|
|
Recommendations for Improved Service DeliveryEmphasize Relevance
Offering students a variety
of activities with clear practical applications and opportunities for active
learning is more likely to keep students participating and to result in student
success. While it is unrealistic to expect adult education programs to
constantly meet the individual needs of all students, it is important that
students work with materials they believe to be appropriate a majority of the
time. Again, this requires that
instructors listen carefully to the students’ expectations and aspirations for
their learning experience. This may
require using materials that are not immediately part of the GED curriculum even
though they may seem ready to prepare for GED certification.
For example, one of our respondents was very interested in history and
enjoyed historical programming on television.
Relevant educational materials for this potential student might be texts
that bridge his interest in history with his work experiences while building his
critical reading skills.
Relevance also refers to the demographic make-up of
the classroom. Older students, for
example, may not perceive a program as relevant to them if all the other
students are younger. Despite the
fact that adult education programs usually feature individualized instruction
where students proceed at their own pace, most adults still perceive of a “class”
as having one curriculum and one pace. They
may judge the needs of students who are significantly older or younger as having
different goals and therefore do not see the class as relevant to their needs.
|
|
|
