Adult Literacy Educational Program Design

Adult Literacy Educational Program Design

Nature And Extent Of The Problem

institutional and personal context for the program

TARGET POPULATIONLEARNING SITE CONSTRAINTS

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

TARGET POPULATION

DEFINITION of NEED

BASIC PURPOSES

DATA REQUIREMENTS

IDENTIFICATION of NEEDS

COSTS of NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS

DESIGNING a SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM: ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM

ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES and DEFINING CONTENT

DESIGNING a SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM: ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM

ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES & DEFINING CONTENT

DESIGNING a SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM: ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM

EVALUATION

DESIGNING a SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM: ADULT LITERACY PROGRAM

PART SIX

PROGRAM COORDINATION

ADULT LITERACY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM DESIGN

PART ONE

PROGRAM CONTEXT

BACKGROUND of the PROBLEM

Adult literacy is an important issue in today's communities and society-at-large and as more communities and the overall society increasingly becomes more diverse the needs to promote adult literacy become even more important. Because there are such a large number of adults who are not literate this work addresses the design of an adult literacy program. According to the National Center for Education Statistics "low levels of literacy are likely to limit life chances and may be related to social welfare issues including poverty, incarceration, and preventive healthcare. Given this, it has become increasingly important for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to understand the literacy skills and deficits of the least-literate adults." (NAAL, 2009) According to SIL International the "compelling global issues" related to literacy include:

illiteracy's staggering statistics;

poverty and illiteracy;

education or marginalized minorities;

language of instruction;

women's education; language preservation; and alphabets for previously unwritten languages. (SIL International, 2009)

SIL International states that the literacy rates as compared to per capita income is as follows:

Literacy Rate Per capita income

Below 40% Less than $600

Above 98% More than $12,000 (SIL International, 2009)

SIL International states "...in the comparison of these figures, as the literacy rate doubles, so doubles the per capital income." (2009) Additionally stated by SIL International is "Illiteracy may mean income loss not only for the individual but for society at large as well. According to the National Adult Literacy Survey, in the U.S. alone, adult illiteracy carries an estimated price tag of more than $17 billion per year as a result of lost income and tax revenue, welfare, unemployment, crime and incarceration, and training cost for business and industry. This could suggest that the price tag for illiteracy at large is more than the cost of literacy." (SIL International, 2009)

The ProLiteracy organization reports: "Thirty million adults -- an estimated 14% of the country's population over the age of 16 -- lack basic literacy skills. That means they can barely read, write, and understand written text. Another 63 million have only slightly better literacy skills. Individuals in the service industry and construction field held many of the more than one million jobs lost in 2008. Research shows that many adults with low literacy skills work in those fields." (2008)

SOURCE of the PROBLEM

The source of this expanding adult literacy problem in noted by the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (2008) which reports the growth that the United States has been experiencing across the country in regards to the immigration population and much of this is due to the "...new immigrant populations settling in states that had limited numbers of immigrants twenty years ago." (Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA), 2008) Resulting is that many adult education programs "are working with new populations of adult learners who need to learn English." (Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA), 2008)

It is important to note the statement of McKay and Schaetzel as follows: "The development of oral interaction skills is paramount for adult English language learners. Speaking and listening skills are essential to their ability to participate effectively in the workplace and community: for example, talking with their co-workers and employers, discussing their children's education with teachers and school officials, or negotiating a lease for an apartment or a loan for a house or car. Oral interaction skills are also important for literacy and beginning-level learners, because they form the basis for English literacy development. (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008)

NATURE and EXTENT of the PROBLEM

The work of Britt (2009) states that approximately 14% of adults in the United States cannot read which is about 1 in 7 U.S. adults. Specifically stated is: "More than 1 million people lost their jobs in 2008 and the new unemployment figures are the highest in 16 years. A large number of the unemployed are low-skilled individuals who struggle with everyday reading, writing and math tasks. The administration wants to create new jobs with the stimulus packages, but to take advantage of those new positions; these adults need basic literacy skills." (Britt, 2009)

INSTITUTIONAL and PERSONAL CONTEXT for the PROGRAM

The educational institutions have a keen interest in the adult literacy program because this program will not only assist adults who need literacy skills, and desperately so, but will also assist the school-age children and the interactions that the institution has with these individuals who are parents and grandparents interacting in the community. Therefore, all stakeholders in the proceeding of an adult literacy program will benefit and the interactions thereto will follow the same course. This is a positive investment from the institutional as well as being a sound contextual personal view of the improvement potential this program represents in regards to community interaction person-to-person as well as the interactions of the institution with the surrounding community of adults.

TARGET POPULATION

The target population for this adult literacy program is the group of immigrants across the United States which is a group that is expanding rapidly.

LEARNING SITE CONSTRAINTS

Constraints on the learning site are likely to be related to parking and capacity and will require tight scheduling and adherence to said scheduling of adult literacy classes and other components of the adult literacy program. However, as shown in the following sections, the chosen locations for this adult literacy program will serve to facilitate this program and serve as functional facility provision for these classes and other components.

ADULT LITERACY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM DESIGN

PART TWO

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

TARGET POPULATION

The target population of this proposed adult literacy program is the large and expanding population of immigrants who are in need of adult literacy learning and related skills.

DEFINITION of NEED

The needs of this population are not only literacy skills but inclusive as well are skills related to social interaction and functional skills of this population in coping with everyday life and the institutions in their environment.

BASIC PURPOSES

The basic purposes of this program are those as follows:

Adult literacy;

Adult literacy associated skills for successful interaction.

DATA REQUIREMENTS

The assessments conducted during the course of this study will provide the data necessary to track the progression of the students in this adult literacy program.

DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Data collection in preparation for this study will through the use of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy: English Background Questionnaire. This questionnaire is utilized by the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) in assessing literacy needs of the adult population. This questionnaire collects data on various background categories and serves three purposes:

1) Provides descriptive data on respondents;

2) Enhances the understanding of factors associated with literacy skills used at home, at work, or in the community, and 3) Allows for changes over time to be reported. (NAAL, 2009)

This questionnaire is orally administered to participants by an interviewer using a computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI) system. The questionnaire takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

DATA ANALYSIS

Data analysis will be of a qualitative and quantitative nature and in the form of observation and

IDENTIFICATION of NEEDS

Needs are to be identified as set out by the identified questionnaires and surveys noted in section 1 of this work in writing.

COSTS of NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Needs assessment will be according to the population of each school district participating in the adult literacy program. This is a community-based program that will most optimally be successful with stakeholders at all levels involved in the development process. This will require population demographical data in order to fund capacity in each school district. The larger the population that needs adult literacy program access the higher the costs for that specific area will be in sum total. This work will however, proceed to conduct an estimation of per participant cost for the adult literacy program being proposed herein.

ADULT LITERACY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM DESIGN

PART THREE

ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES and DEFINING CONTENT

Adult literacy programs differ "...in their emphasis on teaching predetermined sets of skills or alternately, in building the literacy practices of everyday life." (Lytle, 1994; as cited in: Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson, 1998) This is stated to be "reflected in the contents of adult literacy textbooks, which range from life skills and problem solving to phonics and word family drills." (Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson, 1998) the distinction "between life-contextual and life-decontextual appears to be important in light of research that has found students to learn most efficiently when instructional materials reflect and incorporate student's prior experiences." (Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson, 1998)

Activities in the classroom that use generative themes derived from the adult learner's lives "have been seen to facilitate their acquisition of literacy." (Friere, 1992; as cited in: Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson, 1998) According to Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson (1998) the use of "life-context-specific materials and activities in adult literacy programs is supported by research that documents the powerful role of context in learning." Stated as an example is "...workplace literacy programs teach literacy skills as they are needed within specific work contexts. Compared to programs that concentrated more on 'genera' literacy, adult programs that incorporated job-related materials were associated with larger increases in both job-related and general literacy." (Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson, 1998) However, it is noted that other studies state findings that "much of the growth made by participants in general literacy programs is likely to be lost if recently learned skills are not applied to real-life situations." (Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson, 1998)

Furthermore, it is noted in the work of Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson that the transfer of skills "between contexts...is extremely difficult and rarely accomplished by learners to the degree often assumed by educators." (NCAL, 1994; as cited in: Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson, 1998) Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson (1998) state that 'Dialogic educational practice is that which includes the students as a participant and partner in the goals, activities, and procedures of the class and program." This is stated to be "in contrast to the more typical practice wherein students cede authority and power to the teacher (or underlying program structure) for decisions regarding their learning." (Purcell-Gates, Degener, and Jacobson, 1998)

The work of Sharon McKay and Kirsten Schaetzel (2008) entitled: "Facilitating Adult Learner Interactions to Build Listening and Speaking Skills" states that adult education programs "serve both native English speakers and learners whose first, or native, language is not English." Adult basic education (ABE) classes are attended by those whose native language is English in order to "learn basic skills needed to improve their literacy levels" and adult secondary education (ASE) classes are attended to earn "high school equivalency certificates." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008) Both ABE and ASE instruction is stated to assist learner "achieve goals relate to job, family, or further education." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008)

Those whose second language is English attend English as a second language (ESL), ABE, or workforce preparation classes "to improve their oral and literacy skills in English and to achieve goals similar to those of native English speakers." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008) it is important that those teaching literacy "raise the issue of cultural differences in communication styles and preferences. Different cultural groups have different ways of interacting." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008)

The example provided is as follows: "Jin and Cortazzi (1998, 2006) describe cultural differences in classroom interactions. They examine interaction styles of Chinese learners and British teachers in mainland China and the United Kingdom. Chinese learners are accustomed to teacher-directed lectures and do not see classroom discussion or dialogue as part of language learning. When British teachers use dialogue, discussion, and small-group work for language learning, Chinese learners think that the teachers are being lazy and that the activities are a waste of time." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008) This makes it important that those teaching literacy classes "...explain the rationale for the different types of activities they assign and the ways that these activities can build language skills." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008) Also indicated as vital for discussion are the following points:

Discuss how learners should address their teachers, employers, colleagues, and classmates, because terms of address are culturally specific and learners will feel more comfortable with interaction if they know the culturally appropriate ways to address people

Create guidelines for classroom communication that facilitate comfortable personal space, speech volume and intonation, and body language

Be cautious about introducing personal ideas and opinions, because students accustomed to a teacher-controlled classroom may feel ill at ease disagreeing with a teacher (Christensen, 1991; Schaetzel, 2004; as cited in McKay and Schaetzel, 2008)

Activities suggested for the purpose of increasing peer interaction and feedback are those as listed in the following table and specifically regarding 'lesson stages' and 'types of activities' for each of these.

Activities for Increasing Peer Interaction and Feedback

LESSON STAGES TYPE of ACTIVITIES

Preview

Activate prior knowledge

Discussion questions

Conversation grids

Peer interviews

Presentation

Introduce new content

Jigsaw reading/writing

WebQuests (directed online research with associated tasks)

Focused listening tasks and dictogloss

Practice

Use new content and skills

Problem-based learning

Task-based learning

Structured discussion

Evaluation

Determine effectiveness of learning and determine next steps

Note cards and forms for formative evaluation

Reflection activities

Source: McKay and Schaetzel, 2008

During the preview stage of the lesson teachers work on preparing learners for the "new content and skills to be learned" which will be accomplished through:

discussion questions;

Conversation grids; and Peer interviews. (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008)

Presentation of new content or skills is stated to be done "interactively through jigsaw readings, WebQuests and other kinds of focused listening tasks." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008) the students have the opportunity to "work together on content comprehension and to teach content to other students." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008)

Focused Listening Tasks are stated to be particularly helpful "in presenting new content to a multilevel class." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008) McKay and Schaetzel state that 'practice' is "...a critical factor in second language acquisition, and interactive practice of new content and skills can help learners incorporate skills and knowledge from their first language into their learning of English. Practice can include focused learning tasks such as problem-based learning, task-based learning, and structured discussions." (2008)

It is additionally noted that 'Problem-Based Learning allows learners to interact in a pair or small group to solve a problem. First they are introduced to the problem. Then they explore what they do and do not know about the problem, generate possible solutions, consider the consequences of each solution, and together choose the most viable. For example, in an intermediate class, learners might work in groups to figure out the cheapest transportation to use to come to class, considering an impending increase in bus fare." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008)

According to McKay and Schaetzel "Task-Based Learning' "has the teacher assign a specific task and learners work together in pairs or small groups to find the information they need and present it to other groups. These activities include such as: "...comparing two pictures or texts to find the differences, finding out how to lease a car, learning what houses cost or rent for in a specific area of their city." (2008)

Finally, the 'Evaluation and Feedback Activities" include interaction activities for the purpose of evaluation of the progress of learners. Suggested by McKay and Schaetzel are note cards which can be used to facilitate the learner's reflection on their own interactions and to know when they were and were not successful in communicating the message. It is critical that clear criteria are set in all evaluation and feedback activities in order that the learners understand that the teacher will be seeking and "what they themselves should examine when they reflect on their interactions." (2008)

The use of note cards additionally allows the teacher to provide feedback to the learners in real-time. Also suggested as a form of evaluation and feedback is videotaping of the sessions so that the students can view themselves and one another and "analyze their strengths and weaknesses." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008) McKay and Schaetzel report that individuals who are beginning and literacy-level learners: "...will benefit from opportunities to interact orally. When literacy-level learners begin to develop their literacy skills, the activities described below, which focus on oral interaction rather than use of print materials, can be used to scaffold their interactions." (2008)

Conversation grids are stated to include space for "peer interaction and previously learned vocabulary." (McKay and Schaetzel, 2008) McKay and Schaetzel conclude by stating: "Interaction activities can be incorporated into classrooms at any language level and at any point in a lesson. With careful planning and support, opportunities for interaction can make classroom learning more meaningful. Seeing the benefits that learners reap from interaction activities -- in increased proficiency and confidence and ability to move to higher levels of classes -- teachers may want to examine their current classroom practice and incorporate more opportunities for interaction." (2008)

ADULT LITERACY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM DESIGN

PART FOUR

ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES & DESIGN of INSTRUCTION

Identified needs in relation to 'Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (KAS) required to fulfill these needs are those as follows:

Interaction with peers;

Conversation in daily life (business, professional and personal)

Listening tasks

Problem-based learning;

Task-based learning

Structured discussion and interaction that is diverse culturally informed.

Literacy skills generally.

Interaction with peers is important and successful interaction with peers promotes the quality of the individual in terms of employment as well as social interactions and interactions with business and professional contacts not to mention better interaction between individuals and institutions of education. Functional conversation skills also serve to facilitate better interactions between the individual and the world around them. Additionally enhancing these types of interactions are listening skills which will be enhanced by the provisions of the adult literacy program proposed herein. Problem-based learning as well as talk-based learning are two factors that when addressed by the adult literacy program upon completion serve to enable students functionally within the community and their own lives. Finally, structured discussion interactions and skill acquisition will also serve to facilitate positive interactions between the individual and the community and within the individual's daily environment.