Improving Adult Literacy Instruction Options for Practice and Research (2012) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
9 Conclusions and Recommendations
9 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 236-262
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From page 236... ...
, with about one-third of them referred specifically for reading. Furthermore, the estimated 2.6 million adults enrolled in federally funded programs in 2005 showed variable progress in their literacy skills, and their skill gains were insufficient to achieve functional literacy (Tamassia et al., 2007)
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From page 237... ...
, and developmental education courses for academically underprepared students in college. Ideally, conclusions and recommendations for adult literacy instruction would be grounded in clear research findings demonstrating the efficacy of the recommended approaches.
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From page 238... ...
Until the necessary research is conducted with adults who receive literacy instruction outside the K-12 system, the committee concluded that it is reasonable to apply the wealth of available research on learning and literacy with other populations. Findings from this research provide guidance about the reading and writing skills to target with instruction and principles for designing instructional practices, technologies, assessments, and preparation for teachers.
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From page 239... ...
People who need to develop their literacy skills receive instruction in many different types of programs, including adult basic education, community colleges, general educational development (GED) programs, workplace literacy programs, university remedial education programs, citizenship programs, English language learning programs, basic skills and job training centers, among others.
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Principles of Effective Literacy Instruction Conclusion 2: Effective literacy instruction t argets (as needed) word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, • reading comprehension, background knowledge, strategies for deeper analysis and understanding of texts, and the component skills of writing; c ombines explicit teaching and extensive practice with motivat • ing and varied texts, tools, and tasks matched to the learner's skills, educational and cultural backgrounds, and literacy needs and goals; e xplicitly targets the automation and integration of component • skills and the transfer of skills to tasks valued by society and the learner; and i ncludes formative assessments to monitor progress, provide • feedback, and adjust instruction.
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From page 241... ...
Except for a few intervention studies, the study of instruction in the component literacy skills and processes has not been a priority in research with adults, nor has the research incorporated knowledge of the practices that develop reading and writing skills in K-12 students. Research even for younger populations is not complete with respect to understanding the components of literacy, interrelations among the components, how to most effectively develop each component, or why literacy may not be sufficiently developed in every adult.
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From page 242... ...
To become facile in executing component skills for particular purposes, adults require both explicit teaching and plentiful opportunities to practice skills typical of those needed to achieve functional goals. For this reason and for increased motivation, it is important to facilitate the development and integration of component skills as much as possible using texts, activities, and tools that relate to the adult learners' interests, learning goals, and everyday functional literacy needs.
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From page 243... ...
A most significant challenge to the design of literacy development opportunities for adults is getting the adults to participate and persevere. Findings show low completion rates for developmental education courses in college, lack of persistence in adult education programs, and high rates of attrition from research studies on instructional effectiveness for adults with low- to intermediate-level skills.
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From page 244... ...
Collaborative learning arrangements, both group learning and learner interactions via online environments, are promising ways to increase engagement. English Language Learners Conclusion 5: The component skills of reading and writing in Eng lish and the principles of effective literacy instruction derived from research with native English speakers are likely to apply to English language learners.
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Adult English language learners who can read fluently in their native language often can use some of their first language and literacy skills to facilitate learning to read and write in their second language. This means that adult literacy instruction would be most effective if tailored to the level of literacy they have developed in their native language.
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From page 246... ...
include measures of language and literacy skills related to a range of literacy forms and tasks, domain knowledge, cognitive abilities, and valued functional as well as psychological outcomes; (2) include measures for differentiated placement and instruction, diagnosis, formative assessment, and accountability that are all aligned to work toward common learning goals; and (3)
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From page 247... ...
Moreover, because writing assessment is often costly and time-consuming, considerable attention needs to be devoted to developing valid automatic computerized scoring systems that will prove useful to teachers and learners alike. Studies must measure outcomes of literacy instruction that have external validity, meaning that they measure component skills needed to perform valued literacy tasks for education, work, and other life goals.
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Technologies for learning, including social networking tools, have advanced to the point that literacy instruction and practice no longer need to be offered only in the traditional classroom. Technology has the potential to scaffold literate activity to make learning more efficient.
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From page 249... ...
Developing the literacy skills for using collaborative communication technologies can be motivating as well as valuable, because they help learners maintain connections with important people in their social world and develop the pragmatic understandings needed to comprehend and compose texts for effective communication. Although some adults may be somewhat familiar with these tools, the rich use of collaborative technologies will require training, not only for students but also for their instructors, and they may enhance persistence in literacy programs that use them.
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A coherent approach is required to specify instructional goals for digital and multimodal forms and design the necessary measures and assessment tools for assessing these skills. Adult Literacy Instruction: State of the Evidence Conclusion 9: There is a lack of research and data of the kind required to better define, prevent, and remediate problems that adolescents and adults enrolled in instruction outside compulsory schooling are experiencing with developing their literacy skills in the United States.
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From page 251... ...
Although many important specific hypotheses remain to be tested about how best to support adults' learning, this figure conveys that the overall research effort must be multifaceted in order to provide an adequate answer to the primary question: What instructional practices (interactions, texts, tools, etc.) and other supports for learning are effective for developing component and valued functional literacy skills, for which learners, and under which conditions?
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From page 252... ...
Although recommendations about specific mechanisms for delivering instructor preparation are beyond the charge to the committee, it is worth noting that instructors experience many of the same constraints on their professional development (lack of funding, inflexible locations, work and other life demands) as those who participate in literacy programs.
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From page 253... ...
Along with such programming, attention must be given to providing appropriate incentive structures to ensure that instructors needing the support take advantage of it. There is also a need for data to identify the characteristics of teachers associated with effective implementation of literacy instruction across the four general types of literacy education programs (basic education, secondary education, English as a second language, and developmental education in colleges)
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Some of the practices of the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation that represent focused, long-term strategies might also be helpful, including registries for related research findings and possibly the designation of multidisciplinary centers to pursue synergistic programs of work that are guided by an overarching research plan and regularly reviewed by an advisory group of scientists for adherence to the plan. Research Design The research called for in this report should meet the following requirements: • Research should address the diversity of populations for whom literacy improvement is a concern, including high school dropouts, low-literate English language learners with varying levels of first language literacy, students with documented disabilities, students in career and technical education, academically underprepared college students, and other adults who fared poorly in the K-12 system.
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Specification of the literacy skills required in today's society: The • specific literacy skills required for meeting certain educational or career milestones need to be documented, including the literacy skills associated with knowledge building, collaborative problem solving, and effective use of new communications media. This information would permit a move from indexing the success of adult literacy instruction using traditional measures, which are based mostly on the learning that typically occurs in elementary school, to the assessment of literacy skills and levels required for adults' educational and economic success and full social and civic participation.
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To improve adult literacy instruction, translational research is needed in four areas to inform the selection and use of practices and products that effectively develop valued literacy skills: (1) instructional approaches and materials grounded in principles of learning and instruction derived mainly from other populations, (2)
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Persistence It is vital to study the mix of practices, program components, and policies that support persistence with literacy instruction and that would also serve to reduce the high rates of attrition reported in research studies with the population. Research should be conducted to identify how to maximize persistence and progress by designing programs that attend comprehensively to the cognitive, social, cultural, psychological, and motivational needs of the learner.
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From page 258... ...
Third, technologies have the potential to provide some of the scaffolding needed for progress with literacy skills and engagement with complex texts and tasks while filling gaps in lower level reading skills. Intelligent interactive media should be developed to motivate and scaffold practice by adults with literacy needs and incorporate specific work and life goals and interests.
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From page 259... ...
that support or constrain the implementation of effective practices and adults' opportunities to learn and practice new skills. Large-Scale Data Collection and Information Gathering Information about the literacy skills of adults in the United States and in the diverse systems that offer adult literacy instruction should be gathered and analyzed on a continual and long-term basis to know whether the population is becoming more literate and whether efforts to improve literacy are effective at a macro level as well as in specific individual efficacy studies.
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Department of Education that administers the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, enacted as Title II of the Workforce Investment Act, which is the principal source of federal support for adult basic and literacy education programs for those who are at least 16 years old, not enrolled in high school, and lack basic skills, a high school diploma, or proficiency in English. The law specifies that agencies eligible to provide adult literacy instruction consider whether the programs they choose to fund use practices that research has "proven to be effective in teaching individuals to read" (Workforce Investment Act [WIA]
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Federal funding for programs has remained relatively level since 2001, with an annual appropriation of about $560 million. An additional sum is provided annually for research, technical assistance, and other national leadership activities, which in 2010 were funded at 13.3 million, or .021 percent of the total $628.2 million adult education and family literacy budget (U.S.
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