Customizing GED® Curriculum: Adapting to Diverse Learner Needs

Hello, Adult Education Community Members! We all know that no two adult learners are alike – and with Aztec’s multiple GED® prep courses, you can customize the GED® curriculum to adapt to each learner’s diverse and individual needs. These tools include features for students like printed, video, and narrated activities and monitoring functions like multiple reports, diagnostic assessments, and other elements to assist educators in meeting each student’s needs. In this post, we’ll explore different ways that Aztec’s GED® study materials can be tailored to the requirements of each learner. 

Choosing the Right GED® Curriculum: Digital or Print or Both?

In some GED® programs, instructors have access to GED® preparation materials either as printed textbooks or digital curricula via Aztec’s online platform or with local area network (LAN) devices. Other programs provide their instructors with access to both print and digital materials. You’ll need to choose what works best for your program and your students. Having both varieties allows instructors to offer students multiple learning options if possible. How do instructors choose which is best for their students?

Here are some tips and suggestions:

Digital Literacy Skills:

Do your students have the digital literacy skills necessary to navigate online digital programs? Some students have difficulty using a cell phone for more than making a phone call or sending a text. Additionally, students may excel at their academic skills but need help with digital tasks like typing an essay or even using right—and left-click functions. It is vital to assess your students’ digital literacy skills before setting them free to work independently in Aztec’s GED® digital programs.

Digital or Print Appropriate Activities:

Some learning activities are best suited for digital or print, but not both. This requires the instructor to evaluate a lesson’s content and skill objective and determine the most appropriate activity type. For example, some students would benefit from a digital essay writing lesson, while others would benefit from a paper-pencil lesson.

Suppose you have students struggling with a concept or skill. In that case, trying another instructional approach and seeing if the barriers to success can be attributed to the instructional method is beneficial. Remember that ePubs are also available, allowing students to “read” a book in an online environment where instructors can monitor progress. 

Digital AND Print:

If available, using both digital and print materials may assist educators in providing students with a comprehensive understanding of the GED® content. Some examples would be to use the GED® digital lessons as an introduction to a whole class lesson, either at the beginning of a class period or as homework the day before a synchronously presented lesson in a “flipped classroom” instructional strategy, and then follow with instruction that uses the textbook. 

Alternatively, an instructor might have students work in small groups or independently to complete GED® print activities and then use Aztec’s GED® Kaplan Test Preparation Series for remediation or extension instruction.

Aztec’s GED® Digital Programs and Features

Aztec’s GED® Digital programs include GED® Kaplan Test Preparation, Aztec GED® en Español, GED® Flash™, and GED® Play. 

GED® Kaplan Test Preparation and Aztec GED® en Español

Aztec’s digital GED® prep programs provide students with a scaffolded curriculum that mirrors the GED® Test experience with targeted activities that instructors can use for whole-class instruction, small group activities, or self-paced instruction. The Spanish GED® preparation series was written explicitly for Spanish learners by Spanish instructors using GED® Testing Service’s Spanish performance level descriptors rather than being translated from English.

The programs include multiple features that allow instructors to review student learning data and alter lesson sequences or waive activities based on individual student needs. For example, a teacher can assign all the Unit pre-tests, and the program will identify Lessons from each Unit that the students should review based on their performance. Each Lesson has a corresponding Drill, so a student’s competency can be measured after they review the Lesson as part of the GED curriculum’s Learn-Practice-Apply instructional sequence.

Steck-Vaughn’s GED for IET 

Aztec’s digital GED® for IET program provides students with a scaffolded curriculum that mirrors the GED® Test experience with targeted activities that instructors can use for whole-class instruction, small group activities, or self-paced instruction. This unique IET focused program includes content that provides contextualization for students entering the workforce, with a focus on Healthcare Careers.

GED® Flash™ and GED® Play 

Aztec’s complementing GED® programs provide students with additional multi-modality instruction and practice.

GED® Play is the only on-demand learning program developed by GED® Testing Service, Kaplan Test Prep, and Aztec Software. It’s an excellent option for introducing a new topic either at the beginning of a lesson or before a “flipped classroom” lesson. It is also helpful to reinforce classroom instruction or use it as “refresher” activities for those ready to take their GED® tests but want to review key concepts and terms.

GED® Flash™, co-developed with the GED Testing Service, is a perfect GED® prep program that provides students with opportunities to practice questions with detailed, immediate answer explanations for each answered question. Because there are thousands of practice items over all four GED® subject areas, students will have ample practice with test question style, structure, layout, and content. Teachers can assign GED® Flash™ sets for students who have the skill competency to pass a GED® test but are waiting for the opportunity to test.

Aztec’s GED® Print Programs and Features

The Steck-Vaughn GED® Test Preparation printed texts are all part of Aztec’s GED® Curriculum. They include the 2^nd Edition GED® Test Preparation Series in English and the 2^nd Edition GED® Test Preparation Series en Español, as well as the Complete GED® Test Preparation textbook and the PreTests and Posttests booklets in English and Spanish.

Steck Vaughn 2^nd Edition GED® Test Preparation (English and en Español)

Both series include Student Editions and Workbooks that follow the “Learn-Practice-Apply” instructional sequence, where content is built across lessons to support the introduction of more complex topics. Instructors can use the Unit Posttests from the Student Edition as a comprehensive review to determine if students need remediation activities. The Workbooks can be used for additional instruction and practice in class or at home.

High Impact Lessons are aligned to the GED® High Impact Indicators and can be integrated into corresponding student assignments to reinforce critical foundational skills. The series also includes real-world context and application to the skills covered in the activities with the At Work Lessons. These series are great as your primary GED® prep curriculum or a supplementary curriculum to the digital Aztec GED® prep courses.

Steck Vaughn Complete GED® Test Preparation

In addition to High Impact Indicator and At Work Lessons, the Complete textbook has multiple features that make it an all-inclusive, GED® study material for in-person or self-guided instruction. The Answer key in the back of the book provides students with complete explanations and rationales, the pretests and practice tests include individualized charts to help track strengths and areas of needs, and the text consists of Calculator Handbook activities to familiarize students with the official GED® Test calculator. Like its print series counterpart, the Complete book is an excellent supplement to the digital Aztec GED® prep class or can be used as your core curriculum.

Steck Vaughn PreTests and Posttests (English and en Español)

These test booklets come with four different test forms each and can be used in place of or in addition to the official GED® Ready Digital Practice. The half-length pretests and full-length posttests can be used as formative and summative assessments for your GED® students.

Customizing GED® Curriculum to Meet Diverse Student Needs: Digital AND Print 

Whatever your curricular needs are, Aztec has you covered with multiple print and digital GED® prep materials and complimenting coursework. These options allow educators to provide various instructional options that best meet the diverse learning needs of their students.

Eager to see how Aztec can supply the curriculum your learners need to achieve their goals? Reach out to us at: https://www.aztecsoftware.com/contact-us/.