Literacy and Best Practices for Learning

I work in adult training and development and so most of my writing projects connect how curriculum and instruction translates into the business environment.  Literacy is a concern for modern business and employers.  In fact we call it Workforce Literacy.  Penn State University has a really great website which summarizes succinctly best practices for workforce literacy.  The primary issue for employers relates to the reading, writing, and comprehension required to do one’s job.  Thus many of the literacy activities for adults occur in the workplace and the environment in which an adult will
regularly act and perform their duties.  http://www.ed.psu.edu/nwac/document/literacy/best.html

Businesses also seek best practices from professional models which help them blend the competing needs that arise for many business issues, not just literacy issues.  Yet there is a correlation to our work in educational literacy.  Let me explain a little further:

The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business presents a business model called the Competing Values Framework.  This framework describes four values which are present in any organization.  They are collaboration (people focus), creation (innovation and ideas), competition (results), and controls (rules and processes).  Each value is important to the success of an operation, yet they struggle against one another for voice and priority.  Organizations that can blend and manage the competing values become more efficient and effective. 






In many ways schools are no different.  They face competing values in how they deliver education.  Educators and administrators must have an eye focused on the students and their experience, then also on creative or innovative ways to deliver education.  Schools are also held to rules and controls
which govern how they deliver learning, the budgets and administrative aspects of learning.  Finally, educators are focused on the results of their methods. Did they actually achieve learning that meets the standards and expectations?









The Ten Evidence-Based Best Practices for Comprehensive Literacy Instruction* (p.19) appear to find a natural alliance with the Competing Values Framework.  Each is important to the success of the final goal, which is literacy for all.  See below how each practice breaks down into the model. Notice how the best practices favor the quadrants which focus on people and creativity.  I think this is
okay, because literacy efforts must be focused on people’s needs and innovation. 

I find the list comprehensive and would only add perhaps more best practices related to results. In the business world it doesn’t matter how good or honest or true your intentions are; it matters if you can achieve the result.  Assessments are important, but perhaps there are other metrics which can help educators “tell the tale” about how effective their efforts truly are.  Educators are
often punished for a student’s failure, yet so many outside factors contribute to a child’s success.  Consider the parents’ role, the cultural expectations, the child’s own drive and talent, and
the challenges between administrators and educators.  Introducing other metrics into the best
practices may help teachers demonstrate their effectiveness as well as reveal gaps and opportunities to improve a child’s results. 

Source:  Best Practices in Literacy Instruction, Third Edition (Gambrell, Morrow, Pressley)  Find Here

Literacy Balance Begins at Home

Yesterday a news story was posted on my iGoogle dashboard where I collect articles related to movements in education.  StatesThreaten To Defy 'No Child Left Behind', by Larry Abramson.              In it, Idaho and Montana lead what may become a revolt among many states as they stop complying
with the federal law because it doesn’t meet their needs and is not working.  Their struggles reflect the problem in having balance in literacy instruction. 

Balance begins between authentic literacy experiences and basic skills education.  This is a good place to start.  Children are not drawn to a structured curriculum; they are drawn to the magic of a story. In fact they don’t even think about the mechanics at all.  They immerse themselves in the pictures on the page or the pictures in their mind as their imagination illustrates the
words being read to them.  They interact with the story sometimes by play-acting or illustrating the story themselves.  These types of experiences build happy emotional connections with their interaction with language and words.  Over time we emphasize more complex structures and vocabulary.  Part of balance is always finding the magic in what we are teaching, no matter what the
subject is.  There is magic in the words and structures of math problems.  There is magic in the framework of a persuasive essay.  We need to balance the mechanics of reading and writing by blending them with subjects and themes that relate to the child.

Some of the challenges for finding balance come from the complexities of our own society.  We are
blending many cultures, languages, expectations, and socio-economic standards.  We have some parents who smother their kids to the point that they can’t go the bathroom without
permission and others who may never see their children because of incompatible work schedules.  Further, education levels of the parents contribute to how prepared a child is to begin reading in
a classroom setting.  Another challenge comes with the size of a class.  A child’s competency in reading and writing is unique. It is difficult for a teacher to develop each child without one-on-one
time.  This is virtually impossible in our current public school structure.  Our current model almost requires parental interaction each day in order to meet state and federal literacy requirements. Another challenge relates to funding for tools and technology which help engage our children in the classroom and build a love for reading and writing.

Balance in the literacy curriculum begins at home.  Parents need to stand up and do their part,
regardless of the education level, work schedule, or their ability to speak English or not.  Schools need to have a shared responsibility and metrics which show how the school and the parent and
the child are each doing their part to meet the federal and state standards.  Balance can also be reached through technology.  We can rethink how we deliver our literacy curriculum and try to incorporate more technology.  This will not only liberate learning from the confines of the daily school schedule, but it will prepare students for the type of work they may do as adults.

They way that my profession is contributing to literacy education is through workforce literacy programming.  We work with adults to learn the functional skills to do their job.  We also provide
professional development opportunities to help them set and achieve personal learning goals that improve their career.  In our company we pay for diploma programs, seminars, webinars, conference, and other learning experiences.  More and more companies realize that by investing in their employee’s education, they have stronger and more profitable companies.

Using a Wiki to Present Information and Learning

This week I created my first real wiki.  I used the Wikispaces tool which was really easy to use.  It has some desing constraints that I wasn't used to, like not being able to freely move images around.  However, it does have some really good implications for learning and collaboration.  Teams can easily use such a tool to work on projects together.  Also, students can preview and interact with learning material.  Take a look at the result. 

http://educ522-severeweather.wikispaces.com/

I would also like to credit Lindsay Marquette for her work on the lesson content.  Her research and planning was invaluable!

Any Road Won't Get You There

A good professional development plan reflects both self-knowledge and a knack for forecasting.  You must know who you are and where you fit into your profession to effectively envision the type of knowledge, skills, and qualifications you need to both keep up with developments in your field and advance in your career.  A good mentor can help you there.  I usually pick my mentors from senior management because they generally have a lot of rich experience and wisdom for the profession.  Sometimes I don’t look for a long-term relationship, but practice speed-mentoring.  This is a casual, no-pressure meeting where I can pick their brain for advice or experiences.  It’s a good way to problem solve and you can learn a lot!  Mentors can help you create a personal strategic plan which defines a big picture goal of where you want to be and then develops a 3-5 year plan to achieve your goal. 

My strategic 5-year plan includes earning my Masters degree and growing my division at work to include more designers and a couple of blended learning trainers.  In order to achieve this plan I need to not only forecast what is coming in teaching adults in the workforce, but I need to be able to help senior management understand what this means for themselves and the strategic choices they make.   Here is a list of things that I am doing to be prepared to meet the goals of my plan:

Conferences and Classes

• Attend annual conferences for the American Society of Training and Development, Society for Human Resources Management, Human Capital Institute to keep up-to-speed on best practices and law for my field
• Attend smaller and more local workshops and networking meetings to share ideas and compare notes with other professionals on what they are doing in their training and education departments
• Attend webinars and technology classes as a less expensive way to stay abreast of innovations and developments in education, technology, and design

Certificates and Degrees

• Complete my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction
• Complete a Masters Certificate in Educational Technology
• Complete the PHR certification for Human Resources

Reading Lists

An important part of forecasting requires constant reading on news and events inside my specific field and in the world of business. 

• HR Magazine
• T & D Magazine
• Blogs, Facebook Associations
• Jane Bozarth, Trainer-Speaker-Author
• Allen Interactions, Instructional Designers
• SHRM, ASTD, HCI
• The Economist Magazine

Pushing Myself

• Continue writing in my own blog
• Incorporate the technology tools I have practiced with into my lesson plans at work
• Learn some new development tools including the Adobe eLearning Suite

I believe in life-long learning.  I don’t think we ever stop.  However, if you don’t prepare a professional development plan with a fixed vision in mind, then you will not make the best use of your time and resources. 

Lewis Carroll, famed author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland offered this sage advice through the mischievous Cheshire cat, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."

Problem-based Learning

Problem-based learning or PBL is a methodology where students learn many or all aspects of a curriculum by working as groups through experiences and practice sessions.  The point of this type of learning is to help the student focus their attention on an activity that seems real or authentic, something they do during their everyday lives.  PBL employs critical thinking skills and problem-solving through group and individual skills.  Our book states that problem solving can take on many forms, but include collaboration, parallel problem solving, data analysis, and simulated activities. (Roblyer, Doering p. 243) Sun Associates, a company which helps state governments and school districts combine technology and education, says that:

A classic project-based learning activity usually involves 4
basic elements: (1) an extended time frame; (2) collaboration;
(3) inquiry, investigation, and research; and finally, (4) the
construction of an artifact or performance of a consequential task. Within this basic framework, students and teachers can adapt activities to showcase and assess understanding. 

http://www.sun-associates.com/lynn/pbl/pbl.html

Problem-based learning is a really effective way to motivate students.  As we witnessed in the
Edutopia video, students fit seamlessly into their learning environment.  Students wanted to participate because each of them was included in the process.  Also, they could easily imagine themselves encountering these examples and could personally identify with each scenario.  This is an
important aspect of motivation and action.  The children are energized, interested and engaged because they get to take action in something that is both real and something that they know they
will be a part of as they grow up.  For some, they view it as a “grown-up” activity and love the change to play-act.  PBL is an excellent way to blend audio, visual, and kinesthetic learning styles.

For example, death is a very real experience which touches every life.  Children in the Auburn class
were able to process death and loss through a class pet.  The teacher was able to incorporate life
skills like cognitive reasoning skills, planning skills, writing skills, and math skills.  Also, the teacher is able to reach social competencies by helping children “practice” the motions of loss and funeral arrangements before they have to go through the experience later in real life.  This method applies to any scenario and we saw many examples including the travel example.  In this scenario children studied a country, planned a trip, applied for a “passport”, and hold jobs that one might find at
an airport.  All aspects of the learning objectives and curriculum were able to be folded up into the scenario. 

Technology on its own is not a critical requirement for the PB L method.  This is because PBL happens
in many different formats, locations, and scenarios.  An apprentice could use PBL to match theoretical skills with their real working environment.  Many professions (like physicians) require a
certain number of hours in scenario based learning before they are fully qualified.  PBL prepares children for this type of learning.  However, the use of technology is undeniable in modern teaching. Not only will children need to know how to use and interact with various technologies, but they will need to be able to demonstrate their creativity and innovation for problem solving while using technology.  For this and other reasons, technology takes a prominent role in modern PBL.   The Auburn school showed how internet access in each classroom opens the entire world for the student to see videos, play interactive games, and literally touch resources from around the world.  The smart boards and interactive computer-based training modules are tools which help teachers and students take the hands-on approach to learning.  Smart boards allow teachers and students to collaborate for problem-solving.  As technology provides children with access to the world, it also inspires children to believe that anything is possible.  Through technology the world becomes a smaller place and children can learn about and even interact with other cultures from all over.  A child becomes familiar with the idea that learning is not a fixed point in their childhood, but something that they do forever.