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

[AWilder106@aol.com]

Jay,

I think we are talking about what happens in the classroom THAT WORKS 
(improves the reading and writing of adults) so we can come to some consensus 
ourselves, some rocks of certainty to stand on when challenged, or a roof 
over our heads in a rain storm.  I don't think we are into jargon so far, but 
rather teacher language, the sort that flows from teacher to  teacher.  So 
"phonics-based" and "whole word instruction" can devolve into "language 
experience" which combines some elements of both.  Beyond that we are talking 
the nitty-gritty of actual classroom technique, like:  how to you find a 
student's current reading level?  For example, there is the DAR, used by John 
Strucker for a NCSALL research project, and there are other, 
non-component-based methods that work very well, that come from a different 
theoretical base.  Do they work equally well?  What studies are there that 
ask this research quesion?  What do actual teachers do that might work even 
better?  Are there any studies about those methods?  What methods do NGO's 
recommend?   

Andrea