SymposiumResearchImplications
From LiteracyTentWiki
The National Adult Education Practitioner Researcher Symposium
Practice and Policy Implications
At the end of each session of the symposium, participants were given time to work in groups to talk about the implications of the work presented. Each group had one person write down their thoughts regarding these five areas:
- Implications for practice
- Implications for policy
- Implications for future research
- Questions for Researchers - To Inform Practice
- Questions for Practitioners - To Inform Research
All of the sessions from the National Adult Education Practitioner Researcher Symposium are listed below. Click on the link below the session title to connect to the implications. For the most part, implications and questions are presented as originally written by session participants. This means that some items might be fragments of thoughts and therefore hard to understand. If you were a participant and see such a response, please feel free to edit the implication to reflect what you or your table was thinking.
To comment on the implications, use the edit function of the wiki. To add a new implication, use a single *. To add a comment to an implication, use **. Using this notation creates the following structure:
Topic
- Implication
- Comment
Instructional Paradigms
Hal Beder, Professor, Rutgers University
InstructionalParadigmsImplications
The study examines three major paradigms for adult literacy, basic skills literacy, emancipatory literacy and functional literacy, and compares them in respect to how they define quality instruction. Because there are significant differences in the desired outcomes of each, each paradigm would require different standards for accountability if instructional objectives were to be appropriately aligned with outcome measurement.
Reading Profiles of US ABE and ESOL Learners
John Strucker, Research Associate/Lecturer in Education, NCSALL/Harvard Graduate School of Education
ReadingProfilesImplications
Results from two large-scale assessment surveys will be presented - the Adult Reading Components Study and the Level 1 Study. Implications of the diversity of adult readers’ profiles for practitioners, administrators, and policy makers will be discussed. Suggestions for further research to inform practice will also be presented.
Learner Persistence
John Comings, NCSALL/Harvard Graduate School of Education
LearnerPersistenceImplications
Several studies identify 100 to 150 hours of instruction as the minimum needed by adults to achieve an increase of at least one grade-level equivalent on a standardized test. However, the average hours of instruction for students in the adult education system is under 100 hours. If adult students are to achieve their goals and meet accountability standards for achievement, they must persist much longer in their studies. This presentation describes persistence and reviews the research and practice literature about ways to support it. It also presents recently completed research that builds a clearer understanding of how to support persistence.
Supporting ABE Learners Studying at a Distance: Lessons from Project IDEAL States
Jerome Johnston, Director, Project IDEAL Support Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
DistanceLearningImplications
A consortium of 16 states is experimenting with the use of distance education to reach ABE learners. Each state collects data on its efforts. Data to date show what’s possible in terms of seat time and educational attainment of learners, and what’s required to support distance learners and their teachers.
The Use of Authentic Materials in Adult Literacy Classrooms
Erik Jacobson, Research Analyst, American Institutes for Research/CALPRO
AuthenticMaterialsImplications
Research suggests that adult learners in classes using authentic literacy activities read and write more, and use a greater variety of texts, in their lives outside of school. In this session, we will discuss the concept of “authentic literacy activity” and address the benefits and challenges of incorporating these kinds of activities into adult literacy classrooms.
A Modified Sustained Silent Reading Program in Beginning Adult ESOL Classes
Sandra Banke and Dominique Brillanceau, Practitioners/Research Associates, Portland State University and Portland Community College
SustainedSilentImplications
The presenters discuss the design, methodology, and preliminary findings of a year-long, randomized classroom experiment with beginning-level adult learners of English as a Second Language. Included in the findings are the practitioner/researchers’ reflections on the effect the experiment’s implementation had on themselves (the instructors), instruction, and the classroom environment.
Health Literacy
Rima Rudd, Harvard School of Public Health and Maricel Santos, NCSALL
HealthLiteracyImplications
A health literacy team comprised of public health and adult education researchers and practitioners designed and piloted expanded study circles for the adult education field. These study circles involve teachers in the exploration of literacy skills students need as they engage in health related behaviors.
The Forgotten “R”: Toward an Agenda for Research on Writing
Marilyn Gillespie, SRI International
WritingResearchImplications
With the adult literacy field, very little research has been conducted on the role of writing in supporting successful literacy acquisition. This session will provide a forum for a discussion of existing research and practice and for the development of an agenda for writing research in adult literacy education.
With the adult literacy field, very little research has been conducted on the role of writing in supporting successful literacy acquisition. This session will provide a forum for a discussion of existing research and practice and for the development of an agenda for writing research in adult literacy education.
Evidence-based Practice and Professional Development
Beth Bingman, Associate Director and NCSALL Coordinator Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee, and Reuel Kurzet, Portland State University and Portland Community College
EvidencebasedPdImplications
This session will examine several approaches to professional development that support teachers in using research to better implement evidence-based practice. Participants will explore some specific activities from the approaches as well as learn about the overall structure of approaches and how they were implemented and received by participants.
Research Methods for ABE/ESOL Populations
Ellie Drago-Severson, NCSALL Researcher/Lecturer in Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
ResearchMethodsImplications
This session focuses on methodological learnings from NCSALL’s Adult Development Team’s longitudinal, mixed method research that examined 41 ABE/ESOL adults’ experiences of learning and change as students, parents, and/or workers in three programs (community college, family literacy, and workplace sites). The presenter describes the methodological and practical challenges encountered and strategies to overcome them.
Anthropology and the Workplace
Charles Darrah, San Jose State University
WorkplaceAnthropologyImplications
This session provides an overview to three ethnographic studies of work, workplaces and everyday life in the Silicon Valley region of northern California. The social contexts within which skilled performances at work (and beyond) are presented are described and implications for literacy suggested.
Standards-based Reform: Lessons Learned from EFF
Regie Stites, Program Manager, Literacy and Lifelong Learning Program, Center for Education Policy, SRI International
StandardsBasedImplications
This session summarizes methods used and results of research and development of an assessment framework and accountability assessment prototype for the EFF Content Standards. Key findings include an expanded theory of action of standards-based reform. Products include a prototype accountability assessment system.
Student Interaction in Pair Activities in Beginning ESOL Classes
Kathryn Harris, Researcher, NCSALL Adult ESOLLab School and Department of Applied Linguistics, Portland State University
StudentInteractionImplications
This presentation describes ways that Lab School teachers design pair activities for beginning adult ESL learners and how learners use language to interact in them. Implications for student language acquisition and for teaching also will be discussed.
Open to Interpretation: Multiple Intelligences Theory in Adult Literacy
Silja Kallenbach, Coordinator, New England Literacy Resource Center
MultipleIntelligencesImplications
This study examined the application of Multiple Intelligences theory across different adult learning contexts and produced understanding and tools to support future MI-related research and practice. This session will engage participants in discussion and reflection about the Adult Multiple Intelligences Study. Participants will consider how learnings from the AMI Study can support student persistence and learning.
Individualized Group Instruction: A Reality of ABE
Perrine Robinson-Geller, NCSALL Research Assistant, NCSALL - Rutgers University
IndividualizedGroupImplications
Individualized Group Instruction (IGI) is a common ABE/GED/ASE (not ESOL) classroom model where students work independently on materials while the teacher assists individual learners. This presentation will describe IGI and its variations, its history, the factors that contribute to its continued use, and the learning and teaching issues that arise from this model.
Self-Study Among Adult Learners: Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning
Clare Strawn, Assistant Professor, Portland State University
SelfStudyImplications
The Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning shows that many adults complement formal program participation with self-directed study or choose to study on their own rather than enroll in a program. Additionally, as of 2002, the digital divide has nearly closed for the population with low educational attainment in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Building on these findings, The Learner Web, a new concept in making resources accessible to learners, will be introduced.
Effective Instruction in Adult ESL Literacy: Research and Practice
Larry Condelli, Managing Director, American Institutes for Research, and Heide Wrigley, Adult ESL Consultant, LiteracyWork
EffectiveInstructionImplications
This session will review current research in second language acquisition, adult ESL, and second language reading and explore implications for practice. Participants will be invited to experience a demonstration lesson and discuss implications for teaching literacy to language minority adults with minimal schooling in the home country.
How Teachers Change: Implications for Supporting Student Success
Cristine Smith, Deputy Director, National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
TeacherChangeImplications
This session will present the findings from a five-year study of professional development in adult education that investigated how teachers change after participating in one of three models of professional development, and factors that influence that change. The session will also discuss teachers’ concerns about working conditions that affect how they do their jobs.
Conducting Practitioner Inquiry or Field-based Research
Facilitator, Alisa Belzer, Rutgers University
PractitionerInquiryImplications
- Increasing Learner Persistence in Adult Math Classes, Pam Meader, Maine; - Improving Component Reading Skills, Lyle Heikes, Minnesota; - Learner Persistence at a Community College, Barbara Pongsrikul, California; - Helen Casey, National Research and Development Centre, England
Impact of the GED Credential on Earning Potential: What We’ve Learned from Recent Research
John Tyler, Associate Professor, Brown University
GedImpactImplications
This session will review the lessons from recent research regarding the causal impact of the GED credential on the earnings of school dropouts. This research suggests that the benefits of the GED are concentrated among those who leave school with very low cognitive skills.
Differential Performance in Reading among Adult Learners
Richard Stiles, Senior Research and Policy Development Associate, CASAS, and Autumn Keltner, Senior Research Associate, CASAS
DifferentialPerformanceImplications
This session will explore the relationship between learner test performance to hours of attendance in ABE, ASE, and ESL and ESL-Citizenship programs using California student level data. The presenters will present findings that explore whether there is consistency across programs and across NRS levels over a four-year period.
Transition to Employment for Adults with Learning Disabilities
Paul Gerber, Virginia Commonwealth University
LdTransitionImplications
This presentation focuses on research done at the inception of the ADA era and a follow-up a decade later. The research uncovers the realities of the workplace from the perspectives of employers and employees with learning disabilities. Summary statements regarding the current status of employment provides evidence for content of transition programs.
Impact of WIA and Welfare Reform Policies on Practitioners
Alisa Belzer, Rutgers University
WiaImpactImplications
Based on interviews with practitioners in 24 programs in 6 states, this study reports on how two major federal policies have influenced practice in programs and classrooms. The presentation will provide opportunities to consider how practitioners and researchers can continue to work toward positive educational, economic and personal benefits for adult learners in spite of, and because of, these two policies.
Factors Affecting the Difficulty of Numeracy Test Items
Myrna Manly, Independent Consultant
NumeracyTestImplications
What makes a numeracy item difficult for adults? Is it the kind of numbers involved, the operation required, the number of steps it takes to solve, or something else? A scheme of factors and sub-factors was used to rate the difficulty of numeracy items in the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey and compared to pilot study data. The results have implications for future assessments in adult numeracy and for classroom instruction.
Factors Supporting Student Success
A Panel of Students from California
StudentSuccessImplications
Rather than presenting the results of a research study, this session will present a panel of adult learners who will speak to what specific types of support (e.g., from programs and teachers) helped them to succeed. After giving short presentations, the adult learners will join symposium participants in small group discussions to examine the practice and policy implications of their insights. Facilitator: Erik Jacobson
Research Methods for Adult Distance Learning
Paul Porter, Independent Research, President, Leadership Associates
DistanceResearchImplications
This session will examine the challenges, opportunities, and issues associated with the study of adult learning using various distance education models. In addition to practical suggestions for the study of distance learning program outcomes, one pilot study in Massachusetts will be examined and the results of this study analyzed both for lessons about distance learning effectiveness and for ideas on how and how not to structure evaluation designs in this area.
Longitudinal Studies of Language Learning: Interactive Classroom Practices for Developing Second Language Literacy in Learners with Varied First Language Literacy
John Hellermann, Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, Portland State University
InteractivePracticesImplications
An overview of a micro-genetic, longitudinal strand of research projects on second language learning at the National Labsite for Adult ESOL is presented. A presentation of a project on the development of interactive practices for literacy events gives specifics of some of the ongoing work within this strand.
Research in Progress
- Student Achievement in Reading (STAR)
Cheryl Keenan, US Department of Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy and Jean Scott, CA Department of Education, Adult Education Office - The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)
Mark Kutner, American Institutes for Research
