Adult Education New Student Orientation

1. Adult EducationNew Student Orientation Utah Adult Education Programs

2. Greetings • I am proud that you have decided to return to school to further your education. The decision you have made shows that you are concerned about your future and we look forward to assisting you as you strive to reach your personal goals. The purpose of this short slide show is to give you a better understanding of the Adult Basic Education program so you can receive the maximum benefit from the program. Sincerely, Jenna M. Duncan, Adult Education Coordinator

3. First Things First—Setting Goals • In order for the program to be successful for you, it is very important that you set goals for yourself. Please make sure that you share and discuss these with your teacher. • Goals need to be SPECIFIC, REALISTIC, and POSITIVE. • To say “I want to be a millionaire by the age of 20” would not be very realistic. But to say “I eventually plan to work in a department store by first getting a job as a sales clerk…then as an assistant manger…then as a manager” would be realistic, specific, and positive. • Many adults who return to school have the goal of getting the GED or a high school diploma. That is a great goal, but you first need to think about the short term goals which may be to improve my reading, math or English skills. • For example, “I would like to get my GED, but first I have to strengthen my skills in writing an essay for the GED and learn how to solve mathematics word problems”. This goal is more specific and takes into account some of the skills that must be achieved first, in order to be prepared to take the GED test. • Our goal in the program is to help you break down the subject matter into small, achievable parts that will help lead you to your broader long-term goals. Please remember that achieving goals takes time and personal commitment.

4. Goal Setting Questions 1. What is your long-term personal goal? 2. How much time are you willing to commit to achieving this goal? 3. What are some things you know of right now that you need to learn more about in order to reach your long-term goals? 4. What employment goals do you have? 5. What do you need to do to achieve your employment goals? 6. What is getting in the way of you achieving your goals? (Examples: lack of time, little family support, low self image)

5. Now, your goals are set. Congratulations! You have made the first step towards your success. We all have dreams about what we want to do with our lives. But dreams are simply a wish list floating in the clouds. In order to move forward, you must set goals. Any goal that is not written down is just a dream. Since you have just written down your goals, you have made the important first step towards your success. All you have to do now is commit your time, energy and enthusiasm into being a successful student.

6. Adult education classes are not like regular school. It is very important that you understand that adult education is not like the regular school you once attended. There are several things about adults that make them learn differently from children. We respect these differences and try to make the program meet your adult needs. Below are some of the ways adults learn differently. Think about it! • Adults are self-directed. As an adult you depend on yourself to earn a living and manage your life. • Adults are doers. You use what you learn to be better workers and parents. • Adults have a broad base of learning that has come from life experience. • Adults have many life experiences to learn from. • Adults learn more slowly than children, but just as well. • Adults are motivated to learn internally by self-esteem and feeling of achievement. • Adults need to apply their learning immediately in order to help them with their life situation. • Adult learners are from many educational levels, backgrounds and ages.

7. Key features of Adult Education Classes: • Adult Education classes will focus on helping you master the skills you need to be successful to reach your personal learning goals. • You will be taking a test during the first week of your class time so the teacher will be able to know what materials you need to work with. • You are expected to act as a responsible adult while attending these classes. The instructor will go over the expectations for student behavior on the first class meeting. Failure to follow the student expectations can result in dismissal from the program. • Class attendance is very important in being able to reach your learning goals. Please let your teacher know of any difficulties that might cause you to have to miss classes. • Class work in adult education classes is usually self-paced and based on your personal learning level. Many times, the entire class will all be working on different assignments and the teacher will be going around the room helping each student with any problems they are having. • It is your responsibility to let the teacher know about any problems you are having with your class work.

8. How do I find out what classes I will be taking? • Take the TABE Locator Test—This short test in reading, math, and language will help us know which longer version of the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) to give you. • Then take the TABE Survey Test—This test covers reading, math, and language. It will be graded and your teacher will review your scores and work with you to select the most appropriate courses to meet your needs.

9. Keeping up with progress • Have a clear picture of the skills you need to study each day. • Your teacher/counselor will work with you to develop your Student Education Occupation Plan • Regularly meet with your teacher and counselor to evaluate your progress and move to the next goal. • Before you know it, you will have reached your learning goal.

10. How long will this take me? • The length of time in the program is different for every person. It all depends on your background knowledge, personal motivation, and study habits. • After you have attended class for 60 hours, you will again be given the TABE test as a post-test to see what type of progress you have made. From this post-test, we can determine what else needs to be covered in class.

11. Let’s talk about the GED The Tests of General Educational Development (GED Tests) are designed to measure learning outcomes that are generally acquired through completion of a high school program of study. The GED is a standardized test, meaning that its scoring scale is derived from the performance of a sample of graduating high school seniors. The content on the test is drawn from material used in today’s high schools. Below is a summary of the five sections of the GED: • Below is a summary of the five sections of the GED: • SECTION # OF QUESTIONS TIME LIMIT • Math Part I 25 45 minutes • (Calculator allowed) • Math Part II 25 45 minutes • Science 50 80 minutes • Social Studies 50 70 minutes • Language Arts Reading 40 65 minutes • Language Arts-Writing-Part I 50 75 minutes • Language Arts-Writing Part II Essay 45 minutes

12. Frequently Asked Questions--GED • Who is eligible to take the GED tests? • To be eligible to test, you must be 18 or older and your senior class has graduated. • Students ages 17-18 whose senior class has not graduated, must furnish an official statement from the school district within which you reside indicating you are not regularly enrolled in school and a letter from your parent or legal guardian authorizing you to take the test. (Candidates who present a marriage certificate are exempt from this second requirement.)

13. What will I do if I do not pass the tests? • You can take the GED tests over for an additional fee. • The test can be taken three times in each GED calendar year. • It is recommended that students who do not pass the test attend GED preparation classes to become more prepared for the sections of the test that they did not pass. Since the test is standardized, a student would make a similar score if they retested with no preparation; therefore, it is important that students prepare for any parts which did not meet the minimum score requirements.

14. Study Skills Tips My eyes are tired . … . I can’t stay focused. Take a five minute break every 20 minutes. It is very helpful to relax the mind after serious study. Stand up, stretch and reward yourself after you accomplish learning how to solve a problem, concept, etc. Everything is “running together” on the page. Try to divide the page with a half-folded piece of paper. I can’t get my notes organized. When the teacher explains how to do a math problem for example, you might want to keep a journal with one example of how to do the problem. Make notations like this: Subject: Area of a rectangle. Formula: Length times width (l x w) Example: What is the area of a rectangular garden 5 feet wide and half that long? 5 x 2.5=12.5 feet

15. Study Skills Have trouble taking notes. Divide the page into two parts by drawing a line down the middle of the page. Place the subject being studied about on the left side of the page and record key ideas relating to the subject on the right side. When the topic changes, add the new topic to the left side and continue the process. After class, you will have space to go in and record additional information on the subject. Have trouble remembering important ideas. When you have trouble remembering important ideas, create a “jingle” to help you remember. For example, with order of operations you might use: Please (Do parentheses first) Excuse (Do exponents next) My (Multiply next from left to right) Dear (Divide next from left to right) Aunt (Add next from left to right) Sally (Subtract next from left to right)

16. You are in charge! • Congratulations on your decision to participate in an adult education program. • You will meet with success and be able to achieve your desired goal as long as you come to class, ask questions and work hard.