Your familiarity with the field of adult literacy, your knowledge of the LBS Program and/or your previous experience working in a college setting will help you decide which units of the Guide are most relevant. As you can see from the chart below, the eight new practitioners had varying degrees of experience in these three areas.

Practitioner Knowledge of Adult Literacy Knowledge of the LBS Program Prior Teaching Experience in
Post Secondary or College Setting
#1 moderate minimal no
#2 moderate minimal yes
#3 moderate moderate yes
#4 minimal minimal no
#5 comprehensive moderate yes
#6 moderate minimal no
#7 comprehensive comprehensive yes
#8 moderate minimal no

 

I believe the (new) teacher needs to develop skills for the classroom. Emphasis should be placed on meeting the needs of the students. If all aspects of the job, i.e., Ministry Guidelines, are introduced, the job, I believe, feels overwhelming. Once the teacher is comfortable with the classroom, students and curriculum, it is time to introduce other things.
— Experienced Practitioner

Once you have decided where your areas of need are, you may want to return to the Table of Contents to get a quick overview of the topics. Reviewing the objectives at the beginning of each unit will also help you determine which units are most applicable to your information and training needs.

One of the new practitioners, for example, described his/her prior knowledge of adult literacy and the LBS Program as ‘minimal’. If this describes your situation, and your training time is very limited, you may wish to focus on Units # 1, # 2, # 4 and # 5 which describe:

  • adult literacy and the literacy learner
  • key principles and features of the LBS Program
  • the various roles and responsibilities of the LBS college practitioner