A Triple Play: ElCivics, Oregon Adult Basic Skills
Learning Standards and College-Wide Core Learning
Outcomes in
Thinking Critically.
Presenters
Indira Bakshi and Diane Daudt
Lane Community College, Eugene OR
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Background
 In Spring, 2012.EL/Civics instructors chose to implement
objectives from the EL/Civics Competency Area “Nutrition
# 46”
 Nutrition # 46: Access resources for nutrition education and
information related to the purchase and preparation of healthy
foods.
 Critical Thinking is a component of the Language and
Learning Objectives for the EL/Civics Competency Area
“Nutrition # 46”.
Background
 EL/Civics 2011-2012 professional development focused on
training instructors in Oregon ABS Learning Standards.
 2 EL/Civics instructors participated in Oregon ABS
Learning Standards Institutes.
 2 EL/Civics instructors attended Learning Circles.
 Critical thinking is also a component of Oregon ABS
Learning Standards.
Background
 In the Fall of 2011, two ELCivics instructors attended a
Lane Campus workshop on College Core Learning
Outcomes.
 This is continuing college-wide effort to teach and assess
College Core Learning Outcomes in all LCC classes.
 The focus for 2011-2012 was Thinking Critically.
 We received a grant (Yes! $$$$) to develop and assess critical
thinking skills in our EL/Civics classes.
The “Aha Moment”
 We realized we could get a ‘three fer’ from the
Nutrition Unit that year!
 EL/Civics Implementation!
 Taught using Oregon Learning Standards !
 In alignment with Lane’s College Core OutcomeThink Critically!
Perfect Storm
 What started out as a
simple idea became the
blob that ate Cleveland or
at least the Willamette
Valley!
 We had so many ideas and
so many things we wanted
to do with the Nutrition
unit and so much fun
that…….
Return Engagement
We’ll do it again!!! We did it again!!! Why???
 High student need and interest!
 Enthusiastic community participation!
 Planned and Taught again in Winter Term, 2013 with
similar student engagement and outcomes.
What is EL/Civics?
 “The intention of EL/Civics is to provide
integrated English literacy and civics education
to immigrants and other limited English proficient
populations to promote effective participation in
the education, work, and civic opportunities of
this country.”
What are Oregon Learning Standards?
 The Learning Standard is a global statement of what
learners at any level should be able to do, related to
speaking/listening/reading and writing.
 The State of Oregon has adopted these standards for Adult
Learners across the state in ESL and ABE programs.
What are Lane’s Core College
Outcomes?
 Core Outcomes for all students in all disciplines and
adopted to have a common reference points for students in
5 primary areas of competence:
 They are:
 THINK critically
 ENGAGE diverse values, perspectives and civic
awareness
 CREATE ideas and solutions
 COMMUNICATE effectively
 APPLY learning
Who Was Involved?
 Evening Program ESL and EL/Civics Classes
EL/Civics*
 Level 4 Combined Skills EL/Civics*
 Level 5 Combined Skills EL/Civics*
 2B Reading/Writing (not-EL/Civics)
 Level 3 Combined Skills
*2012 and 2013
Class Levels
 LCC Levels: Beginning to Advanced
 Best Plus Oral Assessment SPL’s 3-7
 CASAS Reading Assessment Scores 180-220
 Federal NRS Levels: High-Beginning to High-Intermediate
About Our Classes
 All classes met on MW nights
 6:15-8:35 p.m.
 Total class time: 5 hours a week
Students
 More than 50 students in total participated in 2012.
 They were mostly Spanish speakers from Mexico,
Guatemala, Peru and other Latin American countries.
 But, there were also speakers of other languages such as
Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Russian, Japanese, and Gujarati.
What We Did
 All classes studied vocabulary related to food, grocery
shopping and nutrition.
 Teachers varied activities depending on student levels and
abilities.
Levels 2 and 3
 Learned vocabulary for food items.
 Read about hidden sugars found in foods, healthy and unhealthy
diets
 Read and analyzed the labels of common foods.
 Learned about quantifiers and count and non-count nouns.
 Wrote and talked about what they eat and why they eat that way.
 In 2013, student demonstrated knowledge by creating and
performing skits in restaurants demonstrating that they acquired Tier
2 nutrition vocabulary and could identify healthy foods on a menu.
Level 3 and 4
 Levels 3* and 4 kept daily food journals for 3 to 5 weeks.
 Level 4 students answered opened-ended questions about
food choices and how they applied new information learned
in class to their eating habits.
 Level 4 also studied nutrition vocabulary words prior to the
nutrition presentation.
* 2012 only.
Level 4
 Accessed websites about food labels and nutrition.
 Used information on sites to answer questions on handouts.
 Read an article about hidden sugar in processed foods;
homework assignment was to read food labels and identify
kinds of sugar on labels.
Level 5
 Students looked at their own family medical histories.
 Identified diseases in their families.
 Researched symptoms of illnesses
 Created posters and made class presentations of their findings and
how those findings related to diet. * 2012 only.
 In 2013, students from Level 5 came into the Level 3 class and
presented their finding to small groups in a round robin style
rotation.
Community: Guest Speaker
 Tamberley Powell, LCC Nutrition Instructor came and spoke to
all the classes.
 She discussed carbohydrates, whole grains and reading food
labels.
 Her presentation included practice looking at food labels.
 Students enjoyed presentation and had positive verbal and written
feedback.
 2013 she used the same presentation but focused on different
aspects. And she brought her Mom!!!
Label reading and whole grains
Choose foods with a whole
grain ingredient listed first
on the label’s ingredient list.
Ingredients are listed in
descending order of weight (from
most to least).
Example: From Tamberley Powell’s Presentation
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Which is the whole grain bread?
Wheat flour, water,
high fructose corn syrup,
molasses, wheat bran …
Whole wheat flour, water,
brown sugar …
Example: From Tamberley Powell’s
Presentation
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Answer:
has WHOLE wheat as the
first ingredient!
Wheat flour, water,
high fructose corn syrup,
molasses, wheat bran …
Whole wheat flour, water,
brown sugar …
Example: From Tamberley Powell’s Presentation
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Color and whole grains
o Color is not an indication of a
whole grain.
o Bread can be brown because of
molasses or other added
ingredients.
Wheat flour, water,
high fructose corn syrup,
molasses, wheat bran …
o Read the ingredient
list to see if bread is a
WHOLE grain.
Example: From Tamberley Powell’s
Presentation
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“Nutrition Facts” label and grains
o Use “Nutrition Facts”
label to help choose
whole grain products
with a higher % Daily Value (%DV)
for fiber.
o The %DV for fiber is a good clue to
the amount
of whole grain in the product.
o Look for >10% DV for fiber.
Example: From Tamberley Powell’s Presentation
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Community: Blood Pressure and Glucose
Screening Clinic
 LCC Medical Office
Assisting students and
Nursing students took ESL
students’ blood pressure
and did glucose testing on
students willing to be
pricked !!
 All four classes participated
in 2012!
Community: Blood Pressure and Glucose
Screening Clinic
 Student nurses met with
students and answered
questions about screening
results and other health
questions.
Community: Blood Pressure and Glucose
Screening Clinic
 Nursing students took
contact information to
follow up with at risk ESL
students.
Community: Blood Pressure and Glucose
Screening Clinic
 Nursing students spent a
lot of time with ESL
students and were jazzed
about coming back next
year!!!
Community: TDAP Clinic 2013
 In 2013, Lane County Health
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http://www.lcctorch.com/2013/
04/17/whooping-coughepidemic-addressed-by-publichealth-group/Torch!
conducted a survey at the
BP/Glucose Clinic and
determined we were a good site
for the a TDAP Clinic for
uninsured adults.
 We quickly changed our
EL/Civics Objectives to Health
for Spring and this clinic was
held in early April.
 All classes participated and 90
Lane Students, staff and family
members were immunized.
Mostly ESL students!!
Implementing EL Civics
 EL/Civics Competency Area #46 Language and Literacy
Objectives were met through class activities.
 #1. Identify a healthy diet as recommended by USDA.
 #2. Identify the relationship between nutrition and good health.
 #7. Interpret food-packaging labels.
 #10. Listen to a speaker share information about low cost sources
of healthy food. Participate in the discussion by asking previously
prepared questions; take notes.
Teaching with the Learning Standards
 We focused on two learning standards
 Listen Actively
 Reading With Understanding
The Listen Actively Standard
 Using the Listen Actively Standard, students met many of
the benchmarks for appropriate levels 2-6.
 Adult learners listen actively for a variety of purposes, integrating
their knowledge, skills, and strategies in the following process:
 Determine the purpose for listening
 Focus attention and choose listening strategies appropriate to
the purpose
 Monitor comprehension, adjusting listening strategies as
needed
 Integrate new information with prior knowledge to address the
listening purpose
Teaching with the Listen Actively
Standard
 Example 1: KWL activity - Level 4 (see handout)
 Students drew on prior knowledge;
 And, integrated new information with prior knowledge to
address the listening purpose by answering the questions.
 Example 2: Preparing to Listen Document - Level 2BRW
(see handout)
 By preparing to listen, students determined the purpose for
listening.
 Listening comprehension strategies were explicitly taught.
The Read with Understanding Standard
 Using the Read with Understanding Standard, students met
many of the benchmarks for appropriate levels 2-6.
 Adult learners read diverse texts for a variety of purposes,
integrating their knowledge, skills, and strategies in the following
process:
 Determine the reading purpose
 Select and use reading strategies appropriate to the purpose the
content and reflect on the underlying meanings
 Analyze the content and reflect on
the underlying meanings
 Integrate the content with prior knowledge to address the reading
purpose
Teaching with the Read with
Understanding Standard
 Example 1: Reading food labels in class and with guest
Speaker
 Students analyzed the content and reflected on the underlying
meanings –is this really healthy? How much fat? How many
calories?
 Example 2: Identifying and researching family illnesses (
Level 5) on internet and coming up diet and other lifestyle
changes to prevent illnesses.
 Students integrated the content with prior knowledge to
address the reading purpose.
Teaching with the Read with
Understanding Standard
 In 2013, two instructors were attending the Read with
Understanding Institute and were more prepared to use the
standard in the nutrition unit.
 Level 3 students learned and used reading strategies and
monitoring comprehension strategies.
 Level 4 students learned and used reading strategies to make
predictions about the content of the articles they read.
Lane’s Core College Outcomes:
Think Critically
 In order to demonstrate the ability to think critically a
student must:
 Identify and define key issues
 Demonstrate knowledge of the context and complexity
of the issue
 Integrate other relevant points of view of the issue
 Analyze supporting evidence, data and specific details
 Construct appropriate and defensible reasoning to draw
conclusions.
Integrating Critical Thinking
 Teachers changed approach and asked more open ended
type questions and held more discussions
 This helped students identify and define key issues;
 And, demonstrate knowledge of the context and complexity
of the issue.
 Also, students listened to other relevant points of view of
the issue in hopes that they could see more than 1 side of
an issue.
Integrating Critical Thinking
 In some classes, students wrote in journals about what they
ate and why they made those choices.
 In other classes, they answered reflective questions on the
back of their food diaries, about what they were eating and
why and how they were using and applying the information
they learned in class to diets.
 This allowed students to demonstrate knowledge of the
context and complexity of the issue.
 And analyze supporting evidence, data and specific details
 Finally, these guiding questions gave students the
opportunity to construct reasoning to draw conclusions.
ELCivics, Learning Standards and
Critical Thinking: How do they
correlate?
 Oregon ABE Learning Standards specifically indicate the need to
use critical thinking skills to achieve benchmarks and subbenchmarks.
 Some but not all the key words that appear in the standards referring
to critical thinking :

Identify

Analyze

Synthesize

Evaluate

Draw conclusions

Critique

Make connections
 I dare you to look and find even more!
ELCivics, Learning Standards and Critical
Thinking: How do they correlate?
 Critical thinking skills are used and developed in achieving
EL/Civics Language and Literacy Objectives in Nutrition.
 Key words appear in LLO’s referring to critical thinking:

Identify

Interpret.
 EL/Civics Language and Learning Objective #10 states that
students will “prepare to listen to a guest by writing questions.

This is a key component of the Listen Actively Standard
ELCivics, Learning Standards and Critical
Thinking Outcomes
 In the end, we realized that we
weren’t really doing three different
things, but instead looking at the
same class activities through three
different lenses.
 It was simply a matter of reframing
what we did with the different
outcomes, objectives and
standards.
 See Handout on wiki.
Challenges: Classroom
 It was a new topic for teachers—huge amount of materials
and many areas of focus; We had trouble staying on track.
 It was difficult finding and coordinating speakers and
staffing for screening clinic.
 In some classes, the topic was covered over a longer span 3-4
weeks and keeping students interested was difficult.
Challenges: Classroom
 We realized that we needed to do more pre-teaching; not
assume students didn’t know as much as we assumed they
knew about nutrition.
 We tried to do it all and do it right!!!!
Challenges: Assessing Critical Thinking
 Difficulty of assessing critical thinking skills in writing samples of
lower level students.
 How do you identify elements of critical thinking when the
language output is limited by lack of proficiency in English?
 Can you really imply from writing that students used and were
developing these skills?
 Difficulty of assessing critical thinking skills through discussions.
 Wished I could record them---too much trouble.
 Ended up taking notes on BB and summarizing from memory.
Success: Enthusiastic Responses!
2012 and 2103
 ESL students responded positively to Nutrition speaker and
BP/Glucose Screening Clinic activities.
 Guest Speaker and LCC MOA and Nursing students also
responded very positively to coming and working with our
students.
 They all want to come back came back Winter 2013 and
loved working with our students!
Success: High Student Interest
2012 and 2013
 Students said they appreciated information from speakers
and the screening clinics.
 Asked many questions during both activities.
 And, even remembered information from the presentation
weeks later!!!
Success: Students’ Comments- 2012
 One student said she didn’t eat unhealthy foods because
she didn’t want to write it on the food log!!
 Other students reported that it was difficult to eat healthy
and work full-time.
 One student said he didn’t like having to look at the label
because he wanted to eat what he wanted to eat, not
what was “healthy”.
???????????????
 Questions?
 Handouts/web resources on wiki:
 http://daudtbakshiresearch.pbworks.com