[AAACE-NLA] Re: Professional Wisdom and Research

[tsticht@znet.com]

Eric: Here are some things for the new ALE Wiki on Professional Wisdom and
Research. Tom Sticht


Functional Context Education (FCE) Resources
by Tom Sticht, International Consultant in Adult Education


Looking for an evidence-based approach to adult literacy education? A survey
of over a hundred years of professional wisdom in teaching adult literacy
and the most extensive scientific research on adult literacy education
provides a solid evidence base for Functional Context Education.

The National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) in Canada has prepared a special
web page that provides access to a Functional Context Education Series of
reports. The web page is www.nald.ca/fulltext/fce/cover.htm.

The NALD web page provides access to a full text document entitled:

"Functional Context Education: Making Learning Relevant in the 21st Century
(2005)" This is the notebook used in the Functional Context Education
workshops presented in 2005.

This web page also provides links to other NALD Full Text Documents in the
Functional Context Education Series:

"Functional Context Education (FCE) Part 1: New Interest in FCE Theory and
Principles for Integrating Basic Skills and Work Skills."

"Functional Context Education (FCE) Part 2: Toward Policies and Practices
for Contextualized Teaching and Learning in Community Colleges and High
Schools."

"Functional Context Education: Making learning relevant (1997)." This
document is the notebook used in FCE workshops in 1997. In 2005 it was
downloaded over 11,500 times.

All these reports can be downloaded for free.

Functional Context Education:
Making Learning Relevant in the 21st Century

Table of Contents and Schedule

Part 1 (0900-1030)

Chapter 1. Introduction to Functional Context Education (FCE) materials and
principles available online.

Chapter 2. Research and development related to FCE principles and methods in
several industrialized nations.

Chapter 3. "Relevance" at national levels in relation to foundational
concepts of literacy in FCE.

Summary: Introduction to Functional Context Education (FCE) materials and
principles available online; Overview of FCE in Australia, Canada, Ireland,
New Zealand, United Kingdom; Concepts of "relevance." Determining
"relevance" at the national level: the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills (ALL)
survey, National Adult Assessment of Literacy (NAAL) survey, and
relationships to concepts of literacy in FCE.

Part 2 (1045-1200)

Chapter 4. Functional Context Education in historical perspective.

Chapter 5. Overview of methodologies used in adult literacy research for
determining what is relevant to youth and adult learners.

Summary: Functional Context Education in historical perspective,
(1860-Present) (illustrated with teaching materials integrating functional
content with literacy instruction): Freedman’s Schools; Moonlight Schools;
Military Schools in World Wars I and II; Laubach Literacy; Paulo Freire and
Learner Centered, Participatory Literacy Education. Overview of
methodologies and research-based methods used in adult literacy research
for determining what is relevant to youth and adult learners, including
focus groups; individual interviews; literacy task analysis; photographic
ethnography; community newspapers; teachers and students as researchers and
reporters; environmental analysis and design for learning.

Part 3 (1300-1430)

Chapter 6. Two case studies of integrated vocational and basic skills
education.

Summary: Case Study #1: Workplace Literacy: Research illustrating the
effectiveness of integrating reading instruction in six occupational
contexts for cooks, automobile mechanics, supply clerks, health aide, and
other fields. (Comparison Group; Pre-Post Data presented). Case Study #2:
Integrating Basic Skills with Vocational Education: Research illustrating
the effectiveness of matching the content of instruction with student’s
goals for learning: Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) and
Electronics Training. (Comparison Group; Pre-Post Data presented).

Part 4 (1445-1530)

Chapter 7. Three case studies integrating basic skills education with job
training, parenting, and health education.

Summary: Case Study #3: Workplace Literacy: Research illustrating the
integrated use of functional content for job advancement (upward mobility),
teachers, books, computers and peer instruction. (Comparison Group; Pre-Post
Data presented). Case Study #4: Family Literacy: Research illustrating the
integration of functional content in parenting with basic skills education.
Case Study #5: Health Literacy: Research illustrating the integration of
functional content in health education with basic skills education.

Part 5 (1530-1600) Q & A; Workshop Close
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