INTRODUCTION Department of Correctional Services

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INTRODUCTIONDepartment of Correctional Services

• What is DOCS?
• The third largest employer in the USA

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There are 72 prisons in NYS

• a. Maximum
• Attica, Elmira, Sing-Sing,
• Clinton, Coxackie etc,.
• b. Medium
• c. Minimum
• Camps, Shocks, Therapeutics

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Recidivism

• Until the 1972 riot of Attica there were hardly
  any programs run to reform and to keep the
  inmates engaged in a positive way. As a result
  there was a heavy return rate to the prison.
• Since 1972 as per agreement with the prison
  support group State of NY started educational and
  vocational programs in the prisons. Recidivism is
  cut by almost one third.

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OBJECTIVES

• In its broadest sense socialization of the
  inmates
• To return the inmates to society with a more
  wholesome attitude toward living, with a desire
  to conduct themselves as good citizens and with
  the skills and knowledge that will give them a
  reasonable chance to maintain themselves and
  their dependents through honest labor
• (Correction Law 136).

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The two major goals

• 1. Educational Programs
• Adult Basic Education
• Pre GED
• GED (General Educational Development)
• ESL/Bilingual
• Special Education
• College Programs

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2. Vocational Programs

• 34 different skills are promoted like masonry,
  floor covering, electrical, welding, custodial
  maintenance, small engine repair, carpentry,
  drafting, printing, culinary, general business,
  computers, and building maintenance.

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Teaching in a correctional setting

• Unique
• Similar to adult learning centers in outside
  communities
• Continuous movement within the system
• Standardized tests and diagnostic instruments are
  used.
• Individualized program plan is developed for each
  inmate.
• On going evaluations
• Since 2001 computer labs are set up

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CURRICULUM/TESTS AND EVALUATION

• State Ed Department mandated General Education
  Diploma program curriculum
• Adult Basic Education leading to a GED
• (GED is mandatory)
• Tests of Adult Basic Education
• GED tests in conjunction with SED
• Vocational Titles and Completion Certificates
• SABE tests for ESL/Bilingual students

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ANY QUESTIONS?

• ???????????

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EFFICACY OF A COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION
PROGRAM IN A PRISON SETTING AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

• GED- a precondition of parole
• The program is individualized, competency-based,
  real-world oriented and designed to provide the
  student with the skills and credentials needed to
  obtain employment upon release.
• All education programs are enhanced with
  computer-assisted instruction in the facility
  education computer labs (Commissioners report,
  2004).

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SECURITY ISSUE

• Security is the name of the game
• No printer access to the inmates
• No internet
• Computer lab is always supervised
• No program other than the main frame lessons
  uploaded by the central office is controlled by
  the students
• No access to computer other than set hours under
  supervision

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• The lab has 20 monitors and a main frame. The
  classes have been scheduled to go to the lab
  which is mandatory.
• An hour and a half each visit and at least one
  visit a week.
• There is a program to learn typing
• Skill Banks for English speaking classes
• The Rosetta Stone Language Library for ESL and
  Bilingual classes
• Contemporary New Readers Book Store for all

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Comparing CAI traditional instruction with
traditional instruction only

• To address and correct many of the methodological
  flaws among studies of the above.
• Does CAI contribute to achievement of
  undereducated adults?
• Controversial!!

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Rachal (1995), many of the studies were
methodologically flawed, leaving questions of
efficacy still open

• Only 3 of the 21 studies showed significance
  favorable to CAI
• Shortcomings
• Lack of control over experimental conditions,
  insufficient treatment length, varying treatment
  lengths among study and control groups,
  experimental bias, non randomization of study
  participants, and questionable statistical
  analysis procedures.

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Problems in CAI research in a prison setting

• Attrition sample size shrinks
• Researcher want to sell the product
• Incomplete consensus
• Faulty designs

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method

• Eighth grade level in TABE- placed in GED
  curriculum
• Below eighth grade level-placed in ABE
• Life Skills for regular education students
• Life skills students received GED for an hour per
  day on the computers
• 71 males, 30.5 mean age, no computer experience

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procedure

• Experimental group received 3 hours of classroom
  instruction per day and 1 hour of CAI, a total of
  80 hours for 4 weeks.
• Controlled group was given only traditional class
  room instructions.
• Advanced Instructional Management System
  tutorial/drill and practice
• Allows the learner to plan his learning

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Language instruction

• Common writing errors
• Short essay to correct
• Sentence construction
• Punctuation
• Subject-verb matching
• Spelling
• Tense usage

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Results

• Comparisons showed declines from pretest to
  posttest, and gains made between both math and
  reading pretests and posttests were minimal
• Age was negatively correlated with education
  prior to incarceration as well as all of the
  achievement variables

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Factors unique to inmate education that could
have influenced the results

• Inmate attitude-rarely share the enthusiasm of
  the researchers
• Multiple tests was not well received
• Economy of testing will probably produce more
  accurate results
• Motive of participation
• Lack of teacher support during the CAI
• Teacher enthusiasm
• Software-child-designed-for adolescent mind-set

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• CAI will not produce the intended advancement in
  achievement if used in the absence of active
  teacher enthusiasm and support
• CAI brings additional opportunities to the
  undereducated inmate but takes the efforts of
  inmates and staff to produce improvement in math
  and reading skills

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My experience with CAI in the prisons

• Students with eighth grade and above learn from
  CAI more than the others
• ESL/Bilingual students learn pronunciation,
  grammar and vocabulary
• Computers tempt them to write essays and
  paragraphs
• The challenge of completing the entire program
  keeps them going
• Teacher has to be there helping and
  encouraging!!!!

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Thank you very much

• Krithagnathegalu
• Dhanyawad
• Shukriya
• Nandri
• Shukran
• Komawo
• Nanni