NLA Discussion:learner retention and motivation

[Heide Wrigley]

Hi Andrea - 

Were you able to include ESL students in your study ? (there was a
question a while back) 

Just curious 

Looking forward to your findings 

Heide Spruck Wrigley

	-----Original Message-----
	From:	Andrea Parrella 
	Sent:	Friday, June 26, 1998 12:08 PM
	To:	NLA at world.std.com
	Subject:	NLA Discussion: How practitioners get
information and knowledge


	I'd like to introduce myself and then do my best to give an
update of 
	NCSALL's Adult Learner Motivation Study

	I have been working with John Comings as a research assistant
for 
	about a year.  Before coming to NCSALL, I worked as a teacher in
a 
	number of ABE programs in the Boston area.  I also received an
Ed.M 
	from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

	The best way to receive a description of the theoretical and 
	methodological basis of the study is to: 
	--Look up John Coming's description of the study in the NLA
archives 
	  under April 3rd @ 18:51.  The subject line is 'NLA discussion:

	  retention'
	--Contact Kim Stewart at World Education to receive the study's
2 
	  page fact sheet [ph: #617-495-1712] email:
kstewart at worlded.org.  
	--Read the 'Focus on Research' column in the Motivation Issue of

	  the publication, 'Focus on Basics'[posted on NCSALL's
website/or ask
	  Kim Stewart(above) to send you a copy.
	--Contact me by phone(#617-495-1712) or e-mail: 
	  parrelan at hugse1.harvard.edu

	We have recently finished collecting and coding the data
(interviews 
	with 154 adult learners).  We are now working on the analysis.
By 
	this Fall, we will be ready to post our preliminary analysis on
the 
	listservs and the NCSALL website, in the form of bullet points.
We 
	will have a draft of the report completed by January of 1999.  

	The NLA dialogue around retention and motivation that took place

	between February and April has been invaluable for us as we
continue 
	to think through the complicated and crucial issue of how to
increase 
	student persistence in programs.  John, Martha Merson (ABE
Specialist 
	@ the Adult Literacy Resource Institute in Boston), and I have
been 
	meeting monthly with a local group of teachers and program
directors 
	around this issue.  At the May meeting, we used the full printed
out 
	NLA retention discussion as the basis for our meeting.  

	I look forward to a "part 2" of this dialogue when we post our 
	findings.  

	----------------------
	Andrea Parrella
	parrelan at hugse1.harvard.edu