I only have one part time instructor teaching. I mentioned
earlier that I am lucky in that I have full time faculty. We serve
approximately 1,000 students per year split fairly evenly between
ABE/GED and ESL. I have 4 full time ESL and 4 full time ABE/GED
faculty.

On the professional technical side, there are currently 2 part time
faculty and four full time teaching in I-BEST.

I think if we want to make these programs work, we have to make an
investment. The investment of full time faculty in our program has paid
off over and over again. In fact, we had so many adjunct faculty, we
were able to show a cost savings in benefits by moving to more full time
faculty.

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Importance of Wrap-Around Support Services

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3114] What's needed to make integrated models work?
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Thu Feb 26 13:32:45 EST 2009

Hello Everyone,

So far I've heard that funding, strong support at the state level,
champions, and professional development are all important to make
integrated teaching models like I-BEST work. What else is key? For
example, Sandy Goodman mentioned gearing up counseling services for
career planning with the Transition to College and Careers model at the
New England Literacy Resource Center.

How important are support services? What kinds of support services does
your program need and what does this look like in practice?

What have you found necessary to make integrated models like I-BEST
work?

Jackie

Jackie Taylor, jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3118] Re: importance of wrap around support services
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Thu Feb 26 19:37:18 EST 2009

Hi Jackie, thanks for another great question. Wrap-around support
services have been key to making this work on our campus. It doesn't
matter how transparent we try to make our processes on campus, our basic
skills students still struggle when it comes to navigating the systems.
We fund a half time student support specialist who dedicates 20 hours
per week to providing comprehensive wrap around services for I-BEST or
potential I-BEST students and honestly, 20 hours a week isn't enough.

This position works with students from intake through completion of
I-BEST and beyond. I've heard the term "intrusive advising" used before
and this is how I look at what this position provides. Our student
support specialist is the single point of contact for all students
interested in I-BEST. She conducts a thorough intake for students
interested in the programs to determine if it's a good fit. Once
determined, she helps the student navigate systems such as financial
aid, book store purchases, assessment testing, and even educational
planning post I-BEST. She follows up with instructors throughout the
quarter to ensure students are making progress, and checks in
periodically with the students to make sure they are on track. She
helps plan quarterly student schedules and makes sure everyone gets
registered for the classes they need. She also helps connect students to
additional support services on campus and in the community as needed.

I'm sure I have left out several other important tasks but you get the
idea. Providing wrap-around support services is a work in progress for
us. We still have several other areas we would like to improve upon,
employment services for one. We are doing what we can right now with the
resources available, but I will continue to look for ways to expand this
piece.

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Getting Started with Data Tracking

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3115] Re: Getting started with I-BEST at TCC - Data tracking
From: Katherine Shields KShields at commcorp.org
Date: Thu Feb 26 16:39:11 EST 2009

Hello -

Commonwealth Corporation, a quasi-public workforce development agency, is in the process of awarding grants to Massachusetts community colleges to develop Innovative Post-Secondary Education Models that integrate basic and occupational skills and accelerate progress toward a credential or degree. Grant funding includes a six-month planning period that begins this spring.

As a research analyst working with this new program, I was very interested in Tina Bloomer's comments (copied below) about tracking students' progress over time through milestones in the program. Being able to track this data seems like a very important tool for understanding student outcomes, but I imagine it might be challenging for some colleges' data systems. It raised some technical questions for me:

a) To track students longitudinally through milestones, were individual colleges able to use their existing student databases, or did they need to set up shadow databases? Was it challenging to pull together different types of information such as English language test scores, credit hours, etc.?

b) What advice do you have for other colleges setting up such data tracking systems?

c) In addition to the I-BEST institutions, what have other colleges experienced in trying to collect and track student data over time through milestones like basic skill gains, credits, and certificates?

Thanks,

Katherine

Katherine Shields

Research and Evaluation Analyst

Commonwealth Corporation
http://www.commcorp.org

Re: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3097] Re: Getting started with I-BEST at TCC
Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu [ProfessionalDevelopment 3097] Re: Getting started with I-BEST

Tue Feb 24 14:30:39 EST 2009

"...To document that I-BEST worked, we utilized our system data to look at progression of the students in terms of accumulation of college level credits and basic skills gains. We published the results in one of the research reports provided by Jackie as background reading. Colleges also tracked their own data. One of the pilot colleges also tracked the students using a comparison group of traditional workforce students and saw excellent results in terms of GPA and basic skills gains.

"Washington has implemented a new performance measurement system since I-BEST started. We are now measuring the students in terms of the achievement points (milestones) developed in that system...."

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3116] Re: Getting started with I-BEST at TCC - Data tracking
From: Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu
Date: Thu Feb 26 18:34:44 EST 2009

Hi Katherine,

Washington already had a statewide student management system that it was able to use for this purpose. So while not an easy task, it did make it somewhat simpler. The State Board office sends the milestone information back to the colleges at the end of each quarter.

b) What advice do you have for other colleges setting up such data tracking systems?

I would recommend they review the Community College Research Center's, Using Longitudinal Data to Increase Community College Student Success: A Guide to Measuring Milestone and Momentum Point Attainment (CCRC Research Tools No. 2)
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?uid=570

And they are welcome to check out the SBCTC webpage on the Student Achievement Initiative at:
http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/e_studentachievement.aspx

I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you asking about the results of basic skills student in terms of the milestones? If so, please check out the publication titled, Research Report No. 08-1 - Increasing Student Achievement for Basic Skills Students (Jan 2008) available on our website at:

http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/d_studentachievement.aspx

Tina

Background on FCE IBEST and Transition Team

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3093] Some Deep Background of FCE, I-BEST, and the Transition Team
From: tsticht at znet.com tsticht at znet.com
Date: Tue Feb 24 12:02:10 EST 2009

Colleagues: In the briefing paper that Lennox prepared for the transition
team, he provides 9 items about what would make integrated education and
training work in the context of economic recovery. Number 6 called Guidance
for Program Design calls attention to the fact that some states have
integrated curriculum models that can serve as models. Number 8 deals with
Contexualized Curriculum and states: "In order to accelerate student
progress, the adult education instruction (ABE, GED, ESL) must be
contextualized to specific occupational training/high demand job
requirements. Integrated throughout are the work readiness and soft skills
required in the workplace" The paper includes a reference to the
forthcoming paper from the National Center for Education and the Economy
(NCEE) called One Step Forward and gives Ray Uhalde as the contact.

Ray is the head of the workforce development section at NCEE. Prior to this
he was head of Employment and Training in the Department of Labor. In a
1989 report he stated: "As Thomas Sticht, Larry Mikulecky, and others have
shown, literacy skills can be learned far more rapidly when they are taught
as part of the processes of teaching job skills....A side benefit of
functional context instruction is that there is no stigma attached to
learning job skills as there can be in learning "literacy" skills. Thus the
dignity of the adult learner is safeguarded."-Ray Uhalde. Deputy
Administrator. Office Of Strategic Planning and Policy Development.
Employment and Training Administration. U.S. Department of Labor.
Washington. D.C. In: Literacy and the Marketplace. New York: The
Rockefeller Foundation. June 1989,pp. 37-38.

Later, the Department of Labor formed the Secretary of Labor's Commission on
Necessary Skills (SCANS) and I was asked to be on the Commission. I gave a
presentation on Functional Context Education calling for integrated basic
skills and job skills on the first meeting of the SCANS. Later, the first
report of the SCANS entitled What Work Requires of Schools and stated that
"
the most effective way of learning skills is "in context" placing
learning objectives within a real environment rather than insisting that
students first learn in the abstract what they will be expected to apply"
In a second report, entitled Learning a Living, the Commission addressed the
needs for a lifelong learning system that "
serves all adults, including
those who lack basic education skills, and adults who did not complete high
school. Instead of having to enroll in programs labeled "basic literacy"
these adults are offered course that teach literacy and other basic skills
in the context of job requirements for the SCANS competencies" SCANS gives
the reference for this statement as Thomas Sticht, "Adult Literacy
Education" Review of Research in Education, vol. 15 (1988/89).

How did I get on the SCANS commission and how did these recommendations end
up in the SCANS reports? In 1987 colleagues and I completed a book entitled
Cast-off Youth (Praeger) in which the Functional Context Education
principles were outlined and a prototype electronics assemble course with
integrated reading and math instruction for adults with reading skills as
low as the 5th grade level were presented.

That same year, Arnold Packer, of the Hudson Institute, visited me and I
briefed him on Functional Context Education. Later he sent me a letter
saying "I have just finished reading your "Functional Context Learning" It
makes a great deal of sense to me and fits all my prejudices" Three years
later the SCANS was formed, Packer was asked to be its Executive Director,
I was invited to serve on it, and, as indicated above, SCANS subsequently
called for contextualized teaching and learning.

Over the years a number of organizations have taken up the banner of FCE
under the label of "contextualized teaching." For instance, for more than a
two decades, the Center for Occupational Research & Development (CORD) Web
site: www.cord.org located in Waco, Texas has been involved in developing
contextualized courses for students in the K-12 system. Dale Parnell,
former President of the American Association for Community Colleges in the
United States and also a past member of the SCANS published a book with
CORD entitled Contextual Teaching Works. In a chapter on What Research Says
About Contextual Teaching he presents a review of the research on FCE that
colleagues and I reported in Cast-off Youth and notes that this research
offers a scientific base for contextualized teaching. The book provides
examples of FCE programs in various high schools in the U.S. and Canada.

Now, some twenty years later, the field of adult education and literacy is
discussing the I-BEST project and recommendations to the Obama's Transition
Team, both of which follow curriculum development approaches that stand on
the foundations of research in the 1980s that lead to the formulation of
the Functional Context Education principles.

It takes time for research to influence policy and practice.

Tom Sticht

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3117] Re: Some Deep Background of FCE, I-BEST, and the Transition Team
From: Lennox McLendon lennox422 at gmail.com
Date: Thu Feb 26 18:53:35 EST 2009

Thanks Tom,

It does take a while for research to have an impact. The economic crisis
and the resulting urgency to help adults gain employment with family
sustaining incomes has helped revive those lessons.

That urgency coupled with the Commission's Reach Higher American report that
validated the 90 million adults with basic skills needs is causing job
training policy makers and practitioners to appreciate the need (hopefully
read as "target the money") from the better funded job training world to
begin to talk about using significant money that will enable us to actually
provided integrated education and training services.

The House subcommittee hearing on WIA reauthorization this morning hosted
seven witnesses from adult education (Cheryl Keenan at DAEL), the Government
Accounting Office, a local Arizona WIB, the National Governors Association,
Service Employees International Union, the New York Literacy Council, and a
local California WIB. Everyone except GAO spoke to the importance of
integrated education and training/career pathways. Mr. Hinojosa (D-TX),
the Chair, in his opening statement spoke to building on the success of
career pathways.

His remarked followed his repeating President Obama's State of the Union
challenge for every person to complete one year of college or post secondary
education. "Eighty to ninety million adults lack the basic skills to answer
the President's call," he said.

As an individual, I have been convinced, probably from reading Tom's
research and from my experience as an adult ed teacher that it is easier to
teach reading and math in a context, especially in a work context, than
using unfamiliar contexts--I still shutter when I remember teaching ABE in
rural North Carolina using a work book example of getting an apartment in
Chicago.

Even though I was convinced, we never had the motivation and significant
funding to launch. Now we have both.

And as a side note, Ray Uhalde has left NCEE and returned to the Department
of Labor and to the Employment and Training office and we now call him "Mr.
Stimulator' because part of his responsibility is the Stimulus/Recovery
guidance.

Because of his work at NCEE he is well versed in integrated education
and training. In fact he was with me when we met with the Transition Team.

Even so, I appreciate Tom recounting Ray's words from the 1989 report and
just to make sure, I am sending Ray a copy of those words as a reminder.

Thank you Tom for having such a good memory.

Lennox

Stimulus Funding Next Steps

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3120] Stimulus Funding Next Steps
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Fri Feb 27 08:44:03 EST 2009

Hi Lennox, I-BEST Team,

Lennox:

In the national Economic Stimulus webinar yesterday (2/26), you gave us
guidance on where to access stimulus funding specifically for integrated
education and training (I'll post that archived link here just as soon
as it's available). We also learned, from various presenters, about the
funding streams that we should seek locally. Could you give us a few
tips on how to tap those streams? Are we, for example, to expect an
outpouring of indirect stimulus funding from multiple sources, or what
should we do now to insure we can access this funding on both state and
local levels?

IBEST Team:

Donna Brian asked, "How could the addition of Economic Recovery money
change the I-BEST program? Are there added complications if the federal
government gets involved?" What are your thoughts on her question? Also,
you noted in your materials that you were ready to start work on green
jobs with I-BEST. Could you provide details about what that will entail?
If you could break that down into steps, that would be very helpful.

Thanks for your wisdom and advice,

Jackie

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3125] Re: Stimulus Funding Next Steps
From: Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu
Date: Fri Feb 27 14:56:49 EST 2009

Hello all,

In answer Donna Brian's question, "How could the addition of Economic Recovery money change the I-BEST program? Are there added complications if the federal government gets involved?"

We are all wondering about the federal stimulus package and what it will mean for our states and our programs. Here in Washington state we don't have any better idea of what those will mean to us than anywhere else. We are meeting with our partnering agencies to see what we can do to be proactive. One benefit we have in I-BEST is that they are workforce programs in demand areas with data that supports that they are effective in moving students further and faster. They programs are listed on our professional-technical program inventory like any other workforce program. Our partners support I-BEST programs, particularly the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board. That will be helpful for funds that come down through the Workforce Investment Act. But again, it's still too early to tell.

In answer to Jackie's question, " you noted in your materials that you were ready to start work on green jobs with I-BEST. Could you provide details about what that will entail? If you could break that down into steps, that would be very helpful."

We do have a bill currently in the legislature that would funnel money into a program for weatherizing homes and for retrofitting commercial buildings that has an educational component. I-BEST would be an excellent way to train students for access into these positions. We don't have any colleges that have prepared one yet, but I have had conversations with some colleges about doing this very thing. Again the bill is still in the legislature and we haven't received federal funds, so it's a bit early yet.

The details for developing an I-BEST program for green jobs would be just like developing any other I-BEST program. We haven't really spoken about the application process for I-BEST, but now would be a good time. The application is on the SBCTC website at: http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/e_studentsuccess.aspx I encourage colleges not to think about it as just an application. It is designed to help the colleges go through an intensive planning process by addressing all the critical components necessary for a successful program. So we ask the colleges to think about the following areas:

Employer demand for the program and the program pathway that leads students to a credential or a degree

The learning outcomes and assessment tools that integrate goals of both the workforce competencies and the basic education competencies needed for students to exit to employment or to be prepared for the next program level beyond I-BEST

The team teaching strategies that involve both instructors as equals and provide for at least a 50% overlap of the instructional time as well as what type of joint planning time will be given to the instructors outside of the classroom to make this successful

Specific strategies that are effective with traditionally underserved and academically challenged populations that address innovative efforts for (1) recruitment/screening, (2) retention, and (3) program completion.

Student support strategies that include college resources and systems navigation, financial aid assistance, career/educational planning, and barrier identification and mitigation

Strategies for actively planning with the student how they will transition to the next program level including pathway planning, financial aid assistance and on-going academic support

Partner involvement in developing the program including business, labor, workforce investment boards, community based organizations

An education and career pathway diagram showing the educational steps to the degree, the jobs along the way, and the wages at each step (we don't have a template, so they all vary in design)

The reason we ask for all this up front is because the demonstration sites found that when they did pay attention to these details from the very beginning and did have all the right players in the room together, the programs were much more effective. As you can see, this takes considerable work and even with all this effort there are still challenges to administering an I-BEST program.

Coding and tracking has needed careful consideration when developing this type of programming and it has been a significant challenge for us. In part due to the legacy system and in part because this type of programming goes across traditional silos that were not designed to accommodate this.

However, all this appears to be well worth the effort and we have data that provides us with the evidence that this is working. The results of the first full implementation year of I-BEST showed that there was a 55% increase in the students who were able to enroll in college-level course work during the same year that they enrolled in basic skills. The number of I-BEST students who earned their first 15 college credits (Washington is on the quarter system) was substantially higher than for basic skills students who were concurrently taking college level coursework (53% as compared to 11% for ESL and 61% as compared to 26% for ABE/GED students). I-BEST students reached 30 college-level credits at a higher rate than ABE/GED students concurrently enrolled in other college courses (32 % for I-BEST students compared to 11% for the ABE/GED students).

Tina

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3130] Re: Stimulus Funding Next Steps
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Fri Feb 27 19:20:21 EST 2009

Hello all, I would like to piggy back on some of what Tina has mentioned
about outcomes. We have talked a lot about how challenging I-BEST is,
but that it is really worth it. What I have seen in our program
convinces me of this. We have a lot of state level data on the success
of I-BEST, but I really wanted to get a better picture of our outcomes
at TCC, so, last week I started to really dig deeper with our
institutional research team on campus. We took a look at the last three
years of I-BEST as well as this year's cohort to date and this is what
I'm seeing:

2005 cohort - 11 students

100% retention and completion of initial certificate
2 are still attending and working toward a degree

2006 cohort - 16 students

14 completed certificates
7 are still attending and working toward a degree

2007 cohort - 42 students

38 completed certificates
30 are still attending and working toward a degree

2008 fall cohort - 60 students

Retained 57 after first quarter

It takes a lot, but I seriously doubt we would have seen this many basic
skills students go this far without I-BEST.

Happy weekend,

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3128] Economic Stimulus Webinar Now Archived / More News
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Fri Feb 27 17:42:12 EST 2009

Dear Colleagues,

1) Here is the link to the Economic Stimulus webinar, hosted by ProLiteracy and co-sponsored by the National Coalition for Literacy, the National Council of State Directors of Adult Education, National Center for Family Literacy, Commission on Adult Basic Education, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, and ProLiteracy:

http://www.proliteracy.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=553

2) Another timely news event pertaining to our discussion of economic recovery. From the Committee on Education and Labor:

http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/02/congress-must-strengthen-and-i.shtml

Full article is below.

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

February 26, 2009 5:23 PM

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Now more than ever, the nation's job training
programs must be improved to give workers the skills and training they
will need as the economy starts to recover, witnesses told the House
Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness Subcommittee
today. Today's hearing was the second in a series of hearings the
Education and Labor Committee is holding as it works toward
reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act.

"Last week, the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act to save or create 3.5 million jobs," said U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa
<http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/statements/20090226HinojosaHearingStatement.pdf
, (D-TX), chair of the subcommittee. "Yet from our
last hearing, we know that an estimated 80 - 90 million adults - about
half of our workforce - lack the basic education and skills to qualify
for the jobs that will be created. We won't be able to bridge that gap
unless we improve our nation's job training and workforce development
programs."

President Obama's economic recovery plan invests $5 billion in job
training programs to help get Americans back to work. The Workforce
Investment Act was enacted in 1998 to expand access to job training, job
placement and professional development opportunities for workers. As
witnesses explained today, the law expired in 2003, making it long
overdue for updates that will address workers' as the economy begins to
rebound.

"Current economic conditions not withstanding, America's supply of
adequately skilled workers does not meet its demand," said Kevin Smith

<http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/testimony/20090226KevinSmithTestimony.pdf , executive director, New York Literacy, Inc. "It is
essential to consider what skills are available versus those needed to
support and sustain national, state and local economic development
strategies. As the nation succeeds in building an economic recovery,
including job creation, the skills gap will impede progress."

"With the unprecedented demands on workers for higher levels of
education and new, cutting-edge skill sets, quick access to training and
education is essential," Sandi Vito
<http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/testimony/20090226SandiVitoTestimony.pdf, acting secretary, Pennsylvania, Department of Labor and
Industry, agreed today. "Both employed and unemployed workers must have
training opportunities throughout the span of their work life in order
to get good jobs, advance in their careers and stay competitive."

Several witnesses also discussed the need for improved coordination at
the local, state, and national level to meet the growing need for a
well-trained, 21st century American workforce.

"The Department's work in partnership with the States has produced
significant accomplishments and helped many learners achieve their
education and employment goals" said Cheryl Keenan
<http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/testimony/20090226CherylKeenanTestimony.pdf , the director of Division of Adult Education and
Literacy. "Many challenges still exist, particularly in the job market,
where the "bar" for literacy skills that are required for
family-supporting employment is constantly being raised."

To view all of the testimonies from today's hearing, click here
http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/2009/02/new-innovations-and-best-pract-1.shtml.

For Press Inquiries

Contact: Aaron Albright aaron.albright@mail.house.gov

Melissa Salmanowitz melissa.salmanowitz@mail.house.gov

http://edlabor.house.gov/newsroom/2009/02/congress-must-strengthen-and-i.shtml

What Has Stood Out to You?

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3122] Checking In -Economic recovery and integrated training
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Fri Feb 27 13:26:18 EST 2009

Dear Colleagues:

While we give our guests time to respond to the open questions, let's
hear more from you and maximize our time to think collectively on these
issues. Our discussion ends Monday evening, March 2. Please share your
thoughts on one or more of the following questions:

What's one thing that has stood out to you from our discussions this week?
What are you thinking about in terms of integrated education and training and economic recovery?
Do you feel you could "do" integrated education and training in your setting? What would be some challenges you might face in getting there?
If you're already doing this, then what are your next steps?

Looking forward...Jackie

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3123] Re: Checking In -Economic recovery and integrated training
From: Ayca Ergeneman aergeneman at sobro.org
Date: Fri Feb 27 14:06:16 EST 2009

We are a community development organization in the South Bronx serving a
predominantly immigrant neighborhood. In the past year we have started
to think about integrating our career development and adult literacy
services, basing it on an I-BEST-like design. I say I-BEST like because
while I think that one of the best elements of I-BEST is the opportunity
to start accumulating credits early on, it is hard for us to convince
community colleges to change the way they are doing things in NY.
Another problem is, of course, funding. Our funding streams are very
separate for adult education and career development and with the
long-standing emphasis on "job placement" in workforce development
programs, it is a challenge to find resources for this kind of
vocational training in adult literacy classroom settings - the adult
literacy funding is way too little per individual and does not allow for
any support services. Having said that, we are hopeful that the recovery
package will provide more flexible funding to increase the skills of
low-income individuals we serve. We are also presenting, as part of the
Workforce Leaders Academy (an initiative of Public Private Ventures), a
concept paper that proposes to an adaptation of the I-BEST model for
disconnected youth in NYC (there are more than 200,000 of them at this
point), to a group of funders and community college representatives in
Mid-March. It will be interesting to see their reaction.

I have been following the discussions here for a while now and have
learned more about I-BEST and adult literacy in a few weeks than I have
in the past years, so thank you and I look forward to more!

Ayca

Ayca Ergeneman

Vice President of Development

South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBRO)

visit us at www.sobro.org

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3126] Re: Checking In -Economic recovery and integrated training
From: Tina Bloomer tbloomer at sbctc.edu
Date: Fri Feb 27 15:01:51 EST 2009

Hi Ayca,

We are running three I-BEST pilots for youth programs with the support of the WIA funding for youth. The same I-BEST design is being for these programs. They're just starting this year, so I don't have any results yet, but you are welcome to check back with me this summer.

Tina

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3124] Re: Checking In-Economic recovery and integrated training
From: tsticht at znet.com tsticht at znet.com
Date: Fri Feb 27 14:42:32 EST 2009

Jackie asked: What's one thing that has stood out to you from our
discussions this week?

Answer: I was impressed with the extent to which programs of integrated
basic skills (language, literacy, numeracy) have begun to proliferate in
various states, with the I-BEST project inspiring others to engage in
activities along this line. I was particularly impressed with Lennox's
account of how the integrated approach is being advocated by NCSDAE, NCL.
and other groups. This is a very important step in my opinion towards
understanding that many people who are said to be untrainable because of
low basic skills can indeed succeed when basic skills and vocational skills
instructors work together. This expedites the goal of getting people who
want work into better paying jobs, as attested by the I-BEST folks.

Jackie asked: What are you thinking about in terms of integrated education
and training and economic recovery?

Answer: I thought that it would be useful if people could track not only how
participation in the integrated programs advanced learners in their
education and employment goals, but also how this may have inspired them to
work more with children to motivate their interest in learning and to help
them with school work. I have found these kinds of multiplier effects in
other integrated programs. This adds to the return on investment in
integrated adult basic skills and job skills training and strengthens
advocacy efforts.

Jackie asked: Do you feel you could "do" integrated education and training
in your setting? What would be some challenges you might face in getting
there?

Answer: For those looking for more examples of integrated basic skills and
vocational training as well as integrated basic skill with other important
programs such as health education and parenting education, they may wish to
download the following report which is available for free. The report
summarizes much of what I present in my workshop on Functional Context
Education and addresses some challenges such as working in an open
entry/open exit program, or working with multilevel/multicultural
classrooms (see especially Wes Popham's integrated ESL and Electronics
Assembling program in Chapter 6).

The report is available online at
http://www.nald.ca/library/research/fce/02.htm

Functional Context Education: Making Learning Relevant in the 21st Century Workshop notebook prepared in 2005

Table of Contents and Schedule

Part 1 (0900-1030)

Chapter 1. Introduction to Functional Context Education (FCE) materials and
principles available online.

Chapter 2. Research and development related to FCE principles and methods in
several industrialized nations.

Chapter 3. "Relevance" at national levels in relation to foundational
concepts of literacy in FCE.

Summary: Introduction to Functional Context Education (FCE) materials and
principles available online; Overview of FCE in Australia, Canada, Ireland,
New Zealand, United Kingdom; Concepts of "relevance" Determining
"relevance" at the national level: the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills (ALL)
survey, National Adult Assessment of Literacy (NAAL) survey, and
relationships to concepts of literacy in FCE.

Part 2 (1045-1200)

Chapter 4. Functional Context Education in historical perspective.

Chapter 5. Overview of methodologies used in adult literacy research for
determining what is relevant to youth and adult learners.

Summary: Functional Context Education in historical perspective,
(1860-Present) (illustrated with teaching materials integrating functional
content with literacy instruction): Freedman's Schools; Moonlight Schools;
Military Schools in World Wars I and II; Laubach Literacy; Paulo Freire and
Learner Centered, Participatory Literacy Education. Overview of
methodologies and research-based methods used in adult literacy research
for determining what is relevant to youth and adult learners, including
focus groups; individual interviews; literacy task analysis; photographic
ethnography; community newspapers; teachers and students as researchers and
reporters; environmental analysis and design for learning.

Part 3 (1300-1430)

Chapter 6. Two case studies of integrated vocational and basic skills
education.

Summary: Case Study #1: Workplace Literacy: Research illustrating the
effectiveness of integrating reading instruction in six occupational
contexts for cooks, automobile mechanics, supply clerks, health aide, and
other fields. (Comparison Group; Pre-Post Data presented). Case Study #2:
Integrating Basic Skills with Vocational Education: Research illustrating
the effectiveness of matching the content of instruction with student's
goals for learning: Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) and
Electronics Training. (Comparison Group; Pre-Post Data presented).

Part 4 (1445-1530)

Chapter 7. Three case studies integrating basic skills education with job
training, parenting, and health education.

Summary: Case Study #3: Workplace Literacy: Research illustrating the
integrated use of functional content for job advancement (upward mobility),
teachers, books, computers and peer instruction. (Comparison Group; Pre-Post
Data presented). Case Study #4: Family Literacy: Research illustrating the
integration of functional content in parenting with basic skills education.
Case Study #5: Health Literacy: Research illustrating the integration of
functional content in health education with basic skills education.

Jackie asked: If you're already doing this, then what are your next steps?

Answer: I will be presenting more free workshops to help people better
understand the integrated approach to adult language, literacy, and
numeracy education using a variety of contexts including vocational, job,
health, and parenting education. My next tour of workshops includes six
stops in Ontario, Canada in the period from March 22 to April 4. Maybe I'll
see some of our Canadian list member colleagues then!

Tom Sticht

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3127] Re: Checking In -Economic recovery and integrated training
From: Johnson, Mark mark.johnson at wtcsystem.edu
Date: Fri Feb 27 15:02:37 EST 2009

Here in Wisconsin we have been plowing ahead with IBEST, using some of
the expertise of several Washington state folks as well as the talents
of our local ABE Deans. However, the quantity and quality of planning
documents and related material made available during this discussion
from many state leaders and local college leaders in Washington has been
impressive and will be helpful as Wisconsin continues growing to scale
with IBEST.

To the whole Washington group -- thank you so much for your leadership
on this important initiative!

Mark

Career Pathways Curriculum Alignment and Collaboration

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3132] Re: Career Pathways
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Fri Feb 27 20:18:17 EST 2009

Hello Kim,

Another Monday question:

Last week several of us expressed an interest in curriculum issues for
transition courses. You noted that this was an ongoing 'hot topic' on
your campus and how your college has worked around some of these issues
with the integration of the I-BEST model. You mentioned you've done some
work in aligning curriculum and developing pathways with other areas of
the college that enable your students to bypass college placement exams.
How, specifically, have you and others accomplished this? Do you have
any materials or diagrams, for example, that you might share?

Thanks, and have a great weekend!

Jackie Taylor

jackie at jataylor.net

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3133] FW: Aligning instructional practices ABE-Postsec
Date: From: Kimberly A. Johnson at gw.hamline.edu
From: Sun Mar 1 08:46:07 EST 2009

I've been following the discussion with a lot of interest, and thought
now might be a good time to add a voice from Minnesota into the mix!

As part of our ABE to Post-secondary transitions initiative in MN, we've
been doing some work with aligning instructional practices in order to
provide appropriate professional development and insights for ABE
teachers on what students need. We are in the process of phase II of a
project surveying ABE transitions instructors and college faculty in our
statewide system (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities - MnSCU) and
have already identified multiple areas where instruction does not align.
Many of these items are no surprise - like college faculty still rely on
lecture format and expect students to take notes and use them while ABE
teachers do not spend time teaching notetaking for academic lectures.
Other things have emerged that many of us had not given much thought to,
such as the fact that a majority of faculty report using short-answer
assessments, while very few ABE teachers ever utilize or teach this form
of assessment with students.

Our report isn't finalized, and we are beginning the process of
surveying more faculty, but we have preliminary findings posted at our
website for any who are interested. Check the transitions link on the
left to read a brief report of what we have learned so far:

http://www.hamline.edu/atlas

Kimberly Johnson

Kimberly A. Johnson, PhD

Assistant Professor/ ATLAS Coordinator

-Resources and Professional Development for Adult Educators

School of Education

Hamline University

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3136] From Bobbie, Aligning instructional practices ABE-Postsec
From: Bobbie McGee-Benson at kilgore.edu
Date: Mon Mar 2 11:02:35 EST 2009

I am from an Adult Basic Education program in Texas. Like Kimberly
Johnson from Minnesota, I have been following the discussion throughout.
Our program is affiliated with a community college, Kilgore College, and
we have an I-BEST model for certain Workforce Certificate programs with the
college, but nothing to the extent that has been discussed here. For
our students to enroll in I-BEST, they have to meet the same standards
as the traditional students except they do not have to have the high
school credential; however, they must be working toward one and must
have it before they can graduate with a college certificate. They must
take the college entrance exam, and make the required score. An
advantage of that is that the only way that they can qualify for
financial aid under the college's guidelines.

Like Kimberly, we have been focusing more lately on helping our student
transition successfully into post-secondary education. As the director,
I attend the P-16 meetings and workshops, talk to the local college
personnel, visit with our former students, and use the Texas College
Readiness Standards Guide which was adopted by the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board as a way to better align our curriculum and
instructional practices.

I had not thought about the short answer type questions on exams, so I
appreciate that idea. Some of my former students who are over thirty
found that they lacked the computer related skills.

Curriculum alignment and professional development takes time and money,
so I appreciate the discussion and the contacts that I have see here.

Bobbie McGee-Benson

Director of Adult Education

Kilgore College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3137] Re: FW: Aligning instructional practices ABE-Postsec
From: Shash Woods swoods at sbctc.edu
Date: Mon Mar 2 11:50:02 EST 2009

This is a question for Kimberly Johnson:

Can you explain what your "Collective Intelligence Networking Groups" are? If these are a piece of your state PD, can you tell us how they are organized, who joins them, how their topics of interest or guiding themes are chosen, whether there is financial support for them, and, if so, what form it takes?

Thanks!

- Shash Woods

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3138] Re: Career Pathways and aligning curriculum
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Mon Mar 2 11:50:23 EST 2009

Hi Jackie, the area where we have accomplished most of this work is in
our ESL program. At TCC we have two ESL programs, which has always lead
to a bit of confusion when trying to advise students with a goal of
transition. One is our Adult Basic Ed. ESL program (non-credit) and the
other is an English for Academic Purposes ESL program (credit). Unlike
some colleges, our EAP program enrolls both international and
immigrant/refugee students. Both programs offer 6 levels of
instruction. Our "non-credit" program, of course, follows the NRS
levels. The EAP levels are quite different in content and skill level.

In the past we had no pathway that outlined at what point an immigrant /
refugee student should transition from our "non-credit" program to
developmental education or the "credit" ESL program. We knew that the
academic ESL program (EAP) could serve as a more appropriate
developmental sequence for our students, particularly those who were
transitioning from I-BEST, but we needed to figure out at what point
students finishing our program would enter the EAP program. There were
a couple of things we did to figure this out:

1 We gave a sample of our ESL level 6 students the EAP placement test, and we gave a sample of the EAP students the CASAS. We then compared results.

2 We also evaluated and aligned curriculum in both programs to identify areas of overlap and areas where we had gaps.

What we found was that students finishing our level 6 placed at
approximately level 3 in the EAP program. Aligning the curriculum with
our EAP program helped us to better prepare and better advise students. It also
enabled us to provide our non native English speaking students with a more appropriate developmental sequence post I-BEST should they not yet
test at college level.

In addition to the work accomplished between our two programs, the EAP
program took this pathway one step further. The program chair for EAP worked closely with the developmental education program chair to identify at what point the EAP curriculum met the academic standards of the developmental English and Reading courses. These two programs also
aligned curriculum and identify a similar entry point and agreed to
waive the requirement for Acuplacer testing for students successfully
completing EAP level 6.

As a result of this work, an ESL student at our college can potentially
get all the way through developmental education without ever having to
take the college entrance exam. Our next step is to do similar work between
our ABE/GED program and developmental reading, writing, and math.

I have attached a chart that provides a visual of this process.

I'd also like to mention that having full time faculty is what I believe
finally made this all happen for TCC.

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3139] Re: FW: Aligning instructional practices ABE-Postsec
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Mon Mar 2 12:11:46 EST 2009

Good morning, Kimberly. This is fantastic. Thank you for sharing your
website. One question, do you see many ABE transition faculty who also
teach developmental or college level courses? We have had a few of our
ABE/GED faculty also teach developmental reading, English, and math
courses and have found that this experience has contributed to some
positive changes in the way we approach instruction in our ABE/GED
classes. We are not nearly as far on curriculum alignment in this area,
but we are working on it. I'm anxious to share your work with our
faculty.

Thank you,

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3140] Re: FW: Aligning instructional practices ABE-Postsec
From: Kimberly A. Johnson kjohnson60 at gw.hamline.edu
Date: Mon Mar 2 13:13:25 EST 2009

Re: faculty who teach both ABE transitions and developmental education (DE) courses

Unfortunately, Kim, we have only a few teachers who do both. MN ABE is housed within K-12 education, so we still have very few ABE sites co-located on college campuses or practitioners who work in both worlds. It is still surprising to me to visit ABE sites located on college campuses and then to learn that there is little interaction between the faculty. Some campuses have worked hard to work together with ABE, but others don't seem to understand or value the connection. (In addition, some of the struggle with our transitions work is exacerbated by the number of ABE sites in MN who still have open enrollment in place so there are no real "classes" for students. Given this, it is easy to see how the colleges would have a difficult time knowing how to work with this kind of ABE structure.)

In our work on the instructional practices survey, we brought community and technical college faculty (including DE faculty) and ABE transitions faculty together to analyze and review the survey results. One thing that emerged from that work was how valuable everyone found working together to be. Go figure! We are currently exploring multiple ways to raise awareness and encourage more cooperation and collaboration between ABE and DE by reaching out to the DE professional organization in MN and working with administrators of the state college and university system to get them on board. I was surprised at a recent conference by a DE teacher who asked me if the goal of our work on transitions was to put DE out of business! So, still a ways to go...

Kimberly Johnson

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3143] Re: FW: Curriculum Alignment and faculty collaboration
From: Ward, Kim kward at tacomacc.edu
Date: Mon Mar 2 13:41:32 EST 2009

Hi Kimberly, I can see the challenge. I agree, that even when
co-located, getting the two camps to talk can be a challenge. A couple
things that have helped us start moving in what I consider a positive
direction are:

#1 We now have full time faculty in ABE/GED and ESL, who are interacting with faculty campus-wide. It is amazing what a difference it makes. Five years ago I had one full time faculty. Today we have 8 between ABE/GED and ESL.

#2 We don't have open entry, but rather "managed" enrollment in ABE/GED and ESL.

Much work to be done...

Kim Ward

Tacoma Community College

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3145] Re: Collective Intelligence Groups
From: Kimberly A. Johnson kjohnson60 at gw.hamline.edu
Date: Mon Mar 2 14:31:22 EST 2009

Shash,

Thanks for your question! The Collective Intelligence Networking Groups are something that we tried at our annual ABE summer conference last year for the first time and people just loved it! Since then, regions around MN have been using this format to bring people together to share ideas on various topics.

Your questions about CI groups:

-Can you explain what your "Collective Intelligence Networking Groups" are?

The purpose of the CI groups is to harness the "collective intelligence" that exists within ABE programs and providers. The groups are informal, but structured and facilitated by someone who leads discussion of the challenges and "intelligent" practices, problems and solutions, and necessary supports for success around a specific topic or interest area. It is more than just networking - they spend time working through issues to share experience and knowledge. Since we have just started trying to use this format, we provided sample questions and format suggestions to facilitators.

-If these are a piece of your state PD, can you tell us how they are organized, who joins them, how their topics of interest or guiding themes are chosen, whether there is financial support for them, and, if so, what form it takes??

At the fall statewide Transitions conference we created a list of 9 interest group areas and one concurrent session was set aside for the CI groups (Stackable Credentials, Articulating ABE programming with short-term technical training, Making reading instruction relevant to transitions, Making writing instruction relevant to transitions, ESL learners in transitions, Making math instruction relevant to transitions, Coordinating student support services, Bridging the GED to college and training, Distance education & online instruction). We chose these topics based on what the planning committee identified as logical groupings of practitioners who attend the conference and areas of need. Knowledgeable people in the field were asked to facilitate. Practitioners self-selected the CI group in which they wanted to participate. Facilitators were expected to take notes so a summary of the discussion could be made available to everyone who attended; these notes also provided useful information for state PD developers. Participants were encouraged to exchange contact information and to continue their discussions via a discussion board that the state PD system uses for some training.

In addition, our state PD system has divided MN into nine regions with a regional PD coordinator in each. Many of the regional PD coordinators have opted to include CI groups at their fall or spring events, and have selected groups based on the needs of practitioners in that region. I've facilitated some of these myself, on both ESL and transitions.

At conferences and regional events participants do not receive any kind of stipend, although they do receive Continuing Education Units (CEUs) needed to maintain teaching licenses, etc. Money is provided by the state to fund the Transitions Conference and the regional PD events, so it costs little or nothing for participants to attend.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have other questions.

Kimberly Johnson

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 3148] Thank You, I-BEST!
From: Jackie A. Taylor jackie at jataylor.net
Date: Tue Mar 3 08:29:03 EST 2009

Dear Colleagues,

Thank You to our guests-Dr. Lennox McLendon, Tina Bloomer, Kim Ward, and
Dr. Leslie Heizer-Newquist-for their time, energy, and enthusiasm in
helping us tease apart integrated education and training in the context
of economic recovery. This discussion was of keen interest to many and,
thanks to all who participated, provided a wealth of resources and
expertise. I hope others found the discussion and sharing of practical
tools useful. Thank you Lennox, Tina, Kim, and Leslie, for allowing us
to learn from your experiences.

To all: these discussions are no small investment on the part of our
guests who volunteer their time and are willing to have their work
thoughtfully examined. Whether you actively posted or just "listened",
please share your response to any one or more of the following
questions:

1. Did you benefit from the discussion or find it valuable? (In what ways?)

2. What's a key takeaway for you?

3. What's one thing you plan to do as a result of this discussion? (Or, what have you already done?)

4. What did you like or what would you have changed about how this discussion was planned, organized, or facilitated?

5. What guest discussion topic would you like to see next, perhaps in follow up to this?

Reply to: professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov or to me jackie at jataylor.net . I'll share your feedback with our guests and it will also help me to
improve how to host formal discussions in the future.

A discussion summary and full thread will be posted here later this
week.

Thanks again...Jackie

Jackie Taylor, PD List Facilitator, jackie at jataylor.net

National Institute for Literacy
Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers

Summary of Responses:

1. Did you benefit from the discussion or find it valuable? (In what ways?)

Extremely valuable discussion to see how others are conducting business to reach similar goals.
Very much. Our college is interested in implementing a similar program and I had been tasked to find out everything about it.
I love the websites and the information Washington shared.
I have been one of the "listeners" and have learned a lot.
Yes. I was able to notify adult education agency directors, ESOL program coordinators and teachers, and career and technical colleagues within FL DOE about the discussion and the Webinar. Many commented to me about the need to collaborate with each other more in helping the adult education (ABE and ESOL) students get into career and technical programs. We talked about the barriers that keep students from moving forward, especially the assessment and curriculum barriers that exist in FL DOE and local agencies.

2. What's a key takeaway for you?

Where do I start? To have all the information in one place was very helpful. We are seeking ways to bring Jobs, Training, and Education together as our program transfers from the Md State Dept of Ed to the Md Dept of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.
The information and links are valuable.
The step by step setup they put forth
The importance of looking within our educational structure to identify any thing that could be a barrier to students.
Key takeaways: the need to attend to culture change and systems change and the time that takes to accomplish; need to re-enforce.

3. What's one thing you plan to do as a result of this discussion? (Or, what have you already done?)

I have shared postings with the DOL counterparts. I am sure this is just the beginning of many discussions on how to teach effectively and how to provide professional development (at a time of huge change for a significant number of teachers, principals, and staff) that leads to jobs.
I had begun my buy-in campaign with our local One Stop and other partners. We plan to rewrite existing courses to provide for the integrated curriculum.
I am trying to put some of the information in motion.
I have begun to reach out to career and technical and MIS colleagues with a better understanding of the issues that affect all of us.

4. What did you like or what would you have changed about how this discussion was planned, organized, or facilitated?

Would have loved to have had a “face to face” on the topic. I am sure there will be those opportunities at a later date and in a different venue.
I like how the guests were so generous with their information, insights and advice. I suggest that perhaps we could have included video clips of the program in action to help those of us who have no idea of how the program works.
Nothing
Since the discussion was of very high quality, meaning that the guests gave us a great deal of information that was broad in scope and very in-depth, it might help to have it organized into an article format to make it easier to put into practice in our work. I would have a hard time assembling all the pieces of information from the postings in a coherent way that I could use for planning or sharing with others. I hate to ask others to do something that I would have a hard time doing myself, but this is something I know I would find helpful from my perspective at a state-office level. Part of my job is to get people to work together on projects, and it is hard for me to do that without a basic working knowledge of the issues surrounding a topic like this. I would appreciate the help in getting my own knowledge of the issue organized in a way that I could work with state partners on it.

5. What guest discussion topic would you like to see next, perhaps in follow up to this?

We are particularly interested in providing professional development during a time of major change and “upheaval.”
I am interested in looking at other integrated models.
Transitioning to college
As a follow up, it might be helpful if we could invite guests who overcame obstacles to collaboration with other transition players to share how they did overcome the obstacles. Perhaps some partners from industry and career and technical education who have collaborated successfully with adult educators could be asked to share their experiences on overcoming obstacles to collaboration.
What are the ways in which adult education instruction (ABE/ESOL) needs to be structured so that it supports the development "academic" skills (CALPS) ?
How do you do professional development to support culture change?

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Summary - Economic Recovery and Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Model February 16 - March 1, 2009

Economic Recovery and Washington State’sIntegrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) ModelDiscussion Threads and Full Discussion

Full Thread from IBEST Discussion

Economic Recovery and Washington State’s
Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Model
Discussion Threads and Full Discussion