Vita Education Services was invited to present a workshop on its innovative case management system for adult education clients at a statewide conference held by Penn State’s Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy in August.
Vita’s Executive Director Linda Wolfson and Curriculum and Training Specialist Gail Huber presented the workshop entitled “Student Persistence through Case Management.” Forty-five Adult Basic Education (ABE) providers from across the state attended the presentation.
The Vita Case Management system is a response to the PA Departments of Education’s Division of Adult Education’s requirement that all adult literacy clients have case management. Through research, Vita determined that there was no widely accepted educational case management model for adult learners. Vita’s system is based on current research in adult education and learner persistence and the agency’s extensive experience in the field.
“Case management has allowed Vita staff to work more closely with our students. Since we’ve instituted our new case management system, students are persisting in their academic studies longer and more students are reaching their goals,“ said Wolfson.
One component of Vita’s Case Management system is the Survey offered during the first class session. The survey polls students about their confidence in different subject areas and their test taking skills. Participants in the workshop brainstormed ideas about what they would do if students responded that they were not confident in content areas, and lacked effective test-taking skills. The results of this brainstorming session can be read here: How to Use Survey Information to Plan Instruction
