I asked this question earlier - why are these standards so much better than anything else?  Adopting standards won't necessarily change HOW teachers teach/don't teach in their classrooms. I think Esther made a good point.  An adult learner brings their past learning experiences to the adult classroom with them and one of the things we as instructors need to do is establish/discuss with the students what worked for them before vs what didn't work. To talk about where they are now as learners outside the class - what works and what doesn't.  Sometimes, the adult education instructor has no background and little knowledge or understanding of the differences between pedagogy and andragogy when it comes to the adult classroom; they may not know anything about learning style differences or how to implement activities  that address multiple learning styles. 

I just don't think the implementation of content standards like EFF is the only answer / way to address the problem of workbook only type instruction and its pitfalls and/or successes.

Regards,
Katrina Hinson


---- Hal Beder <hbeder at rci.rutgers.edu> wrote: 

> I think that the most effective way to shift is by adopting Equipped 

> for the Future (EFF).  Here is the link:

> http://eff.cls.utk.edu/

> 

> 

> At 02:25 PM 7/10/2006, you wrote:

> >I have to agree with Jane here.  Workbooks seem to give students

> >comfort, but skills gained by their use alone are marginal at best.  In

> >my experience, students who most want the workbook are the ones most

> >likely to succeed best with other modalities of study. For some reason

> >the workbook=student work in their minds.  Has anyone found a way to

> >shift this paradigm?

> >Va

> >

> >-----Original Message-----

> >From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov

> >[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Jane Meyer

> >Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2006 7:08 AM

> >To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List

> >Subject: [FocusOnBasics 381] individualized workbook approach

> >

> >Julie asked  "Are there other classroom norms besides "sticking to

> >business" that are important?"

> >

> >I was surprised when I read Hal's study on engaging learners that most

> >of the classes in the study used an individualized workbook approach.  I

> >

> >have never found this approach to be very engaging.  I wonder what the

> >students are engaged with.  Are they engaged in learning or getting

> >through the workbook pages?  Do they struggle to make sure they

> >understand the concepts or just plow through to get done?  When

> >correcting their answers using the key in the back of the book do they

> >think about where they went wrong and be sure they understand or do they

> >

> >just change their answer to the correct one?   I have seen students take

> >

> >a workbook home over the weekend and do the whole workbook and believe

> >that they now have moved up a grade level in reading. I think there are

> >much more engaging approaches than the individualized workbook approach.

> >

> >Jane Meyer

> >Canton City schools ABLE

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