[NLA] Evidence-based practice in Adult Literacy Education]

[AWilder106@aol.com]

George,

I never  thought I'd be on the side of the Bush agenda, but here we go:  I 
think they (who ever they are) and we--I think I know that--are trying to 
find out WHAT WORKS.

What methods work best to teach adults to read and write better?

How is this measured?

I think people in the field should be able to dredge up, or demand, info on 
these questions.  It should not be all that onerous, but for busy teachers 
this may be pretty far down the line of priorities.  I tossed in Victoria 
Purcell-Gates because her material is most easily accessible to me.  Her work 
is an example of WHAT WORKS.  The measurement issue in her NCSALL research 
project she solved by looking at changes in literacy practices (reading and 
writing) in the home.

There are more NCSALL examples.  

I know we have all (those who have spoken out here) been shocked by the 
emphasis on treatment/control group studies, but this isn't invalid!  If we 
feel we know what works in the classroom, and we have studies to back it up, 
we can make our own case.

But I'm not sure who I'm suggesting to do this case making, as there is a gap 
between what we talk about on the list and who actually does the heavy 
lifting for adult literacy.

Andrea
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