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Success Stories
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NCSALL Program Administrators’ Sourcebook:
A
Resource on NCSALL’s Research for Adult Education Program Administrators
If you administer an adult education program, you face a wide variety
of challenges:
- How can you help students make "level" gains?
- How can you help students gain the skills they need to reach their
goals?
- How can you help students stay in programs long enough to meet their
goals?
- How can you prepare and retain good teachers?
- How can you document the successes of your program?
The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL)
conducted research relevant to these questions. The Program Administrators’ Sourcebook
(December 2005) is designed to give you, as a program administrator,
direct access to research that may help you address the challenges you
face in your job.
For more information, go to: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1035
NCSALL Research: Learners’ Engagement in
Adult Literacy Education
This research was conducted by the NCSALL research team at Rutgers University,
New Jersey, in partnership with the New Brunswick Public Schools Adult
Learning Center, NCSALL’s partner in the National Labsite for Adult
Literacy Education. The research team studied six classes: three basic
level classes, a GED class, and two adult high school reading and writing
classes.
Engagement is mental effort focused on learning and is a precondition
to learning progress. This qualitative study looks at how learning context
shapes engagement. Key findings include:
- Students participating in classes that use individualized group instruction
(IGI) show a high level of engagement. The high level of engagement
exists for three reasons: motivation, the encouragement given to students
by teachers, and the voluntary nature of participation in adult literacy
education.
- The engagement falls into three categories: learners engaging with
materials, learners engaging with teachers, and learners engaging with
other learners. Each engagement pattern has a shaping factor. For learners
engaging with materials, the shaping factor is the routines and procedures
of IGI. For learners engaging with teachers, the shaping factor is
the teacher’s interpretation of his or her role and related behavior;
and for learners engaging with other learners, the shaping factor is
the social norms of the classroom.
IGI is a commonly used method of instruction in adult basic education.
This study has revealed factors that shape engagement. Engagement, a
precondition to learning, can generally be assessed through simple observation.
It follows that learners’ level of engagement can function as a
day-to-day marker of instructional success. If the results of assessment
prove negative, malfunctions of the instructional system, teachers’ role
behaviors, and/or classroom norms may be places to search for solutions.
For more information on the research on engagement, read Learners’ Engagement
in Adult Literacy Education (NCSALL Report #28) at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=29#28.
 
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