Assessment for AE Online Course Plans: August 2021

Greetings!

From August 2 through 30, practitioners are participating in a LINCS online course that explores fundamental ideas of assessment for adult literacy learners. Here course participants will share their plans for applying what they have learned in the course with their learners.

We encourage you to explore the ideas and plans posted here and reply with comments, questions, experiences and ideas for supporting effective assessment in adult education. 


 

Comments

 

Activity Description

Goal Setting in three areas; short term:  being able to accomplish within a month, intermediary goal:  2 – 6 months in duration, and finally a long term goal:  6 – 12 months out (think GED completion or HSCP).

Activity Purpose

(What result are you looking for?)

I want my students to take more responsibility for their learning and their progress. 

 

Many come to us and say that they want their high school diploma, but life gets in the way, or they do not want to put in the work, or a pandemic hits, and on and on.  So I am hoping that by helping them set long, intermediary, and short-term goals that we revisit regularly they will not only be more successful but will also feel good about themselves.

Class Description

(Level and demographics)

So, I am not planning on using this within a class instead I am hoping to use it as part of my advising process with students.  That being said, I have students who are ABE, GED, and Special Group enrolled (high school completion students).  They come from all walks of life, all different ethnic and economic backgrounds as well.

Resources Needed

Time and a quiet place to help them think and then talk about what they might like for their goals to be and then time for them to write them down themselves.

Evaluation

(How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

We will revisit the goals depending on the length of time that they set to accomplish.  Long-term goals such as complete my high school diploma maybe every other month, while those that are more immediate might be once or twice a week.  Setting the goals to a timeline will give students another way to view them instead of reading just words they will see the actual date or length of time that it will take to get there

Communicating with Students

(How will your students know whether their performance has improved?)

I work as closely as I can with my students and do my best to revisit with them each class that they are taking and seeing how they are progressing.  Some weeks they show and others they don’t so the conversations are very important but I think that finding the time to add the goals into a timeline (that they could print out) would be very beneficial.  Especially if they don’t meet their goals we can lay one timeline on top of another and show them how their actions whether they be purposeful or not have effects on their goals.

 

Activity Description

Iterative weekly goal setting that informs lesson planning with an ESL class to build their curriculum.

Activity Purpose (What result are you looking for?)

The purpose of this activity is to co-create a curriculum with ESL students that is applicable to their current life experiences as well as their current needs and interests. Another purpose for this activity is to keep the students at the center of their own learning, building their self-efficacy and meta-awareness of their skills. The result I am looking for is a community of learners building their own knowledge (with my guiding hand) and creating supporting relationships and friendships with each other and other community members.

Class Description (Level and demographics)

High beginner/low intermediate English language learners. Most students are between 30-50 years old, with two in their 20s. Nearly all have been living in the USA for at least one year, and almost all have official jobs.

Resources Needed

I would need a whiteboard or large easel in which to write things down, markers, notebooks and folders for the students if they don’t have any. I would also like specific newspapers that are easy to read (e.g. News For You) so we can discuss current events that might be applicable to the students. I think having scissors, cardstock, magazines, computers, and a printer would be needed to create any visuals we would use for learning. A printer and paper would be necessary for printing materials for students to work on at home.

Evaluation (How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

At the start of the first class, I will have introductory conversation with the students as a diagnostic assessment, also known as the BEST Plus. Based on their responses, I can see and record their levels of English language skills. I would probably have the students answer individually, but address the class as a group – that way it feels more like a conversation or a round-table discussion than a 1-1 with everyone else sitting by.

Based on that first class, I will develop a week’s lesson plan and schedule in goal-setting time near the end of the week. The students’ goals will inform the next week’s lesson plan and I can sketch ahead a plan for different units. At the start of each class, I will have a group formative assessment to review the previous lesson’s material. That could be little group presentations they prepared for homework or conversation with each other using what we had learned. I will record students’ performances each class. Near the end of “units” (e.g. vocabulary around a certain topic like health) I would have a group project where the students work together to present their knowledge on the topic. These most likely would occur every 2-3 weeks.

Every 6 months, definitely once every year, the students will take a summative assessment – most likely the BEST Plus again or, if they have improved enough, the CASAS or TABE CLAS-E. These will reveal on a standardized scale how the students have progressed throughout the year.

Communicating with Students   (How will they know if their performance has improved?)

One way students will know how their performance has improved is by me keeping some of their work. I can bring out students’ work at the end of a “unit” to show where they started and what they presented to me as their end-of-unit formative assessment. The improvement should be apparent! Another way students will know how their performance has improved is by receiving feedback from me as I show them my after-every-class-notes on their progress. A third way the students will see how their performance has improved is by showing them their goals of what they wanted to learn and helping them see they have accomplished those goals. The students can also compare their diagnostic assessment with their once yearly summative assessment. Finally, and hopefully, students will notice their ability to speak English outside of class has become easier/they are more understandable to native speakers.

Activity Description

As we are continuing with remote instruction to begin this school year, I would like to create digital journals where students can keep track of their personal goals, and how they connect to what we do in the classroom.  As the Executive Director, I will provide professional development in aligning course and student goals and will provide models for documenting this form of assessment.  One of these models will be digital journals.  Each student’s journal would be kept in the class’ Google Drive so that it would be accessible to their teacher and to me to give feedback and inform instruction.  The journal will contain the ELL standards and competencies as a reference point for both students and teachers.  The standards and competencies can be referenced during the class so that students can see where they are on the spectrum and understand what they need to do to move ahead in their English proficiency.  Specific personal goals will be detailed by the students and plans/progress will be noted on monthly calendars.  As students work to reach their goals, resources and strategies can be shared with their classmates who may share a similar goal.  In this way, students form connections with each other and can use their classmates as resources.

 

A sample of the digital goal journal is here.          

 

Activity Purpose  (What result are you looking for?)

I would like all students to see a purpose to what they are learning in class and how it relates to real life situations and links to their personal goals.  I believe that this will lead to a higher retention rate of students over the course of the year(s), more active engagement during classes, increased collaboration with their peers as goals are shared among students, and ultimately more students feeling that they are making strides in their new country.      

 

Class Description  (Level and demographics)          

The sample digital journal is aimed at our level 3-5/6 students but could be modified for use by our beginners at levels 1 and 2.  At these levels, more teacher support may be required, and pictures could be substituted for words when students are independently working on them.  Student ages varies from 18 to 60+.  All students reside in the Greater Manchester area.

 

Resources Needed

Teachers will need to reference and add specific standards and skills appropriate for their groups/lessons detailed in this document.

 

Teachers will also need a copy of their specific level ELL competencies.

 

Sample Digital Goal Journal

 

Google drive folders for each teacher’s class

 

Computers/Chromebooks

 

Internet

 

Evaluation  (How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

           

Impact will be gauged based on the students’ ability to plan and execute the steps they have determined to meet their goal, no matter how big or small.  We all realize that some goals are much larger than others, and this will vary with each student and what their needs are.  Each step toward the realization of a goal is a goal in itself and success and should be recognized as such. 

 

I am reminded of a student we had several years ago who had fled his homeland of Iraq where he was a medical doctor.  Coming to the United States he had to start his education all over again and began his initial steps with us.  He just recently passed his Board exams and will soon be starting his studies at the university level.  One could say that he is still on his path to meeting his goal, but he has accomplished so many along the way. 

 

We will also look for impact on concept development, mastery of skills, student collaboration, and reflection. 

 

Communicating with Students   (How will they know if their performance has improved?)

                                  

Through the digital journal, students will receive constant feedback and support through their teacher and the Executive Director.  As students record their thoughts and reflections in this journal, they should also see their English skills improving.

 

Activity Description

Goal Setting: Steps to my Goal

The idea of this goal-setting activity is for the student to write out every step that will get them to the goal they have chosen to work on. This allowed them to see what they need to do and in what order. Every time they have completed a step they check it off and move on

Activity Purpose

(What result are you looking for?)

Students will be able to see step by step what they need to do to complete their goals. This will also give them the knowledge to communicate what they want to accomplish better and keep organized and focused on the task.

Class Description

(Level and demographics)

This is adaptable and can be used with anyone. I work with students with a wide range of barriers, and of all ages and skill levels. 

Resources Needed

Access to the internet and a quiet place to work, for visual hands task-based, this could be adding pictures/ clippings from newspaper/ magazines

Evaluation

(How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

Every step a student has completed is a sign that they have done research/necessary tasks to get them closer to their goal. I am easily able to look and see where they are at and how long it took them to get there. Each time I am able to meet with the student I can take a look at this sheet.

Communicating with Students

(How will your students know whether their performance has improved?)

As a transition counselor, I don’t meet with my students daily so really it is up to them during this time away to continue working toward their goals. When I would meet back up with them it will be clear whether or not they are improving based upon this step by step accomplishment. Every single time they move on to a different step they are succeeding in the completion of their goals.

 

Activity Description

Creating algebraic equations based on story problems by rearranging cards with various numbers and symbols on the cards. Students will be presented with a story problem and the teams will race to see which team can make the correct equation for the given story problem first. They will rearrange notecards with numbers and mathematical symbols on them to try to create the equation.

Activity Purpose

(What result are you looking for?)

Formative assessment for students to have knowledge of creating algebraic equations. Can the students create the proper equation in a short amount of time and can they explain why that was the equation they created.

Class Description

(Level and demographics)

Mid level algebra students who are working on passing the mathematics Hiset test. Students will have already had some practice with creating equations from story problems during the prior class.

Resources Needed

Notecards with numbers and math symbols, story problems to work with

Evaluation

(How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

Informal assessment of student engagement and knowledge levels. Do the students have the right equation or do they have a mistake in it.

Communicating with Students

(How will your students know whether their performance has improved?)

They will be able to see that the equations that they’re creating are correct or incorrected based off immediate feedback. We will then discuss why the correct answer is the correct answer and they can try again with the next problem.

 

Activity Description

Diagnostic Survey of math life skills students are interested in learning,

based on “Goals Self-Assessments of Reading, Math, Writing” from the Literacy Volunteers of the Lowcountry, Beaufort County, SC

Activity Purpose (What result are you looking for?)

  • To serve as a diagnostic assessment to see what math skills students may already have
  • To find out what students are interested in
  • To provide a sense of student buy-in and ownership in our curriculum
  • To instruct curriculum and ultimately build student life skills

Class Description (Level and demographics)

ABE/ASE High school completion students, TABE NRS 3-4

17-70ish years old

Resources Needed

Google Sheets Survey

Evaluation (How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

Reported satisfaction (informal, asking students what they think)

Student retention (do more students stay engaged in class for more classes)

 

Communicating with Students (How will your students know whether their performance has improved?)

Fill out survey chart at different intervals and see if they can check out more boxes for skills they can accomplish

Activity Description

 Student Goal Setting

 Activity Purpose

(What result are you looking for?)

Specific, attainable goals that serve a real purpose to the student.  The goal must have personal investment to achieve the buy in needed for success.

Goals set around steps that are needed within a larger goal.

Example big goal: I want to earn my high school diploma by June 2022.  I need to earn 8 credits.

Example of smaller impactful goals I’d like to see set.

My online Reading Comprehension class is worth a ½ credit.  I plan to complete 3 lessons per week to complete this course by September 10, 2021.  I will check in with my advisor weekly to report progress and seek support where needed.

It’s so gratifying when a student can check an item off their plan and really see progress.  Often the big picture takes over and there can be frustration if they can’t see where they’ve done the work.

Class Description

(Level and demographics)

Typically 1:1 Ed. Advising.  Occasionally small group work.  Adults aged 16+

On boarding new students – goal setting, initial assessments

Ed. Advising with HSCP students and pre-HSCP students-goal setting and progress monitoring

Resources Needed

Teachers

Computers

TABE

Knowledge of courses and career paths that a student is interested in

Community resources – links to partners (Partnering high schools, Library, VDOL, Voc Rehab, Rutland Mental Health, Stafford Tech. etc.

Access to online resources and programs (TABE Academy, ED2Go, Universal Class, OLC, CSM etc.)

Evaluation

(How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

 Interest level, through level of engagement in activities/classes and amount of progress.  Consistent check ins.

Develop tool with questions similar to the CCIQ to improve methods of advising.

Communicating with Students

(How will your students know whether their performance has improved?)

Consistent communication through weekly or bi-weekly meetings in person or remotely. Revisiting those goals, assessing progress and revamping goals where needed.  Honest and respectful feedback.

Work uploaded in shared folders, ability for commenting and suggesting open.

 

Activity Description

Developing a Personalized Professional Learning Plan to improve student learning and performance.

A micro-Canvas course will be used as the platform to deliver a 4-week learning and discussion activity to support Adult Education educators with developing a personalized professional learning plan.  The course will contain a series of weekly, asynchronous discussions and one culminating synchronous meeting to share out final plans.

Activity Purpose

(What result are you looking for?)

Practitioners will create their own challenging, individualized, professional learning plan, set (SMART) goals, and share their growth and evidence of learning with colleagues

Practitioners will:

  • Identify what growth looks like
  • Take a deep dive into the LINCS- Promoting Adult Education Teacher Competencies
  • Identify at least one teacher competency per domain to strengthen by creating SMART
  • Find an Accountability Partner to share triumphs and struggles throughout the journey
  • Look Ahead: Identify what they would like to improve upon for next year.

Class Description

(Level and demographics)

NH Adult Education educators

Appropriate for all practitioner levels and roles

Resources Needed

LINCS- Adult Education Teacher Competencies

https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/te/competencies.pdf

Other sources may be added at a later date, such as local program job description/ requirements.

Evaluation

(How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

Students will be asked to submit initial Personalized Learning Plans to both their peers and the facilitator for feedback, which will give the facilitator a chance to evaluate depth of understanding from students and adjust future instruction as needed.

Essentially, students will have Peer-to-Peer feedback/ evaluation as well as Participant-to-Facilitator feedback/ evaluation.

Communicating with Students

(How will your students know whether their performance has improved?)

The facilitator will monitor the weekly discussions, provide feedback, and ask questions for students to ponder. The facilitator will also provide guidance for all discussion prompts and contributions using the TAG Feedback Protocol method (Tell something you like about what was shared, Ask a question to further the conversation or to help clarify something that was unclear, Give a suggestion or offer an idea that the author may not have considered).

 

Students will have access to the initial feedback from their peers and the facilitator, along with access to their final submitted Personal Professional Learning Plan.  Both will serve as visual portfolio of growth.

Activity Description

           

I plan to use the “My Goal Setting Interview” activity with all incoming students next quarter.

 

Activity Purpose  (What result are you looking for?)

           

I am looking to increase student buy in, to give them more control over their own learning, and gain information about their interests that could be used to tailor lesson content to meet their goals.

 

Class Description  (Level and demographics)

           

All students are adult males in a correctional setting and vary in skill level as well s demographically.

 

Resources Needed

           

“My Goal Setting Interview” packets.

 

Evaluation  (How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

           

I will evaluate the impact of this activity by including questions that pertain to individual goals in our end of quarter survey. Only our new students will be completing the goal setting activity so I can compare their responses to the returning students responses.

 

Communicating with Students   (How will they know if their performance has improved?)

                                  

The last portion of the activity asks the students at the end of the class to discuss with me how they know they have reached their goal.

Activity Description  

I plan to use two activities from this course to further train the instructors in my AEL program. We struggle to document adult learner goals, and while we have a form we use, I’ll give instructors a choice in replacing it with one of the other activities. I’ll start with having the instructors complete their goals either using the Personal Goals Checklist or another activity from the Goals Toolkit. Then I’ll ask them to write a SMART goal before using the SMART goal to complete the Before and After I Reach My Goal Venn Diagram. I’ll keep copies of their goals and follow-up with them, to simulate what I want them to do with students.

The second activity I’ll use for professional development with my instructors is selecting activities from the “Creating Authentic Materials and Activities for the Adult Literacy Classroom” by Jacobson, Degener, and Purcell-Gates. I haven’t had time to go through this resource yet, but will choose information from it to help instructors better integrate authentic materials and activities into their instruction.

Activity Purpose  (What result are you looking for?)         

The state department of education requires we document the goal planning we do with the adult learners who enter our programs. It is something I believe instructors have a difficult time helping students complete and follow-up is not as thorough as it should be. Additionally, our grant applications for funding ask for evidence that our instruction includes authentic materials and activities that enable the adult learners to make better connections between what they learn in class and their daily lives. We have enough to answer the questions, but I believe it is an area we need to improve and can strengthen our implementation.

Class Description  (Level and demographics)

My team consists of three full-time instructors and three part-time instructors. Four teach only ABE classes, one teaches both ABE and ESL classes, and one teaches only ESL classes. One of the full-time ABE teachers also coordinates our literacy program. Focusing on these two activities will benefit all of our student population.

Resources Needed

Right now the only resources we need are copies of the activities and space for the trainings to occur. I have copies of the toolkits from this class and will check on permissions to use them with my staff before doing so.

Evaluation  (How will you gauge the impact of the activity on your students?)

Impact will be measured in formal and informal teacher observations. I should see the teachers using these activities in their lessons. I expect it will also so in learning gains from students post-assessments, as well as student survey answers.

Communicating with Students   (How will they know if their performance has improved?)                                   

My students are my teachers and I’ll follow up with them about their personal goals, providing opportunity for them to reflect on their progress and adjust the goals as needed to continue their progress. I’ll communicate the state expectations and that these activities help us write better grants that continue to fund our program in an increasingly competitive atmosphere. It is very important that our program intentionally integrate goal setting and authentic materials/activities. If we don’t we risk losing funding from our primary sources. I know that sounds dire, but I need the teachers to understand the seriousness. Also, I’m teaching them as though they are my students. I hope the modeling gives them ideas of how to teach their students so their instruction doesn’t feel contrived and they can communicate the importance of goal setting and connecting education to daily life to the adult learners in their classes.