Thanks for the clarification, Missy-- yes it CAN get overwhelming, but 
maybe teachers, like our learners, need a longer entry into the 
work--if it were framed as a privilege to be earned to be able to work 
with learners and not something with automatic access, the notion of 
having to be more informed and prepared might fly better......Some 
adult programs are now doing this for extended orientations--- 
requiring that learners complete some sort of orientation or 
preparation in order to get a tutor or assigned to a class.    Robin

-----Original Message-----
From: Missy Slaathaug <mslaathaug at midco.net>
To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
Sent: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 10:40:54 -0600
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] teacher professional development

Hi Robin - it was South Dakota, one of those nameless flyover states!



 



And I couldn't agree with you more that teachers absolutely need to be 
trained and educated in this.  My comment was only that too much 
information in the very first teacher training may be wasted or even 
counter-productive.  Teachers can only absorb so much in one six hour 
training, and usually until they have begun to teach they don't have a 
conceptual framework to help them process much information.  They are 
hungry for classroom strategies and techniques - they want to know what 
to DO in the multi-level classroom that they are facing the very next 
week. 



 



But as for ongoing training and higher expectations for adult ed 
teachers, and the entire rest of your posting, I couldn't agree with 
you more.  



 



Missy Slaathaug



Pierre, South Dakota



 



-----Original Message-----
 From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov 
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of 
robinschwarz1 at aol.com
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 6:28 PM
To: focusonbasics at nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] teacher professional development



 



Hi --this is in response to the person from Oregon or Washington and to



Janet Isserlis on another list, both of whose topic was teacher



professional development and the fear of overloading teachers with



information.



 



This topic is near and dear to my heart.  As I indicated in another



posting today, it is surprising to me that the field of ESL does not



seem to prepare teachers for the sort of really hard-core learning



problems that several readers and responders have mentioned.



 



In another message on one of the NIFL lists the notion of profesisonal



development qualification standards for teachers in adult education was



mentioned.



 



Frankly, what I often see is that it is too common that teachers in



adult education and adult ESOL education are woefully unqualified to do



what they do.   Then learners suffer.   My article in FOB indicated



that in some of those cases, teachers were simply not prepared to ask



the right questions or to consider the key issues in adult ESOL



learners' situations that significantly impact the learners' progress



in their settings.



 



Those of you who know me, know that I get pretty passionate on this



topic.  I believe, as do my business partners, Laura Weisel and Al



Toops, we are supposed to be in business for the learners, not for the



tutors and teachers in our programs.  In other words, it is not the



needs and limitations of the teachers or tutors that should drive



decisions or policies about how our programs run but rather the needs



of our learners.  I have advocated for years that there need to be



minimal qualifications for hiring teachers or tutors to teach adult



ESOL learners.  I can write an entire book-- and someday will-- of



stories like those in the article where the learner was somehow blamed



for no progress when in truth the learner's teacher had no idea how to



address the learner's real needs.



 



I agree strongly with Janet that it is essential that the nature of



learning challenges-- of all kinds, including language learning



challenges-- be constantly put out to teachers and required reading for



them.    Though I am sure no program is going to fire its tutors



because I say so, I certainly hope you will consider a far more



stringent approach to requiring that those already in your employ



inform themselves about adult learners and adult ESOL learning,  about



the very most basic principles of language instruction,  about the



culture of their learners. etc.    Also, program administrators have



everything to gain by requiring more training for tutors and better



experience and qualifications for teachers.  In the end, they will be



more effective and programs with have better outcomes.  The NCSALL



research project on learner persistence (2005 --at NCSCALL.net)



indicated that when tutors were better trained, not only were learners



happier and tended to persist longer, but tutors also persisted because



they did not feel so helpless in helping those with significant



learning needs.



 



Somewhere recently I saw reference to the suggestion or proposal that



adult education teachers be subject to qualification much as K-12



teachers are.  This can only be a good thing for our learners.



 



And as for LD issues, I know for a well-documented fact that having a



tutor or teacher who is well meant and kind but does not "get" LD and



language learning challenges is actually worse for the learner than



just sitting in a class and trying to absorb something.



 



Just as for learners, having high expectations for teachers and tutors



is critical to having an effective program.



 



As a start for ESOL and learning challengs,  programs might want to



look at the handbook : Taking Action: A Handbook for Instructors of



Adult ESOL Learners with Learning Dissablities"  produced and



distrbuted by the Minnesota Learning Disabilities Association (visit



www.ldaminnesota.org to find it).  This walks teachers through the



topic of LD and an approach to determining if other problems might be



at the root of learning difficulties.



 



There is also a great handbook for tutors teaching reading to



English-speaking adults  called The Adult Reading Toolkit ( ART)



 



Both of these are designed for tutors and teachers who have little



prior knowledge on the topic--and they are extremely user-friendly and



beautifully thought out.   --And no, I don't have any financial



interest in them......



 



 



 Robin



 



 



 



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