| Lesson Planning |
Lesson planning must be flexible. "Lesson Plan" is a school term commonly used in education settings, however it is important to plan a lesson (a session really), using a learner-centered approach. This means that the plan will only be finalized by the learner with the tutor or instructor. Thus, the tutor or instructor can plan for possible options for the session, but not have the session planned without input from the learner. In some programs in the SARAW Survey, the instructor or tutor and learners would plan their next session or number of sessions ahead of time. Depending on the learner, lesson planning will vary. With some learners each session begins with the learner and tutor deciding together what they are going to do. See Appendix G: Sample Lesson Plan. |
| Measuring Progress |
After learners have been in the program for some time it is good to talk about progress the learner is making. Assessment to measure a learner's progress uses a shared assessment approach between the learner and the tutor or instructor. |
| Shared Assessment Approach Reading Spelling |
A shared assessment approach is basically a conversation between the learner and tutor or instructor about how the learner is doing. This involves feedback, questions, encouragement, and looking at the learners' work. In the SARAW Survey many of the learners were very aware of their learning. "Sometimes I surprise myself and see a difference with harder reading." "I know letters now." "I am reading more things, reading the weather in the newspaper." "The more I write the more I learn how to spell. The more I think the less mistakes I make." "My writing is neat, getting better." |
| Self Confidence | Supporting learners to state how they know they are learning contributes to building their self-confidence. Self-confidence was the most significant outcome among learners in the SARAW Survey. "All of a sudden you can see the difference, it's not a struggle to figure out the little things any more." (tutor) "[Learners] know themselves that they are getting better, things are easier for them." (coordinator) From the SARAW Survey, we learned that encouragement and praise were positive approaches to build self-awareness among learners about their ability to learn, and boost their self-confidence. |