Learner Persistence
Research | Motivation | Goal-Setting |
Change
Agent-Sept, 2007
Retention Toolkit from Florida TechNet http://www.floridatechnet.org/retentiontoolkit.html
Persistence Resources from NELRC
http://www.nelrc.org/expertise/persist.html
Current
WIKI on Adult Education Persistence and Distance Education
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Distance_and_Persistence
This WIKI provides the research question, a Discussion
Group and relevant research in the area of student persistence
and distance education.
The broad research question is: under what conditions,
with what kinds of students, and to what extent does the
addition of distance education (including supported distance
learning) program options improve student persistence?
Why Students Stay: Retention and Persistence Factors
Learner Motivation and Persistence
Adult Student Persistence: What Factors Make a Difference?
Using Small Group Instruction in Place of Individual Tutoring to Improve Student Retention
Strategies for Keeping Adult Students Attending
National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium
http://naepdc.org/resource_library/curriculum/curriculum_home.html
California Adult Education's Adult Learner Persistence Project
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ae/ir/persistproject.asp
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=598#persistence_role
NSCAL - Persistence among pre-ged adult education students
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=663
Researchers looked at a variety of classroom management
and instructional practices, including indoctrinational
versus democratic teaching strategies; cognitive versus
experiential learning; and the effects of different kinds
of teacher-student relationships, classroom structures,
teacher expectations, degrees of teacher autonomy, and
others.
"One
Day I Will Make It"
A Study of Adult Student Persistence in Library Literacy
Programs
http://www.mdrc.org/publications/401/execsum.html
The Wallace Foundation launched the Literacy in Libraries
Across America (LILAA) initiative in 1996 with the goal
of helping public libraries around the country develop
new ways to increase adult learners' persistence. The
Wallace Foundation also contracted with MDRC and the National
Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL)
to document the libraries' experiences and to examine
whether the new strategies led to longer, more intense
program participation and improvements in literacy and
language skills. In the study, the planning and implementation
of strategies to improve student persistence were investigated
in well-established library literacy programs in nine
branches of five libraries over the course of four years,
from 2000 through 2003.
Adult
Students: Recruitment and Retention
http://tinyurl.com/dnlsju
How to attract and retain adult students is an enduring
question for providers of adult education. Adult students
must juggle competing demands on their time from study,
family, work, and other commitments; their learning goals
are often different from those of educational institutions
and providers; and their needs and aspirations may change
during the education process, sometimes as a result of
it. This Brief reviews recent research related to adult
student recruitment and retention and provides guidelines
for recruiting and retaining adult learners.
Persistence
in English as a Second Language (ESL) Programs:
Research Using the Method of Natural Variations by Tom
Sticht
http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/sticht/31jan05/1.htm
Testing hypotheses derived from theory using experimental
research designs with random assignment are extremely
difficult to implement in operational settings such as
adult literacy education programs. It may also be prohibitively
expensive to conduct this sort of "gold standard"
research.
For these reasons colleagues and I explored a different
approach when we set out to test hypotheses from Functional
Context Education theory in an operational context. In
this case we followed a method used in sciences such as
astronomy and biology and set out to test a hypotheses
from FCE theory using the method of examining naturally
occurring variations in adult literacy programs.
Practitioners employ various strategies during intake,
orientation, and instruction to keep adult learners from
dropping out. Research indicates that it is also important
to establish goals, build self-efficacy, manage barriers,
and acknowledge progress.
Studying
the Problem of Persistence in Adult Education Programs http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/ann_rev/comings-02.pdf
Half of those who enroll in adult education programs drop
out in the first few weeks. Three researchers define the
problem, review the literature, and suggest a framework
to help identify the forces that either help or hinder
persistence among adult learners.
California Adult Learner Persistence Project
http://www.ric.edu/aepdc/learnerpersistence.php
The California Adult Learning Persistence Project helps
adult educators explore ways to improve their programs.
The project is self-directed and open-ended. Because each
agency has unique circumstances and interests, there is
no single "prescription" that will suit all
situations. Educators can explore concepts on their own,
discuss ideas with other educators in their community
or region, or engage in dialogue with other participating
educators by posting comments or questions to the listserve.
California
Adult Education - Research Digest Newsletter
http://www.calpro-online.org/pubs/100719LearnerPersistenceNewsletterPress.pdf
Retaining learners is an ongoing challenge for adult basic
education (ABE) programs, in which high attrition is common
and accountability pressures are strong. Recently, researchers
have called on the field to rethink the meaning of persistence
from the learner's point of view, and studies have identified
specific ways to support persistence. Their findings provide
insights for structuring local practice in ways that may
help more learners reach their goals.
Community
Partnerships for Adult Learning (C-Pal)
http://www.c-pal.net/build/assess/research6.asp
Research articles on student persistence and retention
Learner Persistence
http://www.c-pal.net/build/assess/how6.asp
Articles on how to improve Learner persistence and retention.
NEW!
http://tinyurl.com/teachingtips
This site has tons of information about how to motivate, engage and retain students. There is even strategies on how to remember their names and ideas on how to get to know them better. This is a tremendous website chalk full of resources!
Exercise
http://www.studygs.net/motivation.htm
As young children, we have a great ability to learn and
to see past setbacks.
As we begin to meet expectations created by our families,
schools, and environment, the motivation of our early
years shifts from our goals to pleasing others, and often
our desire to learn suffers. How can you motivate yourself?
Power,
Literacy, Motivation
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=421
At Pima County Adult Education (PCAE), we have come to
believe that literacy is a means to greater power and
personal freedom, not an end in itself. It is the prospect
of achieving power and not the concept of literacy that
truly motivates both students and teachers.
Effects
of goal setting on persistence - NSCALL
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=331
Article in "Focus on Basics: The Effects of Continuing
Goal-Setting on Persistence in a Math Classroom by Pamela
Meader. She to observe what effect continuing goal-setting
in a math class would have on learner persistence
Integrating
goal setting into instructional design
http://sabes.org/resources/publications/adventures/vol16/16newamericans.htm
Our program offers ESOL classes from the beginning to
advanced levels to adult immigrants and refugees in Franklin
and Hampshire counties in Western Massachusetts. In this
article we'd like to share our approach to learner goal
setting in the hope that other programs will find it useful.
NALD
Study on Goal Setting
FACTORS AFFECTING GOAL COMPLETION OF ADULT BASIC EDUCATION
STUDENTS IN THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM OF VERMONT
Table of Contents:http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/thesis/thesis1.htm#TABLE
Introduction: http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/thesis/intro.htm
Why
some students stay in Adult Basic Education programs until
they reach their goals while others drop out is a question
that has plagued their teachers since the advent of the
program. Indeed, more drop out than persist. Although
a considerable amount of research has been conducted on
drop-outs, only within the past decade have people seriously
begun to look at factors affecting goal attainment. Also,
it is being realized that variables promoting persistence
are not necessarily diametrically opposed to factors influencing
dropout. Those who complete their goals may possess unique
qualities or have access to required services and support.
Developing Goals:
The
Adult Student's Guide to Survival and Success
http://www.adultstudent.com/student/asg5/goals.html
Many adults returning to college already have an idea
of what they will study due to the type of career toward
which they are working. But many do not. If you are one
of those who may feel overwhelmed about the future, and
even if not, read on!
We are providing several different philosophies on "setting
and reaching goals" because what may work for one
person may not work for another. Similarly, each style
may be better suited to one situation over another. Feel
free to borrow ideas from one another methods and combine
the tips!
Authentic
Goal Setting with ABE Learners: Accountability for Programs
or Process for Learning? SABE
http://www.sabes.org/resources/publications/adventures/vol13/vol13.pdf
SABES has been given the responsibility for supporting
program efforts to meet dual goals: 1) to encourage classroom-based
learner-centered formative goal setting and goal attainment
evaluation with learners, and 2) to usher in collection
of goal setting and goal attainment data through the SMARTT
system. A group of practitioners in the Southeast region
of Massachusetts recently responded to questions about
the challenges in encouraging learners to set goals during
the intake process for their participation in the ABE,
ESOL, or GED class:
Bringing
Learners into Goal setting SABES
http://ncbsonline.net/Goal%20Setting.htm
Our community-based program serves adults with limited
English proficiency who desire to maintain and improve
their quality of life in American society. Our goal is
to enable adult learners to actively formulate their own
educational goals.
Colorado
Adult Learner Goal setting Kit
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeadult/resources.htm
Instruments for setting goals, exploring feelings about
goal work, revisiting goals and celebrating goal achievement
are available at this site.