What is Crossroads Cafe?

1
What Administrators, Teachers, and Students are
Saying About...
CROSSROADS CAFÉ An Initial Review
2
What is Crossroads Café?

• Video
• 26 broadcast-quality videos
• Worktexts
• Photo Stories
• Teacher Resource Books
• Partner Guide
• Assessment Package
• Transcripts

3
Why was Crossroads Cafédeveloped?

• Unprecedented demand for ESL instructional
  programs
• Inadequate capacity to serve students
• Continuing high immigration

4
What are prominent program features of Crossroads
Café?

• Flexible multi-level approach
• Context based learning
• Self-instructional methods
• Communication skills
• Facilitation of different learning styles
• Appropriate for classroom, hybrid, and
  distance learning ESL programs

5
Who developed Crossroads Café?

• INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications
• Heinle Heinle Publishing
• State Departments of Education in
  California,Florida, Illinois, and New York
• United States Information Agency
• United States Immigration and Naturalization
  Service

6
Five evaluationstudies conducted between Fall
1995 - January 1998

• Distance learning, hybrid, and classroom-based
  ESL programs in CA, FL, IL, NY, and TX
• 240 Administrators and Teachers
• 731 Students
• Numbers involved

7
Evaluations provided answers to TWO key
questions...

• Did students like CROSSROADS CAFÉ?
• 98 of students surveyed said they liked the
  program.
• 97 of administrators and teachers surveyed said
  students liked the program.

YES!
8
Did students learn with CROSSROADS CAFÉ?
YES!

• Floridas study reported that quantitative and
  qualitative data indicated improvement in
• Test Scores Writing
  Communication Confidence

9
New York Study reported teacher perception of
student improvement...

• Some improvement
  56.5 Substantial
  21.7 Very substantial
  8.7
• In these areas
• Language skills 54 Workbook answers
  50 Spoken English 42 Written English
  25

10
Studies in CA, FL, IL, NY, and TX showed a 14
student gain in pre/post test scores...
Student gains by category

• Writing (23)
• Reading (18)
• Vocabulary (15)
• Cultural (9)

11
California User Satisfaction Survey

• Postcard survey mailed to 440 CA literacy
  providers who received Crossroads Café videos
  prior to June 30, 1997
• 183 responses received (45)
• Findings
• Overwhelming support for the series
• 75 reported that students like a lot
• 23 reported that students like
• 73 reported main use in classroom setting

• Overwhelming support for the series by the survey
  users and students
• 71 like alot
• 23 like
• 75 report students like alot
• 23 report students like
• Report main use in classroom (73)

12
Program Recommendations Based on California
Survey Responses

• Similar multi-media materials for beginning ESL
  students
• Staff development training in use of materials
• There are institutional barriers to distance
  learning uses
• that must be addressed at the policy and program
  level.

13
Florida Evaluation Study
Florida conducted a 3-part follow-up study after
its first year of Crossroads Café
implementationPart I Management
ComponentsPart II Workshop Training
Effectiveness Part III Impact on Educators and
Students
14
2,500 teachersApproximately 27,000
students19 counties
Impact of Crossroads Café in Florida
...keep the implementation process
practitioner-and learner-centered
15
Keys to Floridas Success

• Formed an effective partnership shared a
  comprehensive vision
• Employed a humanistic approach
• Developed a team of ESL specialists in pilot
  counties
• Created individual strategic training plans
• Used training workshops as a means for
  distributing materials
• Allowed individual organizations to determine
  their own model
• Used the existing adult education infrastructure
• Targeted classroom to stimulate interest in
  hybrid distance learning
• Used immediate follow-up training evaluations
  to improve implementation model
• Responded to feedback at every level throughout
  the process

16
New York Formative Evaluation Study Summer
1996

• Focused on how 22 programs were implemented in
  six different regions
• Designed to answer what worked, what didnt, and
  why?
• Selected pilot sites based on established
  reputations for high quality performance
• Documented the use of Crossroads Café in distance
  learning (50), hybrid (32), and classroom
  models (18)

17
New York Formative Evaluation Study Summer 1996

16 administrators 24 instructors 448
students
Data collected from

• Learner Demographic Form
• Student Record Sheet
• Episode Response Form
• Mail Survey (administrators and teachers)
• Telephone Interview
• Focus Groups (administrators and teachers)

18
New York Formative Evaluation Study Findings

• Overwhelming positive reaction to Crossroads Café
  for all uses
• Relative ease of implementation
  
      1) Experience of administrators and
  teachers in the pilot study
•  2) Quality of orientation and training in
  the use of materials  3) Quality of video and
  print materials
• High retention of students during pilot (82-all
  students, 87-distance learning model)
• Promotion of distance learning as means of
  serving unserved and undeserved students
• Support for hypothesis that ESL distance learning
  with Crossroads Café program can be as effective
  as classroom instruction at a significantly
  reduced cost

19
New York Formative Evaluation Study
Program Recommendations

• Special program logistics to facilitate transfer
  of videos and text materials between teachers and
  students
• Training for teachers in distance learning
  methods
• State reimbursement formula that provides
  incentives for distance learning programs
    
  
• Instructors went to great lengths to ensure
  that the student/teacher relationship not be
  jeopardized in distance learning programs

20
Evaluation of the Pilot Implementation of
Crossroads Café

• Focus Delivery of the course to its target
  audience
• during Fall 1995 and Summer 1996
• Students 196 students in 11
  groups
• Chicago Los Angeles Miami
  New York San
  Antonio
• Funded by United States Department of Education

21
Evaluation of the Pilot Implementation of
Crossroads Café Findings

• Positive response to Crossroads Café across all
  delivery modes
• Nearly two-thirds said they would take the full
  26 lesson course. Anadditional 25-30 said
  they would probably take the full course.
• All groups scored substantially higher on
  cognitive posttest than on pretest
• Encourage students to spend more time with
  materials
• Provide students with the opportunity to speak
  and listen to English,possibly encouraging the
  hybrid model
                  
  
  Given the
  extreme need for such materials, educators
• will no doubt be enthusiastic adopters
  of the course.

22
Report from MiraCosta Community College
(Oceanside, CA)

• Have used Crossroads Café hybrid model for two
  years
• Began program as instructional alternative for
  over 300 students on waiting list
• Meet students at local community centers,
  elementary school, and instructional center
• Students check out videos and meet with an
  instructoronce a week, every 2 weeks, or every 3
  weeks to review their work based on identified
  learning goals and needs

23
Report from MiraCosta Community
College(Oceanside, CA) Findings

• High retention rate- less than 20 of students
  drop out of program
• Over 50 of students enroll because they cant
  attend traditional class
• The college is increasing its capacity by serving
  students on waiting list AND previously unserved
  learners
• Students report an average of 12 study hours a
  week. Full range is3 - 22 hours.
• Students report high satisfaction with videos,
  materials, and progress.
  

Crossroads Café is the most motivating ESL
Program our Students have ever used