From MMaralit at NIFL.gov  Fri Oct 28 14:55:15 2005
From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo)
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 14:55:15 -0400
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] List Information
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B0B932972@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Dear List Subscribers, 

Welcome to the National Institute for Literacy's new discussion lists. The Institute looks to make the discussion list a more critical element of the work that we do.  In a few weeks, the moderators will be taking on a more proactive role - such as making arrangements for guest participants and facilitating discussion activities around a research question or current issues. It is our intent to improve the lists by doing more to provide opportunities for professional growth, and access to information and resources.

The Institute values the communication that has occurred on the lists in the past.  We hope that this change enhances this service the lists provide, including discussions on all lists in regards to the various topic areas: highlighting new research, resources and current issues.

We will be starting off the initial phase to give subscribers the opportunity to get familiar with Mailman.  We will share the guidelines for the fully moderated list, next week, as well as additional information as to how a fully-moderated list works.  We will keep each list informed as to the scheduled changes to the lists.

Thank you for your assistance in helping us make this transition smooth.

Jo Maralit
National Institute for Literacy
mmaralit at nifl.gov <mailto:mmaralit at nifl.gov> 

From lalumineuse at yahoo.com  Mon Oct 31 06:54:58 2005
From: lalumineuse at yahoo.com (Ujwala Samant)
Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 03:54:58 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Re: [NIFL-FOBASICS:1523] Literacy in Afghanistan
In-Reply-To: <30953099.1130504205150.JavaMail.root@vms064.mailsrvcs.net>
Message-ID: <20051031115458.28073.qmail@web30810.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Barb,

I am so tempted! But earthquake relief and
reconstruction is keeping me busy in London and
Pakistan.

But I will pass it on to people I know who might be
interested. If EDC is looking for a really good local
partner, we have a excellent organisation, the Afghan
Women's Education Centre, based in Kabul that we have
been working with over the last 6 years. A very strong
organisation, with projects in Kabul, Pakhtiya, with
women, girls, etc.

Regards,
Ujwala

--- Barbara Garner <b.garner4 at verizon.net> wrote:

> There's a great temporary literacy job available, if
> you're open to relocating for six months! 
> 
> Literacy in Afghanistan
> EDC is looking for a team leader to lead a literacy
> program development effort in Afghanistan. The
> posting runs from January - June 2006. See below for
> the qualifications needed. If you're interested,
> contact me, Barb Garner, at b.garner4 at verizon.net
> 
> Qualifications include:
> + Significant and practical technical experience
> rooted in state-of-the-art theory of non-formal
> literacy instruction in general and curriculum
> development in particular. 
> + Experience working with rural populations in a
> community development context.
> + Field experience in Afghanistan or central Asia
> preferred (but not mandatory). 
> + Excellent management, organizational, and
> communication skills. 
> + Demonstrated ability to collaborate in complex
> situations across cultures.
> + Experience in participatory community development
> programs.
> + Excellent writing skills
> + Excellent organizational skills
> + Skills in research and assessment, data
> collection, survey administration and interviews.
> + Ability to work independently and as a team
> member.
> 
> 

	
		
__________________________________ 
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 
http://mail.yahoo.com

From kabeall at comcast.net  Mon Oct 31 15:28:32 2005
From: kabeall at comcast.net (kabeall at comcast.net)
Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 20:28:32 +0000
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] New NCSALL Resources
Message-ID: <103120052028.26455.43667E6F0005224600006757220073544604040E0A0D0E05@comcast.net>

Two new study circle guides and a forum guide are available from NCSALL. To download free copies or to order printed copies of these publications, please visit the NCSALL Web site at http://www.ncsall.net. 

 
Research-based Adult Reading Instruction 
(http://www.ncsall.net/?id=892)

This new professional development guide provides all the steps, materials, and readings for conducting a 10?-hour study circle for adult basic education and literacy practitioners. The study circle covers the latest research on reading instruction.
 

Skills for Health Care Access and Navigation 
(http://www.ncsall.net/?id=891)

The goal of this 15-hour study circle+ is to prepare participants to help their students develop basic skills needed for accessing health-related services and for navigating health care systems.
 

Health Literacy Public Health Forums: Partners for Action
(http://www.ncsall.net/?id=785)

This guide was designed to assist public health professionals and members of departments of health to conduct a forum on health literacy and thereby raise awareness about health literacy and links to health outcomes. The guide includes the materials needed for planning and implementing the forum except for the video/DVD, In Plain Language.
 
 
****************
Kaye Beall
Outreach Coordinator/NCSALL Dissemination Project
World Education
4401 S. Madison St.
Muncie, IN  47302
Tel: 765-717-3942
Fax: 208-694-8262
kaye_beall at worlded.org
http://www.ncsall.net

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Wed Nov  2 10:38:46 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 09:38:46 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] FOB on Corrections Education
Message-ID: <8310884.1130945926902.JavaMail.root@vms074.mailsrvcs.net>

Focus on Basics 7D was published in September. It's on Corrections Education and includes some controversial research findings on the economic impact of the GED on ex offenders' earnings. (Go to http://www.ncsall.net/?id=822 to see the article)

Has anyone talked these over with their students or colleagues? What are your thoughts on why the GED has no positive economic impact on white ex-offenders, but has, at least initially, a positive impact on the earnings of minority ex-offenders? What other impact does earning a GED have on ex-offenders, and how do you know that?

Barb Garner, Editor
(the next issue, on ESOL research, will be published in December)
 

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Wed Nov  2 14:00:49 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 13:00:49 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] FOB on Corrections Education
Message-ID: <15224460.1130958049163.JavaMail.root@vms171.mailsrvcs.net>

I'm not up to date on current corrections-related funding. Can anyone answer Lloyd's question?
Barb Garner
Editor, Focus on Basics

From: Lloyd David <lloyd_david at creativeworkplacelearning.org>
Date: Wed Nov 02 12:20:50 CST 2005
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net, 
	'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] FOB on Corrections Education

Barbara,
Several years ago we had a grant to do the CWL Adult Diploma Progrtam at the
Suffolk County hosue of correction. I do not remember the exact number of
graduate but do know that 70% of those who enrolled did graduate with a
standadrd high school diploma from a parochial high school in Boston. Do you
think there might be some funding to do a foolow up

-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara Garner [mailto:b.garner4 at verizon.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 10:39 AM
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] FOB on Corrections Education

Focus on Basics 7D was published in September. It's on Corrections Education
and includes some controversial research findings on the economic impact of
the GED on ex offenders' earnings. (Go to http://www.ncsall.net/?id=822 to
see the article)

Has anyone talked these over with their students or colleagues? What are
your thoughts on why the GED has no positive economic impact on white
ex-offenders, but has, at least initially, a positive impact on the earnings
of minority ex-offenders? What other impact does earning a GED have on
ex-offenders, and how do you know that?

Barb Garner, Editor
(the next issue, on ESOL research, will be published in December)
 

----------------------------------------------------
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Thu Nov  3 16:27:03 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Thu, 03 Nov 2005 15:27:03 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Turning off "out of office" notices
Message-ID: <28253507.1131053223914.JavaMail.root@vms073.mailsrvcs.net>

Hi all -
Given that NIFL has switched to a new server and software for the lists, NIFL 
has new steps for suspending discussion list email while you are out of the 
office.

Thanks to Jackie Taylor for formating this message. Barb
+++++++++++++
To suspend discussion list mail while you are out of the office:
1. Go to http://dev.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/discussions.html and click on 
one of the discussion lists to which you are subscribed.

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and enter the email address you used when 
you subscribed to the list, click the "Unsubscribe or edit options" button.

3. Enter your password (forgot your password? scroll down and click the 
"Remind" button under the heading "Password Reminder)

4. Once you are on your user option page, scroll down to the first grey box 
labeled "Mail delivery" and click the "Disabled" option to the right. If you 
are subscribed to more than one list, clicking the "set globally" box will 
disable all of your subscribed lists mail.

5. When you return to the office, you can go back to your options page and 
change the mail delivery setting to "Enabled". Click the "Set globally" box 
again if you are subscribed to more than one list.
+++++++++++++

From djrosen at comcast.net  Wed Nov  9 07:03:24 2005
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2005 07:03:24 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education Knowledge
Message-ID: <BA235087-5859-400B-8042-19DEE3043F10@comcast.net>

Colleagues,

Many adult literacy and English language learning practitioners turn  
to this electronic list to find knowledge and wisdom, and to get  
answers to specific professional questions.  We also have other ways  
of finding knowledge.  We learn from our experience and that of our  
colleagues. We read certain journals, magazines and newspapers, we  
seek out opinions from reputable  sources, and we try to find the  
best research which addresses our question or problem.  So, here's my  
question:

How do you find answers to your adult literacy and English language  
learning questions?

	a. For example, do you use any of the following?

	? NIFL LINCS Special collections, LINCSearch, discussion lists, and  
the included online documents and archives
	? Canadian-sponsored National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) and its  
online documents and archives
	? National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy  
(NCSALL) Web site and its hard copy publications
	? ERIC Database
	? The Adult Literacy Education Wiki
	? OTAN
	? EdWeek
	? PEN
	? Other electronic lists

	b. What else do you use?  What hard copy journals do you find  
useful? Are there other electronic resources that are helpful in  
answering questions?

Please e-mail your answers to me. I will compile what I get and post  
a summary back to those who e-mail me so we can all benefit from our  
collective wisdom.  You can send a short email with just items to add  
to the list above or, if you prefer, you can write a longer, more  
reflective answer which contextualizes the question, describes how  
the question hits home for you, expresses frustration with how little  
research and professional wisdom our field has, or whatever you would  
like to say.  If you think your comments pertain to the focus of this  
list, of course, you could post them here.

Thanks for your help in answering this question, which I hope is not  
mine alone.

David J. Rosen
DJRosen at comcast.net

From r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca  Wed Nov  9 14:33:09 2005
From: r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca (Robin Millar)
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2005 13:33:09 -0600
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education Knowledge
Message-ID: <s371faad.038@ds1.uwinnipeg.ca>

I mainly use ERIC and the NIFL site.  But here in Canada we also use the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) for research purposes.

Dr. Robin Millar
Executive Director
Centre for Education and Work
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
204-786-9395
>>> djrosen at comcast.net 11/09/05 6:03 AM >>>
Colleagues,

Many adult literacy and English language learning practitioners turn  
to this electronic list to find knowledge and wisdom, and to get  
answers to specific professional questions.  We also have other ways  
of finding knowledge.  We learn from our experience and that of our  
colleagues. We read certain journals, magazines and newspapers, we  
seek out opinions from reputable  sources, and we try to find the  
best research which addresses our question or problem.  So, here's my  
question:

How do you find answers to your adult literacy and English language  
learning questions?

	a. For example, do you use any of the following?

	? NIFL LINCS Special collections, LINCSearch, discussion lists, and  
the included online documents and archives
	? Canadian-sponsored National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) and its  
online documents and archives
	? National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy  
(NCSALL) Web site and its hard copy publications
	? ERIC Database
	? The Adult Literacy Education Wiki
	? OTAN
	? EdWeek
	? PEN
	? Other electronic lists

	b. What else do you use?  What hard copy journals do you find  
useful? Are there other electronic resources that are helpful in  
answering questions?

Please e-mail your answers to me. I will compile what I get and post  
a summary back to those who e-mail me so we can all benefit from our  
collective wisdom.  You can send a short email with just items to add  
to the list above or, if you prefer, you can write a longer, more  
reflective answer which contextualizes the question, describes how  
the question hits home for you, expresses frustration with how little  
research and professional wisdom our field has, or whatever you would  
like to say.  If you think your comments pertain to the focus of this  
list, of course, you could post them here.

Thanks for your help in answering this question, which I hope is not  
mine alone.

David J. Rosen
DJRosen at comcast.net

----------------------------------------------------
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From smythemu at interchange.ubc.ca  Wed Nov  9 15:51:26 2005
From: smythemu at interchange.ubc.ca (suzanne smythe)
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2005 12:51:26 -0800
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education Knowledge
In-Reply-To: <s371faad.038@ds1.uwinnipeg.ca>
Message-ID: <0IPP00KR4GLL43@smtp.interchange.ubc.ca>

I use NALD here in Canada, but also find NIACE in the UK very comprehensive,
with lots of links to full articles. I like ERIC too, but am aware that its
research content is somewhat restricted, particularly the online version. 

The resource centres attached to provincial literacy associations and
clearing houses also contain reports and materials not easily found in
mainstream libraries or searches, the Quebec Centre for Literacy, AlphaPlus
are also great, have online searchable databases and they will ship things
to you.

Suzanne Smythe
Vancouver BC

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Robin Millar
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 11:33 AM
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education Knowledge

I mainly use ERIC and the NIFL site.  But here in Canada we also use the
National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) for research purposes.

Dr. Robin Millar
Executive Director
Centre for Education and Work
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
204-786-9395
>>> djrosen at comcast.net 11/09/05 6:03 AM >>>
Colleagues,

Many adult literacy and English language learning practitioners turn to this
electronic list to find knowledge and wisdom, and to get answers to specific
professional questions.  We also have other ways of finding knowledge.  We
learn from our experience and that of our colleagues. We read certain
journals, magazines and newspapers, we seek out opinions from reputable
sources, and we try to find the best research which addresses our question
or problem.  So, here's my
question:

How do you find answers to your adult literacy and English language learning
questions?

	a. For example, do you use any of the following?

	? NIFL LINCS Special collections, LINCSearch, discussion lists, and
the included online documents and archives
	? Canadian-sponsored National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) and its
online documents and archives
	? National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
(NCSALL) Web site and its hard copy publications
	? ERIC Database
	? The Adult Literacy Education Wiki
	? OTAN
	? EdWeek
	? PEN
	? Other electronic lists

	b. What else do you use?  What hard copy journals do you find
useful? Are there other electronic resources that are helpful in answering
questions?

Please e-mail your answers to me. I will compile what I get and post a
summary back to those who e-mail me so we can all benefit from our
collective wisdom.  You can send a short email with just items to add to the
list above or, if you prefer, you can write a longer, more reflective answer
which contextualizes the question, describes how the question hits home for
you, expresses frustration with how little research and professional wisdom
our field has, or whatever you would like to say.  If you think your
comments pertain to the focus of this list, of course, you could post them
here.

Thanks for your help in answering this question, which I hope is not mine
alone.

David J. Rosen
DJRosen at comcast.net

----------------------------------------------------
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date: 11/8/2005
 

-- 
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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date: 11/8/2005
 

From djrosen at comcast.net  Wed Nov  9 16:28:57 2005
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2005 16:28:57 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education Knowledge
In-Reply-To: <0IPP00KR4GLL43@smtp.interchange.ubc.ca>
References: <0IPP00KR4GLL43@smtp.interchange.ubc.ca>
Message-ID: <22A562E7-ABBF-4358-BFE6-7095ECBA7ED1@comcast.net>

Hello Suzanne,

Thanks for your reply.  I have a couple of questions (please see below):

On Nov 9, 2005, at 3:51 PM, suzanne smythe wrote:

> I use NALD here in Canada, but also find NIACE in the UK very  
> comprehensive,
> with lots of links to full articles. I like ERIC too, but am aware  
> that its
> research content is somewhat restricted, particularly the online  
> version.
>
> The resource centres attached to provincial literacy associations and
> clearing houses also contain reports and materials not easily found in
> mainstream libraries or searches, the Quebec Centre for Literacy,  
> AlphaPlus
> are also great, have online searchable databases and they will ship  
> things
> to you.

I am not very familiar with how these are used.  Could you provide a  
bit more information please?

1. Is NIACE a Web site? A database? Something else?

2. Do you mean Centre for Literacy in Montreal, at Dawson College?   
And were you referring to its online searchable database,  or the  
physical library or both?

3. How do you use AlphaPlus?

Thanks.

All the best,

David
David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

>
> Suzanne Smythe
> Vancouver BC
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Robin Millar
> Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 11:33 AM
> To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education  
> Knowledge
>
> I mainly use ERIC and the NIFL site.  But here in Canada we also  
> use the
> National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) for research purposes.
>
> Dr. Robin Millar
> Executive Director
> Centre for Education and Work
> 515 Portage Avenue
> Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
> 204-786-9395
>>>> djrosen at comcast.net 11/09/05 6:03 AM >>>
> Colleagues,
>
> Many adult literacy and English language learning practitioners  
> turn to this
> electronic list to find knowledge and wisdom, and to get answers to  
> specific
> professional questions.  We also have other ways of finding  
> knowledge.  We
> learn from our experience and that of our colleagues. We read certain
> journals, magazines and newspapers, we seek out opinions from  
> reputable
> sources, and we try to find the best research which addresses our  
> question
> or problem.  So, here's my
> question:
>
> How do you find answers to your adult literacy and English language  
> learning
> questions?
>
> 	a. For example, do you use any of the following?
>
> 	? NIFL LINCS Special collections, LINCSearch, discussion lists, and
> the included online documents and archives
> 	? Canadian-sponsored National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) and its
> online documents and archives
> 	? National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
> (NCSALL) Web site and its hard copy publications
> 	? ERIC Database
> 	? The Adult Literacy Education Wiki
> 	? OTAN
> 	? EdWeek
> 	? PEN
> 	? Other electronic lists
>
> 	b. What else do you use?  What hard copy journals do you find
> useful? Are there other electronic resources that are helpful in  
> answering
> questions?
>
> Please e-mail your answers to me. I will compile what I get and post a
> summary back to those who e-mail me so we can all benefit from our
> collective wisdom.  You can send a short email with just items to  
> add to the
> list above or, if you prefer, you can write a longer, more  
> reflective answer
> which contextualizes the question, describes how the question hits  
> home for
> you, expresses frustration with how little research and  
> professional wisdom
> our field has, or whatever you would like to say.  If you think your
> comments pertain to the focus of this list, of course, you could  
> post them
> here.
>
> Thanks for your help in answering this question, which I hope is  
> not mine
> alone.
>
> David J. Rosen
> DJRosen at comcast.net
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
> --
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date:  
> 11/8/2005
>
>
> -- 
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date:  
> 11/8/2005
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From smythemu at interchange.ubc.ca  Wed Nov  9 17:04:51 2005
From: smythemu at interchange.ubc.ca (suzanne smythe)
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2005 14:04:51 -0800
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education Knowledge
In-Reply-To: <22A562E7-ABBF-4358-BFE6-7095ECBA7ED1@comcast.net>
Message-ID: <0IPP001JJJZX2C@smtp.interchange.ubc.ca>

Apologies I should have been more precise in my first reply, and I suppose
the links I describe are not terribly relevant to US-based practitioners,
but to reply to your questions:

NIACE stands for National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education and
that, (plus I  should add the National Literacy Trust) are websites with
links to research studies, reports and recently published books. It is UK
based, but Canadian education policy is moving in a similar direction to UK
policies these days so I find it useful and interesting for some topics.

Yes, I was referring to the Centre for Literacy at Dawson College in
Montreal. I search their library online and when I find something I would
like to read, and can't get it here in Vancouver,  they send it to me. I
don?t know if they send outside of Canada. I also use our local provincial
Literacy BC resource centre for the same purpose. 

AlphaPlus is a website and data base. Here is the address.
http://alphaplus.ca/eng.asp
It has also recently become a Canadian Centre for Excellence in the use of
technology to support adult basic education learners. 

You click on "library" to search their database. They often have materials
that NALD hasn't uploaded yet, with a great set of resources on aboriginal
literacies too.

I should also add that many adult literacy practioners in Canada are linked
to a First Class system that hosts local, provincial and national
discussions, messaging systems, resources, conference announcement etc. That
is where I check every day to find out what's happening!

And last but not least our Literacies magazine - it features articles by
literacy practitioners and researchers across the country on many topical
issues and also hosts discussions. This I know is available to US
subsribers. 

www.literacies.ca

I hope this helps to clarify for you. 

Best, 

Suzanne

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David Rosen
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 1:29 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education Knowledge

Hello Suzanne,

Thanks for your reply.  I have a couple of questions (please see below):

On Nov 9, 2005, at 3:51 PM, suzanne smythe wrote:

> I use NALD here in Canada, but also find NIACE in the UK very 
> comprehensive, with lots of links to full articles. I like ERIC too, 
> but am aware that its research content is somewhat restricted, 
> particularly the online version.
>
> The resource centres attached to provincial literacy associations and 
> clearing houses also contain reports and materials not easily found in 
> mainstream libraries or searches, the Quebec Centre for Literacy, 
> AlphaPlus are also great, have online searchable databases and they 
> will ship things to you.

I am not very familiar with how these are used.  Could you provide a bit
more information please?

1. Is NIACE a Web site? A database? Something else?

2. Do you mean Centre for Literacy in Montreal, at Dawson College?   
And were you referring to its online searchable database,  or the physical
library or both?

3. How do you use AlphaPlus?

Thanks.

All the best,

David
David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

>
> Suzanne Smythe
> Vancouver BC
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Robin Millar
> Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 11:33 AM
> To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education 
> Knowledge
>
> I mainly use ERIC and the NIFL site.  But here in Canada we also use 
> the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) for research purposes.
>
> Dr. Robin Millar
> Executive Director
> Centre for Education and Work
> 515 Portage Avenue
> Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
> 204-786-9395
>>>> djrosen at comcast.net 11/09/05 6:03 AM >>>
> Colleagues,
>
> Many adult literacy and English language learning practitioners turn 
> to this electronic list to find knowledge and wisdom, and to get 
> answers to specific professional questions.  We also have other ways 
> of finding knowledge.  We learn from our experience and that of our 
> colleagues. We read certain journals, magazines and newspapers, we 
> seek out opinions from reputable sources, and we try to find the best 
> research which addresses our question or problem.  So, here's my
> question:
>
> How do you find answers to your adult literacy and English language 
> learning questions?
>
> 	a. For example, do you use any of the following?
>
> 	? NIFL LINCS Special collections, LINCSearch, discussion lists, and 
> the included online documents and archives
> 	? Canadian-sponsored National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) and its

> online documents and archives
> 	? National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
> (NCSALL) Web site and its hard copy publications
> 	? ERIC Database
> 	? The Adult Literacy Education Wiki
> 	? OTAN
> 	? EdWeek
> 	? PEN
> 	? Other electronic lists
>
> 	b. What else do you use?  What hard copy journals do you find
useful? 
> Are there other electronic resources that are helpful in answering 
> questions?
>
> Please e-mail your answers to me. I will compile what I get and post a 
> summary back to those who e-mail me so we can all benefit from our 
> collective wisdom.  You can send a short email with just items to add 
> to the list above or, if you prefer, you can write a longer, more 
> reflective answer which contextualizes the question, describes how the 
> question hits home for you, expresses frustration with how little 
> research and professional wisdom our field has, or whatever you would 
> like to say.  If you think your comments pertain to the focus of this 
> list, of course, you could post them here.
>
> Thanks for your help in answering this question, which I hope is not 
> mine alone.
>
> David J. Rosen
> DJRosen at comcast.net
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
> --
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date:  
> 11/8/2005
>
>
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> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
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----------------------------------------------------
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To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
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From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Mon Nov 14 13:53:34 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2005 12:53:34 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Natl Budget, Appropriates, Reconciliation
Message-ID: <17227744.1131994414822.JavaMail.root@vms069.mailsrvcs.net>

Are you confused about the national budget, appropriations, and reconciliation? The National Coalition for Literacy staff has prepared an update of the 2006 Budget and Appropriations year. Included is information concerning how the Budget system works, what Budget Reconciliation is, and an analysis of Welfare Reform being discussed as part of the House Reconciliation package. Additionally a short yet informative list of definitions concerning the Budget is also available. 

Click on the link for the PDF of the Budget and Appropriations Update: <http://www.national-coalition-literacy.org/pdf/BUDGETAPPROPRIATIONSUPDATE.pdf> (or copy and paste the address into your browser address bar).

Click on the link for the PDF of Budget Definitions: <http://www.national-coalition-literacy.org/pdf/BudgetDefinitions.pdf> (or copy and paste the full address into your browser address bar).

Noreen Lopez
lopezns at comcast.net 
____________________________

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Tue Nov 15 16:12:57 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2005 15:12:57 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Literacy in Afghanistan
Message-ID: <8785850.1132089177303.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net>

Folks interested in learning about a women's literacy program in Afghanistan should subscribe to the Women and Literacy list for a guest speaker. See below...Barb Garner 

I am pleased and honored to announce that from November 17th-
December 1st, Brenda Bell has graciously agreed to be a guest facilitator on our listserv. The focus of her time with us will be to discuss her litercy work in Afghanistan.
Here is some general information about her:
Brenda Bell, formerly Associate Director of the Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee, and long-time EFF manager, is in Afghanistan for several months assisting with the Literacy for Community Empowerment Program, a project of Education Development Center in partnership with UN Habitat.  This is Brenda's third trip to Afghanistan in the past ten months.
The LCEP, active in five Afghan provinces, links literacy with governance and economic development activities in 200 rural villages.  Literacy teachers, for women's and men's classes, are from the villages, and often have less than a 10th grade education.  They are supported by training and mentoring provided by facilitators at the district and national level.

To subscribe to the Women and Literacy lists, go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/womenliteracy and follow the directions for subscribing. You will receive a verification email in the mail, click on the link and you will officially be subscribed. Be sure to save your password for future reference. 

Daphne Greenberg
Assistant Professor
Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3979
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Tue Nov 15 16:19:52 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2005 15:19:52 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Literacy Trainer for Afghanistan
Message-ID: <11364978.1132089592432.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net>

Those interested in the Literacy program in Afghanistan might just want to work there. There's an opening for a Literacy Training Specialist:

EDC seeks a seasoned training professional to work as part of our dynamic, community-focused literacy activities in Afghanistan. The Training Specialist will be responsible for providing training and support to a cadre of Afghan national and local-level literacy trainers under the Literacy and Community Empowerment Project (LCEP). LCEP is an integrated community development initiative that includes components in literacy, economic empowerment and local governance in Afghanistan. This is a non-dependent posting, based in Kabul, which is funded through July 2006.

Program Summary

In August 2004, EDC and its implementing partner, UN Habitat, launched the USAID-funded Literacy and Community Empowerment Program. The goals of this two-year program are to:

1)	Enhance the role of women and young people as change agents in society through increased literacy and skills for income-generation; and
2)	Strengthen democratically elected institutions of civil society that give a greater voice to women and young adults, and that deepen grassroots participatory governance.

Within the Literacy component of LCEP, EDC is responsible for two inter-related sub-components: the establishment and ongoing development of a Women?s Teacher Training Institute in Kabul and the implementation of the Afghan Literacy Initiative, which currently represents the field-based literacy operations of the Institute. Both Literacy sub-components are implemented in collaboration with Afghanistan?s Ministry of Education. 

The Afghan Literacy Initiative targets 65% young females, and is also open to young men and older boys. It provides learners in remote areas of the country with access to functional literacy skills in the areas of governance and economic empowerment. These skills are then reinforced when learners participate in ongoing LCEP work in governance and economic empowerment within targeted communities. A critical element of the LCEP literacy approach is that both teachers and learners build their teaching and literacy skills through lessons that encourage learners to create their own materials and learning strategies, and monitor their own progress.

The literacy component is designed to complement other LCEP components focusing on local governance, savings and credit development, and micro enterprise.  Governance and economic empowerment components of LCEP are being implemented by UN Habitat.

Specific duties of the Literacy Training Specialist:

1. Develop and implement a dynamic TOT training strategy, approach and materials: Recognizing the limitations of the cascade model, the Training Specialist will work with the Literacy Team Leader and other LCEP senior staff to develop a training system that can offer maximum support and professional development for trainers while at the same time allowing for significant trainer autonomy.

2. Train and support trainers: Using a successful track record of training adult learners in a rural development context, the Training Specialist will model excellent and dynamic training techniques for all levels of the LCEP training ladder, and will spend a significant portion of his/her time in the field.

3. Provide team leadership: The Training Specialist will be responsible for managing the training aspects of our literacy work. S/he will provide day-to-day guidance and inspiration to/for Lead Trainers to assure the highest caliber of professionalism, teamwork, communication and planning.

3. Assure training excellence, cohesion and responsiveness. The Training Specialist will use her/his successful track record in training of adults to lead TOT activities that:

&#61692;	recognize the potential and the current realities of LCEP trainers
&#61692;	emerge from and are appropriate for daily life in rural Afghan communities;
&#61692;	are learner-centered and participatory; 
&#61692;	use innovative teaching and learning strategies;
&#61692;	build trainer and learner autonomy by encouraging self-monitoring and localized production of materials and teaching/learning strategies;
&#61692;	reinforce, and are reinforced by, training practices in place in the LCEP governance and economic empowerment components.

Qualifications and Desired Skills:

?	Advanced degree in a related field. 
?	Significant and practical technical experience rooted in state-of-the-art adult training methodologies. 
?	Field experience in Afghanistan or central Asia preferred. 
?	Excellent management, organizational, and communication skills. 
?	Demonstrated ability to collaborate in complex situations across cultures.
?	Experience in participatory community development programs.
?	Excellent writing skills
?	Excellent organizational skills
?	Ability to work independently and as a team member.
?	Language requirements: Dari and/or Pashtu language skills highly desirable.  

Please submit a resume and cover letter to Barbara Garner (b.garner4 at verizon.net). No phone calls please. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Barb Garner
Editor, Focus on Basics

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Mon Nov 21 15:41:35 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 14:41:35 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
Message-ID: <13415347.1132605695335.JavaMail.root@vms070.mailsrvcs.net>

The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to 
announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
Traveling the Consolidation Highway
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

And

Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and 
Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
 Host the National Conference

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
A National Conference on Adult Education
Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing 
partnership between workforce development and adult education.

The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on 
December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December 14th

The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on 
December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th

PLEASE NOTE:
Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend the 
entire day's activities.

Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
"Click: Current News & Events"

Conference registration prices:

December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)

Conference Sessions

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on 
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum

10:15
v       Youth
v       Healthcare Collaboratives
v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
v       The Aging Workforce
v       Literacy Consortium Planning
v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
v       NJ Transfer
v       Vocational Standards and Certifications

11:45
v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
v       Pathways to Diplomas
v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
v       Career Planning
v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
v       Developing Partnerships in Education

1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest

2:30
v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and 
Communicate Curriculum Framework
v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
v       Health Literacy
v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers

4:00
v       Building Accountability Using EFF
v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
v       Professional Development
v       Financial Literacy
v       The Work Readiness Credential
v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate 
Curriculum Framework- continues

Evening Reception

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on 
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Thursday, December 15, 2005

9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
10:45
v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF Standards
v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma Program 
Classroom
v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards

12 noon Lunch

1:00
v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in 
Public
Welfare in India
v       EFF Assessment Tool
v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum Framework
v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
2:30
v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce 
Education
v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level 
Classroom
v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum Framework 
- continues
v       EFF and Program Improvement

4:00
v       EFF Closing Session
v       Family Literacy
v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom

Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu

From bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net  Mon Nov 21 18:09:19 2005
From: bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net (Bryan A. Wilson)
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 18:09:19 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
In-Reply-To: <13415347.1132605695335.JavaMail.root@vms070.mailsrvcs.net>
Message-ID: <001601c5eef0$9a9c6670$5f01a8c0@D3CRV351>

Barbara (and anyone else),

Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know, things
that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels, etc?

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 3:42 PM
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to
announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
Traveling the Consolidation Highway
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

And

Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and
Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
 Host the National Conference

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
A National Conference on Adult Education
Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing
partnership between workforce development and adult education.

The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on
December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December 14th

The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on
December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th

PLEASE NOTE:
Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend the
entire day's activities.

Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
"Click: Current News & Events"

Conference registration prices:

December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)

Conference Sessions

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum

10:15
v       Youth
v       Healthcare Collaboratives
v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
v       The Aging Workforce
v       Literacy Consortium Planning
v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
v       NJ Transfer
v       Vocational Standards and Certifications

11:45
v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
v       Pathways to Diplomas
v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
v       Career Planning
v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
v       Developing Partnerships in Education

1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest

2:30
v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and
Communicate Curriculum Framework
v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
v       Health Literacy
v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers

4:00
v       Building Accountability Using EFF
v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
v       Professional Development
v       Financial Literacy
v       The Work Readiness Credential
v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
Curriculum Framework- continues

Evening Reception

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Thursday, December 15, 2005

9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
10:45
v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF Standards
v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma Program
Classroom
v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards

12 noon Lunch

1:00
v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in
Public
Welfare in India
v       EFF Assessment Tool
v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum Framework
v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
2:30
v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce
Education
v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level
Classroom
v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum Framework
- continues
v       EFF and Program Improvement

4:00
v       EFF Closing Session
v       Family Literacy
v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom

Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Tue Nov 22 16:19:06 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 15:19:06 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Call for presenters
Message-ID: <32207906.1132694346378.JavaMail.root@vms169.mailsrvcs.net>

The New York Association of Continuing/Community Education (NYACCE) reminds
adult educators, administrators, related professionals and interested
vendors of the annual conference scheduled for May 7-9, 2006 in Albany, NY. 
 
Last year?s NYACCE conference attracted over 300 adult educators from
school districts, BOCES, NYSED, community organizations, libraries,
colleges, universities, job corps and more. We look forward to more
colleagues joining us this year!
 
A call for presenters form is available at our website: www.nyacce.org. We
are seeking a variety of presentations from all areas of our field.
Suggested topics include:
Community Education Projects
Successful Community Partnerships
English as a Second Language
Family Literacy/Intergenerational Literacy
GED Preparation
Advocacy
Alternative Youth Programs
GED to College Transitions
Continuing Education
Workforce Investment
Correctional Education
Community Based Life Long Learning
Learning Styles
Instructional Strategies
Professional Development
DOL & DSS Related Programming
Successful One Stop Partnerships
 
Please consider an area of interest that you have and others may be
interested in learning. We look forward to many interesting submissions.
 
Laurie Bargstedt
Coordinator of Adult Literacy & Incarcerated Education
HFM BOCES, Johnstown, NY 12095
NYACCE Conference Chair 2006 www.nyacce.org
nyacce at yahoo.com

Mariann Fedele
Coordinator of Professional Development, 
Literacy Assistance Center
Moderator,
NIFL Technology and Literacy Discussion List
32 Broadway 10th Floor
New York, New York 10004
212-803-3325
mariannf at lacnyc.org
www.lacnyc.org

From rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu  Tue Nov 22 17:27:42 2005
From: rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu (Halcomb, Becky (Southeast))
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 17:27:42 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
Message-ID: <2FCB24F6F6BB9B48931D6E3F972CAB490D0B7B30@kctcsmbx01.messaging.ds.kctcs.edu>

Bryan,

I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
very informative and hope you will too.

http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
ml

Rebecca

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Barbara (and anyone else),

Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
things
that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
etc?

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 3:42 PM
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to
announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
Traveling the Consolidation Highway
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

And

Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and
Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
 Host the National Conference

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
A National Conference on Adult Education
Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing
partnership between workforce development and adult education.

The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on
December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December
14th

The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on
December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th

PLEASE NOTE:
Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend
the
entire day's activities.

Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
"Click: Current News & Events"

Conference registration prices:

December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)

Conference Sessions

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum

10:15
v       Youth
v       Healthcare Collaboratives
v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
v       The Aging Workforce
v       Literacy Consortium Planning
v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
v       NJ Transfer
v       Vocational Standards and Certifications

11:45
v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
v       Pathways to Diplomas
v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
v       Career Planning
v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
v       Developing Partnerships in Education

1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest

2:30
v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and
Communicate Curriculum Framework
v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
v       Health Literacy
v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers

4:00
v       Building Accountability Using EFF
v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
v       Professional Development
v       Financial Literacy
v       The Work Readiness Credential
v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
Curriculum Framework- continues

Evening Reception

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Thursday, December 15, 2005

9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
10:45
v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF
Standards
v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma
Program
Classroom
v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards

12 noon Lunch

1:00
v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in
Public
Welfare in India
v       EFF Assessment Tool
v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
2:30
v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce
Education
v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level
Classroom
v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
- continues
v       EFF and Program Improvement

4:00
v       EFF Closing Session
v       Family Literacy
v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom

Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Tue Nov 22 18:08:26 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 17:08:26 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
Message-ID: <12652382.1132700906958.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net>

Thanks, Becky. 
Does anyone else have suggestions for Bryan? There are not national standards as far as I know; do any states have standards for beginning reading?
What do the EFF standards say?
Barb Garner

From: "Halcomb, Becky (Southeast)" <rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu>
Date: Tue Nov 22 16:27:42 CST 2005
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Bryan,

I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
very informative and hope you will too.

http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
ml

Rebecca

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Barbara (and anyone else),

Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
things
that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
etc?

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 3:42 PM
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to
announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
Traveling the Consolidation Highway
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

And

Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and
Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
 Host the National Conference

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
A National Conference on Adult Education
Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing
partnership between workforce development and adult education.

The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on
December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December
14th

The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on
December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th

PLEASE NOTE:
Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend
the
entire day's activities.

Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
"Click: Current News & Events"

Conference registration prices:

December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)

Conference Sessions

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum

10:15
v       Youth
v       Healthcare Collaboratives
v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
v       The Aging Workforce
v       Literacy Consortium Planning
v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
v       NJ Transfer
v       Vocational Standards and Certifications

11:45
v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
v       Pathways to Diplomas
v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
v       Career Planning
v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
v       Developing Partnerships in Education

1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest

2:30
v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and
Communicate Curriculum Framework
v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
v       Health Literacy
v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers

4:00
v       Building Accountability Using EFF
v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
v       Professional Development
v       Financial Literacy
v       The Work Readiness Credential
v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
Curriculum Framework- continues

Evening Reception

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Thursday, December 15, 2005

9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
10:45
v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF
Standards
v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma
Program
Classroom
v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards

12 noon Lunch

1:00
v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in
Public
Welfare in India
v       EFF Assessment Tool
v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
2:30
v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce
Education
v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level
Classroom
v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
- continues
v       EFF and Program Improvement

4:00
v       EFF Closing Session
v       Family Literacy
v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom

Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net  Wed Nov 23 06:26:38 2005
From: bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net (Bryan A. Wilson)
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 06:26:38 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
In-Reply-To: <2FCB24F6F6BB9B48931D6E3F972CAB490D0B7B30@kctcsmbx01.messaging.ds.kctcs.edu>
Message-ID: <000a01c5f020$c596a0d0$5f01a8c0@D3CRV351>

Becky,

	Thank you very much. I've been to the NIFL site a number of times,
but never visited the Partnership on Reading section. Much of what is there
I have found to be germane to my project.

Thank you very much!!

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Halcomb, Becky
(Southeast)
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 5:28 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Bryan,

I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
very informative and hope you will too.

http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
ml

Rebecca

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Barbara (and anyone else),

Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
things
that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
etc?

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 3:42 PM
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to
announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
Traveling the Consolidation Highway
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

And

Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and
Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
 Host the National Conference

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
A National Conference on Adult Education
Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing
partnership between workforce development and adult education.

The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on
December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December
14th

The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on
December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th

PLEASE NOTE:
Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend
the
entire day's activities.

Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
"Click: Current News & Events"

Conference registration prices:

December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)

Conference Sessions

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum

10:15
v       Youth
v       Healthcare Collaboratives
v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
v       The Aging Workforce
v       Literacy Consortium Planning
v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
v       NJ Transfer
v       Vocational Standards and Certifications

11:45
v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
v       Pathways to Diplomas
v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
v       Career Planning
v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
v       Developing Partnerships in Education

1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest

2:30
v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and
Communicate Curriculum Framework
v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
v       Health Literacy
v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers

4:00
v       Building Accountability Using EFF
v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
v       Professional Development
v       Financial Literacy
v       The Work Readiness Credential
v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
Curriculum Framework- continues

Evening Reception

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Thursday, December 15, 2005

9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
10:45
v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF
Standards
v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma
Program
Classroom
v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards

12 noon Lunch

1:00
v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in
Public
Welfare in India
v       EFF Assessment Tool
v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
2:30
v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce
Education
v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level
Classroom
v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
- continues
v       EFF and Program Improvement

4:00
v       EFF Closing Session
v       Family Literacy
v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom

Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Wed Nov 23 08:40:29 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 07:40:29 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
Message-ID: <5306147.1132753229412.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net>

You probably found this on the nifl site, but if not, check out the assessment and reading profiles section as well: http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/

Barb Garner
Editor, Focus on Basics

From: "Bryan A. Wilson" <bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net>
Date: Wed Nov 23 05:26:38 CST 2005
To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Becky,

	Thank you very much. I've been to the NIFL site a number of times,
but never visited the Partnership on Reading section. Much of what is there
I have found to be germane to my project.

Thank you very much!!

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Halcomb, Becky
(Southeast)
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 5:28 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Bryan,

I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
very informative and hope you will too.

http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
ml

Rebecca

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Barbara (and anyone else),

Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
things
that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
etc?

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 3:42 PM
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to
announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
Traveling the Consolidation Highway
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

And

Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and
Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
 Host the National Conference

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
A National Conference on Adult Education
Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing
partnership between workforce development and adult education.

The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on
December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December
14th

The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on
December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th

PLEASE NOTE:
Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend
the
entire day's activities.

Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
"Click: Current News & Events"

Conference registration prices:

December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)

Conference Sessions

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum

10:15
v       Youth
v       Healthcare Collaboratives
v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
v       The Aging Workforce
v       Literacy Consortium Planning
v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
v       NJ Transfer
v       Vocational Standards and Certifications

11:45
v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
v       Pathways to Diplomas
v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
v       Career Planning
v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
v       Developing Partnerships in Education

1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest

2:30
v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and
Communicate Curriculum Framework
v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
v       Health Literacy
v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers

4:00
v       Building Accountability Using EFF
v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
v       Professional Development
v       Financial Literacy
v       The Work Readiness Credential
v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
Curriculum Framework- continues

Evening Reception

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Thursday, December 15, 2005

9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
10:45
v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF
Standards
v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma
Program
Classroom
v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards

12 noon Lunch

1:00
v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in
Public
Welfare in India
v       EFF Assessment Tool
v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
2:30
v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce
Education
v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level
Classroom
v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
- continues
v       EFF and Program Improvement

4:00
v       EFF Closing Session
v       Family Literacy
v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom

Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net  Wed Nov 23 10:23:44 2005
From: bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net (Bryan A. Wilson)
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:23:44 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
In-Reply-To: <5306147.1132753229412.JavaMail.root@vms063.mailsrvcs.net>
Message-ID: <000a01c5f041$e5a71500$5f01a8c0@D3CRV351>

Thank you, Barb. Becky from the SE Center connected me to the "Partnership
for Reading" site. That is really helpful.

Thanks again!

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 8:40 AM
To: Bryan A. Wilson; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: Re: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

You probably found this on the nifl site, but if not, check out the
assessment and reading profiles section as well:
http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/

Barb Garner
Editor, Focus on Basics

From: "Bryan A. Wilson" <bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net>
Date: Wed Nov 23 05:26:38 CST 2005
To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Becky,

	Thank you very much. I've been to the NIFL site a number of times,
but never visited the Partnership on Reading section. Much of what is there
I have found to be germane to my project.

Thank you very much!!

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Halcomb, Becky
(Southeast)
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 5:28 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Bryan,

I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
very informative and hope you will too.

http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
ml

Rebecca

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Barbara (and anyone else),

Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
things
that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
etc?

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 3:42 PM
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to
announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
Traveling the Consolidation Highway
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

And

Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and
Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
 Host the National Conference

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
A National Conference on Adult Education
Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing
partnership between workforce development and adult education.

The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on
December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December
14th

The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on
December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th

PLEASE NOTE:
Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend
the
entire day's activities.

Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
"Click: Current News & Events"

Conference registration prices:

December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)

Conference Sessions

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum

10:15
v       Youth
v       Healthcare Collaboratives
v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
v       The Aging Workforce
v       Literacy Consortium Planning
v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
v       NJ Transfer
v       Vocational Standards and Certifications

11:45
v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
v       Pathways to Diplomas
v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
v       Career Planning
v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
v       Developing Partnerships in Education

1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest

2:30
v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and
Communicate Curriculum Framework
v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
v       Health Literacy
v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers

4:00
v       Building Accountability Using EFF
v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
v       Professional Development
v       Financial Literacy
v       The Work Readiness Credential
v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
Curriculum Framework- continues

Evening Reception

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Thursday, December 15, 2005

9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
10:45
v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF
Standards
v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma
Program
Classroom
v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards

12 noon Lunch

1:00
v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in
Public
Welfare in India
v       EFF Assessment Tool
v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
2:30
v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce
Education
v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level
Classroom
v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
- continues
v       EFF and Program Improvement

4:00
v       EFF Closing Session
v       Family Literacy
v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom

Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
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FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

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http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

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To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

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http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu  Wed Nov 23 10:36:05 2005
From: rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu (Halcomb, Becky (Southeast))
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 10:36:05 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
Message-ID: <2FCB24F6F6BB9B48931D6E3F972CAB490D0B7F95@kctcsmbx01.messaging.ds.kctcs.edu>

You are very welcome, Bryan. I am glad I could be of help to you. I have
found a lot of helpful information on these sites as well. I am
currently reading a report on how to use scientific research in reading
instruction. 

I would be interested in hearing of your discoveries as well.

Becky

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 10:24 AM
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: RE: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Thank you, Barb. Becky from the SE Center connected me to the
"Partnership
for Reading" site. That is really helpful.

Thanks again!

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 8:40 AM
To: Bryan A. Wilson; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: Re: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

You probably found this on the nifl site, but if not, check out the
assessment and reading profiles section as well:
http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/

Barb Garner
Editor, Focus on Basics

From: "Bryan A. Wilson" <bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net>
Date: Wed Nov 23 05:26:38 CST 2005
To: 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List' <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Becky,

	Thank you very much. I've been to the NIFL site a number of
times,
but never visited the Partnership on Reading section. Much of what is
there
I have found to be germane to my project.

Thank you very much!!

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Halcomb, Becky
(Southeast)
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 5:28 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Bryan,

I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
very informative and hope you will too.

http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
ml

Rebecca

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Barbara (and anyone else),

Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
things
that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
etc?

Bryan

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 3:42 PM
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to
announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
Traveling the Consolidation Highway
Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

And

Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and
Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
 Host the National Conference

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
A National Conference on Adult Education
Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
Trump Plaza
Atlantic City, NJ

Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing
partnership between workforce development and adult education.

The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on
December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December
14th

The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on
December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th

PLEASE NOTE:
Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend
the
entire day's activities.

Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
"Click: Current News & Events"

Conference registration prices:

December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)

Conference Sessions

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Wednesday, December 14, 2005

9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum

10:15
v       Youth
v       Healthcare Collaboratives
v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
v       The Aging Workforce
v       Literacy Consortium Planning
v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
v       NJ Transfer
v       Vocational Standards and Certifications

11:45
v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
v       Pathways to Diplomas
v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
v       Career Planning
v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
v       Developing Partnerships in Education

1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest

2:30
v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and
Communicate Curriculum Framework
v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
v       Health Literacy
v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers

4:00
v       Building Accountability Using EFF
v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
v       Professional Development
v       Financial Literacy
v       The Work Readiness Credential
v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
Curriculum Framework- continues

Evening Reception

New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
Adult Education
Workshop Sessions
Thursday, December 15, 2005

9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
10:45
v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF
Standards
v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma
Program
Classroom
v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards

12 noon Lunch

1:00
v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in
Public
Welfare in India
v       EFF Assessment Tool
v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
2:30
v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce
Education
v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level
Classroom
v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
Framework
- continues
v       EFF and Program Improvement

4:00
v       EFF Closing Session
v       Family Literacy
v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom

Diane P. Gardner
EFF Center
The University of Tennessee
Center for Literacy Studies
600 Henley Street, Suite 312
Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
865-974-9949
dgardner at utk.edu

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
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Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
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Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

----------------------------------------------------
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FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From atrawick at charter.net  Wed Nov 23 11:58:14 2005
From: atrawick at charter.net (Amy R. Trawick)
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:58:14 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
References: <12652382.1132700906958.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net>
Message-ID: <008d01c5f04f$1926c120$3002a8c0@ben2ut66kkx7o3>

Bryan (and others), you might want to check out the Performance Continuum 
for the Equipped for the Future (EFF) Content Standard Read With 
Understanding.  Go to http://eff.cls.utk.edu/assessment/arc_library.htm and 
click on "Read With Understanding Performance Continuum".  The continuum 
provides empirically-based descriptions of exit-performance for 6 levels, 
which are connected to the NRS levels.  EFF has also partnered with the 
Oklahoma State Department of Education to develop a Curriculum Framework for 
the standard.  This offers much more explicit guidance for teachers/tutors 
about the content of reading instruction at different levels, including the 
very beginning levels, which you asked about.  I know we'll be introducing 
the Curriculum Framework at the December conference in New Jersey, but if 
you want more information, feel free to contact Diane Gardner 
(dgardner at utk.edu)  at the Center for Literacy Studies at the University of 
Tennessee.

Amy

Amy R. Trawick, M.S. Ed.
Equipped for the Future National Facilitator/Consultant
atrawick at charter.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barbara Garner" <b.garner4 at verizon.net>
To: "Halcomb, Becky (Southeast)" <rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu>; "The Focus on 
Basics Discussion List" <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 6:08 PM
Subject: Re: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

> Thanks, Becky.
> Does anyone else have suggestions for Bryan? There are not national 
> standards as far as I know; do any states have standards for beginning 
> reading?
> What do the EFF standards say?
> Barb Garner
>
> From: "Halcomb, Becky (Southeast)" <rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu>
> Date: Tue Nov 22 16:27:42 CST 2005
> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
> Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
>
> Bryan,
>
> I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
> very informative and hope you will too.
>
> http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
> ml
>
> Rebecca
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
> Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
> To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
> Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
>
> Barbara (and anyone else),
>
> Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
> things
> that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
> etc?
>
> Bryan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
> Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 3:42 PM
> To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
> Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
>
>
> The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to
> announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
> Traveling the Consolidation Highway
> Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
> Trump Plaza
> Atlantic City, NJ
>
> And
>
> Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and
> Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
> Host the National Conference
>
> New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
> A National Conference on Adult Education
> Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
> Trump Plaza
> Atlantic City, NJ
>
> Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing
> partnership between workforce development and adult education.
>
> The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on
> December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December
> 14th
>
> The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on
> December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th
>
> PLEASE NOTE:
> Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend
> the
> entire day's activities.
>
> Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
> "Click: Current News & Events"
>
> Conference registration prices:
>
> December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
> December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
> December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)
>
> Conference Sessions
>
> New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
> Adult Education
> Workshop Sessions
> Wednesday, December 14, 2005
>
> 9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum
>
> 10:15
> v       Youth
> v       Healthcare Collaboratives
> v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
> v       The Aging Workforce
> v       Literacy Consortium Planning
> v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
> v       NJ Transfer
> v       Vocational Standards and Certifications
>
> 11:45
> v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
> v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
> v       Pathways to Diplomas
> v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
> v       Career Planning
> v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
> v       Developing Partnerships in Education
>
> 1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest
>
> 2:30
> v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
> v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
> v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and
> Communicate Curriculum Framework
> v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
> v       Health Literacy
> v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers
>
> 4:00
> v       Building Accountability Using EFF
> v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
> v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
> v       Professional Development
> v       Financial Literacy
> v       The Work Readiness Credential
> v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
> Curriculum Framework- continues
>
> Evening Reception
>
> New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
> Adult Education
> Workshop Sessions
> Thursday, December 15, 2005
>
> 9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
> 10:45
> v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF
> Standards
> v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
> v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
> v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
> v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
> v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
> v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma
> Program
> Classroom
> v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards
>
> 12 noon Lunch
>
> 1:00
> v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in
> Public
> Welfare in India
> v       EFF Assessment Tool
> v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
> v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
> v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
> v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
> Framework
> v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
> v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
> 2:30
> v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce
> Education
> v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
> v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level
> Classroom
> v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
> v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
> v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
> Framework
> - continues
> v       EFF and Program Improvement
>
> 4:00
> v       EFF Closing Session
> v       Family Literacy
> v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom
>
>
> Diane P. Gardner
> EFF Center
> The University of Tennessee
> Center for Literacy Studies
> 600 Henley Street, Suite 312
> Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
> 865-974-9949
> dgardner at utk.edu
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Insitute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Insitute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Insitute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Insitute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
> 

From bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net  Wed Nov 23 15:07:30 2005
From: bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net (Bryan A. Wilson)
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 15:07:30 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
In-Reply-To: <008d01c5f04f$1926c120$3002a8c0@ben2ut66kkx7o3>
Message-ID: <001101c5f069$891c6920$5f01a8c0@D3CRV351>

Dr. Amy,

	This is perfect! I was looking for a way to develop a standards
reading portfolio for High School low readers. Low in my setting means that
a 6 or more year spread between the student's reading ability level and his
or her academic grade exists. I wanted to use adult-level curriculum
standards because I strongly believe that my pedagogy ought to look a lot
more like Andragogy...and standards like found in something like the EFF
will give me a better starting point for designing instruction.

Bryan Wilson, M. Ed.
ED Teacher
Greenville County School District, SC

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Amy R. Trawick
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 11:58 AM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: Re: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Bryan (and others), you might want to check out the Performance Continuum
for the Equipped for the Future (EFF) Content Standard Read With
Understanding.  Go to http://eff.cls.utk.edu/assessment/arc_library.htm and
click on "Read With Understanding Performance Continuum".  The continuum
provides empirically-based descriptions of exit-performance for 6 levels,
which are connected to the NRS levels.  EFF has also partnered with the
Oklahoma State Department of Education to develop a Curriculum Framework for

the standard.  This offers much more explicit guidance for teachers/tutors
about the content of reading instruction at different levels, including the
very beginning levels, which you asked about.  I know we'll be introducing
the Curriculum Framework at the December conference in New Jersey, but if
you want more information, feel free to contact Diane Gardner
(dgardner at utk.edu)  at the Center for Literacy Studies at the University of
Tennessee.

Amy

Amy R. Trawick, M.S. Ed.
Equipped for the Future National Facilitator/Consultant
atrawick at charter.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Barbara Garner" <b.garner4 at verizon.net>
To: "Halcomb, Becky (Southeast)" <rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu>; "The Focus on
Basics Discussion List" <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 6:08 PM
Subject: Re: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

> Thanks, Becky.
> Does anyone else have suggestions for Bryan? There are not national
> standards as far as I know; do any states have standards for beginning
> reading?
> What do the EFF standards say?
> Barb Garner
>
> From: "Halcomb, Becky (Southeast)" <rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu>
> Date: Tue Nov 22 16:27:42 CST 2005
> To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
> Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
>
> Bryan,
>
> I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
> very informative and hope you will too.
>
> http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
> ml
>
> Rebecca
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
> Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
> To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
> Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
>
> Barbara (and anyone else),
>
> Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
> things
> that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
> etc?
>
> Bryan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
> Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 3:42 PM
> To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
> Subject: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
>
>
> The New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission is proud to
> announce their Seventh Annual One-Stop Conference
> Traveling the Consolidation Highway
> Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13 & 14, 2005
> Trump Plaza
> Atlantic City, NJ
>
> And
>
> Equipped for the Future (EFF) and the New Jersey State Employment and
> Training Commission, with support from The UPS Foundation,
> Host the National Conference
>
> New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life:
> A National Conference on Adult Education
> Wednesday & and Thursday, December 14 & 15, 2005
> Trump Plaza
> Atlantic City, NJ
>
> Please take advantage of this opportunity by supporting the ongoing
> partnership between workforce development and adult education.
>
> The One-Stop Conference will officially begin on Tuesday morning on
> December 13th and will continue until 1:00 pm on Wednesday, December
> 14th
>
> The National Conference will officially begin on Wednesday at 1:00 pm on
> December 14th and continue until Thursday afternoon on December 15th
>
> PLEASE NOTE:
> Those who register for Wednesday, December 14th are invited to attend
> the
> entire day's activities.
>
> Registration must be done online at: www.njsetc.net
> "Click: Current News & Events"
>
> Conference registration prices:
>
> December 13th  = ($135.00)            December 15th = ($100.00)
> December 14th  = ($120.00)            December 14 & 15 = ($195.00)
> December 13 & 14 = ($195.00)          December 13, 14 & 15 = ($250.00)
>
> Conference Sessions
>
> New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
> Adult Education
> Workshop Sessions
> Wednesday, December 14, 2005
>
> 9:00    Plenary with Dr. John Comings and Dr. Andrew Sum
>
> 10:15
> v       Youth
> v       Healthcare Collaboratives
> v       Gender Parity- Tools and Resources for Non-Traditional Careers
> v       The Aging Workforce
> v       Literacy Consortium Planning
> v       Follow up with Plenary Speakers
> v       NJ Transfer
> v       Vocational Standards and Certifications
>
> 11:45
> v       NJ's Workplace Literacy Program
> v       Online Computer Skills Assessment
> v       Pathways to Diplomas
> v       Organizational Assessment in a Performance Based Environment
> v       Career Planning
> v       NJ Next Stop Website for Career Information
> v       Developing Partnerships in Education
>
> 1:00    Lunch with Beto Gonzalez, US DOE invited guest
>
> 2:30
> v       Oklahoma- EFF from the State to the Classroom
> v       Successful EFF Classroom Projects
> v       An Introductory Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and
> Communicate Curriculum Framework
> v       EFF in the ESL Classroom: A Demystification of the EFF Framework
> v       Health Literacy
> v       EFF for Job Seekers and Incumbent Workers
>
> 4:00
> v       Building Accountability Using EFF
> v       A New Model for Streamlined Teacher Training
> v       Change Your Teaching Methods for Better Results
> v       Professional Development
> v       Financial Literacy
> v       The Work Readiness Credential
> v       A Look at the EFF Use Math to Solve Problems and Communicate
> Curriculum Framework- continues
>
> Evening Reception
>
> New Destinations to Literacy, Learning & Life: A National Conference on
> Adult Education
> Workshop Sessions
> Thursday, December 15, 2005
>
> 9:00    Plenary with EFF Panel
> 10:45
> v       Texas' Approach to Developing Benchmarks for 5 of the EFF
> Standards
> v       EFF Quality Practices and Program Improvement
> v       How to Begin Implementation of EFF in Your Classroom
> v       Using the EFF Reader's Tool Chest in an ESL Classroom
> v       Putting EFF Theory into Practice in the ESL Classroom
> v       Adult Education Reading Instruction: Research-Based Practices
> v       From Competencies to Standards: EFF in an External Diploma
> Program
> Classroom
> v       Creating an ESL/Civics Curriculum Using EFF Standards
>
> 12 noon Lunch
>
> 1:00
> v       "Reach the Reachable Rightly" - a Focus on Adult Education in
> Public
> Welfare in India
> v       EFF Assessment Tool
> v       Using the EFF Teaching/Learning Cycle for Lesson Planning
> v       EFF and Goal Setting in the ESL Classroom
> v       Preparing for Work Using EFF Standards
> v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
> Framework
> v       Supporting Workplace Training with EFF
> v       Accessing American English and Culture through American Film
> 2:30
> v       Pennsylvania's Approach to Using EFF Standards for Workforce
> Education
> v       Leading Through Online Communities: VA Department of Education
> v       Making the Connection: EFF, TABE, and the GED in a Multi-Level
> Classroom
> v       Systemic Integration of EFF through Goal Setting
> v       Seeing is Remembering: How Multi-Media Promotes Adult Literacy
> v       An Introduction to the Read With Understanding Curriculum
> Framework
> - continues
> v       EFF and Program Improvement
>
> 4:00
> v       EFF Closing Session
> v       Family Literacy
> v       A Smart Start to Strategy to the Adult Education Classroom
>
>
> Diane P. Gardner
> EFF Center
> The University of Tennessee
> Center for Literacy Studies
> 600 Henley Street, Suite 312
> Knoxville, TN 37996-4135
> 865-974-9949
> dgardner at utk.edu
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Insitute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Insitute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Insitute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Insitute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From djrosen at comcast.net  Fri Nov 25 16:43:25 2005
From: djrosen at comcast.net (David Rosen)
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2005 16:43:25 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] (no subject)
Message-ID: <C881228B-BF40-461D-9954-71B8F0CD1B09@comcast.net>

Colleagues,

On November 9, 2005 I wrote:

"Many adult literacy and English language learning practitioners turn  
to this electronic list to find knowledge and wisdom, and to get  
answers to specific professional questions.  We also have other ways  
of finding knowledge.  We learn from our experience and that of our  
colleagues. We read certain journals, magazines and newspapers, we  
seek out opinions from reputable  sources, and we try to find the  
best research which addresses our question or problem.  So, here's my  
question:

How do you find answers to your adult literacy and English language  
learning questions?"

You will find a compilation of responses to the question below, by  
information medium type :

David J. Rosen
Adult Literacy Advocate
DJRosen at theworld.com

-----

DATABASES and ONLINE LIBRARIES

?  The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) Literacy Information  
and Communications System ( LINCS) , which has special collections,  
four comprehensive search engines (LINCSearch), discussion forums  
9electronic lists), online documents and archives  http:// 
www.nifl.gov/lincs/

? The (Canadian) National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) and its  
online documents and archives http://www.nald.ca/

? The NIACE (UK) National Institute for Adult and Continuing  
Education.  This and  the National Literacy Trust are web sites with  
links to research studies, reports and recently published books.  
http://www.niace.org.uk/

? The Centre for Literacy. Montreal, Quebec. http:// 
www.centreforliteracy.qc.ca/
Library catalog: http://www.centreforliteracy.qc.ca/library/intro.htm

? AlphPlus Centre. Toronto Ontario. http://alphaplus.ca/eng.asp
AlphaPlus offers ?an extensive physical library collection as well as  
an ever-growing online collection of literacy research. They are a  
repository for all Ontario field development projects and research  
funded by the Literacy and Basic Skills section of the Ontario  
Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. AlphaPlus also  
maintains a number of public discussion forums where literacy  
resources are shared, event notices are posted and general questions  
and dialogue for the literacy community is maintained.?  Kim  
Falcigno, Literacy Project Researcher/Consultant, thunder Bay, Ontario.

? The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy  
(NCSALL) Web site and its hard copy publications http://ncsall.net

? Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) Database http:// 
www.eric.ed.gov/

?  Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN). Although this is  
a California-based organization, its web site is accessible to people  
outside the state and it has a library of online adult literacy  
education documents.  http://www.otan.us/

? PDK knowledge databases http://www.literacy.org/pdk/

? Workforceusa.net.  They pull together resources on many workforce- 
related topics.  The link to the adult ed page is --
http://www.workforceusa.net/search.php? 
PHPSESSID=a695aff0dd637483946eced 103cea36d&search_keyword=adult 
+education
or you can try this short version  http://tinyurl.com/examb

WIKIS
? The Adult Literacy Education Wiki  http://wiki.literacytent.org
? The Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

ONLINE COURSES
? Verizon Literacy Campus http://www.literacycampus.org/

WEB SITES
? CAAL http://www.caalusa.org/
? CAELA http://www.cal.org/caela/
? CAL  http://www.cal.org/
? CALPRO http://www.calpro-online.org/
? CLASP http://www.clasp.org/
? Correctional Education Association  http://www.ceanational.org/
? Culture Orientation Resource Center  http:// 
www.culturalorientation.net/
? International Reading Association (IRA) http://ira.org/
? National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) Practitioner Toolkit
    http://www.famlit.org/Publications/Practitioner-Toolkit-ELL.cfm/
? Public/Private Ventures http://www.ppv.org/index.asp/
? Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca/
? TESOL http://www.tesol.org/
? The Hub at Literacy BC http://www2.literacy.bc.ca/electric.htm/
? The Knowledge Loom http://knowledgeloom.org/index.jsp/
? USDOE http://www.ed.gov/
? State DOE web sites (FL, OH, ME, MA, and others)
? Litlink/PBS http://litlink.ket.org/
? ProLiteracy Worldwide http://www.proliteracy.org

  NEWSLETTERS
? EdWeek (weekly newsletter) http://www.edweek.org/ew/index.html
? Public education Network (PEN) http://www.publiceducation.org/

ELECTRONIC LISTS/DISCUSSION FORUMS
? TESL_L
? English Language (NIFL_ESL)
? ASCD
? CALL- Center for Adult Learning and Literacy at UMaine-Orono

NEWSPAPERS (INCLUDING ONLINE NWSPAPERS)

BOOKS

LIBRARY SYSTEMS

LIBRARIES OF AGENCIES PROVIDING ADULT EDUCATION

JOURNALS
? COABE Journal http://www.coabe.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=journal
? Reading Research Quarterly http://www.reading.org/publications/ 
journals/rrq/
? Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy http://www.reading.org/ 
publications/journals/jaal/
? Journal of Literacy Research http://www.nrconline.org/jlr/archive/
? Adult Education Quarterly http://aeq.sagepub.com/
? Focus on Basics http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=31
? New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education http:// 
www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-ACE.html
? TESOL Quarterly http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp? 
CID=209&DID=1679
? TESOL Journal http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=255&DID=1727
? Literacies, a recent Canadian journal published in British Columbia  
in print and online.  It includes an online discussion forum where  
topics from the most            current edition are discussed. http:// 
www.literacyjournal.ca/readers.html
? Essential Teacher http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp? 
CID=206&DID=1134

? CATESOL Journal http://www.catesol.org/cjguidelines.html
? Adult Education Journal http://www.periodicals.com/stock_e/j/ 
ttl12674.html
? Educational Leadership (ASCD)
? Teacher
? T.H.E. (online) journal  http://www.thejournal.com/newsletters/

NEWSLETTERS
? IRA Newsletter http://www.reading.org/publications/index.html
? Report on Literacy Programs http://www.bpinews.com/edu/pages/rlp.cfm

WEB SEARCHES
?  Google
-----

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Mon Nov 28 21:17:25 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 20:17:25 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Changes on the List
Message-ID: <19213792.1133230646423.JavaMail.root@vms068.mailsrvcs.net>

Dear FOB list subscribers,

As of Wednesday, the "Focus on Basics" discussion list will have a new moderator, Julie McKinney. I will continue to edit "Focus on Basics", and I will be an active participant on the list. 

Why the switch? All the NIFL discussion lists are changing to fully-moderated mode. Julie will be able to give the list more time than I can, will bring on guest "writers," and will breathe new life into the list. 

We hope you won't experience any significant lag between when you submit a posting and when it is posted. Julie will check for messages at least twice each business day, and fairly constantly whenever she is at her computer, which tends to be at least two hours a day. When Julie is away from the office, a substitute moderator will step in.

The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) Focus on Basics
List will continue to be co-sponsored by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), which publishes "Focus on Basics," and NIFL.

Julie will introduce herself on Wednesday. NIFL will also post an announcement about the change.

I look forward to continuing to communicate with "Focus on Basics'" readers via the list. 

And, for those who've read all the way down to here, you'll be pleased to learn that the next issue of "Focus on Basics" will soon be released onto the Web at www.ncsall.net!

As always, 

Barb Garner
Editor, "Focus on Basics"

From akohring at utk.edu  Tue Nov 29 12:46:51 2005
From: akohring at utk.edu (Aaron Kohring)
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:46:51 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] More information on Reading
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20051129124326.03af4ad0@pop.utk.edu>

Hi all,

Barb, you are correct that there are no "National Standards". Most states 
have adopted, adapted, or developed their own set of standards.

Bryan-
In beginning reading, you can see what EFF learned from research and data 
from the field: http://eff.cls.utk.edu/assessment/read5.htm

I'd also recommend looking at some of the information available on Reading 
from other states at OVAE's Standards Warehouse: 
http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/Source/GetStandard.asp

You may also want to post your question to the Adult Education Content 
Standards Discussion List (contentstandards at dev.nifl.gov).  Members of that 
list may be able to give you further information.

Aaron

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 6:08 PM
To: Halcomb, Becky (Southeast); The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: Re: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Thanks, Becky.
Does anyone else have suggestions for Bryan? There are not national 
standards as far as I know; do any states have standards for beginning 
reading?
What do the EFF standards say?
Barb Garner
From: "Halcomb, Becky (Southeast)" <rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu>
Date: Tue Nov 22 16:27:42 CST 2005
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
Bryan,
I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
very informative and hope you will too.
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
ml
Rebecca
-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
Barbara (and anyone else),
Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
things
that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
etc?
Bryan

Aaron Kohring
Coordinator, LINCS Literacy & Learning Disabilities Special Collection
Moderator, NIFL Content Standards Discussion List

Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee
EFF Center for Training and Technical Assistance
Phone:(865) 974-4109 main
           (865) 974-4258 direct
Fax:   (865) 974-3857
e-mail: akohring at utk.edu

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Tue Nov 29 13:36:01 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 12:36:01 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] More information on Reading
Message-ID: <13872786.1133289362213.JavaMail.root@vms071.mailsrvcs.net>

Thanks for the added information, Aaron.

If you do post your question to the adult education content standards list, Bryan, please share what you learn with us on the FOB list!

Barb Garner
Editor, FOB
b.garner4 at verizon.net

From: Aaron Kohring <akohring at utk.edu>
Date: Tue Nov 29 11:46:51 CST 2005
To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] More information on Reading

Hi all,

Barb, you are correct that there are no "National Standards". Most states 
have adopted, adapted, or developed their own set of standards.

Bryan-
In beginning reading, you can see what EFF learned from research and data 
from the field: http://eff.cls.utk.edu/assessment/read5.htm

I'd also recommend looking at some of the information available on Reading 
from other states at OVAE's Standards Warehouse: 
http://www.adultedcontentstandards.org/Source/GetStandard.asp

You may also want to post your question to the Adult Education Content 
Standards Discussion List (contentstandards at dev.nifl.gov).  Members of that 
list may be able to give you further information.

Aaron

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Barbara Garner
Sent: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 6:08 PM
To: Halcomb, Becky (Southeast); The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: Re: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference

Thanks, Becky.
Does anyone else have suggestions for Bryan? There are not national 
standards as far as I know; do any states have standards for beginning 
reading?
What do the EFF standards say?
Barb Garner
From: "Halcomb, Becky (Southeast)" <rebecca.halcomb at kctcs.edu>
Date: Tue Nov 22 16:27:42 CST 2005
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov>
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
Bryan,
I hope this will help you in your search. I found this website to be
very informative and hope you will too.
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/adult_reading/adult_reading.ht
ml
Rebecca
-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Bryan A. Wilson
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2005 6:09 PM
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net; 'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'
Subject: RE: [FocusOnBasics] One-Stop/EFF Conference
Barbara (and anyone else),
Do you have any national standards for beginning reading? You know,
things
that speak of phonetic awareness, decoding strategies, fluency levels,
etc?
Bryan

Aaron Kohring
Coordinator, LINCS Literacy & Learning Disabilities Special Collection
Moderator, NIFL Content Standards Discussion List

Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee
EFF Center for Training and Technical Assistance
Phone:(865) 974-4109 main
           (865) 974-4258 direct
Fax:   (865) 974-3857
e-mail: akohring at utk.edu

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From Tanya.Shuy at ed.gov  Wed Nov 30 10:06:23 2005
From: Tanya.Shuy at ed.gov (Shuy, Tanya)
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 10:06:23 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Moderated Lists Begin Today
Message-ID: <E5C44E615B1640449657210DFB76700F0DD40A69@wdcrobe2m01.ed.gov>

Dear Discussion List Participants, 

Today, the National Institute for Literacy is moving the Focus on Basics discussion lists to a fully moderated format. Our goal is to enhance professional development for educators and practitioners through ongoing opportunities to learn, discuss, and reflect on critical literacy issues. 

There will be no significant changes in the way you receive your discussion list mail.  Each list will have a moderator who will facilitate dialogue about the latest literacy research and its applications to instructional practice; promising policies and practices -- in addition to promoting the exchange of ideas, resources, and experience.  The moderator will review messages posted to the list daily, prior to releasing it to subscribers.  Please review the Discussion List Guidelines at http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/list_guidelines.html for more information.  

As subscribers, you can continue to post to the list, the list email address is: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov

This Focus on Basics discussion list is moderated by Julie McKinney, with the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy.  The purpose of this list is to provide a forum for adult educators, basic skills instructors, literacy providers, technology coordinators, researchers, policy developers and any other parties who are interested in the continuous improvement of adult literacy instruction, research, and administration to discuss the quarterly publication - Focus on Basics. For more information about Focus on Basics see http://www.ncsall.net/?id=31

We encourage discussion list participants to focus your contributions to the Focus on Basics list. Your comments, suggestions, references, and ideas posted to the discussion lists continue serve as resources for enhancing the field's capacity and knowledge base.  We encourage open discourse and an exchange of information, ideas, and practices among all list subscribers.  As in the past, differences in perspectives and ideas are welcome, especially when they are voiced in the spirit of inquiry, curiosity, and mutual respect.  

Thank you for your dedication to this online community.  We look forward to sharing and learning with you.   

Sincerely, 
Tanya Shuy and Mary Jo Maralit 
National Institute for Literacy 

From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org  Wed Nov 30 11:46:11 2005
From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie  McKinney)
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 11:46:11 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Welcome to the fully moderated list!
Message-ID: <s38d9126.017@mail.jsi.com>

Hello FOB discussion list members!

My name is Julie McKinney, and I am the new moderator of this now fully
moderated list. (But don't worry--Barb will still be a big presence
here!)  I am so pleased to  be part of this community, and look forward
to future FOB discussions. 

A little about who I am... I have been involved with the National
Institute for Literacy's LINCS program for the past several years as
Coordinator of the Health & Literacy Special Collection website, so I am
familiar with many of the discussion lists. I have also taught ESOL, and
coordinated  workplace education and health programs. 

I have been working at World Education for 9 years on a variety of
other projects that support adult literacy education, and I am now
excited to be working with NCSALL and the FOB community.

As for the switch to fully moderated lists, I hope the transition is
smooth, and that the new format does not interfere too much with the
flow of discussion. I will check for and pass on postings at least twice
a day, and usually more often. 

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or
concerns about the list. And of course  pass on any ideas or questions
for discussion. 

The new FOB will be out any day now!

Sincerely,

Julie McKinney
jmckinney at worlded.org 

From MMaralit at NIFL.gov  Tue Dec  6 10:04:03 2005
From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo)
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 10:04:03 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Subject: Join the NAAL mailing list
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B0B932A75@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Posted by request from the National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) will soon be releasing the results of its 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) studies.  

To receive notification about NAAL upcoming reports and other products, simply fill out a short online form at http://www.edpubs.org/register/NAAL/ <http://www.edpubs.org/register/NAAL/>  or call us at 1-877-433-7827.  You will be included on the NAAL mailing list only if we hear from you.
-------------- next part --------------
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From MMaralit at NIFL.gov  Thu Dec  8 16:51:04 2005
From: MMaralit at NIFL.gov (Maralit, Mary Jo)
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 16:51:04 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] NAAL Webcast on Dec. 15
Message-ID: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B0B932AC0@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>

Join us for a LIVE webcast of a new release from the National Center for
Education Statistics ? A First Look at the Literacy of America?s Adults in
the 21st Century

WHEN:          December 15, 2005
               9:30 a.m. ? 10:30 a.m. EST

For more information about this webcast, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/ or 
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/20051215/webcast12-15.html
(Please access the site 30 minutes prior to the event to follow the webcast
guidelines.)                 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------

The U.S. Department of Education?s National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) invites you to view the
live webcast of the release of the first national findings on adult literacy
since 1992.  Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy
(NAAL) will be released on December 15 at 9:30 a.m. EST. At that time, NCES
will release two initial reports on NAAL: A First Look at the Literacy of
America?s Adults in the 21st Century presents key results?including changes
in adult literacy since 1992 and performance by gender, race/ethnicity, age,
language spoken before starting school, educational attainment, and
employment status. A companion report, Key Concepts and Features of the 2003
National Assessment of Adult Literacy, describes the assessment?s key
features and major data types.

These reports will be available online at http://nces.ed.gov/naal beginning
at 9:30 a.m. EST.

An online live chat moderated by NCES Associate Commissioner Peggy Carr will
be available to all at 1:00 p.m. EST,  December 15, at the NCES website at
http://nces.ed.gov/naal.

 
Jaleh Behroozi Soroui
Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI)
American Institutes for Research
1990 K Street, NW Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202/403-6958
email: jsoroui at air.org

 

From bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net  Thu Dec  8 18:41:25 2005
From: bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net (Bryan A. Wilson)
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2005 18:41:25 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] NAAL Webcast on Dec. 15
In-Reply-To: <4062487BDB6029428A763CAEF4E1FE5B0B932AC0@wdcrobe2m03.ed.gov>
Message-ID: <002201c5fc50$e7b8ac30$5f01a8c0@D3CRV351>

Will this be recorded and available? I'm playing Santa at that time.

Bryan
-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]
On Behalf Of Maralit, Mary Jo
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 4:51 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] NAAL Webcast on Dec. 15

Join us for a LIVE webcast of a new release from the National Center for
Education Statistics - A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults in
the 21st Century

WHEN:          December 15, 2005
               9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. EST

For more information about this webcast, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/ or
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/20051215/webcast12-15.html
(Please access the site 30 minutes prior to the event to follow the webcast
guidelines.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------

The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) invites you to view the
live webcast of the release of the first national findings on adult literacy
since 1992.  Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy
(NAAL) will be released on December 15 at 9:30 a.m. EST. At that time, NCES
will release two initial reports on NAAL: A First Look at the Literacy of
America's Adults in the 21st Century presents key results-including changes
in adult literacy since 1992 and performance by gender, race/ethnicity, age,
language spoken before starting school, educational attainment, and
employment status. A companion report, Key Concepts and Features of the 2003
National Assessment of Adult Literacy, describes the assessment's key
features and major data types.

These reports will be available online at http://nces.ed.gov/naal beginning
at 9:30 a.m. EST.

An online live chat moderated by NCES Associate Commissioner Peggy Carr will
be available to all at 1:00 p.m. EST,  December 15, at the NCES website at
http://nces.ed.gov/naal.

Jaleh Behroozi Soroui
Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI)
American Institutes for Research
1990 K Street, NW Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202/403-6958
email: jsoroui at air.org

From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org  Mon Dec 12 11:01:55 2005
From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie  McKinney)
Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 11:01:55 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] NAAL Webcast on Dec. 15
Message-ID: <s39d58c3.044@mail.jsi.com>

Yes, the Webcast will be archived on
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/20051215/webcast12-15.html sometime
after
the event.

>>> bryan_a_wilson at bellsouth.net 12/08 6:41 PM >>>
Will this be recorded and available? I'm playing Santa at that time.

Bryan
-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] 
On Behalf Of Maralit, Mary Jo
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 4:51 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] NAAL Webcast on Dec. 15

Join us for a LIVE webcast of a new release from the National Center
for
Education Statistics - A First Look at the Literacy of America's Adults
in
the 21st Century

WHEN:          December 15, 2005
               9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. EST

For more information about this webcast, go to: http://www.nifl.gov/
or
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/20051215/webcast12-15.html 
(Please access the site 30 minutes prior to the event to follow the
webcast
guidelines.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------

The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education
Statistics
(NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) invites you to view
the
live webcast of the release of the first national findings on adult
literacy
since 1992.  Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult
Literacy
(NAAL) will be released on December 15 at 9:30 a.m. EST. At that time,
NCES
will release two initial reports on NAAL: A First Look at the Literacy
of
America's Adults in the 21st Century presents key results-including
changes
in adult literacy since 1992 and performance by gender, race/ethnicity,
age,
language spoken before starting school, educational attainment, and
employment status. A companion report, Key Concepts and Features of the
2003
National Assessment of Adult Literacy, describes the assessment's key
features and major data types.

These reports will be available online at http://nces.ed.gov/naal
beginning
at 9:30 a.m. EST.

An online live chat moderated by NCES Associate Commissioner Peggy Carr
will
be available to all at 1:00 p.m. EST,  December 15, at the NCES website
at
http://nces.ed.gov/naal.

Jaleh Behroozi Soroui
Education Statistics Services Institute (ESSI)
American Institutes for Research
1990 K Street, NW Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202/403-6958
email: jsoroui at air.org 

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org  Thu Dec 15 11:31:24 2005
From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie  McKinney)
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 11:31:24 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] The New FOB is Here!
Message-ID: <s3a15422.053@mail.jsi.com>

Hi All,

Good news! The newest issue of FOB is here. Here's a note from Barb
Garner introducing it:

The newest issue of "Focus on Basics" is now on NCSALL's web site,
http://www.ncsall.net. It's on ESOL and features research from NCSALL's
ESOL Lab School.

Steve Reder, director of the ESOL Lab School, a partnership of Portland
State University and Portland Community College, describes the research
and how it is conducted. 

Kathryn Harris reports on one aspect of her study of pair work in the
ESOL classroom. Learners she studied individualized their pair work,
adapting the activities to their language learning needs. 

Pair activities are provided by Donna Moss of Arlington, VA.

Sustained silent reading has been found to encourage many students to
read: does it do the same with beginning-level ESOL learners? It is a
viable practice with this group, explain Sandra Banke and Reuel Kurzet,
who participated in this Lab School study. 

To improve their students' speaking and listening skills, teachers often
set up conversation groups. What if the conversation leaders were
university students who studied immigration and cultural adaptation as
well as strategies for initiating and keeping conversations going? Betsy
Kraft chronicles her classes' experiences leading conversations with Lab
School students.

Anyone who has taught an ESOL class with students from a variety of
language backgrounds has noticed the chatter that goes on, in English,
during breaks. Dominique Brillanceau was curious about whether this
casual conversation occurs in class as well, and, if it does, what role
it plays in learning. 

Starting conversations can be hard for anyone; it's even harder in a new
language. John Hellermann explored the nuance of initiating and
turn-taking in conversations in Lab School classes. 

Some ESOL learners get stuck, and teachers struggle to find out why.
Robin Schwarz, now of Ohio, shares case studies from her years of work
with ESOL learners and teachers and provides tips on how to find out
what might be the problem.

And the development of NCSALL's Health Literacy Study Circle+ guide is
chronicles by Winston Lawrence, NY, and Lisa Soricone, NCSALL.

Happy Reading!
Barb Garner
Editor

 

From jn at cloudworld.co.uk  Thu Dec 15 17:52:04 2005
From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen)
Date: Thu, 15 Dec 2005 22:52:04 -0000
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
References: <OFA34DB3B4.1C0BDB54-ON072570D7.005A4AA7-072570D7.005A4AAD@yc.edu>
	<3.0.6.32.20051214160417.00d561a0@mail.psnyc.com>
Message-ID: <00b101c601ca$2ba31f10$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>

Hello all,

I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to adults.  It 
has been suggested on several lists to visit the NCSALL web site, and look 
at research.

So I looked at the site and found the EBAEP model (draft for comment),
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/ebaep_model_monograph.pdf,
which is about Evidence-Based Adult Education, to find out what evidence 
there was to support particular approaches to literacy, such as 
systematic/synthetic phonics versus whole language.  There was almost 
nothing there.  Worse, the teachers are expected to evaluate the research 
themselves, to decide how best to teach!  But no sources were given as to 
where there is good evidence for one method or another.

In particular I looked at pages 77-78, the section 27 on "Instructional 
approaches".  Quoting from this:
"Teachers need to understand why to use a particular technique, not just how 
to use it; they need the underlying foundational theory of teaching and 
learning that will allow them to integrate new thinking with new actions."

Now I know for children about the foundational theory, and evidence in 
practice, that systematic phonics works.  On the other hand, there is no 
scientific theory, or evidence, that the whole language approach works - 
because it doesn't.  See Scientific American, March 2002.  (And mixing 
methods doesn't work either.)

The March 2002 Scientific American put it well: "Because the controversy 
[between phonics and whole-language] is enmeshed in the philosophical 
differences between traditional and progressive approaches. The progressives 
challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom studies on the basis 
of a broad philosophical skepticism about the value of such research." In 
other words, they are willing to ignore solid research that contradicts 
their beloved theories, theories that keep kids from reading.

So I am trying to find if anybody has used systematic/synthetic phonics on 
adults, because if it works on children I see no reason why it should not 
work on adults, given suitable initial teaching material (so as not to 
appear "childish").  The phonics approach must:

 1.   establish that the alphabetic principle is fully understood by the 
student;
 2.   work on phonemic awareness, so that all 44 phonemes can be recognised 
within words;
 3.  make sure common letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondences are 
known;
 4.  work on the basic skill of segmentation (for spelling);
 5.  work on the basic skill of blending (for decoding and reading).

After a basic reading skill level has been reached, with simple reading 
material:

 6.  add vocabulary to allow comprehension of increasingly advanced reading 
material.

It seems to me, as a scientist by training, that the above approach is 
sound.  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the approach 
works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with special needs. 
In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of Scotland there were no 
non-readers after synthetic phonics had been introduced!

Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt synthetic 
phonics for schools.  See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm. 
Should we adopt it for adults?

Cheers from Chiswick,

John

John Nissen
Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mariann Fedele" <mariannf at lacnyc.org>
To: "The Technology and Literacy Discussion List" <technology at nifl.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 9:04 PM
Subject: [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

Hello All,
The following message is from Barb Garner.
Best,
Mariann

***************
The newest issue of "Focus on Basics" is now on NCSALL's web site,
http://www.ncsall.net. It's on ESOL and features research from NCSALL's
ESOL Lab School. 

From julie_mcKinney at worlded.org  Fri Dec 16 11:20:50 2005
From: julie_mcKinney at worlded.org (Julie  McKinney)
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 11:20:50 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Welcome to new subscribers!
Message-ID: <s3a2a32e.054@mail.jsi.com>

Hello All,

This is Julie, your list moderator.  I want to welcome the new
subscribers to the list! We are happy to have you join our discussion,
and I invite all of you to write in to the list and introduce
yourselves. 

I would love to know what you do, how you use Focus On Basics in your
work, and what you hope to get out of this discussion list.  It's always
nice to know who is in our community and what we can do to support each
other.

The newest issue of FOB is out and available at:

www.ncsall.net 

Enjoy reading it, and I invite all subscribers, new and old, to send in
your thoughts, comments, and questions for the group!

Cheers,

Julie

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
NCSALL
julie_mckinney at worlded.org 

From comingjo at gse.harvard.edu  Sat Dec 17 09:55:48 2005
From: comingjo at gse.harvard.edu (John Comings)
Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2005 09:55:48 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
In-Reply-To: <016601c6028c$f1ee4880$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>
References: <OFA34DB3B4.1C0BDB54-ON072570D7.005A4AA7-072570D7.005A4AAD@yc.edu
	>	<3.0.6.32.20051214160417.00d561a0@mail.psnyc.com>
	<00b101c601ca$2ba31f10$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>
	<1237593.1134728126@1234cumminjo>
	<016601c6028c$f1ee4880$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>
Message-ID: <2779216.1134813348@[192.168.1.102]>

The study circle guide is based on Research-Based Principles for Adult 
Basic Education Reading Instruction, which summarizes all the scientific 
research on the topic and does include phonics. NCSALL's profiles of adult 
learners are based on research that employed extensive testing of the 
components of reading, including decoding skills, and cluster analysis to 
provide specific help.  For some adults phonics is their biggest hurtle, 
but for others it is not the limiting factor or one of several.

--On Friday, December 16, 2005 10:06 PM +0000 John Nissen 
<jn at cloudworld.co.uk> wrote:

>
> Hi John,
>
> Thanks for your explanation, though that ebaep model on the NCSALL site
> _does_ include recommendations about teaching practice.
>
> Looking at http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/, which you recommended,
> it seems that there are various 'profiles' under which readers come.  No
> doubt this depends on how, and how successfully, they were taught in the
> first place.  Unfortunately the matching process doesn't tell you
> anything about that.  What we do know is that nearly all people who have
> a reading difficulty have missed out on some stage - one of the 6 that I
> mentioned. Very often it is phonemic awareness.  But also the alphabetic
> principle may not be grasped.  A very telling remark is made in a paper
> by Hager, actually at the NCSALL site.  Hager details the use of phonics
> in his/her teaching of adults:
>
> " The volunteers [teachers] are also surprised that students do not feel
> insulted or embarrassed working with the letters of the alphabet and
> reading texts that may appear babyish. On the contrary, after years of
> only using a hit or miss approach, my students are extremely relieved to
> discover that reading involves patterns of letters with predictable
> sounds. "
>
> Is there other research which supports these findings?  It seems that the
> phonics which Hager espouses has disappeared from the NCSALL
> consciousness. Phonics is one of the key aspects of reading instruction
> identified by the National Reading Panel, yet NCSALL seems to ignore it.
> See for example http://www.ncsall.net/?id=912 on reading instruction.  I
> am very puzzled. Surely there is some research to back Hager.
>
> Cheers from Chiswick,
>
> John
>
> John Nissen
> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
> Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Comings"
> <comingjo at gse.harvard.edu> To: "John Nissen" <jn at cloudworld.co.uk>
> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 3:15 PM
> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
>
>
>> The document you gained access to is about everything except the
>> specific  approaches to teaching literacy, numeracy, English, and the
>> skills and  knowledge needed to pass the GED test. It is about the
>> infrastructure and  very little of that has scientific research to back
>> it up.  Why for  example do you have school buildings with teachers and
>> desks?  Is there a  study to show that is more effective than having a
>> big room with pillows?  So, it would not have dealt with an approach to
>> teaching reading.
>>
>> However, we do support the components approach to teaching reading, and
>> for those adults whose reading is constrained by poor decoding skills,
>> they should be addressed. However, many of the adults who come to our
>> classes can decode but have low fluency and low oral vocabularies. We
>> draw  from the scientific research on teaching those two skills when
>> giving  advice about teaching reading. You might look at a site we set
>> up and  maintain for NIFL:
>>
>> <http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/>
>>
>> or at our site you might look at the reading study circle guide linked
>> on  the home page.
>>
>> --On Thursday, December 15, 2005 10:52 PM +0000 John Nissen
>> <jn at cloudworld.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>> I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to adults.
>>> It  has been suggested on several lists to visit the NCSALL web site,
>>> and look  at research.
>>>
>>> So I looked at the site and found the EBAEP model (draft for comment),
>>> http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/ebaep_model_monograp
>>> h. pdf, which is about Evidence-Based Adult Education, to find out what
>>> evidence  there was to support particular approaches to literacy, such
>>> as systematic/synthetic phonics versus whole language.  There was almost
>>> nothing there.  Worse, the teachers are expected to evaluate the
>>> research themselves, to decide how best to teach!  But no sources were
>>> given as to where there is good evidence for one method or another.
>>>
>>> In particular I looked at pages 77-78, the section 27 on "Instructional
>>> approaches".  Quoting from this:
>>> "Teachers need to understand why to use a particular technique, not just
>>> how  to use it; they need the underlying foundational theory of teaching
>>> and  learning that will allow them to integrate new thinking with new
>>> actions."
>>>
>>> Now I know for children about the foundational theory, and evidence in
>>> practice, that systematic phonics works.  On the other hand, there is no
>>> scientific theory, or evidence, that the whole language approach works -
>>> because it doesn't.  See Scientific American, March 2002.  (And mixing
>>> methods doesn't work either.)
>>>
>>> The March 2002 Scientific American put it well: "Because the controversy
>>> [between phonics and whole-language] is enmeshed in the philosophical
>>> differences between traditional and progressive approaches. The
>>> progressives  challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom
>>> studies on the basis  of a broad philosophical skepticism about the
>>> value of such research." In  other words, they are willing to ignore
>>> solid research that contradicts  their beloved theories, theories that
>>> keep kids from reading.
>>>
>>> So I am trying to find if anybody has used systematic/synthetic phonics
>>> on  adults, because if it works on children I see no reason why it
>>> should not  work on adults, given suitable initial teaching material
>>> (so as not to  appear "childish").  The phonics approach must:
>>>
>>>  1.   establish that the alphabetic principle is fully understood by the
>>> student;
>>>  2.   work on phonemic awareness, so that all 44 phonemes can be
>>> recognised  within words;
>>>  3.  make sure common letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondences
>>>  are known;
>>>  4.  work on the basic skill of segmentation (for spelling);
>>>  5.  work on the basic skill of blending (for decoding and reading).
>>>
>>> After a basic reading skill level has been reached, with simple reading
>>> material:
>>>
>>>  6.  add vocabulary to allow comprehension of increasingly advanced
>>> reading  material.
>>>
>>> It seems to me, as a scientist by training, that the above approach is
>>> sound.  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the
>>> approach  works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with
>>> special needs.  In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of
>>> Scotland there were no  non-readers after synthetic phonics had been
>>> introduced!
>>>
>>> Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt
>>> synthetic  phonics for schools.  See
>>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm.  Should we adopt it
>>> for adults?
>>>
>>> Cheers from Chiswick,
>>>
>>> John
>
> [snip]
>
>>
>> John Comings, Director
>> National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
>> Harvard Graduate School of Education
>> 7 Appian Way
>> Cambridge MA 02138
>> (617) 496-0516, voice
>> (617) 495-4811, fax
>> (617) 335-9839, mobile
>> john_comings at harvard.edu
>> http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu
>

John Comings, Director
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
Harvard Graduate School of Education
7 Appian Way
Cambridge MA 02138
(617) 496-0516, voice
(617) 495-4811, fax
(617) 335-9839, mobile
john_comings at harvard.edu
http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu

From definn at vcu.edu  Fri Dec 16 12:30:06 2005
From: definn at vcu.edu (Donald E Finn/AC/VCU)
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 12:30:06 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] (Re)introduction
In-Reply-To: <s3a2a32e.054@mail.jsi.com>
Message-ID: <OF05D04DF4.1E61D58A-ON852570D9.005E692F-852570D9.00603262@vcu.edu>

Hello Julie and list subscribers,

I'm Don Finn from Richmond, Virginia.  I have been a member of the FOB 
list for several years now, although I've mainly been a "silent" member. I 
appreciate this list and the interactions of adult ed professionals from 
across the country.  I was the Field Services Coordinator for the Virginia 
Adult Learning Resource Center (based at Virginia Commonwealth University) 
for three years and I used FOB in my practice quite regularly.  I used 
this resource for sharing best practices in adult ed with those in the 
field and for designing trainings and workshops for teachers and 
administrators.  I appreciate the richness of the research findings and 
the instructional methods used by those in the field that are highlighted 
in FOB. 

In my current position, I design and develop workshops, trainings, and 
publications for college and university faculty for effectively working 
with diverse students.  I often find myself searching editions of FOB for 
tips and tricks to incorporate into my trainings because some of the 
issues in the postsecondary setting are the same as in adult ed.   I have 
a Ph.D. in Adult Education and Human Resource Development and do 
consulting work with adult ed projects often having to do with effective 
instructional methods and practices in adult education.

What I hope to continue to gain from being a part if this list is staying 
current on issues and best practices in adult education.

Donald E. Finn, Ph. D.
Higher Education Disability Training Coordinator
Virginia Commonwealth University
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center
1314 W. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284-2011
(804) 827-2612 (804) 828-2193 (fax)
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From jn at cloudworld.co.uk  Fri Dec 16 17:06:19 2005
From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen)
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 22:06:19 -0000
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
References: <OFA34DB3B4.1C0BDB54-ON072570D7.005A4AA7-072570D7.005A4AAD@yc.edu
	>	<3.0.6.32.20051214160417.00d561a0@mail.psnyc.com>
	<00b101c601ca$2ba31f10$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>
	<1237593.1134728126@1234cumminjo>
Message-ID: <016601c6028c$f1ee4880$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>

Hi John,

Thanks for your explanation, though that ebaep model on the NCSALL site 
_does_ include recommendations about teaching practice.

Looking at http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/, which you recommended, it 
seems that there are various 'profiles' under which readers come.  No doubt 
this depends on how, and how successfully, they were taught in the first 
place.  Unfortunately the matching process doesn't tell you anything about 
that.  What we do know is that nearly all people who have a reading 
difficulty have missed out on some stage - one of the 6 that I mentioned. 
Very often it is phonemic awareness.  But also the alphabetic principle may 
not be grasped.  A very telling remark is made in a paper by Hager, actually 
at the NCSALL site.  Hager details the use of phonics in his/her teaching of 
adults:

" The volunteers [teachers] are also surprised that students do not feel 
insulted or embarrassed working with the letters of the alphabet and reading 
texts that
may appear babyish. On the contrary, after years of only using a hit or miss
approach, my students are extremely relieved to discover that reading
involves patterns of letters with predictable sounds. "

Is there other research which supports these findings?  It seems that the 
phonics which Hager espouses has disappeared from the NCSALL consciousness. 
Phonics is one of the key aspects of reading instruction identified by the 
National Reading Panel, yet NCSALL seems to ignore it.  See for example 
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=912 on reading instruction.  I am very puzzled. 
Surely there is some research to back Hager.

Cheers from Chiswick,

John

John Nissen
Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Comings" <comingjo at gse.harvard.edu>
To: "John Nissen" <jn at cloudworld.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 3:15 PM
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

> The document you gained access to is about everything except the specific 
> approaches to teaching literacy, numeracy, English, and the skills and 
> knowledge needed to pass the GED test. It is about the infrastructure and 
> very little of that has scientific research to back it up.  Why for 
> example do you have school buildings with teachers and desks?  Is there a 
> study to show that is more effective than having a big room with pillows? 
> So, it would not have dealt with an approach to teaching reading.
>
> However, we do support the components approach to teaching reading, and 
> for those adults whose reading is constrained by poor decoding skills, 
> they should be addressed. However, many of the adults who come to our 
> classes can decode but have low fluency and low oral vocabularies. We draw 
> from the scientific research on teaching those two skills when giving 
> advice about teaching reading. You might look at a site we set up and 
> maintain for NIFL:
>
> <http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/>
>
> or at our site you might look at the reading study circle guide linked on 
> the home page.
>
> --On Thursday, December 15, 2005 10:52 PM +0000 John Nissen 
> <jn at cloudworld.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to adults.
>> It  has been suggested on several lists to visit the NCSALL web site, and
>> look  at research.
>>
>> So I looked at the site and found the EBAEP model (draft for comment),
>> http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/ebaep_model_monograph.
>> pdf, which is about Evidence-Based Adult Education, to find out what
>> evidence  there was to support particular approaches to literacy, such as
>> systematic/synthetic phonics versus whole language.  There was almost
>> nothing there.  Worse, the teachers are expected to evaluate the research
>> themselves, to decide how best to teach!  But no sources were given as to
>> where there is good evidence for one method or another.
>>
>> In particular I looked at pages 77-78, the section 27 on "Instructional
>> approaches".  Quoting from this:
>> "Teachers need to understand why to use a particular technique, not just
>> how  to use it; they need the underlying foundational theory of teaching
>> and  learning that will allow them to integrate new thinking with new
>> actions."
>>
>> Now I know for children about the foundational theory, and evidence in
>> practice, that systematic phonics works.  On the other hand, there is no
>> scientific theory, or evidence, that the whole language approach works -
>> because it doesn't.  See Scientific American, March 2002.  (And mixing
>> methods doesn't work either.)
>>
>> The March 2002 Scientific American put it well: "Because the controversy
>> [between phonics and whole-language] is enmeshed in the philosophical
>> differences between traditional and progressive approaches. The
>> progressives  challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom
>> studies on the basis  of a broad philosophical skepticism about the value
>> of such research." In  other words, they are willing to ignore solid
>> research that contradicts  their beloved theories, theories that keep
>> kids from reading.
>>
>> So I am trying to find if anybody has used systematic/synthetic phonics
>> on  adults, because if it works on children I see no reason why it should
>> not  work on adults, given suitable initial teaching material (so as not
>> to  appear "childish").  The phonics approach must:
>>
>>  1.   establish that the alphabetic principle is fully understood by the
>> student;
>>  2.   work on phonemic awareness, so that all 44 phonemes can be
>> recognised  within words;
>>  3.  make sure common letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondences are
>> known;
>>  4.  work on the basic skill of segmentation (for spelling);
>>  5.  work on the basic skill of blending (for decoding and reading).
>>
>> After a basic reading skill level has been reached, with simple reading
>> material:
>>
>>  6.  add vocabulary to allow comprehension of increasingly advanced
>> reading  material.
>>
>> It seems to me, as a scientist by training, that the above approach is
>> sound.  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the
>> approach  works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with
>> special needs.  In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of
>> Scotland there were no  non-readers after synthetic phonics had been
>> introduced!
>>
>> Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt
>> synthetic  phonics for schools.  See
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm.  Should we adopt it for
>> adults?
>>
>> Cheers from Chiswick,
>>
>> John

[snip]

>
> John Comings, Director
> National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
> Harvard Graduate School of Education
> 7 Appian Way
> Cambridge MA 02138
> (617) 496-0516, voice
> (617) 495-4811, fax
> (617) 335-9839, mobile
> john_comings at harvard.edu
> http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu

From jn at cloudworld.co.uk  Sun Dec 18 08:46:46 2005
From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen)
Date: Sun, 18 Dec 2005 13:46:46 -0000
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
References: <OFA34DB3B4.1C0BDB54-ON072570D7.005A4AA7-072570D7.005A4AAD@yc.edu
	>	<3.0.6.32.20051214160417.00d561a0@mail.psnyc.com>
	<00b101c601ca$2ba31f10$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>
	<1237593.1134728126@1234cumminjo>
	<016601c6028c$f1ee4880$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>
	<2779216.1134813348@[192.168.1.102]>
Message-ID: <018701c603d9$81529f60$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>

Hello John,

Thanks for mentioning the book "Research-Based Principles for Adult Basic 
Education Reading Instruction" which I found described at:
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/html/adult_ed/adult_ed_1.html.
I see you helped to create it, as acknowledged by the author.

The book was the result of work by the Reading Research Working Group, 
similar to work done by the National Reading Panel, but concerning reading 
instruction for adults rather than children, and including studies related 
to the assessment of reading ability.

In studying the research, and looking at the assessments and reading 
profiles, it must have become clear that the underlying cause of illiteracy 
in adults was that they had not been adequately taught phonemic awareness 
and phonics, with many not grasping the alphabetic principle (that written 
language is a coding of sounds).   So that should have resulted in the 
recommendation for concentrating instruction on the first five of my six 
points of my original message:

>>>>  1.   establish that the alphabetic principle is fully understood by 
>>>> the
>>>> student;
>>>>  2.   work on phonemic awareness, so that all 44 phonemes can be
>>>> recognised  within words;
>>>>  3.  make sure common letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondences
>>>>  are known;
>>>>  4.  work on the basic skill of segmentation (for spelling);
>>>>  5.  work on the basic skill of blending (for decoding and reading).
>>>>
>>>> After a basic reading skill level has been reached, with simple reading
>>>> material:
>>>>
>>>>  6.  add vocabulary to allow comprehension of increasingly advanced
>>>> reading  material.

What I don't see is such a recommendation, which I find puzzling. 
Furthermore there should be strong emphasis on systematic and explicit 
phonics instruction, as exemplified in the method called synthetic phonics. 
I would suggest that synthetic phonics is an ideal basis for adult 
instruction, as it provides the simplest approach for the learner.  It 
starts by avoiding confusing the learner with the many difficulties of the 
English language, and only slowly introduces complexities, once the basic 
principles of segmentation and blending have been established.  It also 
reduces memory load, since the learner only has to remember sound-letter 
correspondences, and not hundreds of sight words and rhyming patterns.

What we have learnt from Clackmannanshire is that synthetic phonics works 
for 100% of children.  Now we need to see whether it works for adults.  Is 
there any reason why it should not?

Best regards,

John

John Nissen
Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Comings" <comingjo at gse.harvard.edu>
To: "John Nissen" <jn at cloudworld.co.uk>
Cc: <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>; "The Technology &amp; Literacy Discussion 
List" <technology at dev.nifl.gov>; <familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov>; "Debbie 
Hepplewhite" <debbie at syntheticphonics.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2005 2:55 PM
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

> The study circle guide is based on Research-Based Principles for Adult 
> Basic Education Reading Instruction, which summarizes all the scientific 
> research on the topic and does include phonics. NCSALL's profiles of adult 
> learners are based on research that employed extensive testing of the 
> components of reading, including decoding skills, and cluster analysis to 
> provide specific help.  For some adults phonics is their biggest hurtle, 
> but for others it is not the limiting factor or one of several.
>
> --On Friday, December 16, 2005 10:06 PM +0000 John Nissen 
> <jn at cloudworld.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>
>> Hi John,
>>
>> Thanks for your explanation, though that ebaep model on the NCSALL site
>> _does_ include recommendations about teaching practice.
>>
>> Looking at http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/, which you recommended,
>> it seems that there are various 'profiles' under which readers come.  No
>> doubt this depends on how, and how successfully, they were taught in the
>> first place.  Unfortunately the matching process doesn't tell you
>> anything about that.  What we do know is that nearly all people who have
>> a reading difficulty have missed out on some stage - one of the 6 that I
>> mentioned. Very often it is phonemic awareness.  But also the alphabetic
>> principle may not be grasped.  A very telling remark is made in a paper
>> by Hager, actually at the NCSALL site.  Hager details the use of phonics
>> in his/her teaching of adults:
>>
>> " The volunteers [teachers] are also surprised that students do not feel
>> insulted or embarrassed working with the letters of the alphabet and
>> reading texts that may appear babyish. On the contrary, after years of
>> only using a hit or miss approach, my students are extremely relieved to
>> discover that reading involves patterns of letters with predictable
>> sounds. "
>>
>> Is there other research which supports these findings?  It seems that the
>> phonics which Hager espouses has disappeared from the NCSALL
>> consciousness. Phonics is one of the key aspects of reading instruction
>> identified by the National Reading Panel, yet NCSALL seems to ignore it.
>> See for example http://www.ncsall.net/?id=912 on reading instruction.  I
>> am very puzzled. Surely there is some research to back Hager.
>>
>> Cheers from Chiswick,
>>
>> John
>>
>> John Nissen
>> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
>> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
>> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
>> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
>> Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
>> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Comings"
>> <comingjo at gse.harvard.edu> To: "John Nissen" <jn at cloudworld.co.uk>
>> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 3:15 PM
>> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
>>
>>
>>> The document you gained access to is about everything except the
>>> specific  approaches to teaching literacy, numeracy, English, and the
>>> skills and  knowledge needed to pass the GED test. It is about the
>>> infrastructure and  very little of that has scientific research to back
>>> it up.  Why for  example do you have school buildings with teachers and
>>> desks?  Is there a  study to show that is more effective than having a
>>> big room with pillows?  So, it would not have dealt with an approach to
>>> teaching reading.
>>>
>>> However, we do support the components approach to teaching reading, and
>>> for those adults whose reading is constrained by poor decoding skills,
>>> they should be addressed. However, many of the adults who come to our
>>> classes can decode but have low fluency and low oral vocabularies. We
>>> draw  from the scientific research on teaching those two skills when
>>> giving  advice about teaching reading. You might look at a site we set
>>> up and  maintain for NIFL:
>>>
>>> <http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/>
>>>
>>> or at our site you might look at the reading study circle guide linked
>>> on  the home page.
>>>
>>> --On Thursday, December 15, 2005 10:52 PM +0000 John Nissen
>>> <jn at cloudworld.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hello all,
>>>>
>>>> I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to adults.
>>>> It  has been suggested on several lists to visit the NCSALL web site,
>>>> and look  at research.
>>>>
>>>> So I looked at the site and found the EBAEP model (draft for comment),
>>>> http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/ebaep_model_monograp
>>>> h. pdf, which is about Evidence-Based Adult Education, to find out what
>>>> evidence  there was to support particular approaches to literacy, such
>>>> as systematic/synthetic phonics versus whole language.  There was 
>>>> almost
>>>> nothing there.  Worse, the teachers are expected to evaluate the
>>>> research themselves, to decide how best to teach!  But no sources were
>>>> given as to where there is good evidence for one method or another.
>>>>
>>>> In particular I looked at pages 77-78, the section 27 on "Instructional
>>>> approaches".  Quoting from this:
>>>> "Teachers need to understand why to use a particular technique, not 
>>>> just
>>>> how  to use it; they need the underlying foundational theory of 
>>>> teaching
>>>> and  learning that will allow them to integrate new thinking with new
>>>> actions."
>>>>
>>>> Now I know for children about the foundational theory, and evidence in
>>>> practice, that systematic phonics works.  On the other hand, there is 
>>>> no
>>>> scientific theory, or evidence, that the whole language approach 
>>>> works -
>>>> because it doesn't.  See Scientific American, March 2002.  (And mixing
>>>> methods doesn't work either.)
>>>>
>>>> The March 2002 Scientific American put it well: "Because the 
>>>> controversy
>>>> [between phonics and whole-language] is enmeshed in the philosophical
>>>> differences between traditional and progressive approaches. The
>>>> progressives  challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom
>>>> studies on the basis  of a broad philosophical skepticism about the
>>>> value of such research." In  other words, they are willing to ignore
>>>> solid research that contradicts  their beloved theories, theories that
>>>> keep kids from reading.
>>>>
>>>> So I am trying to find if anybody has used systematic/synthetic phonics
>>>> on  adults, because if it works on children I see no reason why it
>>>> should not  work on adults, given suitable initial teaching material
>>>> (so as not to  appear "childish").  The phonics approach must:
>>>>
>>>>  1.   establish that the alphabetic principle is fully understood by 
>>>> the
>>>> student;
>>>>  2.   work on phonemic awareness, so that all 44 phonemes can be
>>>> recognised  within words;
>>>>  3.  make sure common letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondences
>>>>  are known;
>>>>  4.  work on the basic skill of segmentation (for spelling);
>>>>  5.  work on the basic skill of blending (for decoding and reading).
>>>>
>>>> After a basic reading skill level has been reached, with simple reading
>>>> material:
>>>>
>>>>  6.  add vocabulary to allow comprehension of increasingly advanced
>>>> reading  material.
>>>>
>>>> It seems to me, as a scientist by training, that the above approach is
>>>> sound.  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the
>>>> approach  works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with
>>>> special needs.  In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of
>>>> Scotland there were no  non-readers after synthetic phonics had been
>>>> introduced!
>>>>
>>>> Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt
>>>> synthetic  phonics for schools.  See
>>>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm.  Should we adopt it
>>>> for adults?
>>>>
>>>> Cheers from Chiswick,
>>>>
>>>> John
>>
>> [snip]
>>
>>>
>>> John Comings, Director
>>> National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
>>> Harvard Graduate School of Education
>>> 7 Appian Way
>>> Cambridge MA 02138
>>> (617) 496-0516, voice
>>> (617) 495-4811, fax
>>> (617) 335-9839, mobile
>>> john_comings at harvard.edu
>>> http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu
>>
>
>
>
> John Comings, Director
> National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
> Harvard Graduate School of Education
> 7 Appian Way
> Cambridge MA 02138
> (617) 496-0516, voice
> (617) 495-4811, fax
> (617) 335-9839, mobile
> john_comings at harvard.edu
> http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu
>
> 

From kolson2 at columbus.rr.com  Fri Dec 16 13:02:04 2005
From: kolson2 at columbus.rr.com (K Olson)
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 13:02:04 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
In-Reply-To: <00b101c601ca$2ba31f10$0402a8c0@Tomschoice>
Message-ID: <200512161802.jBGI22XX022710@ms-smtp-02-eri0.ohiordc.rr.com>

John,  

The lack of research on evidence-based adult education is a major reason why
the ESOL lab school in Oregon was established. It provides documentation
through video and audio for teachers/researchers to observe what happens in
the classroom and which particular teaching approaches are more successful.
This issue of Focus on Basics describes some of the research that has been
carried on to date. It is my hope that we will someday (soon, I hope!) have
research which shows or at least hints at which reading methods produce the
best results.  Having said that, though, I am well aware that the answer is
not so simple as our students come with varying degrees of reading abilities
in their native languages and thus are not starting out from the same
minimal reading abilities that entering school children are. In addition,
while primary teachers have their students for six or more hours a day,
adult education teachers do not. We have no way to determine whether our
students actually learned their reading outside of class, through
self-study, from their children, etc. In other words, there are so many
variables to control for that it does make scientifically-based research
very, very difficult. 

Kathy Olson

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]
On Behalf Of John Nissen
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:52 PM
To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
Cc: familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov; Debbie Hepplewhite; focusonbasics at nifl.gov
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

Hello all,

I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to adults.  It 
has been suggested on several lists to visit the NCSALL web site, and look 
at research.

So I looked at the site and found the EBAEP model (draft for comment),
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/ebaep_model_monograph.pdf
,
which is about Evidence-Based Adult Education, to find out what evidence 
there was to support particular approaches to literacy, such as 
systematic/synthetic phonics versus whole language.  There was almost 
nothing there.  Worse, the teachers are expected to evaluate the research 
themselves, to decide how best to teach!  But no sources were given as to 
where there is good evidence for one method or another.

In particular I looked at pages 77-78, the section 27 on "Instructional 
approaches".  Quoting from this:
"Teachers need to understand why to use a particular technique, not just how

to use it; they need the underlying foundational theory of teaching and 
learning that will allow them to integrate new thinking with new actions."

Now I know for children about the foundational theory, and evidence in 
practice, that systematic phonics works.  On the other hand, there is no 
scientific theory, or evidence, that the whole language approach works - 
because it doesn't.  See Scientific American, March 2002.  (And mixing 
methods doesn't work either.)

The March 2002 Scientific American put it well: "Because the controversy 
[between phonics and whole-language] is enmeshed in the philosophical 
differences between traditional and progressive approaches. The progressives

challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom studies on the basis

of a broad philosophical skepticism about the value of such research." In 
other words, they are willing to ignore solid research that contradicts 
their beloved theories, theories that keep kids from reading.

So I am trying to find if anybody has used systematic/synthetic phonics on 
adults, because if it works on children I see no reason why it should not 
work on adults, given suitable initial teaching material (so as not to 
appear "childish").  The phonics approach must:

 1.   establish that the alphabetic principle is fully understood by the 
student;
 2.   work on phonemic awareness, so that all 44 phonemes can be recognised 
within words;
 3.  make sure common letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondences are 
known;
 4.  work on the basic skill of segmentation (for spelling);
 5.  work on the basic skill of blending (for decoding and reading).

After a basic reading skill level has been reached, with simple reading 
material:

 6.  add vocabulary to allow comprehension of increasingly advanced reading 
material.

It seems to me, as a scientist by training, that the above approach is 
sound.  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the approach 
works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with special needs. 
In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of Scotland there were no 
non-readers after synthetic phonics had been introduced!

Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt synthetic 
phonics for schools.  See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm. 
Should we adopt it for adults?

Cheers from Chiswick,

John

John Nissen
Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mariann Fedele" <mariannf at lacnyc.org>
To: "The Technology and Literacy Discussion List" <technology at nifl.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 9:04 PM
Subject: [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

Hello All,
The following message is from Barb Garner.
Best,
Mariann

***************
The newest issue of "Focus on Basics" is now on NCSALL's web site,
http://www.ncsall.net. It's on ESOL and features research from NCSALL's
ESOL Lab School. 

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From b.garner4 at verizon.net  Mon Dec 19 15:39:52 2005
From: b.garner4 at verizon.net (Barbara Garner)
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 14:39:52 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Things in FOB
Message-ID: <7083828.1135024792251.JavaMail.root@vms168.mailsrvcs.net>

Thanks for the intro, Donald. 

You mentioned searching FOB for tips and tricks to incorporate into training. I bet that many list subscribers do the same thing: look through FOB for ideas or potential hand outs to use in trainings. 

Consider this an invitation to turn to the FOB list for help with that. Just post a question, for example "I'm doing a workshop on XXX. Is there anything in FOB on that?"
Then I'll be able to put my skills as a human index of 8 years of FOB to good use!
(FOB is mechanically indexed on the NCSALL web site, but our index terms and the way you've conceptualized your workshop might not jive. See http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=38 for the index)
Regards,
Barb Garner
Editor, "Focus on Basics"

From: Donald E Finn/AC/VCU <definn at vcu.edu>
Date: Fri Dec 16 11:30:06 CST 2005
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] (Re)introduction

Hello Julie and list subscribers,

I'm Don Finn from Richmond, Virginia.?I have been a member of the FOB list for several years now, althoughI've mainly been a "silent" member. ?I appreciate this listand the interactions of adult ed professionals from across the country.?I was the Field Services Coordinator for the Virginia Adult LearningResource Center (based at Virginia Commonwealth University) for three yearsand I used FOB in my practice quite regularly. ?I used this resourcefor sharing best practices in adult ed with those in the field and fordesigning trainings and workshops for teachers and administrators. ?Iappreciate the richness of the research findings and the instructionalmethods used by those in the field that are highlighted in FOB. ?

In my current position, I design anddevelop workshops, trainings, and publications for college and universityfaculty for effectively working with diverse students. ?I often findmyself searching editions of FOB for tips and tricks to incorporate intomy trainings because some of the issues in the postsecondary setting arethe same as in adult ed. ? I have a Ph.D. in Adult Education and HumanResource Development and do consulting work with adult ed projects oftenhaving to do with effective instructional methods and practices in adulteducation.

What I hope to continue to gain frombeing a part if this list is staying current on issues and best practicesin adult education.

Donald E. Finn, Ph. D.
Higher Education Disability Training Coordinator
Virginia Commonwealth University
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center
1314 W. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284-2011
(804) 827-2612 (804) 828-2193 (fax)

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

From jn at cloudworld.co.uk  Tue Dec 20 07:12:14 2005
From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen)
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 12:12:14 -0000
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
References: <200512161802.jBGI22XX022710@ms-smtp-02-eri0.ohiordc.rr.com>
Message-ID: <001001c6055e$a1341e90$0302a8c0@Tomschoice>

Hello Kathy,

I am interested to hear of your new ESOL lab school in Oregon, and so the 
application of synthetic phonics for ESL needs to be discussed.  I have just 
subscribed to the English Language list (on ESL/ESOL) so as to allow people 
on that list to join in the discussion.

Looking up research on the synthetic phonics for children with English as a 
second or other language, I found a marvellous paper, called "The End of 
Illiteracy", full of useful information:
http://www.cps.org.uk/pdf/pub/52.pdf

In this paper, Jolly Phonics is often quoted, as one of the first programmes 
to support synthetic phonics.

Some schools that have been studied have significant proportions of ESL 
pupils.  For example, there was research at the University of Toronto:
-------
K. Sumbler and D. Willows (1996) "Phonological Awareness and Alphabetic 
Coding Instruction within Balanced Senior Kindergartens", Paper presented at 
the National Reading Conference, S. C.; December, 1996

In this study, kindergarten pupils from eight suburban Toronto primary 
schools (N=281) were divided into ten experimental (Jolly Phonics) and ten 
control groups. The Jolly Phonics group (N=151) had 33% of ESL pupils, and 
the controls (N=130) 18%.  The post-test results near the end of senior 
kindergarten showed the Jolly Phonics pupils with a very substantial 
advantage on every measure. On the WRAT-3 reading test, their average score 
was 107.5, compared to 101.3 for the controls. The advantage on the WRAT-3 
Spelling test was 104.8 to 98.1.  The data were also analysed to determine 
what happened to pupils who were adjudged "at-risk" from low pre-test scores 
in letter-naming. Post-test scores showed that between 1/4 and 2/3 
(depending upon the measure) of the Jolly Phonics at-risk pupils were 
performing at acceptable levels; by contrast, "...the distribution of 
control at-risk children changed little"

-------

I believe that good results can be obtained also with adult ESL learners. 
In fact synthetic phonics appears to be wholly inclusive, covering people 
with dyslexia and ethnic minorities, from children to adults, in whatever 
context.  Does anybody have any evidence to the contrary?

Cheers from Chiswick,

John

John Nissen
Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "K Olson" <kolson2 at columbus.rr.com>
To: "'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'" <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>; "'The
Technology and Literacy Discussion List'" <technology at nifl.gov>
Cc: <familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov>; "'Debbie Hepplewhite'"
<debbie at syntheticphonics.com>
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 6:02 PM
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

> John,
>
> The lack of research on evidence-based adult education is a major reason
> why
> the ESOL lab school in Oregon was established. It provides documentation
> through video and audio for teachers/researchers to observe what happens
> in the classroom and which particular teaching approaches are more
> successful.
> This issue of Focus on Basics describes some of the research that has been
> carried on to date. It is my hope that we will someday (soon, I hope!)
> have research which shows or at least hints at which reading methods
> produce the best results.  Having said that, though, I am well aware that
> the answer is not so simple as our students come with varying degrees of
> reading abilities
> in their native languages and thus are not starting out from the same
> minimal reading abilities that entering school children are. In addition,
> while primary teachers have their students for six or more hours a day,
> adult education teachers do not. We have no way to determine whether our
> students actually learned their reading outside of class, through
> self-study, from their children, etc. In other words, there are so many
> variables to control for that it does make scientifically-based research
> very, very difficult.
>
> Kathy Olson
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]
> On Behalf Of John Nissen
> Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:52 PM
> To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
> Cc: familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov; Debbie Hepplewhite;
> focusonbasics at nifl.gov
> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to adults. It
> has been suggested on several lists to visit the NCSALL web site, and look
> at research.
>
> So I looked at the site and found the EBAEP model (draft for comment),
> http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/ebaep_model_monograph.pdf
> which is about Evidence-Based Adult Education, to find out what evidence
> there was to support particular approaches to literacy, such as
> systematic/synthetic phonics versus whole language.  There was almost
> nothing there.  Worse, the teachers are expected to evaluate the research
> themselves, to decide how best to teach!  But no sources were given as to
> where there is good evidence for one method or another.
>
> In particular I looked at pages 77-78, the section 27 on "Instructional
> approaches".  Quoting from this:
> "Teachers need to understand why to use a particular technique, not
> just how to use it; they need the underlying foundational theory of
> teaching and learning that will allow them to integrate new thinking
> with new actions."
>
> Now I know for children about the foundational theory, and evidence in
> practice, that systematic phonics works.  On the other hand, there is no
> scientific theory, or evidence, that the whole language approach works -
> because it doesn't.  See Scientific American, March 2002.  (And mixing
> methods doesn't work either.)
>
> The March 2002 Scientific American put it well: "Because the controversy
> [between phonics and whole-language] is enmeshed in the philosophical
> differences between traditional and progressive approaches. The
> progressives challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom
> studies on the basis
> of a broad philosophical scepticism about the value of such research." In
> other words, they are willing to ignore solid research that contradicts
> their beloved theories, theories that keep kids from reading.
>
> So I am trying to find if anybody has used systematic/synthetic phonics on
> adults, because if it works on children I see no reason why it should not
> work on adults, given suitable initial teaching material (so as not to
> appear "childish").  The phonics approach must:
>
> 1.   establish that the alphabetic principle is fully understood by the
> student;
> 2.   work on phonemic awareness, so that all 44 phonemes can be recognised
> within words;
> 3.  make sure common letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondences
> are known;
> 4.  work on the basic skill of segmentation (for spelling);
> 5.  work on the basic skill of blending (for decoding and reading).
>
> After a basic reading skill level has been reached, with simple reading
> material:
>
> 6.  add vocabulary to allow comprehension of increasingly advanced reading
> material.
>
> It seems to me, as a scientist by training, that the above approach is
> sound.  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the
> approach
> works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with special needs.
> In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of Scotland there were no
> non-readers after synthetic phonics had been introduced!
>
> Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt
> synthetic phonics for schools.  See
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm.
> Should we adopt it for adults?
>
> Cheers from Chiswick,
>
> John
>
>
> John Nissen
> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
> Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mariann Fedele" <mariannf at lacnyc.org>
> To: "The Technology and Literacy Discussion List" <technology at nifl.gov>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 9:04 PM
> Subject: [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
>
>
> Hello All,
> The following message is from Barb Garner.
> Best,
> Mariann
>
> ***************
> The newest issue of "Focus on Basics" is now on NCSALL's web site,
> http://www.ncsall.net. It's on ESOL and features research from NCSALL's
> ESOL Lab School.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------
> National Institute for Literacy
> Focus on Basics mailing list
> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics
>

From r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca  Tue Dec 20 09:35:02 2005
From: r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca (Robin Millar)
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 08:35:02 -0600
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on	Basics"
Message-ID: <s3a7c24e.066@ds1.uwinnipeg.ca>

In response to Kathy's comments.  I can only say that I heartedly agree.
 Adults come not only with varying degress of reading abilities, but
varying degrees of schooling (good and bad) that affect how and what
kinds of approaches they might need to make progress.  We are talking
about folks who may have some very specialized reading needs as well. 
In my experience, most adults lack fluency and experience,  decoding is
simply one of many issues they need to conquer.  I might refer to my
colleague Pat Campbell in Alberta who has written an excellent guide for
teachers of adults called "Teaching Reading to Adults: A Balanced
approach."

Dr. Robin Millar
Executive Director
Centre for Education and Work
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
204-786-9395

>>> kolson2 at columbus.rr.com 12/16/05 12:02 PM >>>
John,  

The lack of research on evidence-based adult education is a major
reason why
the ESOL lab school in Oregon was established. It provides
documentation
through video and audio for teachers/researchers to observe what
happens in
the classroom and which particular teaching approaches are more
successful.
This issue of Focus on Basics describes some of the research that has
been
carried on to date. It is my hope that we will someday (soon, I hope!)
have
research which shows or at least hints at which reading methods produce
the
best results.  Having said that, though, I am well aware that the
answer is
not so simple as our students come with varying degrees of reading
abilities
in their native languages and thus are not starting out from the same
minimal reading abilities that entering school children are. In
addition,
while primary teachers have their students for six or more hours a
day,
adult education teachers do not. We have no way to determine whether
our
students actually learned their reading outside of class, through
self-study, from their children, etc. In other words, there are so
many
variables to control for that it does make scientifically-based
research
very, very difficult. 

Kathy Olson

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] 
On Behalf Of John Nissen
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:52 PM
To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
Cc: familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov; Debbie Hepplewhite;
focusonbasics at nifl.gov 
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on
Basics"

Hello all,

I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to adults.
 It 
has been suggested on several lists to visit the NCSALL web site, and
look 
at research.

So I looked at the site and found the EBAEP model (draft for comment),
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/ebaep_model_monograph.pdf

,
which is about Evidence-Based Adult Education, to find out what
evidence 
there was to support particular approaches to literacy, such as 
systematic/synthetic phonics versus whole language.  There was almost 
nothing there.  Worse, the teachers are expected to evaluate the
research 
themselves, to decide how best to teach!  But no sources were given as
to 
where there is good evidence for one method or another.

In particular I looked at pages 77-78, the section 27 on "Instructional

approaches".  Quoting from this:
"Teachers need to understand why to use a particular technique, not
just how

to use it; they need the underlying foundational theory of teaching and

learning that will allow them to integrate new thinking with new
actions."

Now I know for children about the foundational theory, and evidence in

practice, that systematic phonics works.  On the other hand, there is
no 
scientific theory, or evidence, that the whole language approach works
- 
because it doesn't.  See Scientific American, March 2002.  (And mixing

methods doesn't work either.)

The March 2002 Scientific American put it well: "Because the
controversy 
[between phonics and whole-language] is enmeshed in the philosophical 
differences between traditional and progressive approaches. The
progressives

challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom studies on the
basis

of a broad philosophical skepticism about the value of such research."
In 
other words, they are willing to ignore solid research that contradicts

their beloved theories, theories that keep kids from reading.

So I am trying to find if anybody has used systematic/synthetic phonics
on 
adults, because if it works on children I see no reason why it should
not 
work on adults, given suitable initial teaching material (so as not to

appear "childish").  The phonics approach must:

 1.   establish that the alphabetic principle is fully understood by
the 
student;
 2.   work on phonemic awareness, so that all 44 phonemes can be
recognised 
within words;
 3.  make sure common letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondences
are 
known;
 4.  work on the basic skill of segmentation (for spelling);
 5.  work on the basic skill of blending (for decoding and reading).

After a basic reading skill level has been reached, with simple reading

material:

 6.  add vocabulary to allow comprehension of increasingly advanced
reading 
material.

It seems to me, as a scientist by training, that the above approach is

sound.  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the
approach 
works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with special
needs. 
In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of Scotland there were
no 
non-readers after synthetic phonics had been introduced!

Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt
synthetic 
phonics for schools.  See
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm. 
Should we adopt it for adults?

Cheers from Chiswick,

John

John Nissen
Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk 
maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm 
Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mariann Fedele" <mariannf at lacnyc.org>
To: "The Technology and Literacy Discussion List"
<technology at nifl.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 9:04 PM
Subject: [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

Hello All,
The following message is from Barb Garner.
Best,
Mariann

***************
The newest issue of "Focus on Basics" is now on NCSALL's web site,
http://www.ncsall.net. It's on ESOL and features research from
NCSALL's
ESOL Lab School. 

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics 

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics 

From jn at cloudworld.co.uk  Tue Dec 20 12:56:33 2005
From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen)
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 17:56:33 -0000
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on	Basics"
References: <s3a7c24e.066@ds1.uwinnipeg.ca>
Message-ID: <005301c6058e$b6d5fd10$0302a8c0@Tomschoice>

Hi Robin,

Certainly there is diversity.  But a common factor in illiteracy is the 
inability to decode.  If that can be conquered, then fluency and experience 
will follow through practice.  A single, concerted approach to tackling the 
decoding problem can achieve remarkable results,
compared to a mixed or 'balanced' approach, as was discovered in the 
Clackmannanshire study.

Cheers from Chiswick,

John

(John Nissen)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robin Millar" <r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca>
To: <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 2:35 PM
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

> In response to Kathy's comments.  I can only say that I heartedly agree.
> Adults come not only with varying degress of reading abilities, but
> varying degrees of schooling (good and bad) that affect how and what
> kinds of approaches they might need to make progress.  We are talking
> about folks who may have some very specialized reading needs as well.
> In my experience, most adults lack fluency and experience,  decoding is
> simply one of many issues they need to conquer.  I might refer to my
> colleague Pat Campbell in Alberta who has written an excellent guide for
> teachers of adults called "Teaching Reading to Adults: A Balanced
> approach."
>
> Dr. Robin Millar
> Executive Director
> Centre for Education and Work
> 515 Portage Avenue
> Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
> 204-786-9395
>
>>>> kolson2 at columbus.rr.com 12/16/05 12:02 PM >>>
> John,
>
> The lack of research on evidence-based adult education is a major
> reason why
> the ESOL lab school in Oregon was established. It provides
> documentation
> through video and audio for teachers/researchers to observe what
> happens in
> the classroom and which particular teaching approaches are more
> successful.
> This issue of Focus on Basics describes some of the research that has
> been
> carried on to date. It is my hope that we will someday (soon, I hope!)
> have
> research which shows or at least hints at which reading methods produce
> the
> best results.  Having said that, though, I am well aware that the
> answer is
> not so simple as our students come with varying degrees of reading
> abilities
> in their native languages and thus are not starting out from the same
> minimal reading abilities that entering school children are. In
> addition,
> while primary teachers have their students for six or more hours a
> day,
> adult education teachers do not. We have no way to determine whether
> our
> students actually learned their reading outside of class, through
> self-study, from their children, etc. In other words, there are so
> many
> variables to control for that it does make scientifically-based
> research
> very, very difficult.
>
> Kathy Olson
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]
> On Behalf Of John Nissen
> Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:52 PM
> To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
> Cc: familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov; Debbie Hepplewhite;
> focusonbasics at nifl.gov
> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on
> Basics"
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to adults.

[snip]

>  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the
> [synthetic phonics] approach
> works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with special
> needs.
> In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of Scotland there were
> no non-readers after synthetic phonics had been introduced!
>
> Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt
> synthetic phonics for schools.  See
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm.
> Should we adopt it for adults?
>
> Cheers from Chiswick,
>
> John
>
>
> John Nissen
> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
> Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

From r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca  Wed Dec 21 19:12:36 2005
From: r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca (Robin Millar)
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 18:12:36 -0600
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus	on	Basics"
Message-ID: <s3a99b21.080@ds1.uwinnipeg.ca>

You experience and mine differ.  Many students I have run into do not
lack basic literacy (e.g. decoding skills) but rather lack fluency to
perceive themselves as readers.  More than a phonetic approach is needed
with these folks. 

Dr. Robin Millar
Executive Director
Centre for Education and Work
515 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
204-786-9395

>>> jn at cloudworld.co.uk 12/20/05 11:56 AM >>>

Hi Robin,

Certainly there is diversity.  But a common factor in illiteracy is the

inability to decode.  If that can be conquered, then fluency and
experience 
will follow through practice.  A single, concerted approach to tackling
the 
decoding problem can achieve remarkable results,
compared to a mixed or 'balanced' approach, as was discovered in the 
Clackmannanshire study.

Cheers from Chiswick,

John

(John Nissen)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robin Millar" <r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca>
To: <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 2:35 PM
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on
Basics"

> In response to Kathy's comments.  I can only say that I heartedly
agree.
> Adults come not only with varying degress of reading abilities, but
> varying degrees of schooling (good and bad) that affect how and what
> kinds of approaches they might need to make progress.  We are
talking
> about folks who may have some very specialized reading needs as
well.
> In my experience, most adults lack fluency and experience,  decoding
is
> simply one of many issues they need to conquer.  I might refer to my
> colleague Pat Campbell in Alberta who has written an excellent guide
for
> teachers of adults called "Teaching Reading to Adults: A Balanced
> approach."
>
> Dr. Robin Millar
> Executive Director
> Centre for Education and Work
> 515 Portage Avenue
> Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
> 204-786-9395
>
>>>> kolson2 at columbus.rr.com 12/16/05 12:02 PM >>>
> John,
>
> The lack of research on evidence-based adult education is a major
> reason why
> the ESOL lab school in Oregon was established. It provides
> documentation
> through video and audio for teachers/researchers to observe what
> happens in
> the classroom and which particular teaching approaches are more
> successful.
> This issue of Focus on Basics describes some of the research that
has
> been
> carried on to date. It is my hope that we will someday (soon, I
hope!)
> have
> research which shows or at least hints at which reading methods
produce
> the
> best results.  Having said that, though, I am well aware that the
> answer is
> not so simple as our students come with varying degrees of reading
> abilities
> in their native languages and thus are not starting out from the
same
> minimal reading abilities that entering school children are. In
> addition,
> while primary teachers have their students for six or more hours a
> day,
> adult education teachers do not. We have no way to determine whether
> our
> students actually learned their reading outside of class, through
> self-study, from their children, etc. In other words, there are so
> many
> variables to control for that it does make scientifically-based
> research
> very, very difficult.
>
> Kathy Olson
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov 
> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov] 
> On Behalf Of John Nissen
> Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:52 PM
> To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
> Cc: familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov; Debbie Hepplewhite;
> focusonbasics at nifl.gov 
> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on
> Basics"
>
>
> Hello all,
>
> I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to
adults.

[snip]

>  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the
> [synthetic phonics] approach
> works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with special
> needs.
> In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of Scotland there
were
> no non-readers after synthetic phonics had been introduced!
>
> Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt
> synthetic phonics for schools.  See
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm.
> Should we adopt it for adults?
>
> Cheers from Chiswick,
>
> John
>
>
> John Nissen
> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk 
> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm 
> Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk 

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics 

From jn at cloudworld.co.uk  Fri Dec 23 18:15:41 2005
From: jn at cloudworld.co.uk (John Nissen)
Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 23:15:41 -0000
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
References: <s3a99b21.080@ds1.uwinnipeg.ca>
Message-ID: <017201c60816$cf0d0ec0$0302a8c0@Tomschoice>

Hi Robin,

It seems that you may have had a bad experience with phonics, if you think 
that "more than a phonetic approach" is needed for your failed students. 
Have you actually experienced synthetic phonics, or talked to teachers who 
have had success with it?

There is phonics and there is synthetic phonics.  Phonics (particularly 
analytic phonics) mixed with other strategies does not work - because it 
just encourages the learner into guesswork: using the phonics as just 
another clue to guessing the meaning of a word.  That is the basis of the 
National Literacy Strategy in England, which fails one in five children. 
What is needed for successful reading is the skill to blend _individual_ 
sounds/phonemes to build up the sound of whole words.  Some people, even 
some highly intelligent people, find this skill very difficult to acquire. 
But the skill has to be mastered if you are ever going to be able to decode, 
and read fluently.

If you haven't witnessed the effective teaching of this blending skill, then 
you may well feel that your students need something else.   The devil is in 
the detail.

Cheers from Chiswick,
and best wishes for Christmas and a Happy New Year

John

John Nissen
Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robin Millar" <r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca>
To: <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 12:12 AM
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

> You experience and mine differ.  Many students I have run into do not
> lack basic literacy (e.g. decoding skills) but rather lack fluency to
> perceive themselves as readers.  More than a phonetic approach is needed
> with these folks.
>
> Dr. Robin Millar
> Executive Director
> Centre for Education and Work
> 515 Portage Avenue
> Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
> 204-786-9395
>
>>>> jn at cloudworld.co.uk 12/20/05 11:56 AM >>>
>
> Hi Robin,
>
> Certainly there is diversity.  But a common factor in illiteracy is the
>
> inability to decode.  If that can be conquered, then fluency and
> experience
> will follow through practice.  A single, concerted approach to tackling
> the
> decoding problem can achieve remarkable results,
> compared to a mixed or 'balanced' approach, as was discovered in the
> Clackmannanshire study.
>
> Cheers from Chiswick,
>
> John
>
> (John Nissen)
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Robin Millar" <r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca>
> To: <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 2:35 PM
> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on
> Basics"
>
>
>> In response to Kathy's comments.  I can only say that I heartedly
> agree.
>> Adults come not only with varying degress of reading abilities, but
>> varying degrees of schooling (good and bad) that affect how and what
>> kinds of approaches they might need to make progress.  We are
> talking
>> about folks who may have some very specialized reading needs as
> well.
>> In my experience, most adults lack fluency and experience,  decoding
> is
>> simply one of many issues they need to conquer.  I might refer to my
>> colleague Pat Campbell in Alberta who has written an excellent guide
> for
>> teachers of adults called "Teaching Reading to Adults: A Balanced
>> approach."
>>
>> Dr. Robin Millar
>> Executive Director
>> Centre for Education and Work
>> 515 Portage Avenue
>> Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
>> 204-786-9395
>>
>>>>> kolson2 at columbus.rr.com 12/16/05 12:02 PM >>>
>> John,
>>
>> The lack of research on evidence-based adult education is a major
>> reason why
>> the ESOL lab school in Oregon was established. It provides
>> documentation
>> through video and audio for teachers/researchers to observe what
>> happens in
>> the classroom and which particular teaching approaches are more
>> successful.
>> This issue of Focus on Basics describes some of the research that
> has
>> been
>> carried on to date. It is my hope that we will someday (soon, I
> hope!)
>> have
>> research which shows or at least hints at which reading methods
> produce
>> the
>> best results.  Having said that, though, I am well aware that the
>> answer is
>> not so simple as our students come with varying degrees of reading
>> abilities
>> in their native languages and thus are not starting out from the
> same
>> minimal reading abilities that entering school children are. In
>> addition,
>> while primary teachers have their students for six or more hours a
>> day,
>> adult education teachers do not. We have no way to determine whether
>> our
>> students actually learned their reading outside of class, through
>> self-study, from their children, etc. In other words, there are so
>> many
>> variables to control for that it does make scientifically-based
>> research
>> very, very difficult.
>>
>> Kathy Olson
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
>> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]
>> On Behalf Of John Nissen
>> Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:52 PM
>> To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
>> Cc: familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov; Debbie Hepplewhite;
>> focusonbasics at nifl.gov
>> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on
>> Basics"
>>
>>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to
> adults.
>
> [snip]
>
>>  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the
>> [synthetic phonics] approach
>> works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with special
>> needs.
>> In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of Scotland there
> were
>> no non-readers after synthetic phonics had been introduced!
>>
>> Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt
>> synthetic phonics for schools.  See
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm.
>> Should we adopt it for adults?
>>
>> Cheers from Chiswick,
>>
>> John

From l.cuttler at comcast.net  Tue Dec 27 12:26:34 2005
From: l.cuttler at comcast.net (Lucille Cuttler)
Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2005 12:26:34 -0500
Subject: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"
In-Reply-To: <017201c60816$cf0d0ec0$0302a8c0@Tomschoice>
Message-ID: <LOBBICLOAFKBEPDBHIAJCECAGDAA.l.cuttler@comcast.net>

And one more point to remember: when teaching, you go as fast as you can and
as slow as you must. Remember, every learner is different with a different
learning style.  My experience with teaching dylexic students confirms
success when you use a structured, kinesthetic approach. Phonological
awareness must be firmly established.  You can't put up a skyscraper on
sand.  Lucille Cuttler

-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of John Nissen
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2005 6:16 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Cc: Debbie Hepplewhite
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

Hi Robin,

It seems that you may have had a bad experience with phonics, if you think
that "more than a phonetic approach" is needed for your failed students.
Have you actually experienced synthetic phonics, or talked to teachers who
have had success with it?

There is phonics and there is synthetic phonics.  Phonics (particularly
analytic phonics) mixed with other strategies does not work - because it
just encourages the learner into guesswork: using the phonics as just
another clue to guessing the meaning of a word.  That is the basis of the
National Literacy Strategy in England, which fails one in five children.
What is needed for successful reading is the skill to blend _individual_
sounds/phonemes to build up the sound of whole words.  Some people, even
some highly intelligent people, find this skill very difficult to acquire.
But the skill has to be mastered if you are ever going to be able to decode,
and read fluently.

If you haven't witnessed the effective teaching of this blending skill, then
you may well feel that your students need something else.   The devil is in
the detail.

Cheers from Chiswick,
and best wishes for Christmas and a Happy New Year

John

John Nissen
Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robin Millar" <r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca>
To: <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2005 12:12 AM
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

> You experience and mine differ.  Many students I have run into do not
> lack basic literacy (e.g. decoding skills) but rather lack fluency to
> perceive themselves as readers.  More than a phonetic approach is needed
> with these folks.
>
> Dr. Robin Millar
> Executive Director
> Centre for Education and Work
> 515 Portage Avenue
> Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
> 204-786-9395
>
>>>> jn at cloudworld.co.uk 12/20/05 11:56 AM >>>
>
> Hi Robin,
>
> Certainly there is diversity.  But a common factor in illiteracy is the
>
> inability to decode.  If that can be conquered, then fluency and
> experience
> will follow through practice.  A single, concerted approach to tackling
> the
> decoding problem can achieve remarkable results,
> compared to a mixed or 'balanced' approach, as was discovered in the
> Clackmannanshire study.
>
> Cheers from Chiswick,
>
> John
>
> (John Nissen)
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Robin Millar" <r.millar at uwinnipeg.ca>
> To: <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 2:35 PM
> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on
> Basics"
>
>
>> In response to Kathy's comments.  I can only say that I heartedly
> agree.
>> Adults come not only with varying degress of reading abilities, but
>> varying degrees of schooling (good and bad) that affect how and what
>> kinds of approaches they might need to make progress.  We are
> talking
>> about folks who may have some very specialized reading needs as
> well.
>> In my experience, most adults lack fluency and experience,  decoding
> is
>> simply one of many issues they need to conquer.  I might refer to my
>> colleague Pat Campbell in Alberta who has written an excellent guide
> for
>> teachers of adults called "Teaching Reading to Adults: A Balanced
>> approach."
>>
>> Dr. Robin Millar
>> Executive Director
>> Centre for Education and Work
>> 515 Portage Avenue
>> Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
>> 204-786-9395
>>
>>>>> kolson2 at columbus.rr.com 12/16/05 12:02 PM >>>
>> John,
>>
>> The lack of research on evidence-based adult education is a major
>> reason why
>> the ESOL lab school in Oregon was established. It provides
>> documentation
>> through video and audio for teachers/researchers to observe what
>> happens in
>> the classroom and which particular teaching approaches are more
>> successful.
>> This issue of Focus on Basics describes some of the research that
> has
>> been
>> carried on to date. It is my hope that we will someday (soon, I
> hope!)
>> have
>> research which shows or at least hints at which reading methods
> produce
>> the
>> best results.  Having said that, though, I am well aware that the
>> answer is
>> not so simple as our students come with varying degrees of reading
>> abilities
>> in their native languages and thus are not starting out from the
> same
>> minimal reading abilities that entering school children are. In
>> addition,
>> while primary teachers have their students for six or more hours a
>> day,
>> adult education teachers do not. We have no way to determine whether
>> our
>> students actually learned their reading outside of class, through
>> self-study, from their children, etc. In other words, there are so
>> many
>> variables to control for that it does make scientifically-based
>> research
>> very, very difficult.
>>
>> Kathy Olson
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov
>> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]
>> On Behalf Of John Nissen
>> Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:52 PM
>> To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List
>> Cc: familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov; Debbie Hepplewhite;
>> focusonbasics at nifl.gov
>> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on
>> Basics"
>>
>>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to
> adults.
>
> [snip]
>
>>  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the
>> [synthetic phonics] approach
>> works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with special
>> needs.
>> In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of Scotland there
> were
>> no non-readers after synthetic phonics had been introduced!
>>
>> Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt
>> synthetic phonics for schools.  See
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm.
>> Should we adopt it for adults?
>>
>> Cheers from Chiswick,
>>
>> John

----------------------------------------------------
National Insitute for Literacy
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics