1999-2000 ESL/CNA Pilot Project

Summary Report

Hawkeye Community College

August 14, 2000

Hawkeye Community College developed and provided a unique, short-term training opportunity for English Literacy (English as a Second Language) individuals who wanted to pursue the Certified Nurse Aide I training, and needed support with their English skills. During 1999 and 2000, two pilot classes were developed and held to begin the process of training an ESL teacher and to develop specialized curriculum to use at HCC and to share with other community colleges.

In the first pilot group there were six students who started the training and all six completed. After much hard work and dedication, four of the six students became certified as Nurse Aides. The fifth student did not resume studying after she did not pass the State Exam on the first attempt. However, because of her training, she acquired employment through an area hospital. The sixth student did not pass the State Exam, but decided to retake the course and retake the required certification exams. All six students were incredibly dedicated and tremendously improved their English speaking skills. A positive difference has been made in their lives, not only making great strides in English, but also reaching a career goal and acquiring jobs.

There were seven students in the second pilot group, with four completing the entire program. Three of the four are now certified as Nurse Aides. The fourth student has one more chance to restudy and retest on the State Written Exam. Three students discontinued the program about three-fourths of the way through. One had family problems and the other two acquired full-time employment with a local manufacturing company. It was disappointing for this to happen, but we also realize that it is not unusual for students to start and to drop out of programs for various reasons.

As long as there is interest in this program, Hawkeye Community College plans to continue it. There are seven prospective students on a waiting list for the next series of classes to begin. The next class is scheduled to begin September 27, 2000.

Included with this report are outcomes of the first and second classes, score results of the first and second classes, recommendations for future classes, and how needs have been met.

Outcomes of the 1st and 2nd ESL/CNA Class:

• 1st Class - An informal pre-test was used to determine ESL level
• 2nd Class - The E.C.S. CASAS Appraisal was used as a reading pre-test for the students and will be used for future students to acquire more information on correlation between entry level scores and success rate of becoming CNA certified.

• 1st Class - six students started and finished the 137 hours of ESL classes and CNA coursework.
• 2nd Class - seven students started the program, with four completing the entire program, 145 hours of ESL classes and CNA coursework.

• 1st Class - 100% success - six students passed the HCC final exam and successfully completed the HCC CNA class (minimum score of 80% needed).
• 2nd Class - 100% success - four students passed the HCC final exam and successfully completed the HCC CNA class (minimum score of 80% needed).

• 1st Class - 100% success - six students passed the skills portion of the State Certification Exam (minimum score of 70% needed).
• 2nd Class - 100% success - four students passed the skills portion of the State Certification Exam (minimum score of 70% needed).

• 1st Class - 66% success - four out of six students passed the written portion of the State Certification Exam (minimum score of 70% needed).
• 2nd Class - 75% success - three out of four students passed the written portion of the State Certification Exam - the fourth student has one more chance to restudy and retest.

• 1st Class - 83% success - five out of six students acquired employment in the Nurse Aide field (the sixth student pursued nurses training)
• 2nd Class - 50% success - two out of four students acquired employment in the Nurse Aide field (the other two students plan to pursue NA employment)

• 1st Class - each student earned 7.5 CEU's (75 hours) in Nurse Aide training and 6.2 CEU's (62 hours) in ESL study
• 2nd Class - each student earned 8.0 CEU's (80 hours) in Nurse Aide training and 6.5 CEU's (65 hours) in ESL study.

• Students dramatically improved their English speaking, reading, writing, listening and study skills. Connecting the study of English to a training program provides an automatic incentive for improving their English skills. It is an excellent way to provide motivation for students to attend classes regularly.

• Instructors reported that the students experienced tremendous growth in learning attitude and in raising confidence level.

• Curriculum materials (teacher & student manuals) were developed, improved, and ready for future ESL/CNA classes and ready to be shared with other community colleges.

• A list of recommendations for future classes was prepared.

• Powerpoint presentation of the project was prepared by the ESL teacher and will be used when sharing the project with others. The project was shared at the ABE Institute in Marshalltown, Iowa in July 2000, the statewide Nurse Aide Teacher Update in August 2000, and will be shared at the October IALL Conference in DesMoines.

• Communication began between HCC instructors and coordinators and the Department of Inspections & Appeals for the Certified Nurse Aide training. Issues that have been discussed are the difficulty of the testing questions because of the sentence style, cultural differences, etc.

What are the recommendations for future classes?

• Continue to educate and inform prospective students and employment funding agencies that the training is not a quick fix to a quick job - the training is a huge time commitment involving tremendous dedication and hard work. Continue to hold an information meeting for the prospective students to describe the nurse aide job and duties, to tour a long-term care facility, to meet the teachers, to discuss the time commitment and class schedule, and to explain the testing requirements of the certification process.
• Continue to use the CASAS Appraisal Assessment to determine students' level in reading and to gather more pre-testing and post-testing statistics to determine the recommended ESL entrance level.
• Begin the class with 2 weeks of intensive English (approximately 32 hrs.)
• Continue to improve and provide more testing practice
• Provide more skills practice - add a minimum of 5 extra practicum hours
• Build in time for the ESL instructor and CNA instructor to meet weekly to discuss curriculum changes and student progress
• Deliver the Written State Exam and the Skills State Exam on separate days
• If approved - allow unlimited time for the Written Exam and allow to use generic small pocket dictionaries during the Written Exam.

How have we met the needs of the Long-Term Care Facilities?

• Trained ten ESL individuals to help fill their critical nurse aide employment needs
• Provided ESL instruction customized to nurse aide environment

How have we met the needs of the students?

• Provided technical training and ESL instruction to increase employment opportunities
• Gained nurse aide skills and English skills
• Increased confidence and desire to continue to learn
• Gained employment in the field trained
• Increased overall quality of life

• Nurse Aide Instructor "This project is very worthwhile because I believe the ESL population in our area can help fill the tremendous employment need. I enjoyed instructing the ESL students because they gave more than 110% effort in their studying. It was a privilege to work with caring individuals and make a positive difference in their lives. I witnessed the students providing top quality, loving care to the residents of care facilities."

• ESL Instructor "It was a pleasure and a challenge for me to teach the ESL component of the CNA class. I tried to make this class a positive and successful learning experience for the students. I liked the experience of designing a new curriculum and teaching it at the same time. I feel it was very helpful for me to attend a regular CNA class prior to the beginning of the ESL/CNA course. This experience provided me with a good idea about requirements and content of the course. I enjoyed teaching the class even though students came into the class operating in English at different levels, in some cases their levels were rather low, because all of us were very devoted to the class and tried very hard. It was great to work as a team with a CNA instructor. He was very understanding and open to the ideas and willing to assist students and help them to succeed. I think all of us worked very hard to help the students to succeed and to receive a valuable academic experience in their new country."

Score Results of Second Class

All students who entered the program were attending the intermediate level ESL classes through our ABE department.

Student	ECS Appraisal CASAS	HCC Exam	State Exam (written)	State Exam (skills)	State Certified	Employment Gained
Female 1	Raw Score: 13 Scaled Score: 224	82% (passed)	69% 69% (failed) 73% (passed)	80% (passed)	YES	YES, but not NA
Female 2	Raw Score: 15 Scaled Score: 228	84% (passed)	73% (passed)	76% (passed)	YES	YES, as a NA
Female 3	Raw Score: 16 Scaled Score: 231	83% (passed)	69% (failed)	74% (passed)	NO	NO
Female 4	Raw Score: 19 Scaled Score: 239	98% (passed)	82% (passed)	78% (passed)	YES	YES, as a NA
Female 5	Raw Score: 20 Scaled Score: 242	Dropped from program 3/4 of the way through due to gaining full-time employment.
Male 1	Raw Score: 11 Scaled Score: 219	Dropped from program 3/4 of the way through due to family problems.
Male 2	Raw Score: 19 Scaled Score: 239	Dropped from program 3/4 of the way through due to gaining full-time employment.
HCC Exam: Minimum passing score is 80% State Written Exam: Minimum passing score is 70% State Skills Exam: Minimum passing score is 70%

Score Results of First Class

Return to Reports 2000

Return to ILRC Home

Posted August 30, 2000