Module 3 – Curriculum
Basic Literacy Skills
Life Skills
Adult literacy instructors should plan to teach all learners some basic principles of learning theory. Adult literacy learners may also need instruction on other skills useful for learning. Many of these are important “life skills” as well: organization and time-management, listening and speaking, decision making and problem solving, memory and note taking, stress management techniques and conflict resolution. Even if your program addresses these during students’ initial orientation, as with any skills, students are likely to need additional instruction and practice over time.
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“The student says – ‘I don’t have time to study’ – so we sit down and talk about her schedule at home and when little bits of study can be fit in. Students sometimes think study has to be done for hours at a time – that’s just not true.” |
Take a moment to consider how you might access resources for instruction and support of adult literacy learners who need or wish to build basic learning or life skills.
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On your worksheet, record your initial thoughts regarding curriculum for teaching "how to learn" and basic "life skills." Note any insights or ideas you may have at this point. |
Learning and life skills can be addressed through specific lessons, modeling, classroom organization and culture, and integration into almost all learning tasks. As with other skills, adult learners will have differing strengths and weaknesses in these skills. Instructors can observe learners’ behavior, interview learners about their learning practices, and administer learning skills questionnaires to determine which skills students need to strengthen. Also remember that students can assist one another to develop these skills. Encourage them to share things like memory tricks, organization tools, and time-management techniques with each other.
Listed below is a real-life adult education scenario. While you are reading, consider the learner’s needs and challenges. What skills instruction might assist him to be more successful in learning?
Real-Life Scenario – Harold’s Notebook:
Harold had been studying with the adult literacy program off and on for over a year. His instructors were frustrated because they thought Harold was trying hard, but not retaining what he studied. They talked with Harold and with each other, and discovered the following: 1) Harold always carried a notebook full of papers – he had many such notebooks containing everything he had ever written or studied – in no particular order; 2) while Harold always brought paper and pens to class, he often forgot homework or textbooks. “It’s in my other notebook,” he would say; 3) Harold would often jump around in textbooks, spending a weekend trying to study things too hard for him, or working problems for skills he’d already mastered. They decided Harold could profit from some basic learning skills, and to begin by focusing on time-management and organization skills.
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On your worksheet, record your thoughts on the skills Harold needs to be successful in learning. |
Click the + sign in the box to the right to see ideas from other Adult Education Instructors. | [?] |
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Everyone receives an expandable folder when they start class. Into it goes four regular, color-coded folders – one for work not yet completed, one for work completed and waiting for instructor review, one for work returned to the student, and one for “examples of excellent work or significant progress.” These are color coded - blue is always for work to be completed, etc. I like to model organization, goal-setting, and self-assessment techniques in this way.
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I try to model decision-making and problem-solving skills by talking out loud and letting the students hear the steps I go through in addressing everyday classroom problems. I’m not as organized as I would like, and I realize this has an effect on my students’ own organization in class.
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I had a student who was always forgetting what she should be working on. I suggested she get a calendar that she could use in class and at home. Now she writes down every day what she needs to work on both during the class period and when she goes home.
In reviewing these ideas, did you find any similar to your own? Did any of them strike you as particularly interesting? Did they provide any new insights for your instruction of adult literacy learners?
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On your worksheet, make note of any tips, insights, or new ideas gained from the instructors’ suggestions. |
In Summary:
- Adult learners may need information on basic learning principles.
- Adult learners may need instruction on basic life skills such as time-management and organization techniques.
- Effective adult literacy instructors work to integrate basic learning skills instruction into all lessons, as well as plan for specific lessons in “how we learn.”
- Instructors determine the specific skills needing emphasis via observation, interviews, and short survey tools.
- Instructors encourage sharing of techniques among their students and work to model these skills within the classroom and in their instruction.
- Many commercial curricula and materials integrate these basic learning and life skills into reading, math, and writing instruction. Be sure you are familiar with what is available to you in your literacy program.
- See the link “For Further Study” to find additional Internet-based resources.
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On your worksheet, record any final notes or thoughts, specific ideas you want to remember, plans for further study, etc. |
Click "Next" below or a specific topic on the outline to the left to continue.
