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Professional Wisdom for Adult and Family Literacy
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FREE Things to Send For...
“The depth of the resources you make available to us and the ease of access
are impressive. Thanks.”
Resa Wingfield
Grant Coordinator and Supervisor
Tyler Junior College/Literacy Council of Texas
Evidence-Based Adult Literacy and English
as a Second Language Education
Adult Learning in Cohort Groups. Imel, Susan (2002). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.
Learning in groups has historical roots in adult education and many adult educators use group learning as an element of their programs. This ERIC Practice Application Brief highlights findings from research and theory on adult learning cohorts to examine how cohorts are structured or formed and the experience of the learning process within cohorts. Recommendations for practice are provided.
English Literacy and Civics Education. Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (February 2006). Washington, DC: Center for Adult English Language Acquisition.
This brief, written by CAELA staff members, explains the purpose and content of the U.S. Department of Education’s English Literacy and Civics (EL/Civics) Education program. The brief also describes some ways that teachers can develop EL/Civics classes appropriate for learners at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of English proficiency.
Implications of NCSALL Research for Program Administrators: NCSALL Seminar Guide. NCSALL (April 2006). Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.
Seminar Guide was created to assist program administrators in accessing, understanding, judging, and using research for themselves and for their staff. Participants explore the “Program Administrators’ Sourcebook: A Resource on NCSALL’s Research for Adult Education Program Administrators” and other training materials available from NCSALL. Professional developers may want to use this seminar in place of a regularly scheduled meeting, such as a statewide training. Seminar design assumes a 3-1/2 hour seminar for between 15 and 25 adult education program administrators/coordinators.
Intergenerational Learning and Social Capital. Kerka, Sandra (2003). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.
Knowledge has been transmitted from one generation to another throughout history, often informally or incidentally. In the last 40 years, more systematic and formal intergenerational programs have arisen, with growing recognition of their integral relationship to lifelong learning and broader social purposes (Hanks and Icenogle 2001). Ideally, the generations derive mutual benefits from participation and the learning is reciprocal. Features of effective intergenerational learning have commonalities with the characteristics of social capital. This ERIC Digest examines the relationship between intergenerational learning and social capital and describes research findings and promising programs illustrating how intergenerational programs contribute to learning and the development of social capital.
Journal Writing as an Adult Learning Tool Kerka, Sandra (2002). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.
A journal is a tool for processing the raw material of experience in order to integrate it with existing knowledge and create new meaning, and can be used in many ways to foster reflection and adult learning. This ERIC Practice Application Brief reviews the research and practice literature and describes issues and methods involved in incorporating journal writing in adult education.
Modified Sustained Silent Reading - Does it Benefit Beginning Learners of English? Focus on Basics (November 2005). Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.
This Conversation with Focus on Basics was featured in the November 2005 issue of that publication from the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. One of the many research projects carried out at NCSALL’s National Adult ESOL Labsite, or Lab School, in Portland, Oregon, focused on beginning-level reading. The research project tested the use of sustained silent reading (SSR) as a methodology for teaching reading to very beginning learners of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). Classes were conducted by Portland Community College (PCC). Sandra Banke, one of the teacher/researchers in the project, and Reuel Kurzet, professional development associate/researcher for the project and chair of PCC’s English as a second language (ESL) department, spoke to Focus on Basics about the project and what they learned from it.
Problem-Based Learning and Adult English Language Learners. Mathews-Aydinli, Julie (April 2007). Washington, DC: Center for Adult English Language Acquisition.
This brief describes how problem-based learning aligns with research on second language acquisition, gives guidelines for teachers and administrators on implementing problem-based learning in classes or programs for adults learning English as a second language (ESL), and outlines the benefits and challenges of using a problem-based learning approach with adult English language learners.
QEd: Scientific Evidence for Adult Literacy Educators, Issue 1. Kruidenier, John R., Editor (2007). Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy.
This is the first in a five-issue series for the adult education community published by the National Institute for Literacy. The series will cover ideas and information on the expanding scientific research base on how adults learn to read. This first issue tells the story of how researchers are using the high quality, scientific standards that adult literacy deserves and demands. The issue also discusses another publication, Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers (available as a separate title from the Clearinghouse). The series will also offer other useful resources and discussion lists.
Sustained Silent Reading: A Useful Model. Campagna, Suzanne (March 2005). Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.
This article by Susanne Campagna was featured in the March 2005 issue of Focus on Basics, published by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. Teaching reading, writing, and math while allowing learners to stay focused on their individual goals requires careful planning, excellent time management skills, and flexibility. This is no easy task when an instructor sees her students a mere 10.5 hours a week or less. So why, you might ask, would our program set aside an hour and a half of instructional time every week to have our students engage in sustained silent reading?
Understanding Adult ESL Content Standards. Young, Sarah and Smith, Cristine (September 2006). Washington, DC: Center for Adult English Language Acquisition.
Adult education programs serve learners who are native English speakers and those whose first, or native, language is not English. Native English speakers attend adult basic education (ABE) classes to learn the skills needed to earn high school equivalency certificates or to achieve other goals related to job, family, or further education. English language learners attend English as a second language (ESL) or ABE classes to improve their oral and written skills in English and to achieve goals similar to those of native English speakers. This brief is written for adult ESL teachers and program administrators, as well as educational researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders who work with adult English language students in ESL classes or in mixed ABE classes (with native English speakers and English language students).
Workplace Instruction and Workforce Preparation for Adult Immigrants. Burt, Miriam and Mathews-Aydinli, Julie (September 2007). Washington, DC: Center for Adult English Language Acquisition.
Adult educators across the country are seeking ways to ensure that foreign-born adults will be successful in gaining English proficiency and in entering and advancing at the workplace. This brief reviews the three venues in which federally funded instruction to help immigrants become successful at work is offered – at the workplace, in vocational classes, and in adult English as a second language (ESL) classes. Basic program features and the strengths and challenges of each type of program are described, and recommendations are given for addressing the challenges. This information will help program administrators and teachers select, establish, and improve programs for the adult immigrants they serve. Brief is written for adult ESL teachers
and program administrators, as well as educational researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders.
Evidence-Based Family Literacy Education
The Importance of Social Interaction and Support for Women Learners: Evidence from Family Literacy Programs. Prins, Esther and Toso, Blaire Willson and Schafft, Kai (May 2008). University
Park, PA: Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy, Pennsylvania State University.
“Although many women value and benefit from social interaction in adult education and family literacy, these social dimensions are often treated as tangential or inconsequential. Utilizing data from two studies of family literacy programs in Pennsylvania, this study examined how family literacy programs provide a supportive social space for women in poverty. We found that many learners had limited social support and social ties with people outside their program and few opportunities for recreation. As such, family literacy programs fulfilled important social functions by enabling women to leave the house, enjoy social contact and support, engage in informal counseling, pursue self-discovery and development, and establish supportive relationships with teachers. In sum, adult education and family literacy programs play an important role in helping women in poverty receive social support and, in turn, enhance their psychosocial well-being.”
Making a Difference: A Framework for Supporting First and Second Language Development in Preschool Children of Migrant Farm Workers. Stechuk, Robert A. and Burns, M. Susan (2005). Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development.
The authors share the research base, important findings, and recommendations for teaching practices and program policies related to first and second language development in preschool children. Information is presented as responses to four key questions: 1) Can we facilitate children’s acquisition of English without the loss of Spanish (i.e., their first language)? 2) How can we understand the how and when of developmental processes related to first and second language acquisition? 3) Does it matter how adults use English and the children’s home language when they talk to children? 4) When we continue development of the first language and facilitate English, what does it look like day-to-day?
Parenting for Literacy Development and Educational Success: An Examination of the Parent Education Profile. Prins, Esther and Toso, Blaire Willson (May 2008). University Park, PA: Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy, Pennsylvania State University.
“The Parent Education Profile (PEP) is an instrument that rates parents’ support for children’s literacy development. This study examined how the PEP portrays the ideal parent, its assumptions about parenting and education, and the values and ideals it promotes. In sum, many aspects of the PEP evaluate parents by the mainstream (White, middle-class) parenting style. Although the PEP uses the language of scientific research to support this model, it presents no information about reliability or validity. The PEP tends to assume that a universal set of parenting practices best supports children’s literacy development, without fully considering cultural and economic differences. It also implies that parents, particularly mothers, are mainly responsible for their children’s academic success. In order to follow some of the PEP practices, parents need access to resources often unavailable to poor families; yet, the PEP does not seem to encourage recognition of mitigating circumstances that might lower parents’ ratings. Finally, while the PEP encourages staff to ask for parents’ perspectives, it gives parents little say in assessing themselves. In conclusion, caution and cultural sensitivity are needed when using instruments that prescribe, monitor, and rate parental support for education and literacy.”
Promoting ELL Parental Involvement: Challenges in Contested Times. Arias, M. Beatriz and Morillo-Campbell, Milagros (January 2008). East Lansing, MI: The Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice. This policy brief analyzes the factors involved with generating effective parental involvement of English Language Learners (ELLs). Parents of ELLs face daunting barriers when they attempt to become informed and involved in their child’s school. It is critical to identify practices that improve ELL parental involvement and, in turn, student achievement. While diversity speaks to the need for both traditional and non-traditional models, with a dual-model approach variation in language proficiency is acknowledged, communication is facilitated and communities are recognized and integrated within the school culture. The center recommends that policymakers fund the implementation of non-traditional parental involvement programs that reflect a reciprocal involvement in the school/parent community.
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