Integrated Instruction

Many Basic Education for Adults programs in Washington state use integrated learning to speed students' progress from basic skills to college and careers. Basic skills are taught in the context of academic and/or job-training courses so students learn in ways that are relevant to their future goals.

Contextualized Instruction

Contextualized instruction uses a targeted context, such as career exploration, financial or health literacy, to learn skills in reading, writing, math, critical thinking and communication. Many providers have deliberate “pre-I-BEST” and “pre-vocational” courses that prepare students to be successful in the next step of their career and education pathways. 

Coordinated Instruction

Coordinated instruction teaches basic skills not only in a targeted context, but in coordination with other courses (vocational or academic) so that the skills and information of the basic skills courses are provided in pace with what is needed in the courses. Examples include classes that support participation in vocational programs. Washington state's community and technical college system has launched groundbreaking work to coordinate and align math across Basic Education for Adults programs, precollege (aka, remedial or developmental education) programs

Integrated Instruction

Integrated instruction allows students to move further, faster towards their goals by simultaneously combining skill building in basic education and a particular context. In Washington state, the flagship program for integration is I-BEST (Integrated Basic and skills Training), which targets moving students to the "tipping point" of access to family wage jobs along a career pathway (see link to study below). Third party research has shown that this program model out-performs any other for moving students further and faster to college success and vocational credentials.