By Michael Ormsby
Over 39 million American adults lack a high school diploma, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures, and around 30 million American adults rank “Below Basic” in prose adult literacy, the lowest literacy ranking, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). In quantitative literacy, 46 million adults rank “Below Basic,” showing widespread problems in adult literacy and numeracy. Even among college students, significant numbers lack prose, document, or quantitative adult literacy.
These are startling figures. Increasingly, our world demands complex literacies… in problem solving, decision making, using data, and understanding information. The GED Academy has developed essential adult literacy education to address the complex issues of adult basic education and adult literacy programs. This initiative focuses on bringing fundamental skills, including reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking skills, to undereducated adult learners, primarily at the adult secondary education level.
Essential adult literacy education is defined by three basic tenets:
1. Interest and Relevance
Essential adult literacy education involves making the connection between learning and life skills. “Rapid changes in technology make it necessary for adults of all ages to use written information in new and more complex ways,” according to The National Survey of America’s College Students, which cites computers, tax forms, and even shopping as everyday tasks that require more and more sophisticated literacies. Showing how adult literacy skills apply to real life increases motivation, and motivation is the key to learning.
2. Student-Centered Learning
Student-centered learning means that adult learners are actively engaged in the process of creating, understanding, and connecting to knowledge. To involve students in the learning process, the GED Academy has developed an adult basic education program that guides students through lessons in a virtual classroom. Connecting with virtual students not only activates student interest, but it also creates a student-centered environment. Learners become involved in the ways virtual students connect to and learn material. The program also includes constant student interaction to reinforce learning.
3. Customized, Dynamic Curriculum
Customizing the learning process to each unique individual is especially important in teaching adults. Undereducated adult learners typically have gaps in their knowledge, and the GED Academy considers it essential for students to target their curriculum to fill those gaps. The problem for educators is that, while one student may be bored reviewing old material, another student may need extra study time on the same material. The GED Academy’s adult basic education program is student-guided individual study, so learners can spend as much or as little time on a particular lesson as needed.
Essential adult literacy education isn’t about just studying for a test. It’s about absorbing the skills… critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, the ability to think clearly… that will allow you to achieve more in your life. Passing the test is just a byproduct of learning.
Michael Ormsby is the president of GED Academy and oversees software and curriculum for adult learners and people with educational challenges. For more information, visit passGED.com. Michael can be contacted by telephone at 800-460-8150.
