Equipping Adult Learners For The World Of Work

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Adult Literacy NOW! Taylor, Maurice C., Editor (2001). Toronto, Canada: Irwin Publishing. Chapters are grouped into the following sections: Community-Based Literacy; Workplace Literacy; Family Literacy; and School-Based Literacy. The authors portray the multidimensional aspects of adult literacy instruction and its impact on families, schools, workplaces and communities in Canada. In describing their personal literacy teaching experiences, many chapter authors use the poignant words of individuals who have gone from the depths of abusive situations and overwhelming feelings of inadequacy to belief in themselves, the value of their own expression and their ability to pursue lifelong learning. (374.012 Tay)

Business Math for the Numerically Challenged. Editors of Career Press (1998). Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press. Written for those who feel inept and awkward with math, the book includes short and easy-to-follow examples of how to use the fundamentals of arithmetic, simple statistics, and basic algebra, including shortcuts for getting results quickly and accurately. Applications of math for business needs include calculating payroll, inventory, commission, compound interest, and financial statements. (510 CP)

Changing Work, Changing Workers: Critical Perspectives on Language, Literacy, and Skills. Hull, Glynda (editor) (1997). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Workplace education is spreading rapidly, but often lacks pedagogical soundness and rigorous supporting research. This book is intended to address these shortfalls, exposing inadequate practice and providing direction toward improvement. Many of the chapters represent long-term ethnographic or qualitative research. Others are detailed examinations of texts, curricula, or policy. Issues related to special populations (minority women, immigrants, women in skilled trades, displaced workers) and culturally diverse workplaces are addressed in many of the chapters. (374.013 Hul CW)

The Job Hunting Handbook: Job Outlook to 2006. Dahlstrom and Company (1998). Holliston, MA: Dahlstrom and Company, Inc. This book begins with an introduction to the American job market: how jobs are created and how the job market is changing. A table provides the "Job Outlook" to the year 2006 for 180 occupations, including number of employees, projected growth in demand, tenure (average number of years people stay in the occupation), education required, and wage level (data from US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics). Other topics include: choosing an occupation; qualifying for an occupation and demonstrating your qualifications; creating a resume; marketing yourself; creating a good impression; interviewing; following up on an interview; and typical job hunting blunders. (374.013 Dah)

Making Welfare Reform Work in Your Community: Job Skills Preparation Capacity Building Initiative Project: Moving From Dependency to Self-Reliance. US Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (with Dept. of Labor and Dept. of Health & Human Services) (1999). Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education. This set of two videos with workbook constitute a self-guided "how-to" on such welfare to work issues as reengineering programs, up-front job searches and short-term training. This technical assistance package is intended for community colleges wanting to strengthen working partnership between college staffs and other professionals (educators, agencies, and business representatives) in the community who are also involved with welfare to work issues. The videos and workbook are divided into five sections, enabling the training to be conducted in a number of sessions. Binder and 2 videotapes. (374.013 USDOE)

New Skills for a New Economy: Adult Education's Key Role in Sustaining Economic Growth and Expanding Opportunity. Comings, John, et al (December 2000). Boston, MA: The Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MasslNC). Two teams of researchers at Harvard and Northeastern University spent two years analyzing labor market data in Massachusetts and exploring potential policy solutions. Their most startling finding is that 667,000 adults have earned a high school credential but still lack basic math, reading, writing, language, and analytic skills at the level considered acceptable for the typical 21 St century workplace, thus posing a significant "New Literacy Challenge" for the state. The report goes on to describe two other "Challenges": a "Language Challenge" based on the presence of 195,000 immigrant workers with severely limited English speaking skills; and an "Education Credential" Challenge based on 280,000 workers who were found to have never obtained a high school degree. Recommendations for addressing these challenges are presented. (370.72 Com et al)

On the job Series: Employability Skill Books. Kennedy, Zita and Loeb, Bernice (1998). Austin, TX: Steck Vaughn Company. This series of job skill training books includes the following titles: Making Career Decisions; Locating and Using Labor Market Information; References and job Applications; Preparing Resumes and Cover Letters; Interviewing; First Days on the job; job-keeping Skills; Transferable Skills; Consumer Skills; Consumer Resources; and Taxes, Taxes, Taxes. A Program Administrator's Manual is also included. Set of 12 Books. (344.08 Ken).

Workplace Instructor Training CD-ROM & Workbook. Cozzolino, Laurie Gifford (1999). San Diego, CA: Workplace Learning Resource Center, San Diego Community College District This training package is intended to be used interactively and flexibly, in either a group or individual setting. Ten modules on the CD-ROM include: I) Roles of the Workplace Instructor; 2) Overview of a Workplace Basic Skills Contract; 3) Workplace Needs Assessment; 4) Program Evaluation; 5) Methods of Assessment; 6) Creating a Course Outline; 7) Teaching Listening & Speaking in the Workplace; 8) Teaching Reading in the Workplace; 9) Teaching Writing in the Workplace; and 10) Teaching Math in the Workplace. Book and CD-ROM. (374.013 Coz)

Achieving Learner Goals: Video Technology in Adult Education. PBS Literacy Link (1999). Philadelphia, PA: PBS Adult Learning Satellite Service. FREE COPIES OF PARTICIPANT PACKET AVAILABLE: This loan set includes a videotape and participant packet from a 2-hour video teleconference broadcast on April 29, 1999. Topics include: benefits of using video as a learning tool; strategies for integrating video into learner activities; learner perspectives; using video in different learning contexts; case studies (including TV41 I in El Paso, Texas); discussion of some commercially available adult education video series; learner-produced video; and a question and answer segment. Videotape and Participant Packet. (374.0078 PLL)

The Grass Roots Readers. Grass Roots Press (2000). Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Grass Roots Press. This series of books was designed to provide simple text for adult students who are reading at or below a grade one level. Each book in the series explores a different topic using real-life photographs. The set includes two books of non-fiction, a romantic comedy story, an outdoor adventure, a narrative on coping with stress, a mystery, and an open-ended story to spark classroom discussion. Set of 7 Books. (374.07 GRP)

Learning to Think, Learning to Learn: What the Science of Thinking and Learning Has to Offer Adult Education. Cromley, Jennifer (2000). Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy. This book is meant for adult educators who teach or tutor reading (including science, literature, and social studies) in GED-level classrooms, as well as trainers and staff developers of these teachers. It may also be useful to ABE and ESL teachers and trainers. The author summarizes into "fact sheets" 18 theories about learning methods based on cognitive research. Each fact sheet includes: questions for teacher reflection; a summary of the ideas and evidence; information specific to adult learners; the implications for teachers of adults; and a set of short lesson ideas based on the findings. At the end of the book are: appendices on learning styles and brain theory; short articles summarizing many of the fact sheets, which may be reproduced in teacher newsletters; a selected bibliography; a glossary of technical terms used in the book; and an index. (374.02 Cro)

Environmental Print Activities for the Lower Literacy Level Classroom. Project VITAL and the Region 20 ABEPDC (February 15, 2001). San Antonio, TX: Region 20 Education Service Center. Video of a three-hour teleconference which provided educators with a variety of activities that can be used in the classroom or on a one-to-one basis to support literacy building across the curriculum. The presenters provided participants with games and activities that can be readily applied in the classroom to support the principles of EFF (Equipped for the Future) framework of skills needed by adults. Video and Participant Packet. (374.012 Pro)

Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 30th Anniversary Edition. Freire, Paulo (1970, 1993, 2000). New York: Continuum. When education does not focus on liberation it becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. This is the "banking" concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. This classic text argues for a new philosophy of education for liberation, and arose out of Freire's concrete experience with rural peasants and urban laborers. Originally published 1970, this 30th Anniversary Edition of the book includes a new introduction. (374.29 Fre)

The Role of Classroom Assessment in Teaching and Learning. Shepard, Lorrie A. (2000). Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence. The author explains how classroom assessment practices must be transformed in two ways to help students learn. First, the content and character of assessments must be improved by representing important thinking and problem-solving skills in each of the disciplines. Second, the gathering, using, and viewing of assessment information by teachers and students must become a part of the ongoing learning process. (371.26 She)

Celebrate with Us: A Beginning ESL Reader of Holidays and Festivals. Kennedy, James H. (1997). Lincolnwood IL: Contemporary Books, Inc. A reader for beginning to intermediate ESL students. The units concentrate on well-known U.S. holidays and festivals, providing the cultural background that learners need to understand and talk about life in the United States. Some of the holidays and festivals covered are Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Mardi Gras, Easter, Mother's Day, and Father's Day. (428.007 Ken)

Citizenship: Passing the Test. Weintraub. Lynne (I 998). Syracuse, NY: New Readers Press. The author covers information about U.S. history and government. There are also opportunities to practice test taking skills including multiple choice, short answers, and questions you are not sure about. An audiocassette tape and teacher's guide are also included. (323 Wei)

Painless Grammar. Elliott, Rebecca, Ph.D. (1997). Hauppauge, NY: Barron's. Written for 6th to 8th grade level, this book could also be used in adult ESL or basic education classes. The author mixes parts of speech, sentence construction, and punctuation with humor, down-to-earth examples of correct usage, and cartoon illustrations. Frequently misused words are highlighted, as well as "messy writing" and how to avoid it. (415 Ell)

A Writer's Workbook: An Interactive Writing Text, Third Edition. Smoke, Trudy (1998). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. This text prepares ESL students for the challenges of college writing. The workbook includes model essays and exercises, including writing practices, group activities, and peer critiques. This balance of example and practice is intended to allow students to recognize effective writing and to use these same strategies in their own writing. (428.007 Smo)

Teaching Reading and Functional Writing to Adults With Learning Disabilities - Basic Level. The University of Georgia (2000). Athens, GA: PBS Adult Learning Service. This two-hour video is the first of two PBS satellite events taking an integrated approach to teaching reading and writing to adults with learning disabilities. The Basic Level teleconference focused on teaching beginner-level skills. Participants learned: what to do if you suspect a learning disability; how to screen for reading and writing problems; how to apply a variety of instructional techniques in a lesson plan; how to structure a reading program; how to differentiate instructional needs of different learners; and how to locate appropriate resources on the Web and elsewhere for both learners and teachers. Presenters were Nancy Mather, Ph.D. of University of Arizona in Tucson and Noel Gregg, Ph.D. of The University of Georgia. Videotape and Participant Print Materials. (370.152 UG2)

Teaching Reading and Functional Writing to Adults With Learning Disabilities - Intermediate Level. The University of Georgia (2000). Athens, GA: PBS Adult Learning Service. This video is the second of two PBS satellite events taking an integrated approach to teaching reading and writing skills to adults with learning disabilities and linking them to employment needs. Participants learned: how to help learners at the sentence level and in paragraph development; how to focus students on practical, job-related skills; how to decide between remediation and accommodation; how to assess high-and low-tech accommodation strategies; and how to develop a resource base with local agencies. Videotape. (370.152 UG2)

Where We Stand: Class Matters. Hooks, Bell (2000). New York: Rutledge. Feminist teacher and author bell hooks writes about class as the "elephant in the room" - the unnamed subject she considers central to our culture and its problems. Drawing on both her roots in Kentucky and her experiences with Manhattan co-op boards, hooks reflects on how our dilemmas of race and class are intertwined, and how we can find ways to think beyond them. (301 hoo)

Making Choices for Multicultural Education: Five Approaches to Race, Class, and Gender, Third Edition. Sleeter, Christine F. and Grant, Carl A. (1999). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The authors wrote this book to offer the educational community a way of thinking about race, language, culture, class. gender, and disability in teaching. incorporating the most recent literature and reflection on this evolving field of study and practice. The book includes recent demographics, a discussion of sexual orientation, a reflection on conflict resolution and peer mediation in schools, a focus on the recasting of deficit ideology. and more. (370.196 Sle)

Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives, Fourth Edition Banks, James A. and Banks, Cherry A. McGee (2001). New York: john Wiley & Sons, Inc. Resources in this book are intended to help preservice and in-service teachers become effective practitioners in today's increasingly diverse classrooms and schools. Leading scholars and researchers in the field present current and emerging research, concepts, and debates on the education of students from different cultural, racial, ethnic, social class, religious. gender, ability and language groups. (370.196 Ban 2001)

New Ways in Teaching Culture. Fantini, Alvino F. (I 997). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). This book aims to compile and disseminate the ideas of educators probing the links between language, culture, and world view. The introductory section offers conceptual background essays by experts in the field. Parts II - V are devoted to innovative classroom activities that include culture and intercultural exploration as an integral part of the language experience. A final section offers an annotated bibliography of pertinent works. (306.2 Fan)

Reducing Prejudice and Stereo-typing in Schools. Stephan, Walter (1999). New York: Teachers College Press. The growth of diversity in the larger society and in the schools in recent years has led to nativism and intergroup conflict. Written by a social psychologist, this book is intended to assist educators in designing and implementing classroom interventions that will help students to develop more positive racial and ethnic attitudes and behaviors. (370.196 Ste)

Empowerment Health Education in Adult Literacy: A Guide for Public Health and Adult Literacy Practitioners, Policy Makers and Funders. Hohn, Ed.D., Marcia Drew (1998). Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy. The author reports on a project focused on the idea that embedding health education directly into literacy programs may help to improve the health of low literate adults. The book is divided into four sections: What is the problem? What are we going to do about the problem? What did we learn from our action? What do we need to share with others? Several model programs are described throughout the book. Evaluation surveys and interview questions used are also included. (613.07 Hoh)

GED 2002: Making the Transition PBS LiteracyLink (November 2000). Philadelphia, PA: PBS Adult Learning Service. This is the videotape of a two-hour satellite teleconference broadcast on November 30, 2000, the second of two videoconferences for adult educators featuring Joan Auchter, executive director of the GED Testing Service, discussing how to prepare your program and your learners for the new GED exam. This session focused on the social studies and science tests, including interpreting graphic representation, new reading contexts and the skills demanded on each. Also included was information about the Spanish and French versions, accommodations for persons with disabilities, and implications of the new test on adult education performance measures. Videotape and Participant Packet. (373.1262 PBS 2)

Rethinking Literacy Education: The Critical Need for Practice-Based Change. Quigley, B. Allan (1997). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Quigley believes that most efforts to eradicate illiteracy fail because they emanate from a political and social perspective that has little bearing on reality. Advocating a refocus of attention on the learner, the author also points to the practitioners currently working in the field as the key to improving the effectiveness of literacy education. This book is intended as a guide for adult educators and trainers, offering suggestions and alternatives to improve practice and providing historical and evolutionary frameworks that they can use to shape a new philosophy of adult literacy education. A section on "Engaging Non-participants and Dropouts" addresses the problem of attrition and offers suggestions for improving retention. (374.29 Qui)

Administrating Successful Programs for Adults: Promoting Excellence in Adult, Community, and Continuing Education. Galbraith, Michael W., Sisco, Burton R. and Guglielmino, Lucy M. (1997). Mailabar, FL: Kneger Publishing Company. This book provides an orientation to the administrative process, as well as a conceptual frame-work for understanding that process. The authors examine the primary elements, functions, and processes involved in the effective administration of adult, community, and continuing education agencies and organizations. Chapter subjects include: settings and contexts for such programs; various approaches to administration and their appropriateness for adult education; selecting and developing staff; program evaluation; legal issues and ethical considerations; and professional development, both of the administrator and other staff. (374.29 Gal)

How to Develop a Professional Portfolio: A Manual for Teachers. Campbell, Dorothy M., et al (1997). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. This book was developed by teacher education faculty to provide their students with a more authentic, broad-based and holistic way to demonstrate their growing competence. The intent is to give teachers a larger measure of control in charting their own professional growth. Specific guidelines are included for developing a portfolio, as well as a model portfolio assessment structure and process. Though written for pre-service teachers, it can be adapted by in-service teachers, school districts, or other educational entities, to fit their unique situations. (378 Cam).