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Getting Started: (Advice for New Adult and Family Literacy Programs)
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Notes
from the English Literacy Civics Resource Center:
Spotlight on
Professional Development and Community Building
by
Jenny Sandlin
In every issue of
Literacy Links we update you on new developments at the English Literacy
Civics Resource Center and highlight some featured web sites. For those
of you who are not aware of the Resource Center, please come and visit
our virtual home! The English Literacy Civics Education Resource Center
is a website designed for EL Civics teachers and students and is made
possible through an English Literacy Civics Education Grant funded by
the U.S. Department of Education and the Texas Education Agency. The Center
is administered by Brenham Community Education (a partnership between
Brenham Independent School District and Blinn College), in conjunction
with the Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development
at Texas A&M University, with support from the Texas Center for Adult
Literacy and Learning at Texas A&M University. This site is now
an archive and is no longer hosted on the TCALL website. Resources for
EL Civics can be found at http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/litresources/elcres.htm
For this issue of
Literacy Links I would like to take a closer look at two types of resources
you can find at the Center. First, I would like to draw your attention
to the professional development resources available and then discuss some
of the community building resources you will find.
Just as a reminder,
the bulk of the site is found in the "Resources" section, and consists
of links to online resource materials, organized by both topic area and
type of material.
Topic areas include:
Civic Participation
and Community Action;
Immigration and Naturalization;
Voting and Government;
Parent and School Involvement;
and Workforce and Workplace Education
Within each of these
topic areas, you can access a wide range of materials including:
Lesson plans for teachers and tutors;
Professional development materials for teachers and tutors; Web collections
that have been compiled by other people and organizations;
Ideas and information about innovative programs;
Online interactive activities for adult learners;
Online interactive activities for parents and children;
and Links to agencies and other source materials
Professional Development Materials
In each of the content
areas listed above, you will find professional development materials for
teachers and tutors. These materials consist of articles on a variety
of topics related to teaching English Language Civics, background information
about civics education and adult learners, and even online professional
development activities. Below are some sample professional development
links you will find on the website.
ESL Articles compiled
by NCLE http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/index.html.
This page has links to almost 80 full-text articles of interest to ESL
and EL/Civics teachers, covering topic areas such as ESL Methods and Approaches,
Family and Intergenerational ESL Literacy, Language and Culture, and Workplace
and Vocational ESL.
PBS ESL/Civics
Link http://civicslink.ket.org/login.xml.
PBS ESL/Civics Link is an online professional development service designed
to help adult education and ESL teachers increase their knowledge and
skills for teaching English to adults and to better integrate English
literacy instruction and civics. Teachers will be able to complete online
units covering topics such as "Meeting Learners’ Needs and Goals,"
"An Overview of Selected Teaching Approaches in ESL," "Integrating Civics
and English Literacy," "Exploring Citizenship," and "Teaching a Citizenship
Class." The site is still under construction, and units should be available
very soon. For now, you can visit the site to learn more about what it
will offer, and you can sign up for free email updates to keep you informed
about the progress of the site. You can also try a sample activity here:
http://civicslink.ket.org/sample/main.htm.
Adult Civic Involvement
in the United States http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=97906.
This report, compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics,
presents data on the civic involvement of adults in the United States,
including sources of information, community and political participation,
and attitudes toward government and democratic principles. The data are
from the 1996 National Household Education Survey (NHES:96), Adult Civic
Involvement component.
Civics Education
for Adult English Language Learners, and ERIC Q&A http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/instructional/civics.html
In this comprehensive article, Lynda Terrill gives an overview of the
different conceptions of civics education and provides historical background
of civics education. She also provides ideas for activities teachers can
use in different levels of classrooms, and links to a multitude of references
and resources available on the web.
Using Case Studies
for Professional Development in Civic Education http://www.civics-online.org/teachers/cases.php.
On this page, hypermedia case studies are used to provide teachers the
opportunity to explore and seek solutions to problems they may encounter
teaching civics education. Four case studies are presented, along with
questions for discussion and reflection. Although these case studies are
based in K-12 education, the issues presented are also relevant to adult
educators.
Citizenship Preparation
for Adult ESL Learners. This ERIC digest (from June 1997), written
by Thomas Nixon, Visalia Adult School, CA and Fran Keenan, National Center
for ESL Literacy Education, focuses on the educational requirements of
the naturalization process, discusses different approaches to citizenship
education, and provides ESL teachers with ideas for practical activities
they can use in their citizenship classes.
Adult Learning
Resource Center http://www.thecenterweb.org/.
The center provides assistance to citizenship educators in Illinois and
throughout the U.S. Services provided include: staff development workshops;
educator interest groups; on-site electronic and phone consultation; customized
training; and materials development in English and Spanish. On this site
you will find some great citizenship resources and materials to use with
students, including sample entrance tests, INS 100 Questions, INS Dictation
Sentences, INS practice interviews, and classroom materials.
Community Building Resources
In the "Community"
section of the site, teachers, learners, and parents will find ways to
connect with others around a variety of issues related to English Language
Civics Education. The links in this section are designed to bring teachers,
parents, and community members together, and include online discussion
groups, listservs, and newsletters. Here are some sample links you will
find in this section of the site:
National Institute
for Literacy’s Online Discussion Lists. Subscribe: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/subscribe_all.html.
Read descriptions: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html.
NIFL sponsors a variety of online discussion groups that allow adult literacy
professionals and learners opportunities to "discuss the literacy field’s
critical issues; share resources, experiences, and ideas; ask questions
of subject experts; and keep up-to-date on literacy issues." There is
a separate list for each of the following topics: Assessment, Equipped
for the Future (EFF), English as a Second Language (ESL), Family Literacy,
Focus on Basics, Health & Literacy, Homelessness & Literacy, Learning
Disabilities, Poverty, Race, & Literacy, Technology & Literacy,
Women & Literacy, Workplace Literacy.
NCLEnotes.
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/Citizen.html.
NCLEnotes is a newsletter targeted primarily to ESL literacy teachers
and program administrators, containing news from the field, tips for teaching,
and policy updates. It is published two times a year by the National Center
for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE). You can sign up to receive a free paper
subscription or read it online.
Community Update.
http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OIIA/communityupdate/page1.cfm.
Published by the U.S. Department of Education, Community Update is a
monthly newsletter for parents, educators, and community partners involved
in the education of children. It features model programs from around
the country, putting its readers "in touch with resources, services, and publications
for increasing student learning." You can access the newsletter online
and read stories from teachers, researchers, and others involved in the
education of children.
Field Notes.
http://www.sabes.org/.
Field Notes is published quarterly and provides a place "to share innovative
practices, new resources, information, and hot topics with the field of
adult education." It is published by the Massachusetts System for Adult
Basic Education Support (SABES) and is primarily written for adult literacy
educators and researchers, and features policy updates, classroom teaching
ideas, and reports of research.
e*Literacy.
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/eliteracy/archive.html.
e*Literacy is published monthly by the National Institute for Literacy.
Written primarily for adult literacy teachers, admini-strators, and policy
makers, it features the latest news from the field of adult literacy,
policy updates, and listings of current workshops, conferences, and other
literacy-related events.
Adult Learners
Network Newsletter. http://www.caliteracy.org/.
Adult Learners Network, a project of California Literacy, Inc., sponsors
a monthly newsletter for adult literacy students. These newsletters, written
expressly for adult learners, feature articles on different topics relevant
to learners’ lives, complete with vocabulary help and contact information
for relevant agencies and offices. The most recent issue discusses how
to get a job. On this site you can read the newsletter as well as join
the Adult Learners Network, an organization designed to develop relationships
between literacy students in California.
Literacy Update.
http://www.lacnyc.org/resources/publications/update/.
Literacy Update is published eight times a year by the Literacy Assistance
Center of New York City. Literacy Update is written primarily for literacy
teachers, administrators, researchers, and policymakers, and features
articles on current issues in adult literacy education.
Focus on Basics.
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=31.
Focus on Basics is published quarterly by the National Center for the Study
of Adult Learning and Literacy (NSCALL). Focus on Basics presents best
practices and current research on adult learning, as well as discussions
of how research is being used by adult literacy teachers, counselors,
administrators, and policy makers. You can find downloadable full-text
versions on-line.
Resource Suggestions?
We want to be a helpful resource for you, so visit the site and let us
know what you think. If you have links, websites, or other resources you
think we should include on our site, let us know! Please send feedback
to Jenny Sandlin at jsandlin@coe.tamu.edu.
 
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