Assessment, Curriculum and Instruction should be viewed as an integrated process – we can’t have one without the others. Assessment
is both a formal and informal process that guides educational planning among stakeholders – learners, educators, employers, community leaders, and service providers. We start with assessment to identify the necessary skills and goals for adult learners and to design the appropriate courses, curricula, schedules, and locations to help learners meet their needs as adults in the community, in the workplace and within the family.
Curricula are designed for learners -- they outline the objectives and skills that learners need to meet their goals, to develop necessary skills, to move from one level to another, and to transfer their learning from the classroom to life. Keeping learners engaged in learning often depends on how well we have assessed learner needs and designed effective programs and meaningful curricula. The curriculum is our roadmap or guide to instruction.
For many people Instruction is the heart of learning. Successful instructors use the results of assessment and local course curriculum to design lesson plans and activities that stimulate adults to become lifelong learners. Instructors help adult learners gain the skills, knowledge and attitudes to be successful participants in our rapidly changing world.
