Map Showing Southwest Consortium Southwest Consortium
Northwest
Consortium

Northeast
Consortium

West Central
Consortium

East Central
Consortium

Southeast
Consortium

 Teaching Strategy:
Developing More Effective Writing Skills
One of the biggest obstacles adult learners face is effective essay writing in a 45-minute time limit. Many of them are terrified of writing, but if given a large amount of time may be able to produce some piece of writing. When it is asked of a student to plan, write, and revise an essay in 45 minutes, it is like asking many of them to walk on water.

The most effective method to help them become more comfortable with writing is to begin the writing process with a large amount of time. One hour and 15 minutes is a good starting point. The time limit should be reduced daily, by five minutes, until 45 minutes is reached.

This procedure works because it allows students to practice managing the time it takes for them to do an essay. It will teach them organizational, planning and g skills without developing anxiety attacks m the process. Writing within a 45-minute time limit will become almost like second nature to even the most fearful of students.

Leigh Williams
Calhoun County
SDA 16


"Students do not like writing essays. The easiest way to get them to write is to lecture on the importance of writing. Lecturing helps students to understand why they have to do a certain task, and it gives them an opportunity to rethink their goals to ask questions and identify any concerns."

Virginia Johnson
Early County
SDA 16


Strategies for Teaching Science
In Dougherty County, we have quite a number of teenagers in our classes. It is sometimes difficult to keep this age group interested in their lessons, especially science. In an effort to keep them focused, I sometimes use props to teach a particular concept.

For example, when teaching the scientific method and photosynthesis, I use such items as live plants and let the students conduct experiments to test their hypotheses. For instance, a student attempting to find the effects of sunlight on a plant's growth would use two plants — one hidden away from the light and the other in full sunlight. The students find this type of experiment fun, and they look forward to finding the results. Once a conclusion is reached, the student shares his or her findings with the class. The project encourages the student to conduct research, develop waiting skills, build vocabulary skills and in some cases learn to apply basic, practical mathematical calculations. The overall classroom accomplishment is that students enjoy learning what is thought to be a hard and boring subject — science.

Jolane Davis
Dougherty County
SDA 16


How to Build Map Reading Skills
Place a large, plastic-coated physical map, such as one by National Geographic, on a table. Ask the students to use play dough and form a mountain or mountain range on a relief section. Have them choose an area and build up the mountains, looking for the names of the mountain ranges and the location in proximity to bodies of water. Use a political map to cross-reference the nations and cities included in the mountainous areas.

Sally McIntosh
Macon County
SDA 15


Using Computers to Attain Academic Skills
Computers are being used to aid instruction of adult reamers at this location. The strategy leads to faster improvement in students' academic skills. Students are assigned math, writing and reading lessons on the nine NovaNet portals. These lessons all have pre- and post-tests, with prescription assignments given by the instructor, if the students are not successful on pre-test. This strategy allows the student to work at his or her own pace, in the privacy of the computer. It eliminates the possibility of a student getting the answers from the back of the textbook before the assignment is done.

This strategy has proven to be very helpful, and the students enjoy the opportunity to use computers. Many of them have never touched a keyboard before this instruction.

Alvin Payton
Lowndes County
SDA 35


TOP   |   TABLE OF CONTENTS   |   ADULT LITERACY   |   DTAE HOME