Strategies for Motivating, Retaining, and Transitioning Adult Learners

1. Strategies for Motivating, Retaining, and Transitioning Adult Learners Here Today…Gone Tomorrow

2. WELCOME BACK! The Home Stretch

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4. Year 2 – Focus on Strategies • Student persistence and transition • Here Today…Gone Tomorrow • Leadership • Six-hour online course • Staff Development • Getting Instructors Off to the Right Start 4

5. Culminating Project • Part I – submitted by Sept. 15, 2010 • Part II – due April 20, 2011 5

6. Observations • Narrow your focus; beware of proliferating goals • Keep expectations realistic given your time frame. • Use measurable goals - % increase.

7. Observations • Be specific about your evidence – what data will you analyze over what period of time • Quantitative and qualitative evaluation • Product and process • Student and teacher surveys to measure perceptions

8. This will soon be you! Jim Lively, CMPI Certified Manager in Program Improvement 8

9. Time management is key for certification and graduate credit! • Post all interim activities by the deadline dates. • Complete the Leadership course prior to the last workshop. • Attend the two face-to-face workshops. • Participate in three webcasts (or access the archived library.) • Submit both parts of the culminating project by the due dates. 9

10. What if I can’t attend that webcast? If you are unable to attend during your designated time slot: Reply to the initial email that you are unable to attend during that time slot. Select one of the other time slots available on that day so you can be rescheduled. If you are unable to attend on your designated day: Reply to the initial email that you are unable to attend on that day. Select one of the other two days on which the webcasts are available.

11. What if I can’t attend that webcast? Last resort: If you are cannot participate on any of the three scheduled days: Webcasts will be recorded and posted to the LEA Participant Library (available through leadershipliteracy.net) within 48 hours of the webcast. Download the file for the Webcast Observation Form from the library. View the webcast, complete the form, and post the form to your portfolio WITHIN THREE WEEKS AFTER THE WEBCAST. Observation forms not posted within three weeks will not be counted for credit without written permission from the state director.

12. Graduate Credit • Educational Administration from Ohio University • Must complete all LEA workshops, interim activities, and webcasts on schedule • Eligible for 5 hours in Year 2 • Tuition: $88/credit hour = $440

13. Graduate Credit Timeline • Will register for Spring 2011 course Registration deadline: March 20, 2011 A registration form will be provided. • Pay tuition (electronically) – A few weeks after registration is processed • Receive electronic access through OU to your grade (pass/fail)– end of June, 2011 • Will the course transfer to my in-state university? • Up to the individual institutions • Syllabus available in LEA library if needed

14. Track Your Progress • Year 2 progress charts • Track your own progress • LEA website • http://leadershipliteracy.net/ 14

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16. Wondering if it’s worth it? Tim Driscoll CMPI Rita Kenyon CMPI Laurie Bargstedt CMPI Let’s listen to what a few of the graduates had to say about their Year 2 experiences in LEA.

17. It is worth it! It is all about program improvement! 17

18. We All Know The Issues… • Here today, gone tomorrow! Why don’t our students stick around longer? 18

19. What do you think? With your table partners, share one reason why you think students leave your program early. 19

20. The Bottomline… • There is no ONE reason why they leave. • That’s what makes student persistence such a challenge. 20

21. Today’s Workshop • Examine the latest research on student persistence to determine implications on instructional practice, policies and procedures, and professional development • Explore a variety of instructional and management strategies that promote student persistence • Examine professional development options that can help teachers/tutors support student persistence • Review a template for a student persistence learning project 21

22. Why is persistence so important? Learner Persistence Study, NCSALL GLE Increase EFLGains Duration and Intensity 100 hours required for a 1 GLE increase 75 percent chance of making a 1+ GLE increase at 150 hours Another gain after 250 – 300 hours 22

23. So how important is student persistence? Relationship of CASAS Reading Scale Score Gains with Instructional Time 23

24. Data Check …When You Return Home • On average, how long is it taking your learners to complete and/or advance to a higher functioning level? 24

25. BFO DUH-HUH!!! 25

26. Intensity and Duration The data tell us we need: • intensity (hours/month) and • duration (months/year) for many adult learners to succeed. 26

27. So what does persistence look like? 27

28. What does the research tell us? • Latest Research - Learner Persistence Study • John Comings et al., NCSALL, 2004 • John_comings@harvard.edu • http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report12.pdf • Surveyed 150 adult learners • Observed 9 programs that were trying to improve persistence 28

29. Student Pathways • Long-Term: highly motivated, few barriers, older, slow progress • Mandatory: poor motivation • Short-term: project learners • Try-out: fairly large, too many barriers, drop out • Intermittent: largest group, motivated, participate, barrier emerges, stop-out, return later Comings, 2004 29

30. Activity 1: Indicators of Persistence Which of these do you think characterize the “persistors” in the NCSALL study? • Gender • Immigrant status • Age of children • Employment status • Working hours • Goal • Negative school experience • Parent’s education • Involvement in previous training • Single parent status Pg. 73 30

31. Adult Student CharacteristicsThat Support Persistence • Immigrant status, age over 30, and parent of teen or adult children • Involvement in previous efforts at basic skills education, self study, or vocational skill training • Specific goal 31

32. Adult Student CharacteristicsThat Did Not Influence Persistence • Gender and ethnicity • Single parent status • Employment status/working hours • Negative school experience • Parent’s education 32

33. Persistence Supports John Comings et al. (2004) Managing Positive and Negative Forces Building Self- Efficacy Clear Goals Progress Self management to overcome barriers to persistence Feeling that student will be successful in adult education and obtain his/her goal With instructional objectives that must be met to reach that goal Measures that are meaningful to the student 33

34. Program Improvement • When programs improved services, • Months of engagement did not increase but hours of participation did. Learner Persistence Study Comings et al., 2004 34

35. New England Learner Persistence Project • 18 action research projects • 5 New England states • 755 adult learners • One semester • Implemented strategies in: • Intake and Orientation • Instruction • Counseling and Peer Support • Re-engagement

36. New England Learner Persistence Project

37. New England Learner Persistence Project Persistence strategies derive their power from the fact that they meet these affective needs of adults: Sense of belonging and community Clarity of purpose Agency Competence Relevance Stability

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39. Stop Outs, Not Drop Outs Alisa Belzer (1998) • Leavers don’t consider themselves “drop-outs” • Stop attending but plan on returning later • Stop out for reasons “beyond their control” • Departure from a program not viewed as a “negative” or “failure,” but rather as a temporary hiatus 39

40. Persistence Should Be… “Adults staying in programs for as long as they can, engaging in supported self study or distance education when they must stop attending program services, and returning to program services as soon as the demands of their lives allow.” John Comings, 2004

41. Three Barriers to Persistence Situational Institutional Dispositional • Examples: • Transportation • Family Responsibilities • Financial Obligations • Examples: • “Red Tape” • Scheduling Problems • Intake Procedures • Examples: • Learners’ Attitudes • Values • Perceptions B. Allan Quigley (1993) The Critical First Three Weeks

42. Classroom Dynamics Hal Beder and Patsy Medina _ Instruction focuses on basic skills, not higher-level abilities. • Teachers are not student-centered. • Class composition and enrollment turbulence shape classroom dynamics. • Continuous enrollment and mixed skill levels are serious and understated problems in the adult literacy classroom. 42

43. Turbulence and Focus Thomas Sticht et al. (1998) • Open-entry/continuous enrollment makes it harder for students to stay in the program. • Multi-focused/multi-level classes make student persistence more difficult. • Persistence rates increase in classes where the focus of students and classrooms are more closely aligned (e.g., job readiness, GED). 43

44. Research Implications • From an accountability perspective • Participation ends when an adult drops out of a program • From a student’s perspective • Participation may continue after leaving the program through self study or distance learning 44

45. Research Implications • New definition values self-study, transfer, re-entry into a program • Increased need for programs to stay connected and offer alternative services 45

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47. Impact of Persistence Learner persistence impacts everything we do. • The Three P’s • Practice • (instructional delivery and program structure) • Policy and Procedures • Professional Development 47

48. Activity 3: What are you doing now? Complete the Activity 3 Chart by responding to these questions: • What practices are you doing right now to promote learner persistence? • What policies or procedures do you have that support learner persistence? • What professional development do you have access to that provides tools and strategies for increasing student retention? • You will continue to add to the chart throughout the workshop. Pg. 79 48

49. Persistence Supports John Comings et al. (2004) Managing Positive and Negative Forces Building Self- Efficacy Clear Goals Progress Self management to overcome barriers to persistence Feeling that student will be successful in adult education and obtain his/her goal With instructional objectives that must be met to reach that goal Measures that are meaningful to the student 49

50. Four Supports and Sample Strategies for Learner Persistence Management of Positive & Negative Forces Building Self- Efficacy Clear Goals Progress • Student Needs Assessment • Sponsorship • Sense of Community 50