Persistence

//**Gretchen Bitterlin, California Adult Level ESL educator and ESL textbook author, has said, "Adult students vote with their feet." In other words, when a class meets their English learning needs, they persist; when it does not, they often stop coming to class. Persistence is a hot buzzword in our discipline, as program funds and decisions about starting new classes and cancelling those with low enrollment often hinge on average daily attendance.** //

//**What are your classroom practices that encourage students to keep coming to class until the last day? What effective policies or practices to promote student persistence have been implemented in your program?** //

**Submitted by Helen Tucker:**

This was a one-time, long-term project and may not work for a college class, but it worked wonders for attendance in my adult ed Int High class: One semester the class listened to a 15- part recorded ESL soap opera-ish play over the course of 3 weeks. They loved the play and hated to miss an episode. When we came to the end, I had them write their own endings in groups. Each group had to perform their ending, and we then voted on a favorite. Because that was fun and they didn't want the activity to end, one student suggested that the class perform the entire play for an audience. I had never tried anything like this before and was very skeptical due to unreliable attendance. Re-writing the whole thing to match student skill level, rehearsing, and figuring out the logistics was going to take a month. I was not optimistic about pulling it off, but we went ahead. Every student had a job, either as a character in the play, a set changer, a props manager, a program designer, etc. I set aside the last 45 minutes of each 3-hour class for rehearsal and, lo and behold, students continued to show up because they loved what they were doing and didn't want to let the others down. Attendance was never better! Not only did they use class time, but they communicated with each other by phone to coordinate costumes and props, they rehearsed during our breaks until they had their parts memorized, and one student with good computer graphic skills made great programs to hand out to the audience. Finally, we did two 45-minute performances for the school, friends, and families, and it was quite a success. Some students said it was not only fun, but was the best ESL practice they had ever had. I loved it too, as it was all generated by students; I just acted as their go-fer. It's possible that another group might not be so invested, but that group certainly was, and class attendance was the best ever.


 * Submitted by Sylvia Ramirez:**

My thoughts: The more I teach, the more I find myself focusing on what makes students persist as opposed to why they may leave. As a teacher, I can’t really solve their transportation, childcare or personal/family issues. However, I can try to ensure that my students’ classroom experiences are constantly promoting student success. So here are some things I try to always do:

1) ** Have a plan ** I have a daily lesson plan, a weekly plan and a plan for the term or semester. Of course, the plan changes daily, weekly and definitely by the end of the term/semester. However, the plan helps me focus on what should be taught – the why, how, and when.

2) ** Share my plan **  Every day I write an agenda on the board and review it with students. We check the agenda about half way through the class and at the end of class. It’s my way to be sure students know what is being taught and why and to evaluate my pacing. At the end of the class, I often ask students to tell me what they enjoyed most, and what they want to do more or to do less. In the beginning, students say they like everything, but later in the course, they become more willing to discuss what hasn’t worked as well for them. My course syllabus has a detailed schedule, and I always have students check to see how we are doing with the plan during the term and then discuss what we accomplished at the end of the term.

3) ** Make every minute count ** I have stopped worrying about which activities to do to accommodate students who have to come late to class or leave early. I begin teaching right away and keep teaching until the end of the class. Students have many ways to make up the work that they may miss – buddies, extra handouts, time to team-teach concepts, etc. There is no punishment if students come late or leave early. However, I am very clear that I will begin the lesson promptly at the start of class, and the lesson will continue until the end of the class. In fact, I often plan activities they especially like and/or need at the beginning or endings of class – Our computer time is the first hour on Mondays and tests are towards the end of class. More times than not, I find a majority of students are in their seats and ready to learn. But when they aren’t, there are multiple ways to help them catch up on what they missed.

4) **Be sure students learn at least one new thing every class ** My mentor, Autumn Keltner, always said that it was important to teach one new thing every class and be sure the students know what you taught them. Then they can answer that famous question…”What did you learn today?”

5) **Set high standards and then provide the needed support so students may meet those high standards ** Every integrated skills class is multi-level, but I address the outcomes for the level I teach. That means certain skill areas may be too difficult for some of the students. I don’t lower the level standards, but I provide lots of scaffolding techniques to be sure these students can also participate. For example, we write 6 paragraphs during the term. Some of my students have great difficulty writing in English. I provide writing models, graphic organizers and peer / teacher support so the students can produce their paragraphs. Of course, some are much better than others, but they participate and learn the skill at the level they are able while still striving for the level standard.

6) **Document student progress ** I believe that students want to know their progress. They are giving up a great deal to attend school, and they want to know how well they are doing. In my syllabus, I provide students with a grading form with specific points for vocabulary/spelling, tests, writing assignments, and class projects. I score their work and ask them to record the scores on this form. I also keep a master form.

7) ** Build Self Efficacy ** I want to make my students invest in their own success. Periodically, I check their grade forms. If they are missing scores, I refer them to my master grade forms. At the end of the term, I don’t have to have long conversations with students about whether they will be promoted. They know how they have done. Students also have a record to show friends and family how they are progressing. I also do Goal Forms at the beginning of a term to record what students want to learn during the term and how they will accomplish this. Then we review them at the end of the term to see how well they have done.

So do these strategies always work? No, of course not! There are so many good reasons students don’t persist. However, these ideas have helped me structure teaching and learning in my classroom.


 * Submitted by Kristi Reyes:**


 * Program-wide: **

· ** For all students: ** o **Certificates** of attendance for students who complete a term given the last day of class; Perfect attendance certificates o **Instructional aides:** call students when they begin to miss class o **Onsite counselor:** visits classes, advises on transitional opportunities and provides career information o **Tutors:** offer drop-in and by-appointment tutoring in any skill area in which students need assistance o **A Community Learning Lab:** computer lab where students can be tested and learn at their own pace using level-appropriate ESL software o **Schedule** to meet many needs: Our classes are offered in the a.m., noon, and evening, but we are now starting more 3 - 6 p.m. classes; we also offer Saturday classes o **"Distance learning":** students can check out DVDs to watch at home and complete exercises in a level-appropriate book (we use "Crossroads Cafe") o **Managed enrollment:** five eight-week terms throughout the year -- students are more likely to commit to a short intensive term (four days per week, M-TH, 3 hours per class period) than a long-drawn out term; students take the placement test and are placed in a closed class that only takes students from the waiting list the first two weeks (i.e., no open enrollment except in a couple of afternoon classes and the Saturday classes) o **Textbooks:** students required to purchase but we have small classroom sets available for those who cannot afford them; buying a textbook makes students slightly more "invested" in free classes

· ** For new students: ** o A **program orientation**: stresses the dates of the term, the policy regarding notifying instructors about absences, and what students can do when their schedules change and when they need to stop-out o **Binders:** with program information and a calendar with important dates for the term provided to new students

· ** Regarding goal-setting and transitions: ** o **Assessments:** Student learning outcomes, EL Civics assessments, and CASAS tests (as well as assessments created by teachers) used to determine promotion -- students like assessments because they help them know about their progress; believe it or not, we have excellent attendance on CASAS post-testing day! o **VESL:** Vocational ESL class with career modules for career exploration and language learning within specific occupational areas helps students begin to formulate transitional goals o **An on-site Career Expo**: credit ESL, Career and Technical instructors and counselors set up booths and provide information o A **guided tour** of college campus where credit classes are offered: for students in the two highest levels of the campus where credit classes are offered; students visit classrooms and listen to credit CTE instructors give introductions to their career areas o An **NC2C (noncredit to credit) program**: students in highest levels apply to be part of a group that tours the campus where credit classes are offered, have a designated counselor, and visit classes of interest


 * What I do: **

· **Names:** I get to know students' names the first day by taking their pictures (I'm a face person -- I remember all students' names by the second day) and then use their names right away · **Detailed Syllabus:** with policies (how to contact me to report an absence and what to do if schedule changes or need to quit the class) and expectations on the first page; it also contains an **attendance check-off** (I reward students who attend all four days of class per week with a small chocolate) and **progress tracker** (where students record their scores for quizzes and tests) · **Contract:** I often ask students to sign a contract stating that they understand the policies of the class -- other times I quiz them on the class policies · **Goal setting:** I like the ideas and materials at [|English Club] and have modified them for use in my classes · **Homework and opportunities to practice outside class:** I give short homework assignments every Thursday (conversation questions, short workbook exercises, writing/revision work) and I always have a class Web page where students can revisit grammar and other PowerPoint presentations and where I post weekly activities and links to Web sites for review and reinforcement -- students who are absent can go online and stay caught up (as long as they have internet access) See examples of the level 5 (high intermediate) classes I have taught at http://mccesl5.wikispaces.com/, [|http://mccesl.pbworks.com] , and http://esl5mcc.wikispaces.com/. Sure it takes a bit of time to set this all up in the beginning, but if you teach the same class over and over, you only need to copy over into a new Web page. · **Call:** Although we have instructional aides, I sometimes call students myself to follow up if they have been absent and haven't informed me · **CATS:** classroom assessment techniques to "check-in" (usually just a card on which students anonymously give feedback -- I don't understand... I want to practice ___ more... I like .... I don't like... I want more ... Suggestions/comments). Students appreciate that you take the time to check in with them and to know that you care about whether or not your instruction is meeting their needs. Now that we have ARS (audience response systems, "clickers") I can do this (and a whole host of other activities) and get immediate and anonymous (or not) feedback from the students. See [|OTAN video]. · **Relevance:** I try to remember to frequently tell students **why** and **how** what they are learning/practicing is relevant to their communication needs and learning goals (just an example: We are practicing the pronunciation of past tense -ed endings because if you say "I finish my work" at your job, you will create a bit of confusion... make sure to pronounce the final -ed as /t/. You said your goal is to be fluent, and past tense is one of the most frequently-used verb tense, so it's important to have good pronunciation... · **Personal skills and professional development:** organized 5-step integrated-skills lesson plans with plenty of review for students who do miss a day; flexibility when students learn the content faster or slower than expected; create my own materials to personalize them for the students -- using their names, their interests, their life experiences -- online video and internet sources I modify; attend numerous conferences, as budget permits · **Projects:** Like Helen (above), looking back at the times when my classes have had the highest retention rates (one student drop, 90+ percent retention), I had planned very engaging, fun projects that were spread out over an entire term in which the focus was communicative. Here are a few samples from those classes when I had excellent retention: o A [|"Speaking with the Stars" video project] -- in groups students were video-taped reading a script of a movie scene (pre-) ; they practiced the script throughout the term with feedback; then they were post-taped; the class voted on the best team -- very fun ... and FUNNY! See the results at [] o A [|VESL Class Exchange] (a class team-taught with my colleague Eli Clarke, included many projects) with students in Spain o A "Names" project (back in 2004, which I modified recently to include only reading, writing, and PowerPoint presentation components, see student samples at http://mccesl6summer2010.wikispaces.com/ ) · **LAST, but definitely not LEAST: I put myself in students' shoes.** o I took a beginning level Spanish class to try to commiserate o I ask myself if the topic I am covering and if my method of presentation would be interesting (I teach night class, so keeping them awake is of paramount importance!) o I consult with my demographic expert (my husband, whose home country is the same as the majority of my students') and think of my demographic (mostly married folks of Latino heritage in their mid-30s with children) and do my best to target their interests and needs. Are they talking about a soccer tournament? A viral YouTube video? The shocks from the most recent earthquake? Why not create some sort of lesson around their interests, about what they are talking about? o //Would I be bored with my teaching?// I ask myself. If the answer is yes, I frantically revise my plans mid-week to try to see how I can spice things up... This does stress me out, but it's my job, after all...

As Sylvia mentioned, above, sometimes it's not the teacher or the instruction. Our students have very busy lives... however, if we make each class count and have students walk away happily feeling like they have learned something they didn't know before, chances are that they will make a big effort to come back the next day even amid all the other demands on their time. In my experience, the single most important thing we can do at the start of a term is to ENGAGE them and CREATE COMMUNITY. From there, the class dynamic is set and the language teaching and learning will come much easier...

Comings, J.P. (2007). Persistence: Helping adult education students reach their goals. // Review of Adult Learning and Literacy (Vol. 2), //23 - 46. Cambridge, MA: NCSALL, available online at [] Learner Persistence page of The Adult Literacy Education Wiki at [].
 * Resources:**