Transcript Contextualized Instruction The New AE Teaching Method

Transitioning &
Contextualized
Instruction
NCTN
Effective Transitions
Conference - 2010
Southern Illinois Professional
Development Center
-part of the Illinois Community
College Board Service
Center Network
Transitioning To Work and PostSecondary Education
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What is transitioning?
What does it mean?
Who transitions?
What types of transitioning does one
do?
• How often does one transition?
Creating Pathways for Adult Learners
“Strategic Plan for Illinois Adult Education
and Family Literacy”
“Unlike in the past, Illinois workers
can no longer expect to hold a
family-sustaining job with only a
high school diploma. Illinois must
ensure workers are prepared to
thrive in this new world, and
currently, far too many are not.”
Creating Pathways for Adult Learners
“Strategic Plan for Illinois Adult Education
and Family Literacy”
Assessment, Curricula and Instruction:
Adopt aligned assessment, curricula and
instructional practices that support
adults as they prepare for familysupporting jobs and career
advancement.
What curriculum do you use?
What are you doing to prepare
your students for the
GED® Tests?
What are you doing to prepare
your students for
post-secondary or
employment?
What have you heard
about contextualized
instruction?
Contextualized Instruction
• Developing skills, knowledge and
attitudes drawn from the context in
which they will be used, using real-life
materials and situations from that
context
• Teaching relevant behaviors in
relevant contexts
Contextualized Instruction
–Increases the likelihood that what is
taught in the training or classroom
setting will be used in future
applicable settings
–The focus is on the application or
the process rather than on the
possession of basic skills and
knowledge
• Think about a situation where you
had a chance to learn through the
active application of knowledge and
skills.
• What difference did this make for
you?
Contextualized Instruction
• Research has shown that knowledge
learned only at the level of rote
memory rarely transfers.
• Transfer is most likely to occur when
the learner knows and understands
both the facts and the “big picture”
– The underlying principles that can be
applied to problems in new contexts
Contextualized Instruction
• In Adult Education we may teach how to
write a business memo
• Our student may memorize the parts of a
typical business memo and how to
punctuate sentences
• BUT…to fully understand, the student
needs to know how to apply this
knowledge
– What are the various purposes for writing
memos at work
– How to organize and tailor what is written for
different audiences
Contextualized Instruction
Further transfer of learning – making
connections
• Student learns how to write a business
memo
• Next apply what they have learned to
sending notes to a child’s teacher
• Or how to apply what they have learned to
writing a letter to the editor of the local
paper
Contextualized Instruction
REACT
• Relating – linking the concept to be learned with
something the student already knows
• Experiencing – hands-on activities and teacher
explanation allow students to discover new
knowledge
• Applying – students apply their knowledge to reallife situations
• Cooperating – student solve problems as a team
to reinforce knowledge & develop collaborative
skills
• Transferring – students take what they have
learned and apply it to new situations and
contexts
Learners are encouraged to work
as a collaborative team to
identify and solve problems –
just as scientists, mechanics,
nurses, musicians, citizen group
members, and parents do in
everyday life
In workforce education:
• Acquiring job-related content of basic academic
skills is not enough to prepare adults to be
effective on the job.
• Also need
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Interpersonal
Decision-making
Planning
Skills & knowledge of when & how to apply these
skills within the social context of the workplace
• These skills need instructional approaches that
focus on:
– Cooperative learning
– Apprenticeship models
– Teamwork
Soft Skills – What are They?
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Dependability
Ethical Behavior
Work Ethic
Punctuality
Interpersonal Skills
Job Commitment
Customer Service
Teamwork
Accountability
• Understand
Expectations
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Confidentiality
Positive Attitude
Works Independently
Initiative
Appropriate
Appearance/Hygiene
Communication Skills
Flexibility
Managing Personal
Issues
Problem Solving
Workplace Etiquette
How, within adult instruction,
can we teach soft skills?
Without teaching skills separately what
can you do?
– How would you incorporate those skills (in
training/instruction) in your educational
program?
– What would you do differently?
– How, specifically, would you include each soft
skill into your current instructional plan?
States’ Career Cluster Initiative
Essential Knowledge and Skills
•Essential skills necessary for
success all in careers
•Persons preparing for careers
at any level should be able to
demonstrate these skills in the
context of their chosen cluster
and pathway.
•www.careerclusters.org
Contextualized Instruction
• Planning for contextualized instruction
requires that teachers make a
fundamental shift in their understanding of
what it means to plan curricula and
instruction
Contextualized Instruction
• Instead of mapping out all the prerequisite
knowledge and skills students need and
planning lessons before discovering learners’
immediate needs, teachers begin with tasks
learners need immediately in their daily lives and
then “back into” the knowledge, skills, and
strategies required to perform those tasks
• Basic skills are covered in an repeating rather
than a sequential manner
Contextualized Instruction
• Curriculum development cycles and
recycles skills across a series of tasks
• Avoids teaching a curriculum that is “a
mile wide and an inch deep”
• Allows learner to develop a deeper
understanding of the “big picture”
ideas and real-life applications
Let’s Try it Out!
Phil’s Promotion
• What are your thoughts on Phil’s
needs and the instructor’s concerns?
• What tips, insights, or new ideas do
you have for instructors?
• Do you have systems/materials in
place in your program to support
these ideas?
Contextualized Instruction –
Workplace Skills
• When teaching reading an adult education
instructor may use the following workplace
materials:
– Food order slips
– Logs of working hours
– Appropriate safety procedures
– Operation procedures
– Safety logs
Contextualized Instruction –
Workplace Skills
• When teaching math an adult
education instructor may use the
following workplace skills:
– Compute sales prices
– Count finished products to determine if
product orders are complete
– Weigh or measure ingredients
– Collect payments from customers
– Balance currency, coin, and checks in
cash drawers
How do we know what
skills are needed?
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Local labor market information
Targeted industry clusters
High priority occupations
Learner self-appraisal
How do we organize these skills?
The Foundation Skills
Framework
•Basic Workplace Skills
•Basic Workplace
Knowledge
•Basic Employability Skills
•Lifelong Learning Skills
Lessons and activities…
• …are built around teaching the particular
skills using materials and scenarios
needed for success in the workplace.
• …are designed to include measures for
learner gains through observation,
surveys, checklists, and role plays.
What else?
• Thoughts and questions
Transitioning &
Contextualized
Instruction
Bevan Gibson
[email protected]
Sarah Goldammer
[email protected]
(618) 650-2254
Linda Cox
[email protected]
Colleen Potter
[email protected]
Southern Illinois Professional Development Center
-part of the Illinois Community College
Board Service Center Network