Adult Education
New Student
Orientation
Utah Adult Education Programs
Greetings
 I am proud that you have decided to return to school to
further your education. The decision you have made
shows that you are concerned about your future and we
look forward to assisting you as you strive to reach your
personal goals. The purpose of this short slide show is
to give you a better understanding of the Adult Basic
Education program so you can receive the maximum
benefit from the program.
Sincerely,
Jenna M. Duncan,
Adult Education Coordinator
First Things First—Setting
Goals
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In order for the program to be successful for you, it is very important that you set
goals for yourself. Please make sure that you share and discuss these with your
teacher.
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Goals need to be SPECIFIC, REALISTIC, and POSITIVE.
To say “I want to be a millionaire by the age of 20” would not be very realistic. But
to say “I eventually plan to work in a department store by first getting a job as a
sales clerk…then as an assistant manger…then as a manager” would be realistic,
specific, and positive.
Many adults who return to school have the goal of getting the GED or a high school
diploma. That is a great goal, but you first need to think about the short term goals
which may be to improve my reading, math or English skills.
For example, “I would like to get my GED, but first I have to strengthen my skills in
writing an essay for the GED and learn how to solve mathematics word problems”.
This goal is more specific and takes into account some of the skills that must be
achieved first, in order to be prepared to take the GED test.
Our goal in the program is to help you break down the subject matter into small,
achievable parts that will help lead you to your broader long-term goals. Please
remember that achieving goals takes time and personal commitment.
Goal Setting Questions
1.
What is your long-term personal goal?
2. How much time are you willing to commit to achieving this goal?
3. What are some things you know of right now that you need to learn more about in order
to reach your long-term goals?
4. What employment goals do you have?
5. What do you need to do to achieve your employment goals?
6. What is getting in the way of you achieving your goals? (Examples: lack of time, little
family support, low self image)
Now, your goals are set.
Congratulations!
You have made the first step towards your
success. We all have dreams about what we want
to do with our lives. But dreams are simply a wish
list floating in the clouds. In order to move
forward, you must set goals. Any goal that is not
written down is just a dream. Since you have just
written down your goals, you have made the
important first step towards your success. All you
have to do now is commit your time, energy and
enthusiasm into being a successful student.
Adult education classes are
not like regular school.
It is very important that you understand that adult education is not like the
regular school you once attended. There are several things about adults that
make them learn differently from children. We respect these differences and
try to make the program meet your adult needs. Below are some of the ways
adults learn differently. Think about it!
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Adults are self-directed. As an adult you depend on yourself to earn a living
and manage your life.
Adults are doers. You use what you learn to be better workers and parents.
Adults have a broad base of learning that has come from life experience.
Adults have many life experiences to learn from.
Adults learn more slowly than children, but just as well.
Adults are motivated to learn internally by self-esteem and feeling of
achievement.
Adults need to apply their learning immediately in order to help them with
their life situation.
Adult learners are from many educational levels, backgrounds and ages.
Key features of Adult
Education Classes:
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Adult Education classes will focus on helping you master the skills you need to be
successful to reach your personal learning goals.
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You will be taking a test during the first week of your class time so the teacher will be able
to know what materials you need to work with.
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You are expected to act as a responsible adult while attending these classes. The
instructor will go over the expectations for student behavior on the first class meeting.
Failure to follow the student expectations can result in dismissal from the program.
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Class attendance is very important in being able to reach your learning goals. Please let
your teacher know of any difficulties that might cause you to have to miss classes.
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Class work in adult education classes is usually self-paced and based on your personal
learning level. Many times, the entire class will all be working on different assignments
and the teacher will be going around the room helping each student with any problems
they are having.
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It is your responsibility to let the teacher know about any problems you are having with
your class work.
How do I find out what
classes I will be taking?
1. Take the TABE Locator Test—This short test
in reading, math, and language will help us
know which longer version of the Test of
Adult Basic Education (TABE) to give you.
2. Then take the TABE Survey Test—This test
covers reading, math, and language. It will
be graded and your teacher will review your
scores and work with you to select the most
appropriate courses to meet your needs.
Keeping up with progress
 Have a clear picture of the skills you need to
study each day.
 Your teacher/counselor will work with you to
develop your Student Education Occupation
Plan
 Regularly meet with your teacher and
counselor to evaluate your progress and move
to the next goal.
 Before you know it, you will have reached your
learning goal.
How long will this take
me?
 The length of time in the program is different
for every person. It all depends on your
background knowledge, personal motivation,
and study habits.
 After you have attended class for 60 hours, you
will again be given the TABE test as a post-test
to see what type of progress you have made.
From this post-test, we can determine what
else needs to be covered in class.
Let’s talk about the GED
The Tests of General Educational Development (GED Tests) are designed to
measure learning outcomes that are generally acquired through completion of a
high school program of study. The GED is a standardized test, meaning that its
scoring scale is derived from the performance of a sample of graduating high
school seniors. The content on the test is drawn from material used in today’s high
schools.
Below is a summary of the five sections of the GED:
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Below is a summary of the five sections of the GED:
SECTION
# OF QUESTIONS
Math Part I
25
(Calculator allowed)
Math Part II
25
Science
50
Social Studies
50
Language Arts Reading
40
Language Arts-Writing-Part I
50
Language Arts-Writing Part II
Essay
TIME LIMIT
45 minutes
45 minutes
80 minutes
70 minutes
65 minutes
75 minutes
45 minutes
Frequently Asked
Questions--GED
 Who is eligible to take the GED tests?
 To be eligible to test, you must be 18 or older and your senior
class has graduated.
 Students ages 17-18 whose senior class has not graduated, must
furnish an official statement from the school district within which
you reside indicating you are not regularly enrolled in school and a
letter from your parent or legal guardian authorizing you to take
the test. (Candidates who present a marriage certificate are
exempt from this second requirement.)
What will I do if I do not
pass the tests?
 You can take the GED tests over for an
additional fee.
 The test can be taken three times in each GED
calendar year.
 It is recommended that students who do not
pass the test attend GED preparation classes
to become more prepared for the sections of
the test that they did not pass. Since the test is
standardized, a student would make a similar
score if they retested with no preparation;
therefore, it is important that students prepare
for any parts which did not meet the minimum
score requirements.
Study Skills Tips
My eyes are tired . … . I can’t stay focused.
Take a five minute break every 20 minutes. It is very helpful to relax the mind after
serious study. Stand up, stretch and reward yourself after you accomplish learning
how to solve a problem, concept, etc.
Everything is “running together” on the page.
Try to divide the page with a half-folded piece of paper.
I can’t get my notes organized.
When the teacher explains how to do a math problem for example, you might want
to keep a journal with one example of how to do the problem. Make notations like
this:
Subject: Area of a rectangle.
Formula: Length times width (l x w)
Example: What is the area of a rectangular garden
5 feet wide and half that long?
5 x 2.5=12.5 feet
Study Skills
Have trouble taking notes.
Divide the page into two parts by drawing a line down the middle of the page.
Place the subject being studied about on the left side of the page and record key ideas
relating to the subject on the right side.
When the topic changes, add the new topic to the left side and continue the process.
After class, you will have space to go in and record additional information on the
subject.
Have trouble remembering important ideas.
When you have trouble remembering important ideas, create a “jingle” to help you
remember. For example, with order of operations you might use:
Please (Do parentheses first)
Excuse (Do exponents next)
My (Multiply next from left to right)
Dear (Divide next from left to right)
Aunt (Add next from left to right)
Sally (Subtract next from left to right)
You are in charge!
 Congratulations on your decision to
participate in an adult education program.
 You will meet with success and be able
to achieve your desired goal as long as
you come to class, ask questions and
work hard.