Montana LINCS Update

Montana ABLE staff understand that many times students need to “stop out” for a variety of reasons. Programs attempt to make contact on a regular basis to re-engage stopouts. Some programs are using Distance Learning to keep participants engaged. Since the Distance Learning design is fairly new for most Montana ABLE programs, we may want to look at an example of a program that has been in existence for 18 years in Florida.

WHAT and WHO?

The Seminole Community College (SCC) in Sanford, Altamonte Springs, Florida, has been using the GED Home Study/GED Online for the past 18 years. Many of the students who choose Home Study have non-traditional work schedules, no transportation options, family obligations, chronic illnesses, or a lack of the funds or the resources for childcare. Still others have never felt comfortable in a classroom setting … During its first 18 years, SCC's GED distance learning program accepted almost everyone. However, the program's lower-level students were experiencing frustration and failure; almost 60 percent dropped out each term. So, in 2003 eligibility criteria were instituted. To be eligible, SCC GED Home Study/GED Online students must score grade-level 9.0 for reading and grade-level 6.0 for math and language on Form D of the Tests of Adult Basic Education (TABE).

HOW?

… Nearly one third of the GED Home Study/GED Online program's 115 participants have come from the traditional campus classrooms. Whenever students communicate to their instructors that something has or is going to disrupt their lives, instructors can refer them to the GED Home Study/GED Online Program. Through Home Study, students can keep up with their GED studies while taking care of their immediate or imminent problems.

CHALLENGES

The potential of the GED Home Study/GED Online program seems limitless. In reality, SCC's Home Study program is plagued by many of the same problems that traditional classrooms face. The program now has an annual dropout rate of 40 percent. As researcher Alisa Belzer (1998) writes, "The question of how to improve student retention cannot be solved with simple or single answers. The same obstacles or supports can create different outcomes for different students. Since often many complicated and interrelated factors are involved in the decision to continue participation in a program, a simple or single solution may make no difference."

SCC's GED Home Study/GED Online Program is neither simple nor does it offer a single solution to the overwhelming challenge of adult student retention. Although the program eliminates many of the obstacles adult students face, it does not eliminate the need for motivation, self discipline, and the time needed to do the work.

McLellan Schoneck, Lauri. “Distance Learning as a Backup.” Focus on Basics: Volume 8, Issue C, November 2006. http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1153

Based on the above information, Montana ABLE can see that Distance Learning still presents challenges regarding student stopouts.

Question:

If you have implemented a Distance Learning program or are in the process of implementing one, have you seen similar challenges? If so, what have you done to problem-solve those obstacles?

Any thoughts?

· Email: Click here to email MTLINCS. OR

· Blog: Click here to post on the DL Blog.

2. Content Standards Montana ABLE Program Highlights

National Diffusion of the Standards-In-Action Innovations Program

Click here http://www.nwlincs.org/mtlincs/opi/student_highlights.htm .

3. ESL Resource: Census Activity

To help your adult ESL students understand the concept, importance, safety of the Census, and how to fill out the form, here is a 2-part Lesson Plan with a variety of activities for Low-Beginning to Intermediate students.

http://sites.google.com/site/lindaslinks/home/census

I developed it for my adult Latino immigrant classroom AND for Refugee Transition’s in-home tutoring program.

Linda-Marie Koza

San Francisco CA 94118