The purpose of this evaluation was to comprehensively review the implementation of Crossroads Cafe English Learning Program in Florida by Florida Human Resources Development, Inc. This report reviews management, training, and overall training effectiveness as measured by impact on adult ESL practitioners and learners. Included in this report are recommendations for additional efforts which will foster effective statewide implementation of Crossroads Cafe in classroom and hybrid settings as well as possible steps to initiate distance learning.

The background research provided, revealed that the demand for English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction surpasses the current ability to provide services to traditional and non-traditional adult learners. Thus, Florida needs alternative instructional methods to deliver ESL instruction to diverse ESL learners. A brief Crossroads Cafe materials overview is provided to describe the unique components of the English learning program.

Management was reviewed in part I and included these subjects: project background, humanistic management, promotional strategy, implementation models, training workshop locations, and materials distribution. The evaluators concluded that the Florida Department of Education and Florida Human Resources Development, Inc. were successful partners in meeting project goals. The decision to require inservice training before distributing materials proved to be a crucial step towards effective program implementation. As the evaluation unfolded, the researchers found that Florida Human Resources Development, Inc. provided inservice training beyond the original scope of its 1996 implementation proposal. In fact, workshops took place in 19 counties in addition to the five originally proposed pilot counties-- effectively reaching more than 2500 practitioners and approximately 27,000 adult learners. By targeting adult education classroom programs in the strategic plan initially, Florida Human Resources Development, Inc. enabled trainers to reach new populations, hence building new capacity. The evaluators found both classroom and hybrid models of implementation currently functioning to serve traditional and non-traditional learners, but could find only indicators for potential distance learning models. Therefore, distance learning technology, though available, remains an untapped resource for Crossroads Cafe implementation.

Part II investigated training which comprises: training philosophy, Train-the Trainer Development, components of workshops, trainer strengths, and immediate evaluation of training workshops. The evaluators found the broad vision shared by the Florida Department of Education and Florida Human Resources and Development, Inc. increased the range of ESL training to include non-traditional as well as other adult learners. Unstructured interviews with trainers determined that Train the Trainer development produced well designed workshops that addressed the areas of theory, practice, modeling, coaching for application, and feedback. Further, although the training team was diverse, they were found to share common strengths such as enthusiasm, creativity, and genuine concern. Immediate evaluation of workshops took place in the form of circle-choice questionnaires which found workshops based on Crossroads Cafe materials to be valuable and positive learning experiences for both practitioners and trainers. Components of workshops were rated by the vast majority of participants as excellent and worthwhile, and participants’ contributions were helpful to trainers for improving workshops as well as targeting new populations.

In part III the evaluators described the programs that were part of follow-up evaluation, analyzed practitioner and student unstructured interviews, identified effective practices, and provide quotes from practitioners and student interviews. The goal of follow-up evaluation was to measure the impact of training and the subsequent use of Crossroads Cafe curriculum by ESL practitioners and learners in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Hillsborough, and Sarasota counties. Through site visitation and unstructured interviews the focus of the inquiry became (1) practitioner and student impressions of materials, (2) effective practices with videos and print materials, and (3) common practitioner and student themes brought to interviews. The interviews revealed that trained Crossroads Cafe users found Crossroads Cafe to be a high-quality, adaptable, user-friendly tool that offers learners relevant content within the context of an engaging story. This combination reportedly made instruction more interesting and effective. The evaluators found that when practitioners used Crossroads Cafe Curriculum in ways consistent with training, they exert a direct and positive impact on the educational setting, and hence on the way students learn. Observation of ineffective practices using the materials made it possible for the evaluators to see the negative impact of untrained educators on learners even when using otherwise superior materials. Therefore, the evaluators conclude, on-going inservice training and follow-up support are essential to ensure that ESL practitioners are effective providers and that Crossroads Cafe will be used to its potential.

Overall, Crossroads Cafe was found to be an innovative and effective approach to ESL instruction, and the evaluators believe this instructional program can be used to meet the diverse needs of adult learners in Florida when offered by trained practitioners through a variety of models including classroom instruction, distance, and hybrid learning models.
 
 
 
 

Recommendations:
 
 

Suggestions for improving management include:

develop record keeping system

assist programs in developing implementation models,

conduct regular follow-up site visits
 
 

Suggestions for improving training workshops include:

formalize self-or peer evaluation

Incorporate the presentation of theory into workshops

establish guidelines for workshop length and materials distribution

develop an efficient data collection system.
 
 

Suggestions for improving training workshops from follow-up evaluation include:

emphasize the need for on-going training and program support

disseminate effective practices for use of videos and print materials

consider the following as additional content for future workshops: learner needs assessment, sense of community and language learning, learning through hands-on experience, the unique characteristics of distance learning and, use of technology.