Colleagues,

The following post is from John Strucker, in response to the discussion
focused on capturing incremental learning gains or goals.

Marie Cora
Assessment Discussion List Moderator
************************************************


Hi David and colleagues,
	One part of a total approach to improved persistence that we
should 
explore is the one they are trying in the UK.  Their adult students take
a 
series of nationally developed curriculum-based benchmark tests that
give 
them feedback on their mastery of various specific competencies and also

give them a sense of how much closer they are getting to reaching their 
long-term goals.
Best,
John Strucker

--On Sunday, July 16, 2006 4:25 PM -0400 David Rosen
<djrosen at comcast.net> 
wrote:


> John, and other colleagues,

>

> Part of the persistence challenge is that some adult learners make

> progress very slowly and have so very far to go before they see the

> prize they may have their eyes on.  The prize might be a high school

> diploma, a better job, a living wage, a good job with a decent salary

> and good benefits, or going to college, but these may be basic

> literacy or beginning English language students who need years of

> study to achieve one of these goals.  One answer might be to increase

> intensity, more time on task, more hours of study.  But this is not

> always possible for programs, because they lack the funding to

> increase intensity of classroom instruction, or for learners, who

> usually have other commitments like working and parenting.  Funders

> -- especially companies when they fund "workplace literacy" -- often

> want results in  a few weeks or months, and even major federal and

> state funders want results at the end of the fiscal year, either one

> of these prizes or evidence of progress toward its attainment.

>

> Are there some ways we could sustain the student's original motive or

> goal (the GED diploma, a good job, or an admission to college prize)

> over several years, if needed.  What do we know about  strategies

> like awarding certificates for small achievements, holding annual

> recognition ceremonies, and providing good formative assessment so

> students can see they have reached some milestones? How about

> strategies like building community, providing food, helping students

> to learn skills that they can use in daily living?  Can we articulate

> from research and/or professional wisdom what strategies work (if

> any) in sustaining long-term students' motivation and convince

> funders that we need their support for these strategies?

>

> David J. Rosen

> djrosen at comcast.net

>

>

>

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John Strucker, EdD
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Harvard Graduate School of Education
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