| TOWES Joint Venture |
TOWES - Criterion-Related Studies for Psychometric
Evaluation of TOWES |
Criterion-related validity studies were conducted with 14 different programs or
workplaces. The purpose of this type of study is to test the direction and strength of
relationships between specified predictors (TOWES test scores) and criteria
(outcomes such as specific performance on the job or success in training). One of
the locations for the study was at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in
Edmonton with 5 groups of first year carpentry apprentices (171 individuals) |
| TOWES Joint Venture |
Feasibility Study for French Language TOWES (Test of
Workplace Essential Skills) |
The TOWES Joint Venture is a collaboration between Bow Valley College and
SkillPlan (BC Construction Industry Skills Improvement Council) which has
developed TOWES - the Test of Workplace Essential Skills. TOWES addresses
the needs of workplaces for an assessment tool based on real-life situations and
related to the International Adult Literacy (IALS) literacy levels. TOWES is a
direct result of HRDC's work in the area of Essential Skills Profiles. This project
will meet a need that has been recognized from the beginning of TOWES'
development, that is, the capacity to use TOWES in French. Now that the
assessment tool has been validated and accepted across the country and
internationally, the opportunity to introduce a French version is now. The TOWES
Joint Venture will work with the Association of Canadian Community Colleges to
access community colleges in Quebec as well as with the NB Community College
and Ontario's Collège Boréal to study the feasibility of a French TOWES. The
Joint Venture will investigate the feasibility, develop a cadre of bilingual test item
writers and psychometric advisors, to translate/adapt a limited number of test items
and field test them, and prepare cost projects and timelines for a fully French
TOWES. |
| Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile
Employees (UNITE) Local 459 |
UNITE Literacy Project Phase II |
UNITE will follow-up on the recommendations and plan of action from its basic
skills needs assessment by promoting basic skills within UNITE, aid locals to
develop their own plans, train union members in the various industrial settings
(textile, apparel, manufacturing) in issues related to basic skills and literacy,
manage a central resource bank and develop a train the trainer model to integrate
basic skills into the union's regular education programs. |
| Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile
Employees (UNITE) Local 459 |
Development of an Integrated Learning Program |
UNITE Local 459 will develop a teaching strategy which integrates basic skills
with problem solving and critical thinking skills by using the computer as the
primary tool. This project builds on earlier NLS funded research into the use of
computers as a learning tool. |