RE-ENGAGE VULNERABLE ADULTS

WITH EUROPE

Addressing learners’ diversity and contact the labour

market

CEPA El Fontán.Oviedo

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INTRODUCTION

Dealing with diversity, a flexible methodology and promoting the learners’ continuity are the main points our project is focused on in order to reach better academic outcomes. Although the staff of CEPA “El Fontán” tries to adapt and meet the learners’ needs and characteristics, however we think that we should be more ambitious in the flexible adaptation of the methodology. We are concerned about the high rate of dropouts and irregular attendance and we are trying to fight this in order to improve learners’ performance. Therefore our main goals are to increase learners’ attendance and prevent dropouts, address the diversity of learners by teaching in an adaptive way, improve the academic performance and establish links with the labour market. In order to achieve these goals, we will…

a) …develop a flexible methodology b) …apply an adaptive teaching system c) …put learners in contact with the local employment agency d) …design new materials to be used on the e-learning platform

available at http://aulafontan We want to show that adaptive teaching improves the learners’ learning attitude, English oral skills, Spanish language skills like reading, writing and speaking as well as solving Maths problems. In addition we will conduct activities regarding job search, job interviews and work environment. This experience is open to:

• Adults who dropped out of secondary Education • Adults with a poor learning experience • Precarious workers with little training or at risk of exclusion • Unemployed or low skilled employees

These learners meet some or most of the following criteria:

• They have family or work obligations that make their attendance very irregular

• They had an inadequate schooling or had a bad school experience • They lack specific learning skills • They look for an easier way to learn

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RATIONALE The adaptive teaching to learners’ characteristics is for researchers, legislators and teachers a promising alternative to address the many differences that are to be found among learners (Wang &Walberg, 1985). We agree with Fernández’ statement(1993): “the correct response to the educational needs involves meeting the specific needs of students by means of adjusting, as Arteaga & García-García(2010) suggest, the content to their capacity and initial interest”(p.20). That is why we adopt a variety of teaching methods and techniques as a way to respond adequately to diversity, taking into account that both young adults and real adults learn at their own pace, in a different way and following their own cognitive styles. Diversity exists in all the educational centres, even when learners are the same nationality, age, gender, language, religion or intellectual ability.(Aguado y Ballesteros, 2012) . However, it is in the adult centres where a wider range of profiles can be observed as well as the largest age difference. The groups are thus heterogeneous. Despite this, diversity is not often considered to the appropriate extent in the adult education centres. Addressing diversity involves considering learners’ characteristics, both in young adults and real adults, and offer content in different situations of complexity and purpose, depending on the learning style and the previous educational level, working individually, in pairs and in groups. When doing the current guide we follow our colleague at the CEPA El Fontán Dr. María Luz Pontón and her doctoral thesis“Adaptive teaching to enhance English language acquisition in Secondary Education for Adults” which is mainly focused on maximizing language learning.

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OVERALL OBJECTIVES 1 To get a persistent attendance and prevent dropouts. 2 To address the wide diversity of students by teaching adaptively. 3 To improve academic performance. 4 To pair and to connect the learners with the labour market. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 1 To help learners continue and persist in their training. 2 To facilitate access to e-learning platform. 3 To support learners to develop continuity strategies. 4 To involve learners in the design and content of the course. 5 To help them identify their own goals and make decisions about their learning process. 6 To create links with local employers and employment agents to engage low-skilled workers. CONTEXT Six teachers are involved in the project as well as two groups of learners: second year of secondary (ESPA) and Key Competence. The diversity of students in our centre is reflected in the groups involved. The age ranges from 18 to 50, the employment situation varies but most are unemployed, they have different origins, different languages and different training backgrounds.

18-20 21-25 26-30 31-40 41-50 >50

AGE

ESPA 1.2

Key Comp.

5

0

5

10

ESPA 1.2 Key Comp.

SEXO

HOMBRE/MALE

MUJER/FEMALE

País/ Country

47%

17%4%4%

4%

8%

8% 4% 4%

España Ecuador VenezuelaPerú Paraguay BrasilRumanía Marruecos Senegal

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76%

8%

4%

8%

4%

Español Portugués Senegalés Rumano Árabe

02468

101214

ESPA 1.2 Key Comp.

Employed Unemployed Sporadic job

The areas in which our Project is developed are Communication (Spanish and English) and Science and Technology (Maths and Computer Skills) In addition to the teachers involved in the project we have the cooperation of the Public Service of Employment of Oviedo through informative sessions on access to employment. Collaboration with local cultural agents is a good opportunity to relate culture to the workplace. We have seen “Low Cost”, a play by Teatro Higiénico Papel in which job insecurity of the middle class is reflected.

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Resources and support We have the support of the directive team that provides:

• A schedule for the coordination of teachers involved in the project. • Availability for carrying out the activities. • A shared schedule of three teachers. • Trainee teachers who help us carry out the activities.

We also have:

• A computer room with Internet access and 18 computers. • The E-learning platform. • The research made by one of the participants, Dr. Maria Luz Alvarez

Ponton for her doctoral thesis. • Previously prepared materials.

As for the difficulties, we have to point out that the schedule for coordination and teamwork is quite short. Furthermore, coordination with trainee teachers is difficult because their stay at the centre is limited to a few months and they have no hours available. Regarding the timing of the courses we would like to have annual term courses; obviously this cannot occur because of the legislation, which represents a certain limitation. METHODOLOGY This is an ambitious project which involves secondary English teachers as well as teachers of Language, Mathematics and Computer Skills. We assume the risks that may result from a change in approach and methodology, and we are confident on the benefits that the project could make in improving the learning of a set of subjects.

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Teacher role Teachers are designers of comprehensive educational proposals, not just executors. We organize, prepare and sequence a number of resources, activities and stimulating, creative and challenging tasks in the Moodle platform. To break the barrier of professional isolation and traditional individualistic approach, a new teaching organization is done in the classroom. We formed a cooperative, flexible team with positive attitudes towards diversity. Student autonomy To achieve autonomy, we inform and engage the students in the biweekly working plan (sheet of curriculum development). Students share responsibility for their education and participate in the program development and evaluation of curriculum. Personal support We seek a more personal relationship, not just academically, through discussions on general topics that help to have a better understanding of each other and promote positive attitudes and perceptions. High expectations for all learners We try to highlight the success as well as analyze what is not working well. We make them see that success in learning depends not only on the skills, but on the dedication and effort. Avoiding negative feeling We try to eradicate negative feelings and frustration as: "I am not able to". Positive messages improve confidence and self esteem, so we help students identify negative emotional states in themselves. Relevant learning We make sure that learning has a personal relevance (significance) and is available and clear in their cognitive structure to serve as an anchorage for the new knowledge.

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TIMING After a contact seminar in Birmingham (July 2012), seven European

Institutions dealing with Adult Education or Vocational training, decided to create a partnership around the idea of re-engagement of vulnerable adults.

In February 2013 the application form was submitted to the each country’s National Agency and 6 of the institutions were finally approved Once the working plan was set by the European partners, we started the design and preparation of activities to be carried out at CEPA Oviedo El Fontán according to the following timeframe:

September 2013

We formed the Grundtvig team with 6 teachers and we decided to address the diversity and use the e-learning platform as a means of preventing dropouts. Previously our colleague Mary Luz had been working with diversity and we had already started working on the platform.

October 2013

We had coordination sessions every Friday. We had coordination talks with the European partners.

November 2013

The first contact with the local employment agency took place. Elaboration of the first materials (questionnaires, guide of best practice)

January 2014:

Partnership meeting in Dublin. We learned how the Irish partners use group work as a way of re-engagement in the course.

February 2014:

Activities in collaboration with INEM (National Institute for Employment) Information talks and visit to the local agency.

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Presentation of the project to the learners. Start of the implementation of the project.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION Phase 0 - Constitution of the working group. Phase 0.1 -. Coordinating the project design

• Objectives, methodology, evaluation, timing… • Contact the local employment agency (INEM) • Distribution of tasks and trans-national visits to our partners.

Phase 1 - Attention to diversity: • Preparation of materials with different levels of difficulty • Preparation of resources, learning activities and assessment for the e-learning platform • Preparation of a questionnaire for the self-knowledge of learners • Preparation of mentoring activities:

• Training pathway • Exploring their own expectations and priorities • Introduction into the working world

Phase 2.-Information and presentation of the work plan to the learners • Timetable • Procedures • Access to e-learning platform • Curriculum Development Sheets

Phase 2.1-Working with learners in the areas of • English • Language • Mathematics

Phase 2.2-Tutoring job on self-knowledge, priorities and work culture Phase2.3- Working in collaboration with the Service of Employment for briefings on the workplace. Phase 3.-Work on Continuity:

• Tracking attendance • Tracking continuity

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Phase 4 - Collection of results.

• Analysis and conclusions. Phase 5- Sharing and dissemination of experience and results.

• http://re-engage.weebly.com/ • http://fontan.blog.com/ • Trans-national Grundtvig meeting in Oviedo

o Presentation of activities and practice o Share experience

EVALUATION We think that a good evaluation design is very important for the optimal achievement of our objectives, so we want to measure all indicators which are relevant for a good development of the project.

EVALUATION

EVALUATION INDICATORS EVALUATION TOOLS WHEN Improved continuity Tracking dropouts

(% of dropouts) Every two weeks

Improved attendance Tracking attendance (% of attendance)

Every two weeks

Use of e-learning platform Benefits of e- learning platform

Usage tracking /monitoring Nº of activities Feedback from students and teachers

Monthly

Student involvement in the design and content of the course

Nº of sheets of curriculum development Feedback from students and teachers

Every two weeks

Improvement of student skills

Academic outcomes Feedback from students and teachers

End of term

Changes in student attitudes Feedback from students End of

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and teachers term Benefits of activities with local stakeholders

Feedback from students, teachers and stakeholders

End of term

Organization and teacher cooperation

Tracking meetings Nº of meetings

Every two weeks

Resources of time and space Timetable Use of classrooms

End of term

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