Multiple Intelligences, Adult Education and ESL

ESL Faculty:

I teach the lowest level--N ESL--where I often find applications of Multiple Intelligences (MI) Theory helpful. This note is about an online course and a book about the application of MI to adult ESL students. I couldn't technically forward all the material (it either won't cut and paste or is blocked by filters) so just this here will suffice. The book, incidentally, has one very specific section titled: "MI-Inspired Language Arts and ESOL Lessons." (The section starts with a writing lesson.)

Information about the Online Course and Book:

Contact Kaye Beall at http://us.f502.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=kaye_beall@worlded.org with questions.

Adult Multiple Intelligences and Differentiated Instruction Course Dates: March 12–May 13, 2008; Online chats during Lessons 3, 4, and 5
Course Description: Research conducted by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy shows that instructional practices inspired by Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory resulted in high levels of authentic instruction and student engagement. Integrate your understanding of Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory with the power of differentiated instruction in this facilitated, eight-session course. You’ll learn how to apply MI theory and differentiate instruction for all levels of adult basic education and English for speakers of other languages. . . .
Required Text: Viens, Julie and Silja Kallenbach. Multiple Intelligences and Adult Literacy: A Sourcebook for Practitioners. (New York: Teachers College Press, 2004. Copies of the required textbook can be obtained from the publisher, Teachers College Press (TCP), the publisher at http://store.tcpress.com/0807743461.shtml. The cost is $27.95 per copy.

KenS

Employers Give Advice to Colleges

Here's another article of interest to piggyback on Ken's recommended report. This time, though, it is about new college graduates and employers' assessment of them.

"How Should Colleges Assess And Improve Student Learning?" is a nine-page analysis of a survey on more than 300 US employers conducted late last year on behalf of the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Two pieces of advice from these employers interest me tremendously:

• Multiple-choice tests are seen as ineffective.
• Writing is one of the areas of learning most in need of improvement.

As a language teacher, I've always believed that one's writing ability is the litmus test to determine whether one has truly mastered a modern language.

In our ESL context, it is writing that holds most of our students back, as we see them drop out due to failure in writing, or worse, they pass classes without being able to write well at their level. What can we do about this in order to better educate our student population?

Report says low education of immigrants, not motivation, accounts for poverty and welfare

ESL Faculty:

This report may interest some staff:

Immigrants in the United States, 2007 - A Profile of America's Foreign-Born Population Camarota, Steven A.Center for Immigration Studies, Backgrounder, November 2007, online edition, 44p"This Backgrounder provides a detailed picture of the number and socio-economic status of the nation’s immigrant or foreign-born population, both legal and illegal. The data was collected by the Census Bureau in March 2007.Among the report’s findings:• The nation’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) reached a record of 37.9 million in 2007.• Immigrants account for one in eight U.S. residents, the highest level in 80 years. In 1970 it was one in 21; in 1980 it was one in 16; and in 1990 it was one in 13." Steven A. Camarota is the Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies. Go to the report at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2007/back1007.pdf

KenS

ESL Resident Scholarships

Every spring, Palomar's Foundation administers several "ESL Resident Scholarships," formerly known as "Resident Alien Scholarships," to ESL students. According to Kim Hartwell of the Foundation, the criteria have always been:

• Is enrolled in an ESL class
• Demonstrates financial need
• Is a California resident
• Shows initiative and motivation in the classrooms
• Shows academic promise.

This year, each recipient will be awarded $200 on the college's Scholarship Night in May, which is always quite a celebratory event with the friends and families of all the scholarship awardees on hand to share the joy.

The word "scholarship" in the title of this particular award is a misnomer, though, in that this is not your usual scholarship that everyone can apply for. Rather, it is an ESL-faculty-nominated award of free money for a select few of our deserving students.

The nominees also do not go through the college's Scholarship Committee. Instead, we in the ESL Dept. review the selections, approve them, and forward to the Foundation a list of final winners along with their bios to process. It has been decided that at our next monthly dept. meeting on March 7, we will decide on this year's recipients of the ESL Resident Scholarships.

Therefore, if you have a student in your class who has wowed you in a significant way or has been an inspiration for his or her classmates, I urge you to write a brief bio of this meritorious student and submit it as your nomination. Please give your written nomination to your program coordinator no later than our next dept. meeting on March 7.

It appears that in an effort to boost attendance and push student success, we have put too much emphasis on problems (like our attendance policy with the threat to punish students with excessive absences by dropping them or our early alert system to intervene in the cases of unsuccessful students), and have consequently neglected positive reinforcement. As we publicize the ESL Resident Scholarships across the whole dept. and seek to reward role models in our various programs, our impact on student success can hopefully become even stronger.

Converting New File Formats

Lately, I have often been asked how to open a document that was saved with the .docx file extension. In fact, with Windows Vista installed in all the labs on campus, more and more colleagues who still have Windows XP are finding that they cannot open a document or a spreadsheet sent to them from an Office 2007 origin. The difference between your frustration and a solution is about a click away: "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats."

After you download and install the free compatibility pack onto your computer, which should be a rather straighforward process, you will be able to open all Office 2007 files including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.

By the way, faculty members can purchase Office 2007 for about $45 from the Foundation for California Community Colleges. Click here and then make sure to click on "Work at Home" for faculty and staff, if you are interested in knowing how to get this special deal.

Super Tuesday for Our CCs

Even though some of us may be as cynical about politicians' tactics in this election year as the above Non Sequitur cartoon shows, we will be voting on a special initiative on the upcoming Super Tuesday--Proposition 92. If passed, Prop. 92 will give more students a chance to go to college by lowering community college fees and limiting future fee increases. It will also ensure that our community college system receives adequate and stable funding.

As we all know, many educational options are offered by California community colleges, including academic and vocational training programs that may lead to occupational certificates or an Associate of Arts degree.

There are 109 community colleges and many off-campus centers that are administered by 71 districts located throughout the state. These campuses serve more than 1.6 million students every year. Community college campuses are designed to be near the state's primary residential centers and are within easy driving distance for most students.

Community college students often complete the first two years of a university education and, if they meet certain requirements, can transfer to the California State University, the University of California, or an independent institution to complete a four-year degree.

The community colleges also offer remedial instruction in conjunction with the local school districts, instruction in English as a second language, adult non-credit instruction, and support services to help students succeed at the postsecondary level.

In short, community colleges count a great deal, not only in the lives of members of minority groups and those from low-income families, but also increasingly among America's middle class.

In my opinion, the timing of Prop. 92 cannot be better. California's community colleges need to lead among the nation's 1,200 community colleges in order to strengthen themselves, to be relied upon more to win the skills race, and to continue to be key to shoring up the US economy, particularly as we appear to head to a recession year, too.

At the national level, there has been a push--supported by such locally known names as George Boggs, president of the American Association of Community Colleges and former president of Palomar College, and Augustine Gallego, chancelor emeritus of the San Diego Community College District--for two years of college as the minimum standard for all Americans. Passing Prop. 92 would facilitate such a sensible push.

Unlike some other measures on the ballot, Prop. 92 is truly "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It is supported by a broad coalition of business and labor organizations, community college leaders, advocates, local trustees and students, including the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, the San Diego Community College District AFT Faculty Guild, local CSEA #707, California Labor Federation, Sacramento Metro Chamber, United Farm Workers, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, United Teachers Los Angeles, California Church IMPACT, the National Latina Business Women Association, California Federation of Teachers, the South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce, the California School Employees Association, and the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild.

A rally was recently held on our campus to support Prop. 92. It was hosted by SDICCCA -- the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community Colleges Association, representing the region's six community college districts and colleges: Grossmont-Cuyamaca, Imperial Valley, MiraCosta, Palomar, Southwestern, and San Diego CCD (Mesa, Miramar and City Colleges). Here's a videotape of that rally, if you are interested.

If you need to educate yourself more on Prop. 92, please go to prop92yes.com.

For the condition of our community colleges and the quality of life for those who depend on our colleges, I strongly urge you to vote "yes" on Prop. 92 on Super Tuesday. Let's show that we CARE about this one.

Thanks!