NLA Discussion: How Practitioners get Information and Knowledge

[Sally McIntosh]

(Due to power outages, the following response was posted before completion.)

In the period of a month that I have been a member of this listserv, I
have found information on current issues that influence adult education
practices on all levels, in an easy to use format.  As an adult education
instructor, I find very little time to research any topic in more than a
"hit and miss" fashion.  Beyond the staff development projects of our state
adult education department, this research has been limited to variety of
local and national publications.  "Focus on Basics" and "Community Update"
(U. S. Deparment of Education) cover the policy issues, while "GED Items"
currently updates the GED2000 discussions.

I teach in a state grant supported education program for adult students of
all ages and levels, working with a community based family literacy
organization.  In addition, I coordinate an after school tutoring program
for K-8th grade students.  All areas of education policy and research are of
interest to me.

Georgia provides staff development workshops, retreats and meetings that
usually follow a "how to" format, rather than delving into the broader
research issues.  Recently I completed a Practitioner Inquiry project with
12 other instructors.  As I read through their reports, I am encouraged by
the complexity of the concepts tackled and by the depth of their research.
Yes, a posting on the internet of similar PI research will provide a
delightful source for professional reading, comparable to university
studies.  Additionally, the authors of PI research are approachable for
further discussion.

Sally McIntosh
Macon County (Georgia) Literacy Instructor
grandeur at corinthian.net
literacy at corinthian.net