Hip, HIPPY, Hooray

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Hip, HIPPY, Hooray!!!

• A Workforce Perspective on the H.I.P.P.Y. Program

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Evaluation of HIPPY

• In December 2005, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant
  County engaged the services of Robin Schwarz to
  conduct an evaluation on all of the literacy
  programs under contract with the Board.
• The goal of the evaluation was to determine best
  practices already in use, improvements that could
  be made, and the value added of each program
  contracted in addressing the adult literacy issue.

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Robin Lovrien Schwarz, M. Sp. Ed LD

• Robin Lovrien Schwarz, M. Sp. Ed LD, a partner
  in the TLP Group, Columbus, Ohio, brings a
  multicultural scope to TLPS PowerPath to Basic
  Learning,
• Ms. Schwarz taught ESL for nearly 40 years,
  including 22 years at American University in
  Washington, DC. a year in an adult ESOL program
  in Massachusetts and many years of ESL tutoring.
• In Washington, she was trained by and affiliated
  with the Lab School of Washington, one of the
  countrys premiere schools for persons with LD.
  
• Since the mid-80s, Ms. Schwarz has worked on the
  puzzle of identifying the causes of learning
  challenges, including learning disabilities, in
  ESL learners.
• Ms. Schwarz pioneered screening and specialized
  teaching for ESL students at risk for failure,
  and co-organized and facilitated the first-ever
  conference on Foreign/Second Language Learning
  and Learning Disabilities in 1992.
• Her interest in and advocacy for adult ESOL
  learners with special learning needs led to a
  NIFL Leader Fellowship, work with OVAE on
  development of a Spanish screening tool,
  participation in the revision of the Maryland
  Adult ESOL Program Standards, and most recently
  membership on the DAEL-sponsored Massachusetts
  Interagency Learning Disabilities Policy Team.
• Ms. Schwarz began doctoral studies in 2000 at
  Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, where she was
  also Coordinator of Tutoring Services at the
  Learning Lab _at_ Lesley for three years.
• While at the Learning Lab, Ms. Schwarz began
  specializing in consulting on cases of ESL
  learners who had been inadequately or incorrectly
  evaluated for learning problems.
• Besides publishing a number of articles and three
  book chapters, MS. Schwarz maintains a busy
  schedule of consulting and training in adult
  education settings and presenting at national and
  international conferences.
• She is also a board member of the National
  Association for Adults with Special Learning
  Needs (NAASLN) and active member of TESOL, LDA
  and IDA.

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METACOGNITIVE SKILLS

• Those skills needed to think about learning
• reflecting on learning,
• learning from mistakes,
• prioritizing tasks,
• breaking tasks into manageable parts,
• making informed decisions,
• getting and using feedback from the brain and
  from the environment surrounding the learner,
• most important, transferring learning from one
  situation to anotherthe key to successful
  employment.

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Purpose

• Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County requested
  technical assistance in evaluation of four
  programs receiving funding to provide GED or
  literacy training to adults who are TANF or WIA
  clients.

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Purpose of contracting HIPPY services in Tarrant
County

• The HIPPY program, operated locally by a private
  non-profit, received funding from Workforce
  Solutions to provide HIPPY activitiesand
  literacy instructionto TANF clients with the
  long term goal of increasing the employability of
  the TANF clients.

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Method

• Evaluation of the programs was done by
• Examining the contracts of each program with
  Workforce Solutions and the work statements,
  goals and projections of each program as stated
  in these contracts.
• Examining the instructional materials sent by
  three programs in response to a request for their
  curricular materials
• Visiting each program for several hours (and one
  site twice) between December 14-16, 2005
• Interviewing and tape recording directors, staff
  and learners to the fullest extent possible
• Obtaining signed consent forms from participants
  interviewed granting permission for recording and
  assuring that no names of learners or teachers
  would be used in the report. Directors of
  programs were told that their names would be used
  unless they requested otherwise. Consent forms
  also indicated that tape recordings will remain
  the property of the consultant until the contract
  has been satisfied and will not be shared with
  Workforce Solutions.

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Scope of Evaluation

• The HIPPY curriculum is built on a very firm
  foundation of research and practice in literacy.
  Though aimed at young children, the program is
  known to have a positive impact on the parents as
  well.
• This evaluation was especially focused on the
  parent-clients who are served by the HIPPY
  Program.
• It determine to what degree literacy improvement
  of these adults, as required by funding from
  Workforce Solutions, is indeed supported by the
  HIPPY activities.

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Stages of the Evaluation

• Stage 1 - A complete reading of each contract to
  include the statement of work and outcome goals.
• Stage 2 Site visit to each site, interviews
  with staff, customers, and management
• Stage 3 Provide a written evaluation of
  observations and recommendations to each provider
• Stage 4 Return site visit to assist in
  implementation of recommendations and final
  evaluation

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Recommended Board Actions

• Facilitate having learners who are referred to
  programs screened for learning difficulties,
• Require programs to incorporate the recommended
  changes within a given time,
• Provide encouragement and even facilitation for
  the leaders of these programs to create their own
  community of practice to support each other in
  incorporating the changes
• Provide certain technical (and moral) support

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Recommended Board Actions

• Help programs find and use better lighting in
  their classroom areas (Scotopic Sensitivities)
• A great deal of scientific evidence now makes
  clear the detrimental effects of fluorescent
  lighting. These lights have three major
  drawbacks
• They flicker
• Theyre extremely bright and typically have a
  very limited light spectrum making reading
  difficult
• the humming of fluorescent lights is very
  noticeable and distracting
• Full-Spectrum Lighting recommended

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HIPPY Findings

• Though the direct goal of increasing parent
  literacy and employment are not a stated part of
  the program, the positive effects of the program
  on parents literacy and long-term employability
  can be understood to be profound and significant.
  
• The HIPPY Program and the way it is delivered
  strongly support the most basic and critical
  literacy and metacognitive skills of learners.
• Weaknesses in these skills is often at the root
  of learners inability to complete school, obtain
  or retain employment, the HIPPY model can be seen
  as supporting these needs in ways that no
  typical or traditional instructional model ever
  could.

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Learner persistence practices already in use

• Supports teaching about commitment to a goal and
  completion of goals.
• Provides direct instruction in pre-literacy
  skills such as learning from all the senses,
  sorting and categorizing, hearing specific sounds
  in words, and understanding how whole objects
  have parts.
• Provides a rationale for and a way of talking
  about literacy and pre-literacy.
• Models best educational practices such as
  generalizing, inferring, observing, asking
  questions, hypothesizing about cause and effect.
• Building skills that transfer to employment
  situations.

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Areas for Improvement

• The one size fits all nature of the program and
  materials (variance in literacy levels
  encountered)
• Cultural bias of materials and expected
  activities
• Language differences
• Barriers to reading / learning of adult clients
  (LD issues, hearing, vision, etc)
• Indirect emphasis of the adult developing the
  metacognitive skills.

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Tarrant County Program Outcomes

• PY 2002
• Enrolled 37 of 30 (123 of goal)
• 50 employed within first 90 days
• 20 completed all 6 modules
• PY 2003
• Enrolled 49 of 30 (163 of goal)
• 25 completed all 6 modules
• PY 2004
• Enrolled 34 of 20 (170 of goal)
• 35 completed all 6 modules
• PY 2005
• Enrolled 25 of 20 (125 of goal)
• 25 completed all 6 modules

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• This slideshow available for download print at
• www.WorkforceSolutions.net/about_us/contractors_re
  sources.html
• (Home About us Contractor Resources)
• Kay Gollihugh
• Capacity Building Training Manager
• 817-413-4460
• Kay.Gollihugh_at_twc.state.tx.us