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Four Ways to Address Workplace Skills in the Classroom

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This is a guest post from Rob Jenkins of National Geographic Learning.

You can visit their booth at the 2023 Literacy Texas Annual Conference.

workforce skills

Beginning in 1992, the United States developed standards identifying workplace soft skills for workforce preparation. While these standards changed and new ones were introduced, the same underlying skills were always there: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and technology skills.

Below we discuss four ways to address workplace skills in the Adult Education classroom.

#1 Teach Academic Skills

In workshops I give regularly, I enjoy presenting participants with several workplace skills and then asking them to address which ones might be good skills for students in the classroom. A few of them are: combine ideas and information, make decisions and solve problems, exercise leadership roles, manage time, and complete tasks as assigned.

Of course, the answer participants give is All of them. We suggest that teachers make the obvious link between workplace skills and academic skills as often as they can. Give students opportunities to lead, to manage tasks, and to solve problems.

You can do this in every class, and you might consider incorporating workplace-like simulations where students create projects. In Stand Out, we call these “team projects”. You can find them in every unit.

#2 Teach "Soft Skills"

We teach in context and incorporate soft skills like critical thinking into every lesson, so learning is relevant. These activities are NOT an afterthought that we do if we have time.

Students should be collaborating in every lesson. They should be solving problems regularly, and they should be applying what they have learned.

Of course, students are asked to fill-in the blanks occasionally and participate in dialogs that require substitutions, but if you stop there, student learning will not be as robust as it could be. As mentioned earlier, these soft skills are the skills they will need in the workplace.

An example of a team project from Stand Out, Fourth Edition

#3 Help Students Make Connections

It is not enough to incorporate these previous ideas. Students should be aware of why they are doing what they are doing.

Help them to see the connection between the activity they are doing in the classroom and activities they will be asked to do in the workplace. Point out that they will likely have to work in a team at work and communicate clearly to be successful.

For those not pursuing a job, no problem; these skills also help them in life and college!

#4 Help Students See Their Potential

In my experience, students who are asked at the beginning of the term what their goals are, regularly reply that they want to learn English. When probing deeper, students look confused because they haven’t thought that far ahead. If we are satisfied with these responses, we are doing a disservice to our students.

Students will be more motivated to learn if they have long-term goals. We suggest that teachers look for ways to introduce their students to opportunities. Help them be aware of career choices.

For example, if they are learning about health, we share information about careers like nursing and provide information about average salaries, education, and the size of the workforce. Then we ask them to reflect on what it might be like for them to pursue such a career.

For over thirty years, workforce preparation has been addressed in standards and through funding in the United States. Adult Education programs look for new ways to meet the needs of their students while addressing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

The simple answer to achieving these goals is through effective instruction. Good teaching, simply stated, is when students are actively participating and developing skills which are relevant to life, college, and career.

sample lesson from Stand Out

To learn more about the fourth edition of Stand Out visit ELTNGL.com/StandOut.

Author: Rob Jenkins

Rob Jenkins is a popular presenter and author of English as a Second Language topics. He is a retired faculty member from Santa Ana College School of Continuing Education where he taught ESL for 27 years and served as faculty development coordinator for 20. He was honored with several faculty awards from his college and the Best Practice of Model Program Award in 2013 from the Association of Community and Continuing Education. Rob and Staci Johnson received the 2013 Heinle Outstanding Achievement Award from National Geographic Learning for their textbook series, Stand Out.

Adults only?

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“Andragogy” and “pedagogy” can seem like niche academic words – does the difference between them really matter?

At the recent South Plains Literacy Symposium, one of the most popular breakout sessions was A is for Adult: An Introduction to Andragogy. The session was an in-depth exploration of some of the major tenets of teaching adults, and some of the motivators, barriers, and drivers of persistence specific to adults.

And we say, hallelujah!

Too often, our field has taken the approach that “teaching is teaching” – and assumed that someone with experience teaching children must automatically also be able to teach adults effectively. Of course, that’s sometimes true – but it’s far from automatic. 

So what are the key differences?

Malcolm Knowles is one of the foremost experts in this area, and he’s broken his definitions down into five assumptions and four principles. Let’s take a look.

Knowles' 5 Assumptions of Adult Learners

1. Self-Concept
People become more self-directed as they age and mature.

2. Adult Learner Experience
People gain practical and theoretical experience as they age, and bring it to the learning process.

3. Readiness to Learn
Adults have a strong motivation to learn things that help them accomplish relevant tasks and gain practical skills.

4. Orientation to Learning
Adult learners are motivated to solve problems, moving from “knowing about” a topic to “knowing how” to do a specific task.

5. Motivation to Learn
Motivation for adults is usually internal, rather than external – and motivations are individual for each learner.

Knowles' 4 Principles of Andragogy

  1. Adults need to know why they need to learn something.
  2. Adults need to learn experientially – by doing.
  3. Adults approach learning as problem-solving.
  4. Adults learn best when the topic is of immediate value.

 

So much changes for us as we age – in both our bodies and our minds.

Doesn’t it make sense for the way we’re taught to change as well?

Find resources to help you explore andragogy – and build it into your literacy program – in our Resources library.

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Volunteers filling the gap

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"In a nation whose education system is among the most unequal in the industrialized world, where race and geography play an outsize role in determining one’s path to success, many Americans are being failed twice: first, by public schools that lack qualified teachers, resources for students with disabilities and adequate reading instruction; and next, by the backup system intended to catch those failed by the first."
ProPublica

In December 2022, ProPublica published an article about the ongoing literacy crisis in the United States. This blog post is the third in a series of reflections on that article.

More than 43 million adults in the United States can’t read, write, or do basic math above a third-grade level, and when you look at the equivalent of a sixth-grade level, that number balloons to a staggering 130 million. 

You’d hope that the majority of those folks could be in classes, catching up – but no. Only around 3% of adults who need literacy classes are actually getting them. 

There are many reasons for that – the ProPublica article that inspired this series of blog posts goes into some of them – but a crucial issue is the availability of classes. Whether a class has a cost; whether the location is convenient; whether a prospective student can fit the times into their already packed schedule – these are all factors, along with the availability of instructors.

"We found that in some states, programs keep adults on waitlists, unable to meet demand. Some students succeed in these programs, but many drop out within weeks or months, before they are able to make progress. Students often find themselves in overstuffed classes led by uncertified part-time or volunteer teachers... And most programs across the country lack the specialized staff to help adults with learning disabilities that public schools failed to have diagnosed."
ProPublica

For decades now, when professional instructors aren’t available (or are unaffordable), adult literacy programs have often turned to volunteers. Millions of American adults can read, write, and speak English because of the efforts and dedication of volunteers.

Volunteer support is a core activity for Literacy Texas. Regional symposia, our online resource library, on-demand training and professional development on our YouTube channel – these are investments in the quality of volunteer-led classes around the state.

Because if an adult student is going to organize their work schedule to get to class, and find childcare and the gas money to make it across town and be in their seat every Tuesday and Thursday evening – shouldn’t we offer them the highest quality lesson?

This blog post is a reflection on the ProPublica article, “A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?” Find previous installments here and here.

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The tension between learning and earning

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"In a nation whose education system is among the most unequal in the industrialized world, where race and geography play an outsize role in determining one’s path to success, many Americans are being failed twice: first, by public schools that lack qualified teachers, resources for students with disabilities and adequate reading instruction; and next, by the backup system intended to catch those failed by the first."
ProPublica

In December 2022, ProPublica published an article about the ongoing literacy crisis in the United States. This blog post is one of a series of reflections on that article.

Folks with low literacy usually don’t need someone to point that out to them. They’re usually crucially aware of their lack of skills – and what that lack is stopping them from achieving.

But the devil’s always in the details. Someone might know they need to take a class – but how much will that class cost? How far away is it, and how much will they pay in gas or bus fares to get to and from the class?

Most crucially of all – how does a low-income person fit classes into their week?

ProPublica reporters heard time and again that in communities stricken with low literacy, programs had to close sites because not enough students had enrolled. Meanwhile, more than two dozen adults in these hot spots told us that a lack of transportation or child care or busy work schedules prohibited them from attending classes.
ProPublica

How would you manage that Catch-22? You can’t afford not to work – but all you can get is a minimum-wage position with an inflexible schedule. Maybe you need a second job in order to make rent. Maybe it’s an exhausting job where you’re on your feet all day. And family and home responsibilities like making sure kids do homework, caring for babies or elderly relatives, cooking, cleaning, and laundry don’t take a break.

How do we solve the tension between learning, and earning?

The article highlighted Skills for Life, a Detroit program that provides paid time to learn alongside a city job. It was the turning point for Steve Binion, whose story is outlined in the article. And once someone’s broken the dead-end link of low literacy and low pay, their prospects improve dramatically – along with those of their family and the community.

What can we learn – and emulate – from these programs that work?

This blog post is a reflection on the ProPublica article, “A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?” Find the previous installment here.

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When $9 is far from enough

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"In a nation whose education system is among the most unequal in the industrialized world, where race and geography play an outsize role in determining one’s path to success, many Americans are being failed twice: first, by public schools that lack qualified teachers, resources for students with disabilities and adequate reading instruction; and next, by the backup system intended to catch those failed by the first."
ProPublica

In December 2022, ProPublica published an article about the ongoing literacy crisis in the United States. This blog post is the first in a series of reflections on that article.

$9. That’s how much the state of Texas currently allocates for adult education, per eligible student.

What can you buy with $9 these days? That won’t even get you two dozen eggs in most grocery stores. What do we think it can realistically do for the almost 5 million Texas adults in need of literacy help?

Across the United States, only around 3% of the adults who need literacy help are getting it – a figure that holds true for Texas as well. And despite our best efforts across the literacy field – and the valiant intervention of nonprofits, libraries, and other programs to help fill the gap – that number hasn’t changed in any meaningful way in decades.

While we try to figure out what’s to be done, people, families, communities, counties, states, and the entire nation are all suffering. 

"In other wealthy countries, adults with limited education who were born into families with little history of schooling are twice as likely to surpass their parents’ literacy skills. Here, one’s destiny is uniquely entrenched... If there were local programs that could teach adults the reading skills they never got, those parents could help educate their kids and get better jobs... The entire county would benefit."
ProPublica

It’s a sobering picture.

Shouldn’t every person in America have the opportunity to learn to read?

This blog post is a reflection on the ProPublica article, “A Fifth of American Adults Struggle to Read. Why Are We Failing to Teach Them?” Look for more blog posts on this topic in coming weeks.

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Join our mailing list so you don’t miss any news:

  • Local and national literacy news
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Literacy TRANSFORMS

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So often – including right here on this website – we talk about adult and family literacy in terms of deficit.

“Adults without a high school diploma struggle to find employment.”

“The 43% of Americans who read at or below basic level are more likely to live in poverty.”

“Families where the caregivers are at or below the basic level of literacy are less likely to be able to help children with homework, and perpetuate the cycle of low literacy.”

Literacy Transforms Texas white text on yellow

“Low-literate adults are more likely to have health issues, less likely to eat nutritious food, and more likely to be incarcerated.”

All of the above are true, but none of this focuses on the possibilities. Just think of Texas – of America – of the world – if everyone was fully literate.

More people in high-paying jobs, with more money both for necessities and as disposable wealth to spend in their local communities.

Kids lifted out of poverty and families on their way to creating generational wealth and ongoing prosperity.

Higher self-esteem for millions of people, and shame around learning left behind.

Improved critical thinking and analytical skills, applied from everything to workplace problem-solving to science literacy to mortgage choices.

Expanded vocabulary and conversational skills.

Imagine living in a society where ALL your neighbors could flourish. It would be a society with less crime, greater health, more life satisfaction, more volunteerism. ALL of these things are linked to literacy and all of them are achievable.

Throughout September, we’re focusing on what’s possible when we prioritize literacy. Please join us! You can:

Further reading on this topic, and the sources of some of the info above:

Why We Should Invest in Getting More Kids to Read – And How to Do It

5 Reasons Reading is So Important for Student Success

The Importance of Adult Literacy

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Make sure you’re on our mailing list so you don’t miss any news:

  • Conference updates
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“Transforming literacy learning spaces”

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Get ready to celebrate all things LITERACY throughout September!

International Literacy Day is celebrated every year on September 8.
Adult Education and Family Literacy Week is September 18 – 24.
And in the US, we just go ahead and celebrate the whole month as National Literacy Month.

In 2022, the theme of International Literacy Day is “Transforming literacy learning spaces.”

This year’s choice of theme is an invitation to rethink the fundamental importance of literacy learning spaces to build resilience, and to ensure quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all.

What are your learning spaces?

You might think first of traditional locations – schools, colleges, classrooms. But look again. You might also see – 

Your living room at home, where you read aloud to your children. Your grandma’s kitchen, where she shows you how to follow a recipe. Your father’s garden, checking seed packets to see how much sun and water each one needs. On the city bus, playing “I Spy” with signs and advertisements.

Almost anywhere can be a literacy learning space. When we see them that way, almost anything is possible.

international literacy day poster 2022
Click on the image above to download your own International Literacy Day poster from the UNESCO website.

Resources for Literacy Month

However you want to get involved this month, there are resources to support you.

Literacy means -

For something quick and easy, print off our “Literacy means – ” graphics (below, or in our July blog post) and use them on your social media or website. If you were at the recent conference, we printed one inside the cover of your program, so you can go find that one and save yourself the printing!

Maybe you can laminate the page, or put it inside a wipe-off pouch – and then you can write in the space using a whiteboard marker, and use the image over and over for different people.

Resources & Toolkits

And there are toolkits and other resources all over the place! Use the buttons below to see what literacy partners and advocates across the country have prepared for you.

2022 aefl week toolkit from proliteracy
2022 aefl week events & resources from coabe
general advocacy toolkit from proliteracy
advocacy resources from the american library association

Use these hashtags when you post on social media this month:

#Literacy22
#AEFLWeek
#AdultEd
#AdultLiteracy
#FamLit
#FamilyLiteracy
#LiteracyTransformsTX

Have a great September!

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Make sure you’re on our mailing list so you don’t miss any news:

  • Conference updates
  • Regional symposia
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Literacy means –

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It’s still July, but we’re looking ahead to September.

Why?

September has multiple opportunities to celebrate all things literacy. It’s National Literacy Month, just for starters, and on September 8 we celebrate International Literacy Day.

And then there’s AEFL Week! Adult Education and Family Literacy Week raises public awareness about both the need for, and value of, adult education and family literacy. Its goal is to increase support for basic education programs for US adults with low literacy, numeracy, and digital skills.

Advocates across the country (that’s all of us!) can use this opportunity to shine a bright, bold spotlight on the benefits of adult education and family literacy, the obstacles to access, and the great work your local programs are doing with adults and families.

And in some great news, a lot of the preparation work has already been done for you:

Find details about actions, events, messaging, and more, on this dedicated AEFL Week page from COABE (the Coalition on Adult Basic Education).

Use this toolkit from ProLiteracy to get prepared with what you want to say and do for literacy in your local community this September.

And keep it local, too! Refresh your mind on Texas literacy facts and stats, download any of the graphics below to use on your social media, and stay tuned for more ideas and suggestions for messaging about literacy in Texas.

5 Things You Might Be Missing About Awards

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Let’s face it, there are a lot of awards out there. From Student of the Year to Volunteer of the Month to Community Rockstar to who knows what else, we get offered a lot of places to nominate the folks in our programs (including the Literacy Texas Annual Awards, which open every spring and are presented every year at the annual conference in the summer). It can be… a lot.

And it’s just possible that you see these awards go by, and you think something like, “One day we should nominate someone for that… but who has the time?” You wouldn’t be alone.

But it’s also possible that you’re missing some of the reasons you really should be nominating volunteers and students for awards – and not just the Literacy Texas ones! I’m here to make the case for nominating everyone you can for every award possible. Here’s why:

trophies

5. They might win

OK, this one you’re probably not missing. In fact, it’s likely the first thing most people think of when it comes to awards: What’s the prize? Is it “worth it”? Could the agency win money?

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with any of that. Some awards DO come with money, or books, or another prize, and others come with recognition for your agency.

And winning is nice. Letting someone know they’ve won can be even nicer. And there are people who have lived their whole life and, in their own words, “never won anything”. YOUR nomination could be the first time they get publicly recognized. YOU could make that happen. Just imagine.

All of that is pretty compelling, but there are four more reasons, and I’d argue they just get more important from here.

4. You get to celebrate people you think are amazing

Hopefully you’re doing this sometimes anyway, awards or not. But there’s a saying about “not saving things to say over a coffin lid” and it’s good advice.

We sometimes think people know how we feel about them, and MAYBE they do, but pulling together an award nomination for a volunteer or student at your agency can uncover stories and sayings and other facts about them that you never knew before – and is always an excuse for a celebration (maybe even cupcakes!). Because despite everything going on right now – there is always something to celebrate. 

3. You get to TELL people that you think they're amazing

One of the things I genuinely liked the most, when I was working as a program director at a volunteer-based adult literacy organization, was telling volunteers and students that we wanted to nominate them for an award. See point #5 above – many said that was the first time that had ever happened. And that was always touching. 

But it just got better from there. Because as part of the nomination process, we would spend 10 minutes at the end of a staff meeting, just brainstorming as a team about what we all knew about these wonderful people. We’d gather the best of what we came up with together, complete the nomination, and submit it.

And then we’d go one step further – we’d take a few more minutes and put the nomination content together in a simple document, add our logo and any photos we had of that person in action at our agency, print it off, and give it to the nominee.

Y’all. That was ALWAYS moving. Sometimes there were tears. And usually, the person would say something like, “I never knew y’all thought all of this about me!” They had something to take home and read over again (and again!), words of praise and joy. They KNEW, without a shadow of a doubt, how much we appreciated and admired them. Volunteers knew we saw everything they did for the students, and how priceless that was to us. Students knew that we witnessed their efforts and were there alongside them cheering them on as they took steps toward the next success.

That felt like winning every time, regardless of whether our nominee actually got chosen for that award or not.

2. You model appreciation to others on your team

Remember how I said we used to brainstorm our nomination content at staff meetings, as a group? That wasn’t by accident. Of course it was a practical way to gather a lot of information in a short amount of time, so I recommend it for that reason alone. But it makes celebration, and articulating positive thoughts and compliments, a natural and accepted part of work.

The more we did it, the easier it became. Staff started to keep an eye out for fun stories that could be included in some nomination some day. One even kept a list. And it became more natural for all of us to voice that appreciation to volunteers and students throughout the week, and make positivity a daily element of our working lives.

1. You stop and feel appreciation yourself

Don’t underestimate the power of this. I don’t know you, but you’re reading this, so you probably work in adult literacy in Texas. So I know you’re tired; in fact, you were probably exhausted BEFORE the pandemic, and now – well, there probably aren’t words to describe how overworked and stressed you’ve been. And when you’re constantly exhausted and anxious, it’s very easy to fall into the habit of seeing everything with a deficit mindset – how are we going to pay for – to manage – to do – to finish – ? That’s very normal.

Being conscious of stopping, thinking, gathering positive thoughts and stories from others, writing them into a short but coherent whole, and then handing the whole beautiful account to the person you appreciate so much is all good for your body, mind, and spirit.

So – start a list of awards you can nominate folks for. You’ll have local opportunities, as well as statewide and even national awards. Take that little extra time to sit with the team and talk about what makes people wonderful. Write it up into a simple nomination. Give it to the person with a smile. So many people will be glad you did.

Nominations for the Literacy Texas Annual Awards are open now, and winners will be recognized in August. You can find out more, and submit your nominations, here.

Literacy for Joy

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This coming Saturday (February 26, 2022), close to 100 authors, educators, volunteers, and others dedicated to literacy and learning will gather for the first regional symposium of the year – the South Texas Literacy Symposium. 

South Texas usually kicks off our calendar of symposiums, and this year there’s extra delight and anticipation, since the event is back to being in person, and literacy folks from Edinburg, the RGV, and nearby will see each other – some for the first time in a while.

There’s always some added zing to the South Texas symposium, too, because it’s part of FESTIBA – the UTRGV Festival of International Books and Arts. The theme of Festiba in 2022? Inspiring Creativity & Innovation Through Arts and Literacy.

Stop for a moment there. Look at those words in italics. Read them over again. 

Inspiring Creativity & Innovation Through Arts and Literacy.

Literacy is many things. It’s the passport to a better life, through further education and a good job. It’s a way to traverse life with confidence and understanding. For some, it’s a pathway to a brighter future beyond incarceration.

But let’s never forget that literacy is also for joy. It’s for inspiration. It’s for creativity. It’s for innovation. It’s for art.

When we sit alongside adult students and their families as they learn, we’re helping bring joy into their lives. Because whatever else it’s for, literacy makes possible a richness in life that can’t be replaced. And not only is that important – it might actually be one of the most important things.

Interested in joining us at the South Texas Literacy Symposium? Registration closes at the end of the day on February 23. Reading this later and missed out? See our full calendar of 2022 symposiums here and maybe catch another later in the year!