Designing Effective

Workplace Instruction
Facilitated by:
Lori Howard Melissa Dayton
lbhoward@casas.org mdayton@casas.org

CASAS Summer Institute, June 13, 2012

Agenda
 Warm-up and Introductions
 Presentation/Practice
 Background Information: Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating
Workplace ESL Programs
 Read and discuss
 Workplace Needs Analysis
 Review the process for analyzing a workplace
 Analyze a sample needs assessment report
 Curriculum Framework
 Write sample lesson objectives and assessment activities
 Formative and Summative Evaluations
 Review evaluation procedures
 Evaluation/Application

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5 Steps to Workplace Instructional Design
 There are 5 steps* of effective instructional design for
workplace language training :
1. Conduct a Needs Analysis of the Workplace
2. Develop Curriculum
Use the Needs Analysis to develop Performance Objectives
and a Curriculum Framework
3. Plan Instruction
4. Determine Instructional Strategies
 Write a Teacher’s Guide including Lesson Plans
 Write Learner’s Instructional Materials based on Lesson Plans
5. Conduct Formative and Summative Evaluations

* Adapted from Friedenberg, et. al 2003 and Grognet 1996

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Goals and Objectives
 By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
 Identify the 5 steps of effective workplace instructional design
 Identify the components of a workplace needs analysis
 Review a needs assessment report
 Identify the components of a workplace Curriculum
Framework
 Write sample workplace lesson objectives and assessment
activities
 Identify purposes for formative and summative workplace
evaluations

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The Ah Ha! Moments

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Warm-Up
 Please stand up
 Sit down if you are a:
 Teacher in a workplace program
 Coordinator in a workplace program
 Administrator in a workplace program
 Think/Pair/Share
 Introduce yourself to a partner
 Name
 Agency, Location
 Position
 Ask:
 What do you hope to learn at this session?

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.

Presentation: Planning,
Implementing, and Evaluating
Workplace ESL Programs
By: Allene Guss Grognet
Project in Adult Immigrant Education (PAIE)
Center for Applied Linguistics
June 1996

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Presentation: Background Information
Part 1
 Form Groups of 4-5
 Number off 1-4 (5th person takes number 1 also)
 Each person reads the corresponding part of “Workplace
Literacy” (parts 1-4)
 1 – Green
 2 – Goldenrod
 3 – Blue
 4 - Orange
 Read your section of the article (5 minutes)
 Underline the important parts of your section of the article
 Select 3-4 of the most important parts to share with your
group
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Presentation: Background Information
(continued)
 Raise your hands 1-4
 3 is the Facilitator
 2 is the timekeeper
 Facilitator asks each group member to share in turn
 Timekeeper allows 3 minutes per person to share and
answer questions

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Presentation: Background Information
(continued)
 What questions do you have?
 How does the information you learned from this activity
relate to your experience or your practice?

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 Workplace Needs Analysis

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Workplace Needs Analysis:
Should enable…
 Employers:
 to understand skills required to do the job
 to assist with prioritizing training needs

 Education Coordinator:
 to assist with prioritizing training needs with employer

 Curriculum Developers:
 to choose priority course content (competencies)
 to understand how and where competencies are used (evidence
column)

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Workplace Literacy Skills Analysis: Components
1 - Preliminary Needs Assessment
 Initial company call
 Initial company visit/tour

2 - Formal Needs Assessment

Literacy Skills Analysis Employee Assessment

 Supervisor Interviews  WPLN assessments
 Worker Interviews and Observation
 Workplace Vocabulary

Background Research
 Company-provided information
 Training manuals, textbooks
 Web Searches

3 - Needs Assessment Report

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Initial Meeting and Tour
 Research the company before initial meeting
 Obtain overview of company’s products and services,
workforce profile, organizational changes, skill-related
issues
 Identify company stakeholders / key contacts
 Obtain general view of relationship between
management, workers, union (if present)
 Lay the groundwork for TRAINER team to begin needs
assessment
 Employer goals
 Employer experience with language training for employees
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Needs Assessment Report
 Report should include:
 Project background, company’s goals, stated needs and
concerns
 General observations
 Detailed workplace literacy skills analysis results
 Workplace vocabulary list
 Priority curriculum areas
 Recommendations
 Discuss report with employer:
 Report findings
 Curriculum options
 Expected outcomes
 Next steps

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Sample Needs Assessment Report
 Context/Case Study
 Review the Needs Assessment Report
 Skill Levels (page 11)
 Assessment Data (page 6)
 Analysis (pages 9-10)
 Vocabulary list (page 12)

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Sample Needs Assessment Report Activity
 Review sample needs assessment report through eyes of:
 Employer
 Education Coordinator
 Curriculum Developer
 Answer the following questions:
 What information in the report will help you plan training?
 What other information do you need to plan training?

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 Curriculum Framework

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Components of a Curriculum Framework

 Section 1 – Introduction/Overview
 Section 2 – Performance Objectives
 Section 3 – Performance Measurement

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Curriculum Framework-
Section 1 Introduction
 Describe briefly the primary goal of the course
 primary performance objectives
 language skills to be improved
 Describe learners in aggregate terms (no names)
•Job titles •English language levels •Heritage languages/mother tongue
•Average length of time with employer •Educational backgrounds
 Describe pre/test and placement procedures
 Describe proposed course
 Location/classroom arrangement
 Schedule
 Instructional techniques, strategies and/or approaches to be utilized in
order to attain objectives
 Single level/multi-level course
 Materials, Equipment and Resources

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Curriculum Framework –
Section 2 Performance Objectives
 List the Performance Objectives
 Show alignment with Competencies and Content Standards
 Outline the proposed sequence of instruction

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Literacy Skills  Job Tasks

Social
Customs Vocabulary
Common supplies
Greetings locations
staff

Hotel Housekeeping
Customer Service
Oral Communication
Verb tenses Directions
past prepositions
present ordinal #
future locations
Q&A
5 Ws + H

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Curriculum Framework –
Section 3 Performance Measurement
 Describe how each lesson objective will be measured and
reported
 Outline the course evaluation criteria
 Note: Part of the overall program and curriculum design
should factor in the criteria to measure the efficacy of the
program for all stakeholders (i.e., employees, employers,
funding agency, training providers)

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Creating a Curriculum Framework
 Select Performance Objectives utilizing information from
the Literacy Needs Assessment Report and Workplace Literacy
Skills Analysis Summary
 Identify communicative tasks/functions related to the
performance objectives (these will become lesson objectives)

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MENU

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Practice 1: Selecting and Prioritizing
Communicative Tasks
 Review the Workplace Literacy Analysis: Oral
Communication for Service Specialist/Wait Staff
(pages 9-10) and the vocabulary list (page 12)
 Brainstorm:
I. What actual workplace applications (tasks) match the
competencies listed?
 What tasks does the beginning level learner need to be able
to do to be an effective wait staff member?

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Practice 1 (continued): Linking Job Tasks to
Curriculum Development
II. What language is required to perform each task?
Be specific:
1. Functions
2. Grammar structures, verb tenses
3. Vocabulary, terminology
4. Social/Etiquette conventions

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Creating a Curriculum Framework
 Prioritize tasks by utilizing knowledge of effective
teaching methodology including principles of adult
learning and principles of language learning
 Consider criticality (urgency and frequency) of the task
 Consider complexity
 Consider organizing by talk type (who is talking to whom
about what)
 Consider organizing by broadening responsibility
 Allow opportunities for repetition and reinforcement of
key material

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Practice 2 – Prioritizing the tasks
 Prioritize the list of communicative tasks
 What are the top tasks

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Practice 3 - Lesson Objectives
 Utilizing the task list, think of one or two lesson
objectives for a 3 hour lesson for beginning level learners
 At the end of this lesson, learners will be able to:

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Practice 4 - Performance Measurement
 Measure Tasks/Objectives: Describe how each lesson
objective will be measured
 Possible Assessments:

 Make sure the skills match

 An oral objective requires an oral assessment

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Practice 4 (continued):
Performance Measurement Example
Performance Objectives
1. Understand and follow
simple (levels 1, 2) or
complex (level 3) work-
related instructions and
schedules of work, using
clarification strategies if
necessary
2. Interpret and follow
written directions and
procedures on signs
posted in the store and
product labels.
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Evaluation Criteria
In a role play with the instructor,
learner will demonstrate, with 90%
accuracy, understanding of simple
(levels 1, 2) or complex work related
instructions and schedules of work
using clarification when necessary.
Given 3 signs and 3 product labels
from ABC company, learner will be
able to interpret the meaning of the
signs and labels with 90% accuracy.
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Practice 4 - Write an Assessment
 Select one of the objectives you wrote in Practice 3.
 Write a description for an assessment for that will verify
that learners can “do” the objective
 Make sure the skills match
 An oral objective requires an oral assessment

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 Formative and Summative
Evaluation

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Evaluation
 Formative - while class is in progress
 Review match of curriculum/instructional materials to program
objectives
 Summative - at completion of program
 Evaluate learners
 Formal assessments
 Program-developed assessments
 Evaluate program
 Information from all stakeholders, i.e. teachers, supervisors, learners
 What worked and what didn’t work
 Qualitative and quantitative

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Final Wrap-Up Report to Company
 could include:
• documenting how skills gaps have been addressed
o formal assessment measures (WPLN)
o informal assessment measures
• addressing employer expectations
• participant feedback
• trainer observations and recommendations
• definition of focus areas for continuous learning
• recommendations for next steps

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Goals and Objectives
 By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
  Identify the 5 steps of effective workplace instructional
design
  Identify the components of a workplace needs analysis
  Review a needs assessment report
  Identify the components of a workplace Curriculum
Framework
  Write sample workplace lesson objectives and assessment
activities
  Identify purposes for formative and summative workplace
evaluations

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Reflection

 What are 3 things you learned in this workshop?

 What will you implement immediately?
 What will you implement in the future?

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