[AAACE-NLA] STAR Struck!

[Lloyd David]

Gail,

In 2001, The Adult Development Research Group at the Harvard Graduate School
of Education published its report funded by NCSALL entitled, Toward a New
Pluralism in ABE/ESOL Classrooms: Teaching to Multiple 'Cultures of Mind".
The research was directed by Robert Kegan and focused on 3 groups of
students - community college ESOL class, an Even Start Family Literacy site
and a workplace education program at Polaroid. The report is listed as
NCSALL Reports No. 19. The leader of the researchers at Polaroid, Eleanor
Drago-Severson, later published a book, On Becoming Adult Learners,
Principles and Practices for Effective Development, Teachers College Press.
2004. I think that this study builds on and adds to what was previously
supported by the Ford Foundation

 

Lloyd David, EdD.

Creative Workplace Learning

311 Washington Street

Brighton, MA 02135

Tel :  617-746-1260 

FAX: 617-782-0136

-----Original Message-----
From: aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org
[mailto:aaace-nla-bounces at lists.literacytent.org] On Behalf Of
gspangenberg at caalusa.org
Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 7:20 AM
To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by AAACE
Subject: Re: [AAACE-NLA] STAR Struck!

 

 

Colleagues,

 

John Coming's recent posting prompted me to recall that mountains of
research was done by the Ford Foundation back in the 70s and 80s on adult
learning theory (much of it by scholars in Israel). I don't recall all of
the specifics, but I do believe that one thing it established is that you
can't separate "how" adults learn from "where" and "with what goals and
motivations" they learn it, and from what background knowledge they bring to
the task. What works for children who are captive in the classroom is not
necessarily appropriate for adults. (An inquiry to the Ford Foundation might
provide information on the nature of their work back then and the reports
they issued.)

 

This issue is politically, not just pedagogically, important. For instance,
the debate about phonics vs. whole language is in part political. On this, I
remember conversations with the pre-eminent Harvard researcher Jeanne Chall.
In her research on the use of phonics with children, she was very careful to
point out that her findings did not apply to adults. (She was also careful
to make it clear that even with children, phonics is seldom used all by
itself, but usually used in combination with multliple other approaches.) 

 

Moreover, I believe that there is a large body of research to indicate that
there are many different learning "styles" -- which we don't recognize or
accommodate very well either among adults or in the classroom. Scholars at
ETS and elsewhere have written about this in some depth over the years. 

 

It occurs to me that the Hunter-Harman book, Adult Illiteracy in America,
might shed some additional light on this whole issue. I think the book is
out of print but I have it and could try to reproduce it at cost (with
permission of McGraw-Hill) if anyone wants a copy. 

 

I haven't seen this whole string of communications, so perhaps I've missed
the point.  If so, please excuse me for jumping into the conversation. 

 

Gail Spangenberg

 

 

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