This book provides an overview of systematic instructional strategies and is written in a format so that teachers and other service providers can immediately put the information to use. It specifically focuses upon systematic instruction for individuals with disabilities (school age and adults) and is generic across age groups as well as…

Washington's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program (I-BEST) quickly teaches students literacy, work, and college-readiness skills so they can move through school and into living wage jobs faster. Pioneered by Washington's community and technical colleges, I-BEST uses a team-teaching approach to combine college-readiness classes…

Through this research project, I aim to address three problems in the instruction of basic skills students. First, despite the large number of students enrolled in community college basic skills programs, the success rate is low. Second, many basic skills courses are taught with drill and memorization, with little attention paid to intellectually…

There is concern in California community colleges about student success because persistence rates have decreased and graduation rates have declined. Basic skills students are underserved and underprepared, and their success rates are lower than traditional students. Nine California Community College Student Success Task Force recommendations were…

The second annual implementation report for the Accelerating Opportunity (AO) initiative in four states finds that: (1) colleges aligned pathways and supports with local needs; (2) students were satisfied with AO; (3) AO instructors grew more adept at team teaching; (4) colleges struggled to recruit adult education students; (5) states and…

Basic skills courses are designed to teach students certain basic academic competencies they have not mastered. However, very little research has examined the quality of instruction inside basic skills classes. This paper presents preliminary findings from observations in 13 California community colleges. The clearest finding is that…

Contextualized teaching and learning (CTL), or the concept of relating subject matter content to meaningful situations that are relevant to students' lives, offers one promising approach to helping students learn more effectively. This brief offers instructors, college leaders, policy makers and funders a high-level summary of the CTL…

A previous working paper argued, that, to understand basic skills education, it is necessary to observe classrooms to see what the "instructional triangle" involving the instructor, students, and content is like. This working paper presents the results of observing classes in 13 community colleges. It starts with a conceptualization of…

Basic education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) seems to be characterized by lecture methods of instruction, a lack of interdisciplinary approaches and a disconnection with local community problems. During 2008, a "My Community, Our Earth" (MyCOE) workshop was organized in the MENA region and involved teachers of geography,…

This article presents a summary of the main findings of a national literature review completed as part of a larger study of basic skills effective practices. The study summarized here was commissioned by the California Community Colleges System Office with the purpose of conducting a comprehensive review of national literature and identifying…

The effects of using cassette-tape recordings for programming in a rural radio school program in Ecuador were examined. Radio schools broadcasted five afternoons a week and offered a primary school equivalency certificate at the completion of the course. Students were under the direction of an "Auxiliar" who followed the directions of…

The pedagogical assumptions and teaching practices of learning community models reflect exemplary conditions for learning, so using these models with unprepared students seems desirable and worthy of investigation. This chapter describes the key role of faculty in creating active, integrative learning experiences for students in basic skills…

The symposium on Issues of Parent Involvement and Literacy marked the culmination of a collaborative project of Trinity College in Washington, D.C. and the Arlington (Virginia) Public Schools to reach out to limited-English-proficient (LEP) parents. This was accomplished by providing cultural and language information so that parents could become…

This report offers California college faculty a closer look at contextualized teaching and learning (CTL) as a promising set of strategies and practices that can be expanded through the state's Basic Skills Initiative. The report is relevant to a range of instructional and counseling faculty, including academic and career and technical education…

Describes the Community College of Philadelphia's three-level developmental curriculum consisting of basic English and math courses and developmental-content, noncredit courses in history, geography, social science, and psychology. Reviews the objectives, content, and instructional methods of each level of the curriculum and discusses outcomes.…