The case studies in this chapter are teaching oriented, as is the BEST program case study in Chapter 4. They demonstrate how subject matter is covered, how workplace materials are incorporated, and how basic skills are treated in the program.

To determine how basic skills fit into your program, think of your position. Are you a subject teacher or technical, job- specific trainer who wants to integrate basic skills upgrading with your lessons? We refer to this type of program as integrated. Or are you a basic skills teacher using and adapting work-related materials for basic skills practice? We refer to this program as content based.

If you are a subject teacher your main purpose is to engage learners in the theory and practice of your subject. Your attention to their basic skills needs should enable them to better understand the subject matter as they practice and improve their reading, writing, thinking, and math skills.

If you are a basic skills teacher you are primarily interested in developing skills, using content as a vehicle. While you want to explore relevant themes and topics, you structure lessons so that there are ample opportunities to help learners develop their basic skills.

In previous chapters we considered approaches to adult education and methods of curriculum design that put theories to the practice. This discussion of content and the teacher's role(*) is another way of examining curriculum development in workplaces.

The relationship between content, skills, and teacher's role is a matter of emphasis and structural design. The LIUNA Blueprint Reading course (Chapter 4), SkillPlan's Concrete Words (Chapter 2), the Auto Parts Industry Training (Chapter 2), and the following case study illustrate the integration of basic-skills instruction and practice with prescribed courses of study. The courses are reshaped with an added emphasis on basic skills, while the participants still gain their credits or diplomas. The curriculum content drives the practice of math, reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.