The George Mason University (GMU) segment of the Verizon Links Project has focused on four overlapping phases of activities, which support its project goals and its particular emphases on curriculum development, teacher training, and student services. Phase I: Exploration Phase (fall 1999-spring 1999) GMU, in collaboration with, Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), Manassas campus, and Prince William County Schools Adult Education offered a seven week, six-hour per day instructional program for two consecutive cohorts of undereducated adult students. This collaborative demonstration/research activity was the first project effort to explore the instructional delivery of three curriculum themes: job readiness, office technology, and basic academic skills. It served as a point of departure for additional research and curriculum development and set the stage for further interagency cooperation. Phase II: Curriculum Development Phase (spring 1999-spring 2000) Based on insights gathered from Phase I, the project staff embarked on an extensive curriculum development effort which was designed to create an integrated instructional program for undereducated adults based on the three curriculum themes explored in the NVCC based experiment. This involved an extensive research effort which involved substantial contributions fourteen GMU adult education graduate students (most were also adult literacy practitioners) who participated in a special project-designed seminar in curriculum development during the summer of 1999. Half of this group continued their work on the curriculum project through a 'group independent study' arrangement in the fall of 1999. Project staff are now working to refine the curriculum prior to its pilot implementation in the spring of 2000. Phase III: Pilot Curriculum Implementation and Refinement Phase (spring 2000-summer 2000) Further curriculum development and tryout activities are to be implemented through collaborative arrangements with two adult education units in Northern Virginia public school divisions, Prince William County (primary collaborator) and Arlington (secondary collaborator) during the spring and summer of 2000. Prince William County Adult Education will implement a formal 'tryout' of the new curriculum in partnership with the Virginia Employment Commission. The Arlington Education and Employment Program will evaluate the potential application of the new curriculum with ESL students and also develop additional technology curriculum for adult literacy and ESL teachers. Both collaborators will provide appropriate training to adult literacy teachers particularly in knowledge and applications of technology. Phase IV: Sharing Phase-Dissemination of Project Processes and Deliverables (summer 2000 fall 2000) Documentation of project processes and accomplishments will occur throughout the project. Products to be disseminated through both print and Internet mediums include a case study research project which describes the 'feel' of project process, the 'final' curriculum, and relevant tryout evaluation data to be disseminated by fall 2000. 
GMU, JMU, Old Dominion University, and VCU are equal opportunity/affirmative action institutions and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability. |
