Personnel Issues

Adult Educators’ Guide to Designing Instructor Mentoring.
Renee Sherman, et al. Washington, DC: Pelavin Research Center, American Institutes for Research, April 2000. Instructor mentoring is the process by which a more experienced instructor or administrator nurtures the growth of one less experienced through counseling, coaching, and supporting reflective problem-solving. This guide includes sections on: the benefits of mentoring in adult basic education programs; how programs can develop, implement, and support mentoring; and appendices that include profiles of mentoring in ABE and ESL programs. The Guide is a publication of the “Building Professional Development Partnerships for Adult Educators Project” (Pro-Net) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Guide is also available online: http://www.calpro-online.org/pubs/MentoringGuide.pdf

Critical Perspectives on Mentoring: Trends and Issues.
Catherine A. Hansman. Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, 2002. The chapters in this collection explore emerging viewpoints, issues, and trends related to mentoring and adult learning and the potential of mentoring to enhance as well as hinder learning in adulthood. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Document is also available online: http://cete.org/acve/pubs.asp — scroll down page to find Major Clearinghouse Publications.

How Teachers Change: A Study of Professional Development in Adult Education: Report Summary.
Cristine Smith, et al. Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, November 2003. The NCSALL Professional Development Study investigated how adult education teachers changed after participating in one of three different models of professional development (multi-session workshop, mentor teacher group, or practitioner research group), all on the same topic of learner persistence. The study also investigated the most important individual, professional development, program, and system factors that influenced the type and amount of teacher change. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Report Summary is also available online: http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/report25a.pdf

ESOL Starter Kit.
VALRC Associates and Jane Roy. Richmond, VA: Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center, October 2002. The “ESL Starter Kit” was first published in 1998 to help teachers and program administrators begin or improve an adult ESL program. It offers ideas for testing, registering, and placing students in the right class, and includes a sample registration form, a sample placement test, a reference list of available commercial tests, sample needs assessments, and a brief description of various program models. Tips for effective teaching include advice on classroom management, particularly with multi-level classes and special needs students. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Kit is also available online: http://www.aelweb. vcu.edu/publications/ESLKit/ESLKit_2002.pdf

Focus on Basics, March 2005.
NCSALL/World Education. Boston, MA, March 2005. Focus on Basics is a quarterly published by National Center for Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. For this issue’s theme of “Modes of Delivery”, Catherine Saldana contributed an article on “Differentiating Instruction for a Multilevel Class”. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Back issues of Focus on Basics can also be found on NCSALL’s website: http://www.ncsall.net

Focus on Basics, September 1997.
NCSALL/World Education. Boston, MA, September 1997. This issue’s theme was multilevel classes, with several articles focusing on that subject. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Back issues of Focus on Basics can also be found on NCSALL’s website: http://www.ncsall.net

Multilevel Classes: Connections: A Journal of Adult Literacy: Summer, 1997, Volume VII.
Adult Literacy Resource Institute, SABES Greater Boston Regional
Support Center. Boston, MA: Adult Literacy Resource Institute, 1997. The thirteen articles in this issue were written by teachers of ABE, ESOL, and GED, who have investigated various aspects of the multilevel question in their own classrooms. Before any of the writing started, a core group of teachers gathered to discuss their perceptions, concerns, and insights about the issue of multilevel classes. The Introduction summarizes this discussion. Some subjects considered in the articles include: reading strategies that allow for students with a wide range of abilities to work on similar material; the potential of a student-generated project to increase group cohesion in a multilevel class; an examination of grouping students by ability; why cooperative learning sometimes works well and sometimes doesn’t; teaching a multilevel math class; and staff development activities in multilevel arena.

Taking a Closer Look at Teaching and Learning in Adult Education Classrooms: ILRDC News & Views.
Illinois Literacy Resource Development Center. Champaign, IL, October 2001. This issue of the ILRDC newsletter describes a classroom observation study conducted in 2000-2001. In the ILRDC study, nine multi-level adult education classes across Illinois were observed and teacher interviews were conducted. This newsletter summarizes challenges to teaching and learning in these classrooms; multilevel teaching strategies that were observed; and teaching, learning, practice, and policy implications of the study’s findings. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only.

Adult Literacy Practitioners as Researchers: ERIC Digest EDO-LE-94-03. Cassie Drennon.
Washington, DC: ERIC/Center for Applied Linguistics, July 1994. This digest examines thinking that underlies practitioner inquiry, explains the phases of an inquiry process, and gives examples of projects. It concludes by identifying concerns with the approach and by suggesting changes that must take place if inquiry is to be viably implemented as a staff development process.

The Implications of Teacher Action Research for Inservice Teachers’ Professional Development.
Florence M. Marquardt. Jacksonville, FL: University of North Florida, 1998. This report was prepared for the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, held in New Orleans on February 26, 1998. In collaboration with a group of Duval County Public School teachers, Marquardt reports on teacher action research implemented in an urban school professional development project, and the impact on participants at both the university and elementary school level.

Teacher As Researcher: ERIC Digest ED355205.
Beverly Johnson. College Park, MD: ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment & Evaluation, 1993. This ERIC Digest discusses the concept of teacher-as-researcher, which encourages teachers to be collaborators in revising curriculum, improving their work environment, professionalizing teaching, and developing policy. Subjects include: roots in action research; purpose of teacher action research; why it is important; and its effects on teaching and learning.

The Evaluation Exchange: A Periodical on Emerging Strategies in Evaluating Child and Family Services, Volume X Number 2.
Harvard Family Research Project. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education, Summer 2004. Early childhood programs and evaluation are the focus of this issue, with articles charting the course of early childhood programming and evaluation over nearly half a century. Contributing authors offer a range of views on how best to communicate the importance of investing in a child’s early years and how to improve early childhood programs and policies. Several articles consider the explosion of science ­ from longitudinal studies of child outcomes to a large-scale demonstration program ­ that has helped forward our understanding of how young children learn and grow. Finally, a number of articles suggest that better information is needed to close the persistent gap in achievement between children from low-income families and those from middle-income homes. Also available online: http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/eval/issue26/

Fool’s Gold: A Critical Look at Children and Computers.
Colleen Cordes and Edward Miller. College Park, MD: Alliance for Childhood, 2000. This report focuses on evidence that computers offer few advantages in early childhood and elementary education, with the aim of promoting healthier and more considered policies on computer use in childhood. Some of the questions considered include: Do computers really motivate children to learn faster and better? Must five-year-olds be trained on computers today to get the high-paying jobs of tomorrow? Do computers really “connect” children to the world? The Executive Summary concludes, “The renewal of education requires ... commitment to developmentally appropriate education and attention to the full range of children’s real low-tech needs — physical, emotional, and social, as well as cognitive.” Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Also available on the Alliance for Childhood website (http://www.allianceforchildhood.net) is a Spanish language version of this report, as well as a 2004 follow-up report, “Tech Tonic: Towards a New Literacy of Technology.”

Healthy Minds: Nurturing Your Child’s Development.
Zero to Three and American Academy of Pediatrics. Washington, DC, 2003. What do we really know about how a young child develops? What can parents do to best support their child’s healthy development and growing brain? Some of the answers are in this series of Healthy Minds handouts. Each handout is based on findings from a report from the National Academy of Sciences that examined the research on child and brain development to establish what is known about the early years. These handouts based on the report were developed to coincide with well-baby check-ups. Thus, two-page handouts (one in English and one in Spanish) are provided for: 0 to 2 months; 2 to 6 months; 6 to 9 months; 9 to 12 months; 12 to 18 months; 18 to 24 months; and 24 to 36 months. Each handout summarizes key findings and suggests how parents might be able to use the research findings to nurture their own child’s healthy development. Handouts are reproducible for nonprofit, educational purposes, provided the content and format are not changed. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Also available online: http://www.zerotothree.org/healthy minds/

Home Visiting: A Promising Early Intervention Strategy for At-Risk Families.
U.S. General Accounting Office. Washington, DC, July 1990. GAO reviewed home visiting, focusing on: (1) the nature and scope of home-visiting programs in the United States and Europe; (2) its effectiveness; (3) strategies critical to the design of programs that use home visiting; and (4) federal options in using home visiting. Some of the findings were that: (1) some programs using home visiting improved the health and well being of families and children; (2) home visiting reduced the need for more costly services, but minimal research has compared its cost-effectiveness to other early intervention strategies; (3) some programs using home visiting failed to meet their objectives, primarily due to fundamental program design and operation problems; and (4) successful programs usually combined home visiting with center-based and other community services adapted to their target group’s needs. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Also available online: http://archive.gao.gov/d23t8/141782.pdf

Intergenerational Literacy Notebook.
Karen Carr, Project Coordinator. Denver, CO: Colorado Department of Education, February 2004. This collection of thematically based activities for adults and their children to complete together was designed for adult education, Even Start, and Migrant Even Start programs in Colorado. A majority of the activities are designed for English language learners and are life skills based. Science and social studies activities primarily target the ABE/GED learner. Themes include: Community Services, Consumer Economics, Employment, Health, Housing, Transportation, Science, and Social Studies. Each thematic unit includes group activities as well as some that require minimal teacher support and could be used as take-home activities. Numerous reproducible elements are included. Clearinghouse at TCALL distributes free copies to Texas educators only. Also available online: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeadult/iglindex.htm

Making a Difference: A Framework for Supporting First and Second Language Development in Preschool Children of Migrant Farm Workers.
Robert A. Stechuk and M. Susan Burns. Washington, DC: Academy for Educational Development, 2005. 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?