What works in workplace literacy? Content Starter Set Content Starter Set What works in workplace literacy? Heide Spruck Wrigley, Ph.D. Workforce Summit, Austin TX 2008 1

Numbers and Needs The Perfect Storm (See ETS Report) As the US is in need of skilled workers, fewer youth and adults have the basic skills they need to succeed in training. As the nation will increasingly have to rely on immigrant workers, more individuals are entering the US who have only a high school education (or less). As studies show that finding jobs that pay a living wage requires at least some college, a very small number of ABE or ESL students are transferring from adult basic education to a community college or to other forms of skills training Page 2

Using Immigration Data to Make your Case Content Starter Set http://www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/acscensus.cfm

What Works: Lessons Learned Content Starter Set Components Actions Policy Start with demand positions; get employers on your side – link adult education to pre-employment and incumbent worker training Funding Be brave - show how little difference you are currently able to make and lobby for new models that will get people jobs that can sustain a family LEP and Adult Ed Rethink the sequential system and offer a multi-track system that creates a community ESL and family literacy track that is separate from basic ESL for work and training This is an animated table of five rows. It contains one column for labeling rows and one additional column for data. After the headings appear, each row appears one cell at a time. Tips: If the text in the cells is more than one line long, change their animation from Wipe From Left to Wipe From Top. Variations: If you do not need to label columns, delete the heading row. If you need more rows: (1) Reduce the height of the existing rows. (2) Move up rows 2 through 5 to create space for the extra rows. (3) Duplicate the last row (Edit  Duplicate) as many times as necessary. (4) Position the added rows. (5) Adjust the animation order of the new rows. (If you are unsure how to edit a custom animation effect, search for “animation” in the Microsoft Office PowerPoint help.) Job Training Work with adult ed to create models that combine basic skills education and occupational skills training – combine funds from ED and DOL Instruction Teach in portable chunks and provide enough time on task for the most important “take aways” for students.

Workforce Literacy and ESL Content Starter Set Workforce Literacy and ESL Promising Practices This section contains pieces you may want to include on your slides and instructions on maintaining a consistent color scheme.

Work-based Learning in the Adult Literacy Classroom Content Starter Set Work-based Learning in the Adult Literacy Classroom

What Works Get to know the perspective of the workers (Toyota) Include both social language – and (sub)-technical language Focus discussion of behaviours on cross-cultural differences – allow students’ different perspectivs to emerge (Hmong) Invite students to demonstrate to you and to themselves (what can you do now, that you couldn’t do before?) Use Can-Do Lists We have Simple Can-Do Assessments for the workplace

Content Starter Set Find out what matters to supervisors (“What’s the one thing that drives you crazy?” Ask employees (“if you can only learn one thing in this class that will help you at work, what will it be?”) Start with what people are expert in (their own lives and their work) – Invite students to tell their story – (Your First Job) in multiple ways (sketches; story boards; digital pictures; posters) Involve supervisors and staff – ask workers to conduct simple surveys and interviews and present their findings

Teach Listening Comprehension Content Starter Set Present mini-lectures on interesting topics (cool news; technology; famous companies) Present a scenario or critical incident Use PowerPoints or pictures to illustrate Focus on Global listening (“what’s going on here?”) Listening for details Instructions and sequencing Take advantage of YouTube video clips

Content Starter Set http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdYEkZL9KPM

Tales of Mere Existence Using YouTube for Listening Comprehension http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdYEkZL9KPM If your students are LEP, type up the text and read before and after listening; play the clip several times

Curriculum Resources

Curriculum Resources Work-related ESL A few that I’ve been involved with: LaGuardia Community College Curriculum Hotel T.E.A.C.H Texas Learns: Industry-specific ESL May I Help You? (e-mail Heide for free electronic copy the scenarios might give you some idea) Communicating in the Real World (Wiley and Wrigley, Prentice Hall)

Keep in Mind Content Starter Set Consider the demand of the workplace and get lots of examples and samples of the most critical needs in terms of Functional literacy Communication skills (social and technical) Phone skills Customer interactions Peer interactions Socio-cultural issues Work-related vocabulary Problem solving and decision making Team work

Include Objects that Represent the Work (The Log) Content Starter Set

Working with Tools and Artifacts Content Starter Set Students bring in tool that’s been in their family for a generation or more Show others and discuss the relationship of the tool to their family history Answer questions about the tool, such as What is it? Who used it? What does it do? What do you want your children to know about it? Students create an in-class show case where they demonstrate the tool and ask each other questions Teacher creates unit on tools that links traditional tools to new jobs and tools (e.g., lasers)

Scenarios for Work-based Problem Solving Content Starter Set Scenarios for Work-based Problem Solving

Literacywork International Teaching with Scenarios An Integrated Strategy-based Approach to Teaching Work-based ESL Tips for Teaching

Lesson Flow Interactive Teacher Presentation Story Map Discussion Preview Story Map Discussion Think-Pair-Share Comprehen-sion Check Retelling Shared Reading Discussing Options Create Dialogue and Role Play Language and Vocabulary Practice Culture Notes Literacywork International LESSON FLOW

Telling the Story Content Starter Set 20

From Listening Comprehension to Reading Content Starter Set 21

Model Both Task and Language for Level 1 Learners Content Starter Set Model Both Task and Language for Level 1 Learners Speak Slowly, Demonstrate and Repeat

Content Starter Set My First Job This video can be seen on YouTube

Community Projects Focused on Work Content Starter Set Community Projects Focused on Work Displaced workers from Socorro, TX decide to fix up a broken down school in El Faro, Chihuahua, Mexico

Wall board; paint; putty; saw; putty knife; paint brush Integrate Language Development Content Starter Set Link Vocabulary, critical thinking and project ideas Problem What We Need to Do Materials and Tools Holes in the wall Fix the wall Wall board; paint; putty; saw; putty knife; paint brush

Community Improvement Projects Content Starter Set Connecting Drawings, Vocabulary and Projects

Tools for Change Content Starter Set Students use digital cameras to document process and study vocabulary

Take a Multi-Media Approach Content Starter Set Take a Multi-Media Approach Speak Slowly, Demonstrate and Repeat

Put the Technology in the Hands of the Learners Content Starter Set Have students take pictures of their work stations, put them on overheads and invite students to explain what they do; help students to create “personal dictionaries” for the words that are particular to their job Invite students to create How To segments, using story board, digital pictures of video Involve students in projects and have them present results to supervisors (What was our First Job?), using PowerPoint Have students act out silly scenarios – video-tape them and put them on YouTube (get releases!)

Money, Money, Money Content Starter Set