|
"LEARNING TO READ" with The ART
ABE learners, native
and non-native English speakers, may experience difficulty with reading
skills. They may know words by sight, but struggle with decoding
(reading) and encoding (spelling), fluent reading, and comprehension of
text. They fail to show progress on silent reading tests such as CASAS
or TABE because they lack basic reading skills.
The ART-Edition 4
was developed by LDA of Minnesota with ABE, ESL, and GED instructors,
tutors, and learners in mind. It includes a teacher resource of six
chapters covering all five components of reading instruction and a
toolkit of activities, four reproducible Appendices of sounds, decodable
words, sight words, and phrases/sentences for fluency and dictation
practice, and a training video.
The purpose of
The ART-Edition 4 and the complimentary practitioner circle or
training is to bridge research with ABE practice and reality.
"READING TO LEARN" with The ART
ABE learners, native
and non-native English speakers, may experience difficulty with
intermediate or advanced reading skills. They know how to read, but
struggle with multi-syllable words, new vocabulary, or comprehension of
longer text. They fail to show progress on silent reading tests such as
CASAS or TABE and are challenged by reading material at the pre-GED
(6th-8th grade) or GED (9th-12th) level.
The ART-Edition 4
was developed by LDA of Minnesota with ABE, ESL, and GED instructors,
tutors, and learners in mind. It includes a teacher resource of six
chapters covering all five components of reading instruction and a
toolkit of activities, four reproducible Appendices of sounds, decodable
words, sight words, and phrases/sentences for fluency and dictation
practice, and a training video.
The purpose of
The ART-Edition 4 and the complimentary practitioner circle or
training is to bridge research with ABE practice and reality.
Financial Literacy
– Sally Belgum-Blad
Sally used the Money Smart Curriculum (which will soon be
available in Marshall's resource room) for a presentation on credit and
credit reports. She highlighted what a credit report is, how it is
used, how to read one, and how to order one. Go to
www.annualcreidtreport.com for your free copy of your credit
report (remember, there is a charge for your credit score). Retrieving
a copy of your credit report will not affect your credit score.
Sally also facilitated a brief discussion about credit repair and
recognizing credit repair scams.
Folks in attendance were wondering if an employer could pull your credit
report without your consent - some in attendance thought yes,
some thought no. Sally contacted Shirley J. Anderson-Porisch for an
answer on the subject. Employers do need to receive permission
from employees (or potential employees) before pulling a credit report.
Shirley adds the following: The information giving perspective employers
the right to pull a credit report is usually found in the fine printed
paragraph of info that applicants sign at the end of a job application.
No one usually reads the fine print nor realizes that they may have
given the employer the right to pull their credit report when they
signed their name agreeing to terms of the application.
Computer Training
The computer session provided training in 3 areas. (1) How to use
computerized forms and in particular, the Monthly Student Attendance
form. (2) Drag and Drop techniques between applications and files. (3)
A list of useful websites related to ESL, GED, and teacher resources was
presented. Handouts were prepared for each of these topics. They will
be posted on the Technology Page on the ABE website.
ABE
Updates – Mary Mulder/ Pat Thomas / Barb Glaeser
Mary
Mulder spoke to how the welfare to work program works in the state of
Minnesota. (Minnesota Family Investment Program) Each individual has
a limit of 5 years in their lifetime that they can receive cash
assistance. The focus of this program is to get people back into the
workforce.
Pat
reviewed data reflecting how many learners made a level change in the
Marshall region in relationship to the levels the state is setting as
targeted completion levels. Of the 274 participants served only 27%
received both a pretest and posttest. Data was reviewed of all state
ABE programs as shared by the State ABE director. Revenue is forecasted
to be tied to level changes in the near future. During lunch staff
were asked to brainstorm on successful techniques used to capture level
changes.
Barb
reviewed the assessment guidelines for the 2005-06 programming year.
-
Effective May 1, 2005:
·
EVERYONE (other than workbased learners - computer & job
club) must be assessed using the CASAS tool. We can no longer
assign levels to participants using the GED Practice Test. (Once the
student has a CASAS appraisal & pretest, you can use the GED Practice
Test to determine how well someone might do on the Official GED Test.
Only turn in CASAS results.
·
Appraisals & Pretests should be given within the first 6 hours
the student attends class.
·
Posttests should be administered following 45-60 hours of
instruction. However, if someone attends, for fewer hours than that &
you know they are leaving, POST TEST THEM!
-
Exiting
Students
·
Students will be exited on a quarterly basis
·
Quarterly surveys were discussed
Barb will notify when exits are due
|