[Fwd: Re: [NLA] Evidence-based practice in Adult Literacy Edu cation]

[AWilder106@aol.com]

Hi Andre,

Let me give a quick reply and see what that does.

1)  No, #1 and #2 are different.  You can't do #1 without doing #2. 

2) If you turned the sentences around they would make another sense:

    Viz., Prepare adults to read and write better so as to improve language 
communication skills to fully participate in all aspects of family, 
education, vocation and community life.

Your task #1 could be describing public speaking.

I am a teacher, and I want to know what to do in the classroom on Monday 
morning.  I have been on this list for longer than some and shorter than 
others, and I have NEVER HEARD DISCUSSED here methodology.  Never.  OOPs! I 
introduced the topic re learning new vocabulary about 3-4 years ago.  If I am 
running over someone's toes, I apologize.  And I do recall some discussion of 
EFF, because a kind person from Maine sent me some info, which I don't recall 
I ever acknowledged, so here it is.

When I advocate, I want to know what I am advocating for, I want to know if 
there are studies out there, I want to know that I am standing on firm 
ground, and I want to be able to make recommendations about work that should 
be done!

All this discussion of USDOE and types of studies has surfaced this topic.  
If people want to say we're a political advocacy list, fine, and I'll take my 
concerns away and do work which I know is essential but unacknowledged 
because it is outside our agenda (but I obviously don't think it should be).  
Tom Sticht gave some very useful specifics about functional reading and 
writing, and I went to the relevant web site and got the information.  I also 
have a library call number for a book he mentions. I am assuming that 
administrators use some sort of knowledge base re reading and writing to 
direct teachers, volunteers. I assume ngo's also have a method, methods, they 
recommend. Or teachers introduce methods which work in their classrooms. And 
Catherine King and George Demetrion have been generous with references.

There is discussion about teaching as art, science, experience, which I more 
or less buy into given a usual sprinkling of caveats.  

When I taught disturbed adolescents I used a variety of assessments all 
linked together by what John Strucker calls a component system.  (I hope I 
have that right, John.)  We then built curriculum around those assessments, 
building on what the kids wanted to learn about.  This is method.  I expect 
that Tom's assessments, the curriculum, then post testing was very carefully 
done--method.  I worked with  Victoria Purcell-Gates after reading her book 
and saw very different methods.  She invented then tested a very interesting 
method for evaluating how skills generalized.  She is a teacher AND a 
researcher.

That's about it for now!  I hope I'm still on topic, here.  Glad you asked 
the questions!

Andrea


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