cfl/lac ¥ jan_2002 - the centre for literacy

The tenuous nature of adultliteracy stands revealed at theend of 2001.

The year began with promise inCanada when the JanuarySpeech from the Throneidentified adult literacy as apriority within a Skills andLearning Agenda. Groups inevery province mobilizedthemselves to offer somepossible direction. Elevenmonths later, after a flurry ofconsultation between thefederal government and groupsacross the country, there hasbeen no official policystatement indicating how thispriority will be implemented.So, we wait with a mixture ofhope and concern. We haveheard some policy makers saythat everything has changedsince September 11. However,there has been no lessening of the need for learning; ifanything, perhaps a greaterurgency to ensure that allcitizens can access andunderstand information thatrelates to their well-being andthe preservation of a way oflife.

Interestingly, in both the U.S.and the U.K., funds were notreduced for ABE afterSeptember 11, despite initialfears. The U.K. has movedahead with its nationalstrategy, implementing anawareness campaign and acurriculum and seeking acadre of new teachers to reachthe targeted 750,000 learners

by 2004. While it isearly to commenton the strategy,regular updates areposted on the website of the Departmentfor Education andSkills (DfES).

American providershave celebrated themaintenance offunding althoughsome analysts havepointed out thatholding the linetranslates intoreduction in terms ofreal dollars. Still, oneevent in the U.S. bearsattention.

Just before AmericanThanksgiving in lateNovember, theMassachusettsLegislature cut statefunding to adult basiceducation by $13million, or 44%.Funding would haverun out in January orFebruary for mostpublicly-fundedprograms.

On December 13, theLegislature passed a

supplemental budget that restored$12.5M. How did this happen?NLA Moderator David Rosen creditsthe “organization, collaboration,leadership, and a cultivated climateof advocacy at the grass rootslevel” of the MassachusettsAdult Education Community.

In a mid-December posting tothe NLA listserv, Rosendescribed the history over thepast decade of theMassachusetts Coalition forAdult Education (MCAE) andits predecessor, theMassachusetts Coalition forAdult Literacy. Among theiraccomplishments, he citedencouraging practitioners toeducate policy makers at stateand federal levels about theimportance of adult literacy/basic education (includingESOL). He noted relationshipsthat programs have built withlegislators through letters andpost cards, phone calls, visits,invitations to attend graduationand more; and he highlightedthe growth of adult learnerinvolvement.

The Massachusetts coalitionhas a Public Policy Committeeand regional committees onmedia, collaboration and

THE CENTRE FOR LITERACY • MONTREAL, QUEBEC

Of policiesand promises

TO PONDER ..........................................................3ABE Chronology in Canada .................................. 4IN THE CLASSROOM: Teacher in Antarctica ..........8Research in Practice ..............................................9

How do adults with little education learn? ....12Reflections on Edmonton Gathering................13

Health literacy and the hard-to-reach ..................15LITERACY, TECHNOLOGY AND LD INSERT:

Issues and questions ......................................17Moving to the visual, Chris Abbott ................18Not basic, essential skills! Sally McKeown ......20

Summer Institute presentations ......................22Bridges to Practice, June Crawford..................26Resources: LD Bibliography.............................28LD Definition, Elizabeth Gayda........................30Assistive technologies....................................32

Cognitive tools/literacy acquisition, Kieran Egan. 33REVIEWS: Captured Wisdom ..............................36Awakening Brilliance ..........................................38Adult Literacy Now..............................................39CONFERENCES ....................................................40ANNOUNCEMENTS..............................................42

INSIDE

Volume 16 • Number 1

Connecting literacy, media and technology in the schools, community and workplace

2 • LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUMEDIA FOCUS, VOL. 16, NO. 1

Board Members of The Centre for Literacy

2001-2002

President: Dr. David Dillon McGill University

Vice-President Peggy Sangster /Treasurer: Montreal Children’s HospitalMembers: Lionel Emond

Rotary InternationalElizabeth GaydaLearning Disabilities Association of CanadaKen McLaughlinOpen City Productions 2002Adele Nessim LDAQ-Mtl, Chapter OneLinda SchachtlerElizabeth HouseMaison ElizabethSusan WilemanDawson CollegeLinda ShohetEx officio

legislative options, and multipleways of reaching membersrapidly. These tools allowedthe adult education communityto mobilize within two days ofthe budget cuts “to puttogether a press briefing at theState House with a panel of 12major business, labor,foundation and adult learnerleaders. Everyone spoke brieflyand persuasively. They allurged restoration of funding.The State House hearing roomwas overflowing. At least sixmedia outlets showed up,including a major TV station.”Business and unionrepresentatives includedVerizon, IBM, AssociatedIndustries of Massachusetts,The Massachusetts BusinessRoundtable, the CarpentersUnion, SEIU, the AFL-CIO, andthe Teamsters Union.

The restoration was celebratedas a victory for adult basiceducation. Rosen said itshowed that with organization,leadership, and determination,adult literacy education canmake gains at the state level --and maintain them; hesuggested that “advocacy mustbe seen as part of everypractitioner's job: teacher,tutor, administrator,researcher, curriculumdeveloper, librarian, and

others,” and noted that“advocacy is an excellent wayfor students to learn aboutdemocracy in action.”* Heunderscored the impact ofstudent voices on legislators.

To an outsider, theMassachusetts story is acautionary tale. Despite beingone of the best-supported andbest organized providers ofABE in the U.S., thecommunity was caught bysurprise when the cut camewithout warning, the result ofinternal state politics (notSeptember 11!)

The ABE infrastructure likelysurprised the legislature inreturn. Still, a watcher canonly wonder how secure anyABE agenda actually is if thestrongest among them issubject to political whim. We are no strangers to politicalwhim in Canada. The provinceof Ontario expended millions ofdollars in the 1990s shiftingadult literacy from theEducation Ministry to its ownBasic Skills Ministry and back,and radically narrowing thefocus of basic skills provisionwithin the LBS framework.

Still a lesson from Massachusettsfor Canadians is that buildingcoherent coalitions at theprovincial level is one safeguard

against whimsicality. Some ofus are further ahead thanothers on that score.

In this issueThis issue of LACMF has achronology of adult literacypolicy in Canada from 1899 to2001; an insert highlighting the2001 Summer Institute onadult literacy and learningdisabilities; an excerpt from anew Working Paper oncognitive tools and literacyacquisition; and reports onsome innovative web-basedABE materials. There are theregular features of conferencelisting, local happenings,resources and reviews. Theseare our contribution to ongoingpolicy development. [LS]

Source: David Rosen,Massachusetts Update,[email protected],12/14/2001.

*Following the Mass. fundingcut/restoration, several teachersand curriculum developers createdsome lessons and materials tohelp students understand theprocesses of government whichwere directly affecting their lives.These, and other campaign-relatedmaterials can be found athttp://www.sabes.org/budget.htm

The opinions expressed in articles are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect thephilosophy or policy of The Centre for Literacy.

The Centre for Literacy is committed to supporting and improving literacy practices inschools, community andworkplace. It is dedicated toincreasing public understanding ofthe changing definition of literacy in a complex society.

The Centre for Literacy acknowledges Dawson College and the National LiteracySecretariat, Human Resources Development Canada, for their support.

The Centre for Literacy, 3040 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3Z 1A4 Editor: Linda Shohet • Layout & design: Ponctuation Grafix • Dépot légal – 1991 • ISSN 1192-3288 • Bibliothèque Nationale du Québec

Literacy for the 21st centuryLiteracy encompasses a complex set of abilities to understand and use the dominant symbol systems of a culture for personal and community development. In a technological society, the concept of literacy is expanding to include the media and electronic text, in addition to alphabetic and number systems. These abilities vary in different social and cultural contexts according to need and demand. Individuals must be given life-long learning opportunities to move along a continuum that includes the reading and writing, critical understanding, and decision-making abilities they need in their community.

http://www.sabes.org/budget.htm

LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUMEDIA FOCUS, VOL. 16, NO. 1 • 3

On making power visibleLiteracy that obscures thepower relations inscribed

in its construction ultimatelydisempowers. It treats astechnical what is in fact sociallyand politically constructed andis therefore misleading. In onesense, therefore, powerfulliteracies have to be oppositional.They have to open up, exposeand counteract the institutionalprocesses and professionalmystique whereby dominantforms of literacy are placedbeyond question. They have tochallenge the way “literacy” issocially distributed to differentgroups. They have to reconstructthe learning and teachingprocess in a way that positionsstudents in more equal socialand political terms. In anothersense they should be propo-sitional, in that they have toconstruct alternative ways ofaddressing literacy practices andinterests grounded in real livesand literacy needs. They need tobe critical and political too. Theagenda for developing powerfulliteracies has to be informed byissues of social justice, equality,and democracy in everyday liferather than be limited to anarrow, functional definitionprimarily addressed to the needsof the economy.

Jim Crowther, Mary Hamilton andLyn Tett, “Powerful literacies: anintroduction,” Powerful Literacies,edited by Jim Crowther, MaryHamilton and Lyn Tett.(NIACE:Leicester UK), 2001. p.3.

On signaturesand the letteredworld

…So far I have been exploring alittle of the mystery behind theapparent simplicity of signaturesas a measure of literacy. Farmore mysterious than this, Ibelieve, is the personalsignificance of being able to writeour own name. Given theopportunity, we learn young tomake marks and draw, later –with help—turning these into theshapes and lines which might,

later still, correspond to ournames. Once we can do this,many of us repeat the experienceover and over again, in idlemoments during lessons ormeetings—copying, re-copying,trying our styles and shapesuntil we find the one thatpleases us. But what if we findourselves unable to do it, andothers can? What, then, mightbe our sense of loss? UrsulaHoward has a suggestive answer.In her study of self-educatedworking class women and menin the nineteenth century, shewrites of the determination (andevident loneliness) of some ofthese individuals to teachthemselves, in the absence ofany other teachers. Reflecting ontheir autobiographical writing,she concludes:

The self who lived without asignature and without avoice in a lettered world wasa different self than the onewho could write. (Howard,1991:107)

For any of us who happens tohave grown up in a society full ofwriting, she suggests, to be un-able to write our own name isequivalent to being unable toinscribe our selves in thatsociety; for to write our names isto write our selves into theworld.

Jane Mace, “Signatures and thelettered world,” Powerful Literacies,edited by Jim Crowther, MaryHamilton and Lyn Tett.(NIACE:Leicester UK) 2001, p.19.

On a framework forunderstandingpower

Writing by Starhawk (1987) andCranton (1994) provided aninitial framework for me toexamine and learn from myefforts to share power. Starhawkwrites about three kinds ofpower: power-over, power-withand power-from-within. Power-over is often thought of in termsof persons, groups or institutionshaving power over others. Suchpower is sustained by social,

political and economic systemsand by policies and assumptionsabout which groups have a rightto power. These assumptions areoften reflected in prevailingdiscourses, which help sustainexisting power relations.According to Starhawk, power-with is one’s influence in agroup. It is ‘the power of a strongindividual in a group of equals,the power not to command, butto suggest and be listened to…’(1987:10). Power-with is basedin respect, not for the role orposition, but for the person…Cranton writes about aparticular form of power-over,namely the position power of aneducator. In my position as paidco-ordinator and facilitator atthe Learning Center I havecertain formal authority andcontrol. As well, because ofcommon discourses aboutschool, teachers and students, Iam accorded ‘teacher’ power.Such factors as my Anglo-Norman heritage and my middleclass language, education andincome provide access to powerin many contexts outside of theCenter. These factors intersectwith the position power I have atthe Center.

Cranton distinguishes betweenposition power and the personalpower that educators – andstudents – have in the form ofskills, knowledge, personalattributes and attitudes. Per-sonal power shifts into power-with, or sharing power, whenothers both value and are opento receiving what is beingoffered. As I interpret them,personal power and power-from-within are related but differentconcepts. Power-from-within hasto do with being able to say ‘Ican’; it is a belief in ourselvesand our capacities that enablesus to use and further developour skills, knowledge andattributes, and to offer them toothers.

Mary Norton, “Challenges to sharingpower in adult literacy programmes,”Powerful Literacies, edited by JimCrowther, Mary Hamilton and LynTett. (NIACE: Leicester UK) 2001,pp.167-168.

TO PONDER • SUGGESTED READINGS

1

2 3

By Linda Shohet

1899-1930’sABE was not significantlydistinguished from other adulteducation initiatives, carriedout through YMCAs and YWCAs,Mechanic’s Institutes, churches,labour unions, farmorganizations, traveling circuitlecturers and teachers, etc.

1899Canadian Reading CampMovement founded.

1922Canadian Reading CampMovement became FrontierCollege that sent universitystudents to the wilderness toteach labourers, mostlylumberjacks and miners, howto read and write.

1935Canadian Association for AdultEducation (CAAE), the firstnational organization dedicatedsolely to the field of adulteducation, was founded as aclearinghouse to serveprofessionals in the field. Itbecame a developer ofeducational programs with afocus on citizenship, dedicatedto informing adults aboutpolitical, social, and economicissues. It was the main sourceof adult education publicationsuntil the 1950s and nurturedsome early researchers who

separated out for study high-school-equivalent education(sometimes referred to as ABE)and pre-high-school-equivalenteducation (sometimes referredto as literacy education). CAAEhelped create a number of otherorganizations devoted to adultlearning and literacy, includingthe Canadian Commission forthe Community College,founded in 1968, which laterbecame the Association ofCanadian Community Colleges;the Movement for CanadianLiteracy, founded in 1977; andthe Canadian Congress forLearning Opportunities forWomen, founded in 1979. TheCAAE’s leadership rolediminished in the late 1980s,and the organization folded inthe mid-1990s.

1960sThis decade was characterizedby idealistic social conscious-ness and nationalist feeling inCanada and in Quebec, wavesof immigration, and broadsocial reforms such as the “waron poverty.” Means of wagingthe “war on poverty” includedexpanded federal funding fortechnical and vocationaleducation, which led to theexposure of under-educationamong adults.

1960The Technical and VocationalTraining Assistance Actauthorized Ottawa to join theprovinces in funding capitalcosts for vocational training

facilities. Within six years,projects valued at more than$1.5 billion provided 662 newschools and 439,952 studentplacements. Because of federal-provincial conflict over roles,and differences betweenQuebec and other provinces,this Act was the last federalinvestment in capital andoperating costs for technicaland vocational education. Manyinstitutes of technology createdthrough this Act were convertedto community colleges.

1967The Adult OccupationalTraining Act was passed,focusing on unemployed andunderemployed workers and onshort-term retraining. It led tothe development of the CanadaNewstart Program, creating sixprivate nonprofit corporationsto promote “experimentation inmethods which would motivateand train adults who wereeducationally disadvantaged”Without intending to, theprogram revealed that anumber of Canadian adultswere not educated enough toqualify for retraining. This putthe need for adult basiceducation out in the open forthe first time.

1969The Official Languages Act leadto an explosion of second-language teaching across thecountry and further contributedto awareness of the largenumbers of undereducatedadults.


A Chronology

Development of ABE/Literacy in Canada

1899

1920 1930

19401899Canadian Reading CampMovement founded

1922Canadian Reading CampMovement becomes Frontier College

1935Canadian Association for Adult Education (CAAE)


Late 1960s/Early 1970s Federal Basic Training andSkills Development (BTSD) andearly Basic Job ReadinessTraining (BJRT) were developedto target adults who could betrained or retrained in short-term programs leading directlyto jobs. BTSD was intended toprovide the elementary andhigh school levels of educationthat were prerequisites forvocational training.

1970sThis decade was characterizedby a retrenchment in spendingon adult learning and literacy.Reviews of the BTSD and BJRTshowed these programs werenot meeting the anticipatedgoals of skills training, fundswere restricted, and by the endof the decade “provision for themost undereducated adults hadalmost ceased to exist”(Thomas, 1983, 65).Simultaneously, a series ofprovincial reports andcommissions highlighted theneeds of illiterate and under-educated adults. Other nationalreports from variousgovernment committees (suchas the Senate Committee onPoverty,1971, and the SenateFinance Committee, 1976)raised the same concern in thecontext of other social issues.The first major study ofilliteracy in Canada was writ-ten, and the first organizationdedicated exclusively to adultlearning and literacy wasfounded. A concern for literacy

as a social justice issue wasdominant among activists.

1970First Laubach tutor trainingworkshop offered in Canada.Laubach councils were set upacross the country during thenext decade.

1976Adult Basic Education inCanada and Literacy Activitiesin Canada 1975/76, written byAudrey M. Thomas for WorldLiteracy of Canada, providedthe first detailed analysis ofilliteracy in the country. It usedcensus data on school gradecompletion to estimate thenumber of adults in need andcollected all available data onprovision across the countryfrom federal and provincialsources and from numerousorganizations of differenttypes—government, research,and community-based.

1977 First national conference onliteracy, held in Ottawa,brought together key people inthe field and lead to thecreation of the Movement forCanadian Literacy to advocatefor the cause.

1979Report of the Commission ofEnquiry on Educational Leaveand Productivity (for theMinister of Labour) includedrecommendations on adultilliteracy, calling for incentivesand establishment of an adult

literacy education fund thatwould offer grants toemployers, trade unions,educational organizations, andindividual workers to upgradebasic skills. While this fund didnot materialize, therecommendations contributedto setting the stage for a federalresponse to adult literacy.

1980s Characterized by an increasingnumber of federal governmentdepartment reports eithermentioning or focusing on adultilliteracy as a social andeconomic issue. Provincesstudied the issue, developedpolicies, and expandedprovision of innovative services(in the community-based andinstitutional sectors), althoughthere was little coordinationwithin different provincialdepartments funding differenttypes of services.

1981Laubach Literacy of Canadawas established to coordinateand represent the LaubachReading Councils across thecountry.

1983 Adult Illiteracy in Canada—A Challenge, an occasionalpaper for the CanadianCommission for UNESCO,written by Audrey Thomas, wasreleased. The mostcomprehensive nationalassessment yet produced inCanada, it presented the


1950

1960

19701960The Technical andVocational TrainingAssistance Act

1967The Adult Occupational Training Act was passed

1969The Official Languages Actlead to an explosion ofsecond-language teaching

1976Adult BasicEducation inCanada andLiteracyActivities inCanada 75/76

1977First nationalconference onliteracy inOttawa

1979Report of theCommission ofEnquiry onEducational Leave andProductivity


problem in the context of worldliteracy and characterized theCanadian situation as one ofundereducated adults. Thomasdescribed provincial and federalactivities as well as those in thevolunteer sector and pointedout the fragmentation ofservices. The juxtaposition ofdata on labour forceparticipation, educationalattainment, and trainingactivities was effective inmaking connections betweenthe social justice and economicmotives of literacy advocates.The paper also identifiedgroups in need of specializedresponse; these included theincarcerated, indigenouspeople, the handicapped,immigrants, women, the elderlyand school dropouts, thusemphasizing that adults withliteracy problems were not ahomogenous group.

1985A CAAE report, EducationallyDisadvantaged Adults: AProject, contributed to thepressure for government actionon literacy.

1986 On October 1, in The Speechfrom the Throne, the federalgovernment pledged to “workwith the provinces, the privatesector and the voluntary groupsto develop resources to ensurethat Canadians have access tothe literacy skills that are theprerequisite for participation inour advanced economy.” Thetask of developing a national

strategy within federaljurisdiction fell to theDepartment of the Secretary ofState, which began a lengthyprocess of consultation with allpotential stakeholders.

In December, meeting at a sitecalled Cedar Glen, a coalition ofnational groups promotingliteracy in the volunteer sectorcrafted a public policystatement. The Cedar GlenDeclaration was published asan open letter to the primeminister and provincial andterritorial premiers and leaders.It marked the beginning of apublic awareness campaign anda new point in the literacymovement when nationalorganizations could speak withcommon cause.

1987The Southam newspaper chaincommissioned a survey by theCreative Research Group, andpublished a series of articles onadult illiteracy in Canada. (Thearticles were reprinted in amonograph by Peter Calamaititled Broken Words: Why FiveMillion Canadians Are Illiterate.This was the first assessmentin Canada to test literacy using“real tasks” rather than byextrapolating literacy levelsfrom years of schooling. TheSoutham survey shocked thecountry and brought the issueto public attention.

The National LiteracySecretariat was created to fundliteracy initiatives.

1988A study by the CanadianBusiness Task Force onLiteracy estimated the annualcost to business of illiteracy inthe workforce at $4 billion andthe cost to society at $10billion. The group hypothesizedthat many errors required workto be redone and that manyaccidents in the workplaceresulting in loss of life orproperty could be attributableto illiteracy. Although the textcontained a disclaimer aboutthe accuracy of the estimates,very few people read thedisclaimer; only the figuresmade headlines. Publicity aboutthe costs of illiteracy, added toall the other discourse,contributed to a governmentdecision to take action.

The Council of Ministers ofEducation responded to the1986 Throne Speech bycommissioning its own surveyof literacy and ABE. Theirreport, Adult Illiteracy inCanada, published in February1988, outlined provincialprograms and policies wherethey existed (see Cairns, 1988).These descriptions were takendirectly from provincialgovernment documents. Theanalysis updated and expandedthe themes of the 1976 and1983 Thomas reports. Lifelonglearning was a theme.

The Prime Minister announceda federal national literacystrategy with funding of $110million over five years.


1980

1990

20001981Laubach Literacy of Canada established

1983Adult Illiteracy in Canada —A Challenge,paper ispublished

1985CAAE report,EducationallyDisadvantagedAdults: AProject, ispublished

1987SouthamSurveyCreation ofNationalLiteracySecretariat

1988- Study by the Cdn.Business Task Forceon Literacy. -CMEC Study, AdultIlliteracy in Canada

1989The National Adult LiteracyDatabase, ABC Canada, andthe Fédération canadienne pourl’alphabétisation en françaiswere created. LSUDApublished.

1995The InternationalAdult LiteracySurvey

1986The Speech from the Throne,- governmentalpledge.Cedar GlenDeclaration.


1989The National Adult LiteracyDatabase, ABC Canada, andthe Fédération canadienne pourl’alphabétisation en françaiswere created.

The National LiteracySecretariat funded the nationalSurvey of Literacy Skills Usedin Daily Life (LSUDA), a well-respected and widely readreport on literacy in Canada.This was the first officialdocument not to use the wordilliteracy.

1990sAn infrastructure was createdto support literacy activitiesacross Canada, includingresource centres, electronicnetworks and communicationsystems, and provincial andterritorial coalitions, all fundedpartially or entirely by theNational Literacy Secretariat.The NLS, through funding morethan 4,500 projects, supportedthe creation of teachingmaterials and increasedsupport for academic andcommunity-based research.While most provinces andterritories increased spendingon adult literacy education,provision of services to studentsremained inconsistent from onepart of the country to another.(See Hoddinott, 1998) Thedecade ended with attempts toassess, consolidate, and sharethe best of what had beendeveloped (See Barker, 1999),with repeated references to a

future model of lifelonglearning.

1994The International Adult LiteracySurvey, conducted by StatisticsCanada in partnership with theOECD in seven countries,including Canada, provided anupdated profile of literacy inCanada.

1997The federal governmentincreased the annual allocationof the NLS to $30 million andtargets the additional money tofamily literacy, workplaceliteracy, and new technology.The move was seen as a sign ofcontinuing federal commitment,which some in the literacy fieldhad feared might end at theclose of the decade when theUNESCO International Decadeof Literacy came to an end.Responsibility for training wasdevolved to the provinces,removing one of the potentialmechanisms for directingfederal funds into adult basiceducation.

1999-2000Most provincial and territorialgovernments expanded policystatements on adult literacy ordeveloped positions, if they didnot already have one. Howeverprovision to learners did notincrease in most parts of thecountry.

2001January Speech from theThrone pledged an increased

commitment to skills andlearning with a specificmention of literacy:

Today, many Canadianadults lack the higherliteracy skills needed in thenew economy. TheGovernment of Canada willinvite the provinces andterritories, along with theprivate sector and voluntaryorganizations, to launch anational initiative with thegoal of significantlyincreasing the proportion ofadults with those higher-level skills.

Federal policy makers began tostudy the issue to deepen theirunderstanding before defininghow that commitment would beimplemented. National literacyorganizations and provincialumbrella groups mobilized tolobby for a more coherent“system” of ABE across thecountry. By the end of theyear, no federal policy had beenannounced.

2002To be continued....Adapted and updated, withpermission, from “Adult Learningand Literacy in Canada,” by LindaShohet in Annual Review of AdultLearning and Literacy, Vol. 2,editedby John Comings, barbara garner,and Cristine Smith. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass. 2001. To order theAnnual Review, see NCSALL website. www.gse.havard.edu/~ncsall/publication.html


2001

2002

20032001Speech from theThrone,- governmentalpledge

http://www.gse.havard.edu/~ncsall/publication.html


An ABEteacher goesto AntarcticaSo, how does an adult basiceducator from Oregon get toAntarctica? Stay tuned overthe coming months as wetrace a project that has takenSusan Cowles, an adult basicskills instructor from Oregon,on a scientific expedition witha team of scientists from theVirginia Institute of MarineScience (VIMS). The team isstudying the presence ofpersistent organic pollutants(POPs) in the Antarctic. InJanuary-February 2002,Susan Cowles will travel withthe VIMS scientists to PalmerStation on the AntarcticPeninsula. She will post adaily report so students canbe with the team as theystudy POPs.

The site contains learningactivities that allow studentsto find out how scientiststhink and work. A glossaryhelps them understand termsthat the scientists use. Ifthere are any other wordsthat a student wants to learn,there is a dictionary box onevery page. If a student typesin any word and presses the“Go!” button, a window willpop up with the meaning ofthe word.

Several projects have allowedSusan to make thisextraordinary trip [seeSIDEBAR]. Programs such asthese give ABE studentsopportunities to learn in thesame ways that high schooland university students learntoday with access to the mostcurrent and sophisticatedmedia. For teachers, thechance to work with scienceand math from

anauthenticscience lab isobviously exhilarating.To have a colleagueproducing curricularmaterials and posting dailyobservations are furtherattractions.

This site, of course, can beused by higher level studentsas well since users canchoose the level of knowledgeat which to follow thescientists.

Susan Cowles is the projectdirector for the Science andNumeracy Special Collectionat the National Institute forLiteracy (NIFL). She teachesclasses in adult basic skillsdevelopment at Linn-BentonCommunity College, Corvallis,Oregon. Susan provides thelearning activities and othercontent for the Polar ScienceStation website.

Susan will be in Montreal fromJune 27 –29, 2002, toparticipate in the SummerInstitute on Adult Numeracy, co-sponsored by The Centre forLiteracy and NIFL. We are tryingto arrange a session for localteachers to meet Susan prior tothe Institute.

IN THE CLASSROOM: Making learning real

http://literacynet.org/polar isa project of the Science andNumeracy SpecialCollection, NationalInstitute for Literacy (NIFL).The special collectionprovides online science andnumeracy resources andcurricular materials forteachers, tutors, learners,and others who areinterested in adult literacyand numeracy programs.

Teachers ExperiencingAntarctica and the Arctic(TEA): This project, fundedby the National ScienceFoundation, trains andsends teachers on scientificfield expeditions to the polarregions. While in the field,teachers work alongsidescientists and communicatewith learners via email.Teachers also send journalarticles about theirexperiences to the TEAwebsite.

Office of Polar Programs,National ScienceFoundation (OPP): TheOffice of Polar Programscoordinates the U.S.scientific research carriedout in Antarctica and theArctic.

http://literacynet.org/polar


Research inpractice A Gathering about LiteracyResearch in Practice was heldat the University of Alberta inEdmonton from July 25 - 27,2001. Chaired by Mary Nortonof the Edmonton LearningCentre, the gathering broughttogether more than 100Canadian practitioners whohave participated in or areconsidering doing practice-based research in literacy.Mary Hamilton and JaneMace, British researchers withmany years of experience inthe field, acted asrespondents and scholars-in-residence for the three days.Besides the formalpresentations, there weremany opportunities forparticipants to share anddiscuss the issues that bindand divide them. A fullconference report, edited byHelen Woodrow, will beavailable in early winter2002.

Communities of Research: A Study of Literacy ActionResearch Networks in theU.S., U.K., Australia, (and Canada), by Allan Quigley & MaryNorton

[Researchers Allan Quigleyand Mary Norton, withfunding from the NationalLiteracy Secretariat, surveyedeleven research networks thatare or have been involved insome form of participatoryresearch in literacy in theU.S., U.K. and Australia. Theypresented the findings,summarized below, at theEdmonton Gathering.]

Who is involved

Participants included literacyteachers, tutors,

administrators andresearchers in two generalcategories: Those with aprofessional developmentfocus (i.e., most in the U.S.,except PALPIN) and thoseinterested in fostering aliteracy research culture (i.e.,those in the U.K. and some inAustralia). [See networks, p.10]

Why practitioners areinvolved in research

They cited linking research topractice; professionaldevelopment; improvingpersonal practice, andcreating new knowledge. Thedesire to have a “voice” wasexplicitly and implicitlynamed as well. [SeeSIDEBAR. p.10]

What topics are beingresearched?

The networks fall into twogroups. Some networks haveopen agendas and focus ondozens of issues, fromretention to ESL teachingmethods, to fund raisingmethods. Others havenational, state-wide orregional foci. Examples:

• ALNARC: Special Needsissues around literacy andnumeracy is a current topic.

• AMI: In New England, thesingle topic is AdultMultiple Intelligences.

• Kentucky: The main focusis student retention.

Literacy Research in Practice


Research methods Action Research, ParticipatoryInquiry, and CollaborativeResearch (sometimes definedas “systematic intentionalinquiry”) were cited.

How the networks arestructured and fundedMost are linked to, or havesupport, from universities,literacy institutes, and/orprofessional developmentcentres. Except RaPAL, allhave received governmentfunding or grants. Some alsoobtain funding fromfoundations. In the U.S., allgovernment funding must beawarded through bidding.ALNARC has been funded bygovernment but may go tobidding. All except RaPALhave staff who receive director indirect payment. RaPALis entirely volunteer.

How they supportpractitioner-researchersThe networks provide supportthrough training andstipends. Training takes theform of institutes orworkshops for one or moredays; regular group and/ornetwork meetings face-to-faceand/or by internet; researchmentors and buddies withinand across groups; andresources such as researchhandbooks and Websites forreference. Stipends/honoraria range from $1,200to $5,000 (Australian) withinALNARC to $100, $300, and$500 (US) for completedprojects.

How they disseminatefindingsFindings are disseminatedthrough published mono-graph series, newsletters,websites and Internetconnections, and conferences(i.e., special conferences forNetworks and as parts ofgeneral conferences)

Major Challenges Respondents named lack oftime, issues of identity andself-concept, isolation, writingup the research, andinvolving learners in thefollow-up process ofdissemination, write-ups, andconference participation.

Benefits PerceivedRespondents spoke of atransformative process, ofheightened critical reflectionability, of creating a culturewhere one can pose the“unacceptable,” of newpersonal and program self-image, of heightenedprofessional developmentskills and process, and of newknowledge for everydaypractice.

Networkssurveyed(in alphabetical order)

The Adult MultipleIntelligences (AMI) Studywas one of ten studiesundertaken by the NationalCenter for the Study of AdultLanguage and Literacy(NCSALL) and coordinatedthrough World Education andthe New England LiteracyResource Centre. It involvedteachers in participatory andcollaborative planning andimplementing projects relatedto AMI theory.

ALNARC (Adult Literacyand Numeracy ResearechConsortium) is a nationalAustralian collaboration forresearch into adult literacyand numeracy. The networkoperates through university –based centers in each state,with national coordination.

www.staff.vu.edu.au/alnarc

Literacy Research in PracticeExamples of practices

Linking Research toPractice-Creating NewKnowledge

• ALNARC links researchersand practitioners by puttingresearch mentors with newpractitioner-researchers.

• RaPAL asks researchers andpractitioner-researchers tocritically think about andexamine both practice andissues.

• PALPIN emphasizes problem-posing and stresses criticalexamination of practice overproblem-solving.

• Bridges to Practice focuseson new topics concerningadults with learningdisabilities in literacy.

Professional Development-Improving Personal PracticeThrough Reflection:

• PAARN, The Virginia Adult-Ed/Research Network,GALPIN, Project IDEA, andthe Kentucky PractitionerInquiry Project emphasizeidentifying and addressingpractice problems. Impactstudies in Pennsylvaniaindicate higher levels ofleadership, reflection, criticalthinking among participants.

Gaining Voice

• In Australia, ALNARCoperates with governmentfunding and has a statedaim of informing policy atthe state and federal level.

• RaPAL, which operates withlimited government funding,has a stated aim ofcritiquing policies andpractices.

• In the U.S., most networkshave developed Websites forwider distribution of findingsbut none have a stated aimof informing or critiquingpolicy.

http://www.staff.vu.edu.au/alnarc


Bridges to Practice inCalifornia used On-lineAction Research (OAR) tosupport research andcommunication about topicsnot previously researched foradults with learningdisabilities.

GALPIN (Georgia AdultLiteracy Inquiry Network)was initiated in 1995 as partof a three-year project. Theproject aimed to contribute tothe professional growth ofteachers by promoting andstrengthening inquiry basedstaff developmentopportunities and to bettermeet learner needs.

Kentucky PractitionerInquiry Projects involveaction research teams toaddress issues of studentretention.

http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/wforce/daelnewsletter/page6.html

The Learning FromPractice Project (PA) wasinitiated in 1995 to provideprofessional development forpractitioners interested inimproving teaching, learning,and programs. The projectincludes the PennsylvaniaAction Research Network(PAARN) and the Penn-sylvania Adult LiteracyPractitioner Inquiry Network(PALPIN).

http://www.learningfrompractice.org/default.htm

NCELTR (The NationalCentre for EnglishLanguage Teaching andResearch) Action ResearchProjects are a means toinvolve teachers in researchon their practice. The projectsare coordinated andsupported through the AdultMigrant Education Program(AMEP) Research Centre inSydney, Australia.

http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/amep/index.htm

Project IDEA was initiated inTexas in 1996 to provide analternative form of staffprofessional development.

http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/

http://project-idea.com/

RaPAL (Research andPractice in Adult LiteracyNetwork) is an independentvoluntary organization basedin Britain, founded in 1988.

http://www.literacy.lancs.ac.uk/rapal/RaPAL.htm

The Virginia AdultEducation ResearchNetwork was initiated in1991 to encouragepractitioner research amongadult educators in Virginia.

Source: Presentation by AllanQuigley and Mary Norton.

Literacy Research in Practice

February 1996National LiteracySecretariat sponsors a“policy conversation” inEdmonton.

October 1997NLS co-sponsors aResearch-in-practiceseminar with 18practitioners, researchers,consultants from Canadaand U.S. Report on variousNetworks, issues, policies.

February 1998NLS issues EnhancingLiteracy Research inCanada documenthighlighting the need forbuilding research capacityin literacy. Practitionerresearch is one approach.

Research-In-Practicenetworks begin in Alberta(Literacy Coordinators ofAlberta, U of A, LearningCenter in Edmonton) and B.C.

A Canadian Association forthe Study of AdultEducation (CASAE)Regional conference inHalifax for the AtlanticRegion focuses on Action

Research in Practice as itstheme.

July 1998B.C. Ministry of Educationand Literacy B.C. co-sponsor a professionaldevelopment workshop onaction research at SimonFraser University. 27practitioners attend fromall Western provinces,Ontario and the Yukon. This was followed by a 1999 conference inRichmond, B.C.

Literacy B.C hosts an on-line conference onresearch-in-practiceincluding all WesternCanada. In B.C., AResearch Circles project isinitiated out of SimonFraser University acrossB.C. The Ontario FieldResearch Group, dis-banded some years ago,continues on an informalbasis.

July 2001A gathering in Edmonton ofpractitioners, researchers,consultants from the U.S. ,U.K., Australia andCanada.

Research in Practice in Canada: A recent chronology

http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/wforce/daelnewsletter/page6.html

http://www.learningfrompractice.org/default.htm

http://www.nceltr.mq.edu.au/amep/index.htm

http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/

http://project-idea.com/

http://www.literacy.lancs.ac.uk/rapal/RaPal.htm


A CollaborativePractitioner ResearchProject

Five practitioners

from different small

communities in

British Columbia

received funding from

the provincial

Ministry of Advanced

Education to do a

collaborative research

study on how adults

with little formal

education learn.

In this session, eachparticipant described howand why she becameinvolved, how a long distancecollaboration process wasmanaged, how the researchquestion was developed, andhow the methodology evolved.The team struggled to definetheir terms and settled onlooking at adults over 19years old without a highschool diploma or havingcompleted a modified highschool curriculum. Theobjectives of the project were:

• To explore how adults withlittle formal education learn

• To use a variety of researchtechniques, based on acommunity’s needs, toinvestigate the question

• To involve literacy learners,practitioners and academicresearchers in the researchprocess

• To train literacypractitioners and learnersin research skills

• To recommend differentways to support adultlearners outside the formalsystem

• To design and document astructure for collaborativeresearch across regions anddisciplines.

The team documented theentire process by keeping andfiling all e-mails, by tapingmeetings (and transcribingthe first ones) and byrecording minutes. They useda common questionnaire forinterviews and focus groups,making some personalmodifications (i.e., using

journals, observing thelearning of their ownchildren).

The questions focus on whatthe interviewees do well andhow they learned to do it, andon how they get theinformation they need daily.Only one researcher hadcompleted her interviews atthe time of the presentation;the others were to do them inthe fall. Team membersdiscussed the challenges theyhave faced and the personalgrowth they’ve experienced.Challenges included learningto think of oneself as aresearcher, being skepticalabout qualitativemethodology, knowing whento push team members,working through academicstructures such as EthicsCommittees, which were notdesigned for literacy projects,finding time for reflection,questioning the powerrelations when university-based researchers work withnon-university researchers,and more.

A rich discussion emerged.One presenter posed thequestion: Is our personal andprofessional gratificationjustification enough for doingand being funded to doresearch? Will it have a socialimpact or is it self-indulgent?From a succinct “no” and“hopefully” as answers, theresponses broadened. Oneparticipant said that researchis an educational process initself and cannot be justpersonal and professionalgratification. Another pointedout that pragmatic skills,such as collaboration andmanagement, are learned thatcontribute to educationalgovernance. This type ofresearch is a form ofprofessional development.[LS]

Literacy Research in Practice: SESSION REPORT

How do adults with littleformal education learn?


Reflections onThe GatheringJane Mace crystallized herexperience of being at theGathering. “I’ve met peoplethis week who swim in thelightning,” she said of thegroup. Allan Quigley saidthat after fifteen years as apractitioner and fifteen as aprofessor, he believes there isa research revolution goingon. He traced the develop-ment from the 1930s, whenresearch meant only scientificinquiry to today when qualit-ative method is accepted andbecoming more widespread.Quoting Zora Neale Hurston,he said, “Research is justformalized curiosity.”

A tone was set in the openingsession. Sitting in a circularKiva of tiered wooden benchesarranged around an openspace (in aboriginal culture agathering place of equalityand respect), we listened toPriscilla George, the RainbowWoman (Ningwakwe) who hasinspired the flourishingmovement of the past decadein Canadian aboriginalliteracy, share her story aboutovercoming her fear of singingin public as an example oftranscendence of fear andworking through doubt.These themes recurredthrough many of the storiestold by presenters about theirstruggle to see themselves asresearchers.

In small groups, inworkshops, in round tablesand in social networks, weasked what it means to doresearch, when does ateacher call herself aresearcher, and why. Oneparticipant said, “Researchchanges us. It forces us toexamine who we are and askwhy we do this and what webelieve in… There is some

risk for the researcher; shecan be so careful of everyoneelse’s vision that that sheloses her own…And there isalways the sense of being anoutsider that createstension…”

Being outside the mainstreamseemed to be oneconsequence of doingparticipatory research. Thiswas not necessarily seen as anegative. Mainstream,

suggested one woman,may be a vision that’sbecome stagnant;creating new knowledgemeans being counterculture.

One presenter used themetaphor of a gap.While we always say,“Mind the gap”perceiving it as a spaceinto which we could falland get hurt, shesuggested thatpractitioner–researchersare living in the gap,choosing to work wherethere is some space andfreedom.

In feedback from thefirst day, Mary

Hamilton reported hearingdiscussions of ethics, ofconsent, and of naming. Shehighlighted issues of power inthe dynamics of research asacademics, practitioners andlearners work within andagainst institutional shapingand constraints. She notedthe gendered nature ofresearch processes and thechallenge of identifyingourselves as researchers.

Literacy Research in Practice: CONFERENCE REPORT

Replays from the GatheringIn the session called How do Adults with Little FormalEducation Learn?” [see p. 12 ], respondent Jane Maceasked,” What comes after the word “learn?” If we say “learnto knit,” “learn to care,” “learn to care for a diabetic child,”or “learn to be,” are we talking about the same kind oflearning?

“Life as a practitioner got in the way. Institutionalbureaucracy got in the way…”

“It’s hard to think of myself as a researcher. I’m still abeginner in terms of rigour.”

“Research is an educational process in itself, a fascinatingexploration.”

“Pragmatic skills are learned—collaboration, management—that contribute to educational governance and professionaldevelopment.”

“You don’t need funding to think.”


But, what counts asresearch? “The workingcontext of literacy,” she said,“forces practitioners to[re]invent the model(s) ofresearch, creating somethingnot quite recognizable ineither place.” Mary spokeabout the challenge ofbuilding a research culture, ofwhat supports are needed.“We have a field full ofknowledge and wisdom withno one to drive it.”

Margaret Herrington, chair ofRaPAL (UK), noted that whilethe UK is less involved withvolunteer issues, it is dealingwith the professionalization ofthe field which she supports.Research-in-practice is a formof professional development.She described how discussioninquiry can open updifferences in practice.However, she cautioned,“Calling it research-in-practice doesn’t resolve thedifficulty of practitionersseeing themselves asresearchers. I see it as anorganic process. The natureof the work is investigatory—trying to resolve difficultiesdaily. My practice isresearch-in-practice.”

Working against the optimismof new researchers are therealities described in onepoorly-attended session whereBeth Young shared findingsfrom years of research onpart-time workers andchanging work conditions--flexible workplace andworkforce. Her study ofliteracy workers in Alberta

reflected thegeneral NorthAmerican patternof part-timeworkers, mainlywomen, with lowor no benefits, nopensions andoften multiplejobs. Inconditions suchas these, howmany teacher-researchers canrealistically beexpected?

There is no doubtthat the research-practitioners atThe Gatheringspoke powerfullyto the possibilitiesof incorporatinginquiry intoteaching. Still, at

times there was a missionarytone to the event; as oneparticipant noted ironically,“Participatory can also beoppressive.”

In a conference that wastalking about different waysof knowing and differentmodels of inquiring, there wasan undercurrent of anti-academic feeling that silencedthe few traditionalresearchers present. Is everyact of reflection or inquiry apiece of research? Is everyinstance of sharing practice aresearch event? Everyteacher should be a reflectivepractitioner, but does everyteacher have to be aresearcher?

Can we work more effectivelyto bridge the gap between theacademic and practice-basedresearchers?

Many of the tensions that werenamed at The Gathering callfor continuing exploration. [LS]

Literacy Research in Practice: CONFERENCE REPORT


Health literacyand hard-to-reach patientsby Linda Shohet

Who are the hard-to-reach, andhow do you identify them? Aresearch team at the MontrealGeneral Hospital has grappledwith these questions for morethan a year as we have tried todetermine how a major medicalfacility might help low-literatepatients take better control oftheir own health care.

The Montreal General Hospitalis a large bilingual teachinghospital inner hospital locatedin downtown Montreal. Animportant proportion of itspatient population ismulticultural. Many patientsdo not speak English or Frenchas their first language, andmany of them are low-literate.The hospital first becameinvolved in health literacy in1995 when the Director ofNursing Staff Developmentattended a conference on healthliteracy and realized that thisissue touched many patients atthe hospital. Professionaldevelopment workshops onhealth literacy for health careprofessionals were held in1997-1999, the product of apartnership between TheCentre for Literacy and theHospital. Since then, theNursing Staff Development Unithas expressed ongoing interestin health literacy. Hospital staffrecognize that the changingnature of health care is leadingto a growing number of patientshaving to care for themselves athome. Many are potentiallyunable to because of difficultiesreading, understanding andapplying health informationreceived at the hospital.

In 2000, a Steering Committeeset up at the Hospital incollaboration with The Centrefor Literacy started out to do a

Needs Assessment of the healtheducation and informationneeds of low-literate patients.In conducting preliminaryinterviews and discussions, theCommittee became aware thatit was going to be difficult toidentify patients with lowliteracy. There was strongfeeling against testing and littleconfidence in patient self-reporting. There wasconsiderable uneasiness aboutthe word “literacy” itself whichwas corroborated as the studywent on. Finally, theCommittee recognized thatpeople could be low-literate fordifferent reasons requiringdifferent interventions, and thatsome people might appear to below-literate because of languagebarriers. So, we enlarged theconcept of the target groups to“hard-to-reach” and created anoperational definition for thisstudy. For our purposes,“hard-to-reach” patientsincluded low-literate patients,patients who face language orcultural barriers, and patientswith learning difficulties due tocognitive or physical disabilities.

The question of how to identifythese patients remained. Whilethe term low-literate is anattribute of the patient, theterm “hard-to-reach” is not astraight descriptor. It forces oneto add “by whom?” And oncethe question is added, theresponsibility is shifted to theperson trying to do thereaching, in this case, thehealth care provider. The nextstep in our process followedfrom this. We would ask healthcare providers to identifypatients with whom they foundit difficult to communicate boththrough writing and orally. Forthese patients, healthinformation and education isoften communicated in waysthat they cannot understandand is not useful to them. It isdifficult for them to get answersto their health-relatedquestions.

Health literacy has beendefined as: “The ability to usewritten materials to function inhealth care settings and tomaintain one’s health and theskills needed to advocate forand request neededclarification.” As a prior step tothis Needs Assessment, aBackground Paper on HealthLiteracy was developed. Duringthe course of this research, itbecame apparent that theSteering Committee wanted toinvestigate more than the“ability to use written materials.”The Committee also wanted tolook at the capacity of hard-to-reach patients to understandand use health informationtransmitted orally informationincluded in videos, as well asinformation from other sources(visual materials, workshops,patient discussion groups, etc.).Could these other sources ofinformation and educationprocesses complement and/orreplace written information asuseful sources for hard-to-reachpatients?

The Needs Assessment:Methodology and limitations

The Committee chose aqualitative methodology asmost appropriate to this type ofexploratory research. Wedecided to use a small sampleof informants and to focus onissues rather than numbers,knowing that the datacollection would encompassmany uncontrollable variablesand that results would requiresignificant interpretation.

The Committee wanted to workwith hospital units that carefor large numbers of patientsand where patients (and/ortheir families) need to beinvolved in self care at home.Three hospital units–dialysis,oncology hematology and thepre-operative centre–expresseda desire to participate in theNeeds Assessment. Patientsfrom these units require a lot of

Literacy Research in Practice:


health information andeducation. Health careprofessionals take significanttime to teach patients and theirfamilies. Patients and familiesare generally “hungry” forrelevant health information. Intwo of the three participatingunits (dialysis, oncologyhematology), patients face achronic health problem and arelikely to receive medical care formany years. This wouldfacilitate the potential trackingof patients in terms ofevaluating over time the impactof more appropriate patienteducation methodologies.

Committee members decided tocontact four groups: hard-to-reach patients themselves,their families, support staff andhealth care professionals.These informants were involvedin the process of patienteducation either directly orindirectly. The decision to talkto patients and health careprofessionals is an obviousone: they are the groupsdirectly involved in theeducation process. We knewthat for many patients at thehospital, the role of the familyin caring for the patient andprocessing health informationwas very important. We alsodecided to collect theperspective of support staffknowing from the literaturethat their role was frequentlyoverlooked and unexplored.

Data were collected throughindividual interviews and focusgroups with the four groups ofinformants from the threeunits: hard-to-reach patients,members of their families,support staff and health careworkers. Individual interviewswere conducted with healthcare workers from two near-byCLSCs (community clinics).Physicians from the three unitswere asked to comment on asynthesis of the results. Theresearch process was approvedby the hospital’s ethics

committee after the InformedConsent form was revised inplain language to meetinstitutional standards ofresearch practice. Patients andfamilies were invited by amember of the nursing staff toparticipate. In total, 114informants contributed to thefindings.

Findings

The findings showed that hard-to-reach patients often do not speakeither official language. Somehave physical or cognitivedisabilities caused by orincreased by their illness. Amajority do not use the writteninformation they receive, but relyon care givers to read or interpretit for them. They would like clearpertinent information, notnecessarily in print only, relatedto their illness and to daily living.Family wanted more informationabout coping, and aboutcommunity resources. They allwanted more empathy andresponsiveness to their individualneeds. Most also welcomed theidea of a centre, but did not wanta large centralized facility. Theyrecommended small disease-specific centres located in or nearthe area where they come fortreatment. A large majority of thepatients interviewees did not, anddid not want to, use a computer.

Health providers recognizedthat much of their materialneeded updating. They focusedheavily on written resourcesand tended to feel that makingmaterials clearer through PlainWriting would answer many oftheir concerns. They alsogenerally felt that patientsneeded more rather than lessinformation. They agreed thatcentres should be small andinviting, and wantedprofessional developmentactivities integrated.

The Steering Committee hasused the findings andrecommendations from thethree units as the basis for a

follow-up project to establishpilot education centres whereselected interventions will beimplemented and tracked. TheCentres will be guided byparticipatory educationcommittees made up ofproviders, patients, caregivers,possibly a volunteer, and theproject coordinator.

The Committee is aware thatany new ways of informing andeducating the “hard-to-reach”will have to be sensitive andpro-active. We will be involvingsome community participationfor multi-cultural training andtranslation, and offering staffdevelopment on material designand clear communication.There is also recognition thatthe patients who gave input areprobably among the easier“hard-to-reach,” and that thereare harder “hard-to-reach,” andsome who may never bereached. However, thesegroups of patients are not theminority they have been madeout to be. People who havecommunication barriers likelycomprise at least half thepopulation, and as with specialneeds and learning disabilitiesin schools, when the healthcare sector finds ways ofmeeting the communicationneeds of the “hard-to-reach,”they will be improving healthcommunication for themainstream as well.

The Background Document onHealth Literacy and the full NeedsAssessment report with findings,analyses and appendices, includingquestionnaires and InformedConsent form, can be downloadedfrom The Centre’s web sitewww.nald.ca/litcent.htm or orderedin print.

Literacy Research in Practice:

http://www.nald.ca/litcent.htm

[The Centre for Literacy ofQuebec ran the 2001 SummerInstitute in Montreal from June28 - 30, in collaboration withThe Learning DisabilitiesAssociation of Canada (LDAC).The three days were filmed bythe National Film Board fortheir projected website calledthe Learning Centre(www.nfb.ca). While severalparticipants commented thatthe filming made it “quiteformal,” Sally McKeownfound it to be “an intensivegroup that reflects and

questions and discusses, agroup looking for guidanceand ideas.” Using pre-setissues as a starting point,participants elaborated andresponded based onexperience from diversebackgrounds. This section ofLiteracy Across theCurriculuMedia Focuscaptures some of thediscussion and reflections thattook place during the Institute,in the hope that sharing cansupport others engaged by thesame concerns.]

LEARNING DISABILITIES • LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUMEDIA FOCUS • 17

LACMF SPECIAL INSERT - VOLUME 16 • NUMBER 1

For adults with short-term memory problems,remembering instructions given by a computeron the telephone can be torture. For someonewith hand-eye coordination problems, findingkeys quickly enough on a keypad can preventthem from using a computerized phonedirectory. For someone who cannot read lettersand numbers, spelling a name can mean theend of the call.

On the other hand, technologies are makinglearning possible for many who could never sitin a classroom or work in traditional printmedia. Adaptive technologies hold promise foradults with all types of disabilities. Mostresearch studies have focused on specificadaptations for specific disabilities. But whatmight be possible if the barriers around specificdisabilities were breached, and the adaptationsdesigned for the blind, the deaf, the spastic, theaphasic, the intellectually disabled, wereapplied more widely?

There is continuing optimism about thepotential of new technologies, especially

computers and the Web, to increase access tolearning for those adults who have traditionallybeen shut out. The merging of technologiesmeans that televisions may soon betransmitting adapted learning materials directlyto learners.

Who will design these materials? Who willassess the adult learners? What roles willteachers play in the process? What roles willvolunteers play? Who will pay the bills?

Currently, there are enormous disparities inknowledge and training, even in the samecountry. In some Canadian sites, on-linecurricula are being designed; in others, thereare still adult literacy programs without acomputer.

How can the field of adult literacy and basiceducation use the findings from the K-12 andpost-secondary education sectors and from thedisabilities fields to identify the learningdisabled among their clients and to match thetechnologies we now have to the clients whocan benefit from them?

Presenters (in alphabeticalorder) included:Chris Abbott, King’s CollegeLondon, editor of Symbols Now (2000)

Jaleh Behroozi & JuneCrawford , National Institutefor Literacy (NIFL), WashingtonDC, now incorporating theCenter for Adult Literacy andLearning Disabilities

Nancy Cooper, Fieldconsultant, Native Stream,Alphaplus, Toronto

Elizabeth Gayda, President,The Learning DisabilitiesAssociation of Canada (LDAC)

Pat Hatt, Toronto adulteducator, LD specialist

Gill MacMillan, CambridgeTraining and Development, UK

Sally McKeown, BritishEducational Council forTechnology Agency (BECTA),author of Adult Literacy andLearning Disabilities

ISSUES AND QUESTIONS POSED AT THE START OF THE INSTITUTE:

Literacy, Technology and Learning Disabilities:

Literacy, Technology and Learning Disabilities:

Today and tomorrow

How does technology affect adults with LD?

An overview of Summer Institute 2001

Learning DisabilitiesAssociation of Canada

(LDAC)www.ldac-taac.ca

http://www.nfb.ca

18 • LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUMEDIA FOCUS • LEARNING DISABILITIES

by Chris Abbott, King’s College London

Literacy, images and symbols

For the past few years I havebeen researching the movetowards multimedia ratherthan solely text-basedcommunication. I havetracked with interest the usesthat young people havedeveloped for their web sites,and the ways in which thetexts that are found therehave become ever more relianton the use of sound, imagesand movement.

During the same period, myother research into the use ofsymbols within specialeducational needs settingshas also shown an increasinguse of pictorial or symbolictools for communication or

literacy. How might these twodevelopments be connected?Can we really see a genuineshift here towards iconiccommunication? Some writersand researchers would saythis is the case – and I amincreasingly convinced bytheir arguments.

I am now middle-aged byalmost any definition, andthat means I remember aneducational world filled withinkwells and blackboards,rather than computers andtechnology. It would be easyto see the differences in mylifetime as being about thedifferent devices andtechnologies that have becomeavailable to learners of allages, but to focus on thecomputer would be to fall intothe trap of technological

determinism. Thefundamental change broughtabout by these technologieshas been related to the way inwhich people have respondedto them by changing the waysin which society controls theownership of the means ofproduction. Learners of allages no longer need to bepassive recipients; they can beactive producers andtransmitters of messages aswell, and it is often throughsymbolic and other image-based approaches that theychoose to do so.

Defining literacy is a good wayof filling a few hours on a wetafternoon, but closure israrely reachable; it’s tooslippery a concept. Forpoliticians, of course, it’s allvery simple: literacy is readingand writing. We know that it

is far more complex than that,of course, and that there areclose links between literacy,culture and power: not a pointthat needs to be madeperhaps to an audience in abilingual city. An educationofficer at the British FilmInstitute suggests that to beliterate is to “fully inhabit aculture,” and that, surely, isour aim for all learners.

Other theorists, particularly agroup of linguists who met inNew England in 1996, havedeveloped alternative theoriesof multiple literacies orliteracy practices, and it iswithin the latter framework,based on the work of BrianStreet, that my research hasdeveloped. A theoreticalframework based on thenotion of literacy practicescan more readily accept the

range of communicative stylesand strategies that peoplewith learning difficulties mightadopt. For that reason, mywork focusing on youngpeople and their web sites,personal homepages in mostcases, has focussed on theirmotivations and intentions, asshown by the practices inwhich they engage.

More recently, the opportunityto edit Symbols Now, a bookof case studies of howlearners of all ages are usingsymbols, has enabled me tothink more deeply about theissues that are raised by theever-increasing importance ofthe image in communication.Whether the symbols involvedbe Rebus, Makaton, PCS,Pictogram or something else,the process involved is one ofinterpreting a pictorial orsymbolic representation.

My thesis, then, is thatcommunication and literacyare becoming more closelyconnected with the visualimage as well as the textual

Moving to the visual: Technology and new literacypossibilities for the learning disabled

Chris Abbott

… to be literate is to “fully inhabit a culture,” and that,surely, is our aim for all learners.


word. This is an opportunity,not a threat, for people withlearning disabilities. We haveseen many human responsesto technology in the pastwhich have enabled peoplewith disabilities to becomemore included, and ICT –Information andCommunications Technology –is ever more able to providethe same support for literacy.

New options for learners

How, then, can technologyassist in the process ofhelping all learners becomeliterate? Or, to be moreaccurate, how can we usetechnology to assist all ourlearners in their efforts?

I think we must firstlyrecognise the changes in ourown lifetimes, and thedifferences in thecommunicative and literacypractices in today’s world. Ifwe are still trying to helplearners achieve the samekinds of literacy as we weretwenty years ago, we arefailing them. People withlearning disabilities have asmuch right of access to theInternet as everyone else, and

they can be offered excitingnew possibilities of access tomultimedia texts throughonline technology.

We also need to recognise thatsymbolic communication hasentered all our lives, whetherthrough the signs at the

airport, the logo on ourcompany notepaper or thesmall symbol in the corner ofthe screen which tells uswhich TV channel we arewatching. Symboliccommunication is not just apart of life in 2001; it can alsobe extremely supportive forpeople with learningdisabilities. We need toembrace this development anduse the software toolsavailable to ensure that theworld in which our learnersfunction becomes ever moresymbolic and communicative.

Most of all, however, we needto recognise the rights of allthe people we work with to bewriters as well as readers, to

make their opinions known aswell as respond to direction,and to disagree or dissentwhere they wish to do so.Those people whosedisabilities interfered withtheir capability to function inthis way in the past can nowbe offered the opportunity to

increase their literacy and tofully inhabit their own - ourown - culture.

Dr. Chris Abbott is a researcherand Lecturer in Education atKing’s College School ofEducation, University of London.With many years of classroomexperience as a special needsteacher and strong interest inuses of ICT, Chris brings apractice-based understanding tohis research. He has publishedarticles and books on IT, Literacyand the Internet, ICT andTeacher Education, and SpecialEducation and the Internet, aswell on the use of symbols. A listof his publications is available athttp://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/cabbott/pub.html.

teem is an independent UKcompany supported by government, teachersand hardware and software producers toevaluate digital classroom content. It trainsclassroom teachers to become evaluators whouse the materials with their students beforewriting up their findings using an evaluationframework. The teem website containshundreds of evaluations and case studies of CD-ROMs and websites. The web site can besearched like a library catalogue, and offersthree sets of information for every title:

Publisher’s information describing the productand giving contact details.

Evaluations by teem-trained teacher-evaluators.

Case studies showing how the evaluators usedthe materials in classrooms.

Every entry has a summary of the evaluationsand case studies as well as the full versions.

To become evaluators, teachers must beteaching the National Curriculum, use softwarein the classroom, have a personal e-mailaccount, be good at meeting deadlines, and bewilling to take teem training. Evaluatorsreceive training and staff development, andlearn to look critically at software; they also getpaid for each evaluation and keep the evaluatedsoftware. In addition, they have access tofurther professional development opportunities.

The teem website has a number of entries onsoftware for special needs.

See www.teem.org.uk

teem – Teachersevaluatingeducationalmultimedia

If we are still trying to help learners achieve the samekinds of literacy as we were twenty years ago, we are

failing them.

http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/cabbott/pub.html

http://www.teem.org.uk


by Sally McKeown, EducationOfficer, British EducationalCommunications and TechnologyAgency (BECTA)

[This paper was producedthrough the work of a smallseminar of experts and throughconsultation with the BasicSkills Agency in the UK. Itconsiders three areas:Information and CommunicationTechnology (ICT) as a basic skill;how ICT changes existing basicskills; and ICT as a support forlearning literacy. SallyMcKeown shared it as abackground piece against whichparticipants could considerquestions about learningdisabilities.]

ContextIt is unrealistic to talk aboutliteracy in society, educationand the workplace withoutincluding the full contributionICT makes today. Over thepast decade both the demandsof society and the nature of theworkplace have changedbeyond all recognition. ICT ispresent in a range of forms allaround us, and an inability touse it represents a serious gapin a person's life skills. TheStevenson Report (March 1997)[a UK report] claimed that theyhoped to see, “a society within10 years where ICT haspermeated the entirety ofeducation (as with the rest ofsociety) so that it is no longer atalking point but taken forgranted - rather as electricityhas come to be."

ICT in societyICT today must be seen as anessential skill, underpinningmany forms of informationgathering, recording andreporting. Because ICT skillsare relatively new and becausethey have connotations ofcleverness, people are notembarrassed to admit that theirICT skills are non-existent.However, the unwillingness to

address ICT skills will becomean increasingly serioussituation in the 21st centuryand the issue of confidence andself-esteem will apply to thoseunable to use ICT as much asto those who lack literacy skills.

ICT in educationUnder-performance in ICT canhinder the effectiveness ofsecondary education where ICTis used both to preparestudents for the world of workand as a resource throughwhich other subjects aretaught. Integrated LearningSystems are used for deliveringbasic skills work in somecolleges. Many aspects oflearning will be technologicallydependent; for example, theforthcoming University forIndustry in the UK has a largetechnological component. Thismeans that the individualneeds to develop literacy at ahigher level to access the newcurricula and needs to usetechnology in order toparticipate in lifelong learning.

ICT in the workplaceThe skills demanded in theworkplace are changing fasttoo. For example, in responseto the need for improvements inperformance and competi-tiveness, manual workers todaywill often be required to inputdata or access databases forinformation and stock control.Increasingly, professional staff

use e-mail directly rather thandictate to a secretary.

ICT as a basic skillBecause of the prevalence ofICT in every walk of life, thereare issues of equity andequality. Every individualshould, through their educationor training, have theopportunity to become ICTliterate, both as consumer andas producer. There is currentlyno clear definition of ICT as abasic skill since the demandson people to cope will changewith context and time, butfunctional users will appreciatethe power of the medium. Theywill appreciate that the mediumallows for the storage andretrieval of data and will be ableto scan selectively, use searchtools and select and controlinformation. They will befamiliar with common ICTconventions and navigationtechniques. As producers ofcontent, they find that text andimages can be constantly editedand that software provides anon-linear medium. In otherwords, they will make themedia work for them ratherthan just being a passiveconsumer. In order to reachthis point, individuals may needto alter the way they perceiveand use ICT.

How ICT changes the nature of basic skills

WritingThe use of a computer keyboardmay mean that everyone canproduce work which looksprofessional. Does handwritingthus become an art rather thana basic skill? Does it becomecalligraphy?

Not Basic Skills - Essential Skills!

Sally McKeown

In the future many people willbe writing directly onto screens.Writing will be recognized as anon-linear activity as writersmay well start in the middle of adocument and produce the mainfacts and meat of a text andthen write the introduction last.

With the use of voicerecognition software, whichuses spoken language toactivate the computer, studentsmay begin to think in moregrammatical terms as thespoken word is translateddirectly into text. Writing, inthe sense of getting words on toa page, may become a lowerlevel skill with the advent ofvoice input systems.

ReadingReading now needs to behigher level. It is not enoughto decode. Readers need to beable to skim and scan as theyhave more to process."Supermarkets are crowdedwith more print than anyonecould read in a week."

"The significant shift inliteracy with regard to publicwriting is that the confidentliterates know what they neednot read. Those who cannotread believe that if they wereto learn, they would then haveto read all they see."

We also need to makejudgments about the reliabilityof information, particularly asthe World Wide Web (WWW)means that everyone can havea view and a forum in which toexpress it.

ICT as a support for literacy

Evidence shows that ICT cansupport the development ofwriting skills by allowinglearners to explore anddevelop ideas. There areplanning tools and writingframes to help reluctantwriters get started.Multimedia systems allowstudents to understand betterthe links between sound,

pictures and text. This isuseful for talking books andweb reference materials.

Standard Word tools such asthe thesaurus, theAutoCorrect and spell-checkercan be used to developautonomous learning forvocabulary and spelling whilespeech tools such as voicerecognition systems andspeech synthesis help thelearner develop an ear and aneye for spelling.

Issues to consider• Many homes are unlikely to

see computer technology asa priority for spending in theforeseeable future. It isimportant that an imbalancebetween the haves and have-nots should be addressed inthe public sector.

• Some adults associateschool with failure and areunlikely to return to schoolpremises. Schools are oftenunwilling to let adults usetheir ICT facilities because ofthe dangers of eradicatingfiles of student work etc. InBritain, there are additionalsecurity issues in the wakeof Dunblane.

• Inspections of school andcollege provision in the UKhave revealed a disparity inprovision. While there aresome centres of excellence,many teachers still do notuse ICT as a matter ofcourse.

• At present there is anemphasis on equipmentprovision rather thanappropriate use, so there aremany examples of studentse-mailing other students inthe same class, regardless ofthe fact that this is not themost efficient or effectivemeans of communication!

• There is a great need for rolemodels to encourage the useof ICT. Even now, in themedia, successful use of ICT

is associated with young,upwardly mobile, males ofall ethnic groups.

• There should be links withinitiatives such as familyliteracy schemes or otherswhich encourage a cross-generational approach toencourage lifelong learning.

•As well as college provision,literacy and ICT schemesneed to be set in venuessuch as sports centres,health centres, libraries,football grounds, workingmen's clubs, village hallsand fitness centres.

Finally, it should be recognizedthat there are currentlyinsufficient funds for high-levelequipment for all learners.Priority should be given tolearners who have the greatesteducational needs. Basic skillsstudents are one of the groupswho will benefit most fromhigh-level equipment with goodsound and graphicscapabilities. But how can weachieve it?

Sally McKeown is an EducationOfficer at the British EducationalCommunications and TechnologyAgency (BECTA), the nationalorganization in the UK thatoversees research into uses oftechnology in all levels ofeducation, including adult. Sallyhas written extensively aboutadults with dyslexia and othertypes of disabilities. She hasprepared the BECTA InformationSheets on Dyslexia and ICT andSpecial Needs and ICT. See www.becta.org.uk/technology/infosheets/html/dyslexia.html


Thank you to The BritishCouncil forcoveringtravel costs

for Chris Abbott and SallyMcKeown to participate inthe 2001 Summer Institute.

http://www.becta.org.uk/technology/infosheets/html/dyslexia.html

Literacy forthose withlearningdisabilities – a personalperspectivePat Hatt, adult educator andLD specialist

Pat Hatt has a learningdisability, and spent manyyears fooling the world whilethinking she was stupid.Through university andmasters studies, she was notable to do things others do,and used every possiblestrategy to stop appearingstupid. So she has empathyfor and insight into thesituation of adults with LD.She self-deprecatingly tracesher own journey of self-exploration through her ownstudies as an elementary anda special education teacher,and later an adult literacyteacher. Pat listens totechnology presentationsfocusing on people withlimited literacy skills, andfeels compelled to address theneeds of people who can't logon to technology. Withlanguage processing problemsand difficulty holdingpatterns in long-termmemory, Pat is one of them.“I think technology iswonderful,” she says, “ but Ijust can't use it. I interfacewith it via others.”

In Pat’s experience in

Canadian literacy programs,people who come in with noliteracy make very limited useof technology. She hasfound e-mail the most useful,but has seen most adultlearners start with games andstop there. Most did notmove on. Surfing to accessinformation rarely happens inliteracy programs, she claims.Many students have problemsaccessing and navigating aweb-page. While icons canimprove understanding, eventhese may be hard forsomeone who has directionalproblems. Pat lists the skillsthat literacy students mustmaster to make use oftechnology, and the barriersthey face [See lists]. Fearfullearners, she says, have afear of print – reading,writing, spelling – and ofkeyboarding and computercommands. Hesitant learnersneed each step to be verysmall, and successfullearners, like herself, may notbe able to read very well, butdo have sophisticated literacyskills.

Skills that literacy studentsmust master to make use oftechnology

Reading skills –

• Text• Diagrams• Icons• Keywords• Skimming• Scanning• Formulating ideas and

following through

Barriers literacy students face

• They have no strategies forlooking for and finding information

• They have no spelling rulesor tricks

• Hard to follow a thread • Memory• Comprehension

Aboriginalpeoples and LD Nancy Cooper, AlphaplusCentre, Toronto

Nancy Cooper described someof the early efforts in Ontarioto create the framework,materials and organizationsthat have lead to Nativeliteracy being one of therecognized streams in theprovince.

Needs vary in aboriginalcommunities, but generally,educational, economic andsocial needs are notadequately met. “We are aproblem; we are seen as notassimilating.” Among youngoffenders, breaking andentering and prostitution areusual crimes. Most of thetime lack of education is thecore of the problem. There isa link between people notbeing able to expressthemselves and trouble with the law, but “literacy(provision) is seen as just thewhite man's way of sayingthere is something wrong withyou,” in Nancy’s experienceCommunity support isimportant. The recidivism rateis low among those helped bycommunity.

While many aboriginal adultsand young people havealcohol damage, there is littleaccess to resources inisolated regions far fromtowns, and no access toassistive devices for learningdisabilities. There is notenough support in the schoolsystem, and First Nationsoften don't accessmainstream agencies. ATrain-the-Trainer programhas also uncovered a lack ofadvocacy; there is little or noawareness of what is availablebecause the residential schoolsystem engendered mistrust.


SI PRESENTATIONS

Participants Janet Horwood(L) and Pat Hatt (R).

BridgestoPractice

June Crawford, NationalInstitute for Literacy (NIFL)

To meet the educationalneeds of people with learningdifficulties, in 1991 theNational Institute for Literacyengaged three US agencies –Health, Employment andEducation – to set up aprogram to produce materialsfor training volunteerteachers.

June noted three terms –difference, difficulty, anddisability. Regardless of whatthe diagnosis is, goodteaching is required. TheBridges to Practice initiativeis meant to bringstakeholders together; enlist administrative supportfor funding; providemeaningful and ongoingprofessional development;identify resources; andcontinuously monitor andimprove good teachers forlearning diasabled adults.

The American Disabilities Act1990 (ADA) gives protectionin the job market to adultswith disabilities as long asthey have a diagnosis. UnderADA, big corporations arebeing sued if theirinformation is not easilyaccessible in differentformats. AOL was sued by

two blind people. Successfulsuits have also been broughtby LD adults.

Bridges to Practice Training programs

Participatory models havebeen designed in variousregions of the US to developand test differentinterventions. Examplesinclude:

Arkansas tried to develop atransparent screening processand diagnosis

New England: Six states arelinked to Harvard and otherschools of education todevelop training techniquesthat seem to work with adultswith learning difficulties

Southern states are workingtogether with volunteergroups.

Key questions and issues

• What are learning difficulties?

• What is screening as a service procedure?

• Understanding the implications of a formal diagnosis

• Learning difficulties and the American Disabilities Act

• Learning difficulties and vocational rehabilitation

• Learning difficulties and goal setting e.g. time

• Learning difficulties and jobs

• Learning difficulties and life challenges

Some figures for literacy areestimates or self-referrals; 15-20 % of population havesome form of learningdifficulties; among adults, itmay be higher

ISSUES RAISEDFunding; Fighting for a pieceof the pie; Training fordiagnosis; Self-disclosure vs.

professional diagnosis; Legalstatus attached toterminology; Adults’ approachto terminology -see things indifferent ways from youngerpupils; Labelling how adultslearn; Need for computers inclassroom; Technology as abarrier; Good supportsystems --- human resourcesnot valued; Practicalapproach; Online training;Lack of resources; Differentcultural approaches to LDs;Culturally-based translationsof symbols; A tool is not acure; Not a problem to besolved, but a need to beaddressed; Weakness in firstlanguage - danger of literacyproblems; Need for pride inown culture; Genetics,substance abuse, diet toxins,etc., all seen as responsiblefor literacy problems.

Reachingdisabledlearners: A softwaredeveloper’sperspectiveGill Macmillan CTAD (UK)

GillMacmillan, amultimediadeveloper withCambridgeTraining andDevelopment,one of thepioneercompanies in

quality basic skills software,talked about the challenges ofcreating software to meet theneeds of different disabilitiesgroups. In the UK BasicSkills Strategy Freedom toLearn agenda, six groupswere identified: Visually


SI PRESENTATIONS

Participants June Crawford(L) and Lucinda Doheny (R).

Gill Macmillan


impaired, hearing impaired,dyslexia, people with mentalhealth problems, physicallydisabled learners, and thosewith learning difficulties. Thenew Basic Skills curriculumpost-Moser is providing acurriculum to help teacherswho have not worked withthese types of students before.These include collections oflife stories and people talkingabout their own lives in theirown words; a staff develop-ment pack; and 2 CD-ROMs,one for general literacy andone for deaf learners.

Profoundly deaf learners havethe least access tomultimedia, and makingexisting software accessible todeaf learners is a challenge.Gill says the first problem isthat multimedia is based onthe premise of using one’sown voice and having a fairauditory memory. Thelanguage used in mostproducts is too colloquial forthe deaf. If the auditorychannel is cut out onmultimedia products, thevisuals are not informativeenough.

One solution has been to useBritish Sign Language tointroduce the topic and teachsome vocabulary, then writein very simple straightforwardEnglish. They have also triedto create a common set ofactivities with a differentchoice of framework –“aud/symbols/text” – to suitlearning styles. Deaf usersliked animations and flashingsignals to stress things likecapital letters and full stops.Regardless of the option,tutor support is critical; thedeveloper can put materialson the web in pictures orstudent writing, but a tutorhas to create the learningcontext.

Then, there are alwaystechnical issues – e.g. aproduct designed for IE, thenfaced with Netscape. Theyhave also had to providealternative activity for thosewithout access to the web.

Issues inlearningdisabilitiesElizabeth Gayda – LearningDisabilities AssociationCanada

Language posesmultiplechallenges foreducation ,because it is bothcurriculumcontent andlearningenvironment -both the object of

knowledge and the means oftransmitting information.

Discussion Issues

• Environmental barriers – employers are not knowledgeable about learning difficulties so cannot make accommodations; there is little consultation with end users;

• Confidentiality issues – LDadults do not want others to know.

• Role models are needed• Sharing good practice

and resources is essential.• Lack of funding is

widespread.• There is lack of interest in

using technology with learning difficulties for adults and children.

• A common understanding of LD is needed. Some stillask, Why spend money on

all this kit when there are

no books - jealousy.

• Misinformation leads people to be labelled lazy/stupid, especially by peers.

• Self -advocacy – Who I am,What I need; How can I ask for it in apt way?

• Growing emphasis: Do youhave to have a problem to be an expert in it? If you have it, does that make you an expert?

• Isolation of staff and students is common.

There is a danger that wealways go for a deficit modelor end up describing theproblem and not the person.

See: http://www.web4all.cawww.ldonline.org

www.ldac-taac.ca for definitionsof learning difficulties foradvocacy

Softwareevaluation Chris Abbott

Software is more expensive inCanada than inthe U.K., buthardware is muchcheaper. Try tobuy softwareonline fromcountry where itis cheapest, Chrisadvises. Softwareis generallycheaper than it

was ten years ago but notnecessarily for Special Needs.Governments should bepressured to underwritesoftware for minority groups.

SI PRESENTATIONS

ElizabethGayda

ChrisAbbott

How should we evaluatesoftware? A checklist is notenough because it misses outcontext. teem (UK) paysteachers to evaluate softwareand write a case study (seep.19). For every softwarethere are two case studiesfrom different institutions.They have a classificationsystem so if you want toknow which word processorshave speech it is easy to find.At many trade exhibitions,suppliers claim they have theperfect tool but haven't.Software developers must bewilling to listen. We don'talways need the next newthing We need to keep uppressure on manufacturers.

LINCSJaleh Behroozi SorouiNational Institute for LiteracyWashington

Jaleh gave us anoverview ofLINCS, thedatabase shemanages, thattrawls throughdatabasesthroughout theworld.

Issues

• How do we get funding for assessment?

• Teachers are not trained to work with students with learning difficulties, or do accurate diagnosis of learning difficulties in adults.

• No prescriptive informationexists for teaching or employment for learning difficulties

• The biggest obstacle to technology is good support systems –tutoring,job aids, peer tutoring

• Human resources are not valued as much as technical resources.

• There is lack of staff and funding.

• Practical approaches rather than theoretical models are needed

• Online training is needed and possible as a joint venture among agencies.

Updates: www.nifl.gov

Notes on pp. 22 -25 wre takeby Sally McKeown

Pictures were taken by Janet Horwood.


SI PRESENTATIONS

JalehBehrooziSoroui

http://www.nifl.gov


by June Crawford, LearningDisabilities Program Director,National Institute for Literacy

What is Bridges toPractice?

The National Institute forLiteracy (NIFL) sponsored theresearch and development ofmaterials that discusslearning disabilities (LD) inadults and the impact ofthose disabilities on adultlives. The materials, calledBridges to Practice, aredesigned to train adulteducators, social workers, job counselors, rehabilitationcounselors, and others whowork in service agencies, tobe aware of learningdisabilities, know how toscreen for them in clients orstudents, and know how toget assistance for an adultwho requires a completediagnosis and support in theclassroom, the job, and thecommunity. Developed as atrain-the-trainer program,“Bridges” is attempting tochange U.S. society bymaking LD awareness anissue in all social programs.

Professional developmentand certification

As trainers provide assistanceto others, they receivetechnical assistance from theNational Institute for Literacy(NIFL) staff and from otherexperienced trainers. Acertification program hasbeen instituted so trainerscan learn more about LD andabout training, and can movethrough the various levels tobecome recognized asnational experts in the field of

adults and learningdisabilities. Professionaldevelopment for trainers ispart of the activity providedby the National Institute forLiteracy; this includesassistance in the use oftechnology.

The use of accommodationsand assistive technology isessential to success for manyadults who have learningdisabilities. Part of thetraining is designed to helptrainers become more awareof the developing technologythat is so important to adultswho have learning needs. Inorder to become recognized asa Master Trainer in Bridges toPractice, for instance, atrainer is expected to be ableto discuss the mostcommonly used technologiesand to refer those beingtrained to resource materialsand manufacturers.

Thousands of professionalshave been trained in the U.S.at this point and there arecurrently 60 people in thecertification program andanother 100 who expect tostart their training soon. It isa slow process, but change isin the wind and the adultswith learning disabilities whohave received assistance as aresult of this project arefinding new success in theirlives.

Information: June J. Crawford,Learning Disabilities ProgramDirector, National Institute forLiteracy, 202-233-2064, [email protected].

Web site: www.nifl.gov

Bridges to Practice – The Learning DisabilitiesTraining Effort for Adults in the U.S.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.nifl.gov


The National Adult Literacy andLearning Disabilities Center,Washington, DC. (1999).

Based on the need to ensurethat quality literacy programsaddress the needs of adultswith learning disabilities, thislarge binder is designed tosupport program developersand persons responsible forthe professional developmentof literacy practitioners. Thepractices outlined reflectresearch-supportedinterventions appropriate tothe needs of adults havinglearning disabilities.

The Bridges to Practice binderhas five sub-sections:

• Guidebook 1: Preparingto serve adults withlearning disabilities

This section provides (a) ageneral description of theterm ‘learning disabilities’and the links between LDand dyslexia; (b) adescription of the legalissues related to adults andlearning disabilities in theUnited States; (c) Americanresources for learning; and(d) a glossary of terms.

• Guidebook 2: Theassessment process

This section provides (a) an overview of theassessment process, thegathering of data, theplanning process with theadult, the instructionalphase and the evaluationand use of the informationgathered; (b) a guide to screening forlearning disabilities; (c) parameters for selectinga screening instrument.

• Guidebook 3: Theplanning process

This section provides (a) a general overview of thecomponents involved inpreparing to develop theinstructional plan; (b) the process of developingthe instructional plan; and(c) information selecting oninstructional materials.

• Guidebook 4: Theteaching/learning process

This section providesinformation on: (a) the challenge of teachingadults with learningdisabilities; (b) creating an appropriatelearning environment; (c) making instructionaladaptations andaccommodations; (d) two frameworks of LD-appropriate instruction; (e) collaborativeteaching/tutoring; andcharacteristics of LD-appropriate instruction.

• Guidebook 5: Creatingprofessional developmentopportunities

This section providesobjectives, agendas,handout and transparencymasters for the individual,who will facilitate

professional developmentsessions on each of theprevious guidebooks. Itprovides the facilitator withsome background on adultlearning, and staffdevelopment, as well asgames and activities to beused during the sessions. Avideo to be used during thesessions is provided.

Each of the guidebooks has asection entitled “Systems andProgram Changes”, whichincludes information abouthow to encourage literacypractitioners to buy into theprocess of changing some oftheir current assessment andintervention practices; theimportance of enlistingadministrative support andthe value in monitoring andevaluating the process.

The Bridges to PracticeBinder is not a program to beapplied directly, but itprovides the structure tosupport the provision ofquality assessment andinstructional interventions toadults with learningdisabilities.

Bridges to Practice is acollaborative effort of theNational Adult Literacy andLearning Disabilities Center,The Academy for EducationalDevelopment and TheUniversity of Kansas Institutefor Research in LearningDisabilities.

Elizabeth Gayda, President ofthe Learning DisabilitiesAssociation of Canada, preparedthis brief overview of Bridges toPractice.

The binder can be borrowedfrom The Centre for Literacy.

REVIEWS

Bridges to Practice: A research-based guide for literacypractitioners serving adults with learning disabilities


Assistive technologiesBook article 17 pp.

Raskind, M.H. (1998). Literacyfor adults with learningdisabilities through assistivetechnology. In S.A. Vogel & S.Reder (Eds.), Learningdisabilities, literacy and adulteducation, pp. 253- 270, Paul H.Brookes: Baltimore.

After describing the instructional andcompensatory approaches to adultswith learning difficulties, anddefining 'assistive technologies', theauthor outlines research findingsrelated to the following technologies:optical character recognition (OCR)/speech synthesis; speech synthesis/screen review; speech recognitiontechnology; and word processors andspell checkers. Descriptions of variousavailable technologies are providedunder the following headings: writtenlanguage; reading; listening;organization/ memory, and math. Thecost and availability of assistivetechnologies are discussed, as well asselecting the appropriate technologyand learning how to use it.

Assistive technologiesJournal article 2 pp.

Bryant, B.R. (Ed.).(1998,Jan/Feb). Assistive technology: Anintroduction. Journal of LearningDisabilities 31(1), 2-3.

This introduction, to a "SpecialSeries" of articles in the samejournal, emphasizes the fact that AThas been shown by the author to beeffective for persons with LD.Barriers to the access to, and use of,AT devices and services that wereelicited through public hearings aredescribed in relation to schoolchildren. Brief introductions aregiven to the 6 papers in the series.

Advocacy Online article 3 pp.

National Institute of AdultContinuing Education (NIACE).(1999, December). Adult basic skills for students withlearning difficulties and/ordisabilities. Retrieved May 17,2001 from the National Instituteof Adult Continuing Education(NIACE) Web site:http://www.niace.org.uk/organisation/advocacy/Moser/Default.htm

This article summarizes the statusof basic skills provision for peoplewith learning disabilities in the U.K.,and offers recommendations foraction, based on evidence from LocalEducation Authorities, self-advocacygroups and key organisations for theMoser Sub-Group.

Advocacy Online article 8 pp.

Working group looking into thebasic skills needs of adults withlearning difficulties anddisabilities. (2000, May).Freedom to learn: Basic skills forlearners with learning difficultiesand/or disabilities. Retrieved May30, 2001, from the LifelongLearning (Basic Skills) Web site:http://www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/freedomtolearn/index.htm.

Established to respond to the call bySir Claus Moser for "a special study"on the needs of this adultpopulation in the U.K., this groupconcludes that the findings in 'AFresh Start' are applicable if certainconditions are met around suchissues as entitlement, access andstandards. Recommendations forpeople with dyslexia and with otherlearning disabilities includedmention of multi-sensory resources,photocopying/enlarging facilities andICT.

Assistive technologiesOnline article 10 pp

Taking the mystery out ofassistive technology. RetrievedJune 6, 2001, from the LDOnlineWeb site: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/tfl_mystery.html.

This article is reprinted fromLearning disabilities and assistivetechnology: an emerging way totouch the future (a guide availablefrom Tools for Life site). It answersthe question: why should personswith LD consider using assistivetechnology? Myths, realities andaction steps are clearly outlined onthe easy-to-read, 'Bobby-approved'website. Although directed towardadult learners, this article is of useto professionals as well.

National strategiesOnline article 14 pp

Sticht, T. (2001). Reforming adultliteracy education: Transforminglocal programs into national systems in Canada,the United Kingdom & the UnitedStates. Retrieved April 20, 2001,from the National Adult LiteracyDatabase (Full Text Documents)Web site: http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/sticht/reformin/cover.htm.

This brief paper reports on activitiesundertaken in Canada, the U.K. andthe U.S. to expand local programsinto free, national adult basiceducation systems. The provision ofsuch programs, issues surroundinglevels of need and access, as well asthe nature and quality, and finalaccountability for programs arediscussed. The many uses andimportance of information andcommunication technology (ICT) arementioned, though the terms "adultswith learning disabilities" and/or"difficulties" are not used.[References]


Department for Education andEmployment. (2001, March).Skills for life: The nationalstrategy for improving adultliteracy and numeracy skills.Retrieved June 6, 2001, from theLearning and Skills DevelopmentAgency Web site:http://www.lsagency.org.uk/PDF/BriefingPaper14.pdf.

This summary of the final strategydocument of the U.K. governmentoutlines the challenge and strategy,the groups targeted, and the meansof delivering higher standards.Technology is only briefly mentionedin the summary but can be found inseveral areas of the longer report.

RESOURCES: LITERACY FOR ADULTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

The Centrefor Literacyholds anextensivecollection onmaterials onlearningdisabilities,including theitems in theTravellingResourceTrunks. For the 2001SummerInstitute, wecreated anannotated bibliography ofrecent resources on adults withLD, arranged by topic. Theentries below have beenselected from the document.The full bibliography can bedownloaded from our web siteor ordered in print.

http://www.niace.org.uk/organisation/advocacy/Moser/Default.htm

http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/tfl_mystery.html

http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/sticht/reformin/cover.htm

http://www.lsagency.org.uk/files/pdf/BriefingPaper14.pdf

Adults with learningdisabilities/difficulties arespecifically addressed in the full-textstrategy. [References, web siteresources in full report].


National Literacy SummitInitiative. (2000). From themargins to the mainstream: An action agenda for literacy.Retrieved May 20, 2001, fromthe National Literacy SummitInitiative Web site:http://www.nationalliteracysummit.org.

This U.S. report on adult literacysynthesizes recommendations madeto the National Literacy Summit2000 Steering Committee at onemajor summit meeting and overtwenty-five meetings nationwide.Referred to as the 'Action Agenda,' itoutlines the outcomes desired andthe specific actions necessary tomeet the three key priorities: qualityservices for adult students, ease ofaccess for those students; andsufficient resources to supportquality and access. Technologyincreases the need for greaterliteracy and, at the same time,provides tools to facilitate itsdevelopment. The issues of learningdisabilities and of the literacy needsof older adults are discussed.

Technology planningOnline article 11 pp

PBS LiteracyLink (2001,February). Technology - how itcan empower teaching and learning in adult literacy,language, and lifelong educationin the 21st century. RetrievedMay 20, 2001, from the NationalLiteracy Summit Initiative Website (Background Documents):http://www.nationalliteracysummit.org.

Commissioned by the NationalInstitute for Literacy, this reportaddresses the use of technology toimprove the quality of content andaccess to training and resources foradult learners, including those withlearning disabilities. Following themodel of the 'Action Agenda' (2000),this report outlines desiredoutcomes and specific action stepsfor, first, emerging and newtechnologies and, then, for betterpreparation for and use of currenttechnologies. Necessary policy-making, staff developmen, and theuse of libraries and mass media areincluded.


RESOURCES: LITERACY FOR ADULTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

Selected bookspresented at the Institute.

http://www.nationalliteracysummit.org

http://www.nationalliteracysummit.org

by Elizabeth Gayda

There have been manydiscussions of the overlapbetween literacy and learningdisabilities, mostly in referenceto problems in learning to readand write. In literacy programs,many adults have undiagnosedlearning disabilities, but othershave reading and writingdifficulties due to any numberof other causes in theenvironment, in the individualor in their prior schooling.

Although the causes of readingdifficulties may vary, anindividual’s inability to readfluently and at a reasonablelevel, influences the capacity toaccess information necessaryfor full participation inCanadian life. “Information”here is defined in the broadestof terms to include reading thelatest best seller, understandingtax forms, mastering amechanic’s manual, orparticipating in any type of postsecondary education.

This article has two purposes.One is to explain what is meantby the term ‘learningdisabilities’ by outlining thenational definition of learningdisabilities proposed by theLearning Disabilities

Association of Canada.1 Thesecond is to describe aCanadian initiative to supportindividuals, who are print-disabled, in their pursuit ofenjoyment and knowledge fromthe written word.

A national definition of LDThe proposed LDAC nationaldefinition (full text available athttp://www.ldac-taac.ca/)reflects the current research onlearning disabilities as a“distinct lifelong, neurological

condition.” This implies thatlearning disabilities are not tobe confused with otherdisabilities or difficulties.Learning disabilities areestablished through differencesin brain, or neurological,functioning, and remainthroughout a person’s life. Thecauses of these disabilities maybe attributed to geneticinheritance or other biologicalfactors influencing thedeveloping fetus and theindividual as he or she growsand matures. Such disabilitiesare not the result of “visual orhearing impairments,generalized intellectualimpairment or emotionaldisturbance.” Learningdisabilities may be severe andinterfere significantly inlearning in one or several areasor they may be limited in theirimpact. These neurologicaldifferences in brain functioningare manifested in variedpatterns of strengths andweaknesses influencing thefollowing abilities:

(a) to learn and understandlanguage; (b) to make the large musclemovements required by bicycleriding and various sports, andthe small muscle movementsrequired in handwriting anddrawing; (c) to be aware of oneself inspace, as in finding one’s wayaround a building, readingmaps, doing geography; (d) to remember spelling words,people’s names, directions;(e) to focus, shift and sustain

attention, to organize and to plan; (f) to acquire academicknowledge, such as reading andwriting and mathematics; and,(g) to interact appropriately withothers, including teachers,peers, family members.

It should be noted that fewindividuals who have learningdisabilities show a profileindicating weakness in allareas. Finally, the pattern oflearning disabilities in any oneindividual will interfere with the“acquisition, application andintegration” of any of the above-mentioned abilities. As such, alearning disability is a complexphenomenon.

Despite this complexity,individuals with learningdisabilities can have asuccessful school experience ifthey are identified early andprovided with “specializedinterventions appropriate totheir individual strengths andneeds, including directinstruction, teaching ofcompensatory strategies andappropriate accommodations.”

However, a large number ofadolescents and young adultsstill leave school withoutreceiving any specializedintervention and beforecompleting their secondaryeducation. Often this meansthat they enter their postsecondary life with weakreading skills, either becausethey cannot decode (sound outwords), remember words or readfluently enough to cover largeamounts of text within areasonable time span. Theseweaknesses influence theschooling, job and trainingoptions available for such youngadults. Some of them do endup in adult literacy programs.Without accommodations ofvarious kinds, they will not beable to access informationreadily available to otherCanadians.


Literacy and learning disabilities:Defining terms and supportingthe print-disabled

Learning DisabilitiesAssociation of Canada

(LDAC)www.ldac-taac.ca

1 All quotations in the LD section have been taken from the LDAC definition on http://www.ldac-taac.ca/

http://www.ldac-taac.ca/



Access to information forprint-disabled CanadiansAccess to information is crucialfor knowledgeable citizenship,personal growth, successful jobperformance and leisureactivities. In the summer of2000, Roch Carrier, NationalLibrarian of the National Libraryof Canada (NLC) and Dr. EuclidHerie, President of theCanadian National Institute ofthe Blind (CNIB) initiated aTask Force on Access toInformation for Print-DisabledCanadians.

Some broad principles guide thework. The first principle is thatthe definition of print-disabledincludes those with visionimpairments, learningdisabilities or physical or motorimpairments, which interferewith the reading of print. Thesecond principle affirms that“all Canadians have the right toaccess all publicly availableprint information in a timely,affordable and equitablemanner” (Task Force on Accessto Information for Print-DisabledCanadians, p. 8). Contributorsto the final report includedindividuals with print-disabilities, those providingsupport and assistance,producers of alternate formats(e.g. large print, audio, Brailleand e-text) in both the publicand private sectors, and serviceproviders. In all twenty-sixwide-ranging recommendationswere made, from one that “self-identification be sufficient togive a person with learningdisabilities the right of access tomultiple alternate formats.” (p. 12) to one that calls for theestablishment, of a Council onAccess to Print information to“provide advice, recommendfunding, monitor progress andmake recommendationsregarding the implementation ofthis report” (p. 43).

This Council was established inFebruary 2001, and includesmembers from consumergroups, publishers, alternateformat producers, educationalinstitutions, public libraries andthe Federal government. As itswork progresses, the Councilwill set priorities from amongthe recommendations made bythe Task Force and willestablish the funding needs toimplement these priorities.

Over the next three years,improvements in the availabilityof and access to informationshould become apparent toprint-disabled Canadians.Availability refers to a variety ofprinted materials, such as thoseproviding general information,recent literature andbiographies, as well astextbooks. Availability alsorefers to having knowledge ofwhat has already beenpublished across Canada andelsewhere. Accessibility tomaterials published elsewheremay be helped throughnegotiations with alternateformat producers in othercountries. In addition, someindividuals with print-disabilities would benefit fromhaving screen readers, but theywill need access to computerspowerful enough to run thesoftware programs and trainingin how to use the software.Screen readers can make web-sites more accessible for thosewho have difficulty reading text.Although some of the report’s

recommendations touch on howthese goals might be achieved,the Council has just begun itsdeliberations.

Such an initiative establishesthat all Canadians have theright to equal access to newinformation and emergingknowledge, as well as toenjoyment derived from thewritten word. Availability andaccessibility to alternateformats and supports to readthese formats will allow print-disabled individuals choicesamong options for learning andpleasure. Finally, thisundertaking has the potential tomake lifelong learning a realpossibility for all personsneeding support to access printeither in a paper or in electronicformat.

References

Learning Disabilities Association ofCanada. Definition of learningdisabilities. Web site:http://www.ldac-taac.ca/

Task Force on Access to Informationfor Print-Disabled Canadians.(2000). Fulfilling the promise.Ottawa. Web site: http://www.nlc-bnc.ca

Elizabeth Gayda, President of theLearning Disabilities Association ofCanada, has many years experienceas a special educator. She is servinga three-year term on the Task Forceon Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians.


Copyright law on photocopying forthe print-disabled in CanadaThe rights of print-disabled students to request photocopies ofjournal articles and selections or chapters of texts or manuals thatare required reading, are often ignored because educators do notknow that Canadian copyright law permits this. Section 32 of thecopyright legislation allows single copies of such materials to bemade by institutions providing secondary, post-secondary, orvocational education. This in turn allows the student to scan thematerial into a computer and use a screen reader, to increase theprint size, or to print it on coloured paper to make contrast moreevident. The institution has the responsibility to (a) make sure thatthe student requires such adapted format to fulfill courserequirements; and (b) that only a single copy is produced for thatspecific student. This can be very helpful to students who lack thefluency to cover the extensive reading required by many courses andvocational programs. [E.G.]

http://www.nlc-bnc.ca





Assistive or adaptivetechnologiesThe range of assistive technologies for all typesof disabilities is steadily growing and improvingin quality. Costs for computer technologies arehigh, so it is important before making adecision to purchase, that potential buyers doresearch on the best solutions for their needs,and on prices. For many programs, lack offunding makes high-end purchase difficult orimpossible. In institutional settings, purchasesare often made without consulting teachers orstudents. All presenters agreed that notechnology stands alone; it requires trainedteachers, tutors, mentors, to guide new users.

One of the most up-to-dateCanadian suppliers of assistivetechnologies is MicrocomputerScience Centre Inc. inMississauga, Ontario. Baruch Chai,the company president who

attended the Institute, demonstrated theKurtzweil system and other software forparticipants. At the end of the event, hedonated a Kurtzweil to The Centre for Literacyfor our Preview Collection.

For information on assistive technologies:Microcomputer Science Centre Inc.

www.microscience.on.ca or E-mail: sales@ microcomputerscience.on.ca

To preview software, contact the Librarian atThe Centre for Literacy.

The Adaptech Project is a team ofacademics, students and consumers

conducting research on the use ofcomputer, information andadaptive technologies by Canadiancollege and university studentswith disabilities. Their goal is toprovide empirically basedinformation to concerned

individuals, groups and organizations toensure that new computer technologies areaccessible to postsecondary students withdisabilities.

Based at Dawson College in Montreal, theirresearch is funded by federal and provincialgrants, and guided by a bilingual AdvisoryBoard from across Canada. The web site hasfindings from research studies over the pastthree years and the listserv offers users aforum for posing questions and discussingissues related to adaptive technologies.

While their focus is postsecondary students,their findings can be applied to users in anymilieu as the name ADAPTECH suggests.

Information:http://omega.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/adaptech/

ConclusionThe Summer Institute tries to open up newways of thinking about an issue by bringingparticipants from diverse backgrounds withyears of practice and varied expertise. Wedo not necessarily answer all the questionsraised, but we do offer new frames ofreference, by gathering resources and givingpeople opportunities to examine them in thecontext of their own milieus. In thatrespect, in 2001, we created an annotatedbibliography and laid out internationalmaterials and web links for participants toview or visit.

Learning Disabilities is more complex thanmany previous topics have been. We cameaway understanding that terminology anddefinitions vary from one country toanother. For example, LD in Canada isapplied to people with normal or above-average intelligence, while in the U.K., itusually refers to people with intellectualdisabilities. The term “dyslexia” is usedmore broadly in the UK to cover many ofthe language-related disabilities. Theseterms become important as legislation isbuilt around definitions.

For the practitioner who has to assess orteach a student, the immediate need ispragmatic. We learned that there are largenumbers of excellent materials for all typesof disabilities, including assessment toolsand teacher training programs. There islittle reason at this point to be developingnew materials for LD in adult literacy. Onthe contrary, what teachers need are guidesto the international resources that areavailable, with some training and tools fordeciding which ones are appropriate forparticular students. Many participantswere surprised to recognize how much theyalready knew and how frequently they weredoing the ‘right thing’ instinctively. Whileresearchers and developers have to bestringent in their use of terminology,practitioners are usually better off workingwithout blinders. A strategy or technologycreated for a deaf student might workbrilliantly with other students. Educatorshave said for years that the best practice forLD is usually the best practice for alllearners. That truism was corroborated atSummer Institute 2001. [LS]

http://www.microscience.on.ca

mailto:sales@ microcomputerscience.on.ca

http://omega.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/adaptech/


by Kieran Egan,Faculty ofEducation,Simon FraserUniversity

Excerpt fromWorking PaperNo. 5, The Centrefor Literacy, 2001

[This Working Paper is acondensed version of amanuscript that Kieran Egansubmitted for the UNESCOAward for Research in AdultLiteracy in 1999. When thejudges met in April 2000, theyagreed that because thesubmission was not based onempirical research, it could notbe given the award. It was,however, an insightfulprovocative discourse onacquisition of literacy thatexcited and engaged us all. Wefelt that it should beacknowledged and shared witha larger audience, and askedProfessor Egan if he wouldallow The Centre to publish aversion as a Working Paper. Inthis paper, he draws on hismany years of innovativethinking and publication on thehistory and philosophy ofeducation, and applies a broadframe of cross-disciplinaryreference to the acquisition ofliteracy. His thesis is that ourunderstanding of the world isshaped by language-basedintellectual tools, or whatVygotsky called mediationalmeans” or shapers of the kindof sense we make of the world(The Educated Mind,1997).Egan suggests thatunderstanding these tools caninform approaches to teachingliteracy more effectively thaneither the traditional emphasison intellectual development asthe acquisition of knowledge orthe more modern psychologicalmodel of intellectualdevelopment.]

…What I will do now is makea simple inventory of some ofthe most prominentcharacteristics common tooral traditions. This is not tosay that all thesecharacteristics are to befound equally in all oralcultures, nor that “orality” issome uniform kind ofthinking, or that oral culturesare all alike. But it is to saythat the development of orallanguage has had a profoundinfluence on the human mindand provides our minds withan array of capacities, whichwe can deploy in greater orlesser degree depending onour needs and circumstances.I will describe thesecharacteristics in noparticular order, and, eventhough I am listing themunder discrete sub-headings,it is important to recognizethat they are not discretecapacities, but overlap invarious ways. The categories I choose are not to be takenas anything more than aconvenience for purposes ofexposition.

Some characteristiccognitive tools of oralityEach of the following cognitive“tools,” or capacities, hascome along with thedevelopment of oral language.They are cultural universals,observable in all knownhuman cultures–they seem tobe cognitive tools that wecannot not use. They are alsotools that do not go away withthe development of literacy,even though they are allinfluenced in one way oranother by literacy not alwaysto our advantage.

Consequently they arecognitive tools that literateswill recognize as theirs too.

I will begin with one of themost complex and general.

StoryAll oral cultures use stories,and in all such culturesstories play a central role inthe life of the society. Whyshould this be so? To answerthat question, we need first tounderstand what stories areand do for us. So, what arestories?

I will tell a story in starkestoutline and we will see if wecan’t quickly identify one ofthe most importantdistinguishing features ofstories. To begin: “Jenniferwalked into the rose garden.”Well, what do you make ofthat? Not much, no doubt. Itmight be pleasant for Jenniferto walk into the rose garden;it might be her favouritemoment of calm during herhectic days in the corporatejungle. But she might also bea notorious rose bushpoisoner. Not knowinganything else than that shewalked into the rose garden,one can’t know whether tofeel glad or sorry about it orwhat to expect next.

One needs to know whatcaused her action and what iscaused by it. So let me addthat Jennifer entered the rosegarden to give her sad Irishgrandfather some news thatwould cheer him up. Now onemight begin to feel a twinge ofgladness; good old Jennifer,cheering up the sad old guy.

But as the story goes on, youwill discover that this is acrucial event becauseJennifer and her grandfatherare major drug-dealers,specializing in the youthmarket. The grandfather issad because he lacks aspecific piece of informationthat would enable him to pickup a ton of cocaine anddeliver it to his network ofdistributors who are poised to

Cognitive tools and the acquisition of literacy


move it into school yardsacross the city. Jenniferwalks into the rose garden totell her grandfather thelocation of the cocaine.

Now, your feeling aboutJennifer walking into the rosegarden will likely be regret. Ifonly she could have beenprevented! But wait! I have totell you further that theinformation Jennifer carries isa ‘plant’ from her supposedfriend, Marsha, who is actuallyan undercover cop. Jennifer’sdisclosure of the location ofthe cocaine and thegrandfather’s immediateattempt to grab it spring thetrap that enables the police toarrest Jennifer, the evil Irishgrandfather, and their wholenetwork of dealers anddistributors. The key was tohave Jennifer give the falseinformation in the rosegarden. Now, you will likelyfeel glad that Jennifer walkedinto the rose garden, springingthe carefully laid trap.

One could perform the samesimple analysis on a fairy-tale,of course: “The hungrychildren came upon a lovelycottage made of gingerbreadand candies.” What a relief, asthey were lost in the forestand starving! But...

One knows how to feel aboutJennifer’s walking into therose garden only when thestory is finished. Indeed, thatis how we know we havereached the end of astory—we know how to feelabout the events that make itup. We cannot program acomputer to recognize a storyas distinct from othernarratives. The instrument fordetecting stories is humanemotion.

So the kind of meaningstories deal with has to do

with our emotions. Stories areinstruments for orienting ouremotions to their contents.That is, stories do not justconvey information aboutevents and characters, nor dostories just conveyinformation in a way thatengages our emotions; storiesorient our emotions to theevents and characters in aparticular way. They conveyinformation while directing ushow to feel about it. No otherform of language can do this,

and so no other form oflanguage can achieve therange and kinds of effectsthat stories can. The story islike a musical score and ouremotions are the instrumentit is designed to play.

The great power of stories,then, is that they perform twotasks at the same time. Theyare, first, very effective atcommunicating informationin a memorable form and,second, they can orient thehearer’s feelings about theinformation beingcommunicated.

In an oral culture one knowsonly what one remembers,and as the story is one of themost effective forms forencoding important socialinformation in a memorablelinguistic construction, it isused universally. In addition,it can shape the emotions ofthe hearer to respond to itscontents as can nothing else.For these reasons we literatescontinually tend to shape ourhistories from a pure account

of what happened towardssome story that carries amoral about the virtues of ourcountry or people, highlighting‘our” beliefs and values overthose of other countries’ andpeople’s. We deploy storiesconstantly in our daily lives togive emotional meaning towhat would otherwise remain,as it has been eloquently put,“just one damn thing afteranother.” Stories shape eventsinto emotionally meaningfulpatterns.

Relatedly, participants in oralcultures tend to be muchmore efficient than iscommon for literates in usingtheir memories. In theircultural conditions, lackingliteracy, memorizing isobviously vitally important.When anthropologists in thelate nineteenth and earlytwentieth-centuriesapproached oral communitieswith the presupposition thatthey were, relatively, mentalincompetents, they were facedwith odd anomalies. Lévi-Bruhldescribed various prodigiousfeats of memory that werecommonplace to the people hewas studying. He summed itup like this:

This extraordinarydevelopment of memory,and a memory whichfaithfully reproduces theminutest details ofsense-impressions in thecorrect order of theirappearance, is shownmoreover by the wealth ofvocabulary and thegrammatical complexity of


We cannot program a computer to recognize a story as distinct from other narratives. The instrument for detecting stories is

human emotion.


the languages. Now the verymen who speak theselanguages and possess thispower of memory are (inAustralia or Northern Brazil,for instance) incapable ofcounting beyond two andthree. The slightest mentaleffort involving abstractreasoning, howeverrudimentary it may be, is sodistasteful to them that theyimmediately declare themselvestired and give it up.(Lévi-Bruhl, 1910/1985, P. 115).

Now there are some difficultiesin Lévi-Bruhl’s way of puttingthis, due in part to hisassumptions about the“prelogical” and “mystic”nature of “primitive mentality.His subjects, for example, donot so much have a “power ofmemory” as a highlydeveloped set of techniquesfor learning and remembering.Also I will argue below thatthe problem for his subjectsdoes not lie in “abstraction”as such–a common assumptionalso applied to children’sthinking–but rather in thedissociation of thought frommatters embedded in one’slifeworld–“decontextualization,”as it has been called. Goody,for example, describes hisinnocent request of someLoDagaa to count for him.“Count what?” was their, tothem, obvious question. Theyhad a number ofsophisticated forms ofcounting, and an abstractnumerical system, but theirmethods of counting cowsand cowrie shells differed.Nor, as we shall see, is“abstract reasoning” beyondanyone with a human mind;it is just that certainparticular mental capacitiesinvolving abstraction that arevery heavily dependent onwriting are not easilyavailable to people who do not

write or read.

Nevertheless, Lévi-Bruhldescribes the apparentanomaly of mental prodigiesin the supposedly mentallydeficient. He perceived thatthere were no differences onany simple scale of mentalsuperiority/inferiority, butthat the conditions of life inoral cultures stimulateddifferent mental developmentsto deal with those conditions.And he was precise inlocating a wide range of thesedifferences. The uses ofmemory in oral cultures, heconcluded, “are quite differentbecause its contents are of adifferent character. It is bothvery accurate and veryemotional” (Lévi-Bruhl,1910/1985, P. 110).

The emotions are engaged by making the culturallyimportant messagesevent-laden, involvingcharacters and their emotionsin conflict in developingnarratives—in short, bybuilding the messages intostories. “All myths tell astory,” Lévi-Strauss pointsout (1966, P. 26), and AlbertB. Lord concluded hisaccount of the constantreconstruction involved inreciting epic poems byshowing how the storyprovided a firm basicstructure. The formulas andgroupings and meter in theend “serve only one purpose.They provide a means fortelling a story .... The tale’sthe thing” (Lord, 1964, p. 68).We find these techniques ingreater or lesser degree in alloral cultures: “At differentperiods and in differentcultures there are close linksbetween the techniques formental recall, the innerorganization of the faculty (ofmemory), the place it

occupies in the system of theego, and the ways that[people] picture memory tothemselves” (Vernant, 1982,P. 75).

In considering the transitionto literacy, then, we will wantto consider what happened tothe story. And if we want toteach literacy, we might dowell to observe both whathappens to stories in thehistorical transition and,more importantly, that thosewe teach will likely have ahighly developed sense of howstory can be used to giveshape and meaning to events.Obviously, we will not be wiseto ignore the capacities ourstudents possess, and mightseek techniques that buildliteracy on the cognitivestrengths they currentlypossess.

…..

Egan goes on to elaborate onmetaphor, binary oppositions,rhyme and rhythm, jokes andhumour, gossip, images, andembeddedness in lifeworld asother cognitive tools of oralitythat should to be consideredin the acquisition of literacy.

Kieran Egan has won praise and awards for hispublications. Lists of titles andexcerpts are on his web site atwww.educ.sfu.ca/people/faculty/kegan/default.html

The Working Paper can beordered from The Centre forLiteracy. It will be up our website in early February 2002.


http://www.educ.sfu.ca/people/faculty/kegan/default.html


Captured Wisdom documentsthe ways some educators andlearners actually use technologyin their classrooms as a tool tosupport instruction and learningin a variety of content areas.

The two CD-ROM set, developedin the U.S. at the NationalCenter for Adult Literacy (NCAL)contains seven short videos ofauthentic adult educationclassrooms. Each video clip hasa section with the featuredteacher answering questionsposed by other adult educationteachers who first watched thevideo clips in focus groups. Ashort instruction booklet tellsteachers how to get the most outof Captured Wisdom.

To develop each of the CapturedWisdom stories, teachers andlearners were filmed describingand demonstrating how they usetechnology in classroom-basedprojects. Each edited videotapedsegment was viewed by focusgroups of adult educators whowrote down questions that theywanted to ask the teacher. Theyfelt the answers to thesequestions would prepare themto use the activities in their ownclassrooms. Their questionswere grouped into categoriessuch as Instructional Activities,Project Management,Assessment, and TechnicalIssues, and were given to thepresenting teacher. Responseswere tape-recorded and areincluded as companionsegments on the CD-ROM. Thisdevelopment process was meantto assure that the needs andconcerns of real teachers in realadult education programs areaddressed. Captured Wisdomcan help teachers to think aboutand question the approaches ofother teachers and the waysthey might adapt what they seeand hear for their own milieu.

Featured teachers were selectedfrom recommendations throughpostings on adult literacylistservs, state literacy directors,presenters at conferences, andthrough word of mouth. Theproject attempted to providevariety in the kinds of activitiesshown, technologies utilized,and instructional content.

The model for Captured Wisdomwas developed by the NorthCentral Regional EducationLaboratory (NCREL) for K-12teachers and was extended toaddress adult literacyinstruction by the NationalCenter on Adult Literacy (NCAL)under the North CentralRegional Technology inEducation Consortium(NCRTEC) project. Available invideotape and CD-ROM formats.

The videotapes contain theclassroom vignettes that wereused to create the fullquestion/answer CD-ROM set.A "How to Use" guide for using

the videotapes in professionaldevelopment activities is beingdeveloped.

For ten ways that teachers,administrators and professionaldevelopers can use CapturedWisdom, go tohttp://litserver.literacy.upenn.edu/capturedwisdom.html

The site also containstranscripts of video segments.

Information: Lynda Ginsburg [email protected]. Orby mail: Dr. Lynda Ginsburg,Captured Wisdom Project,National Center on Adult Literacy,University of Pennsylvania, 3910Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA19104-3111. Abridged fromhttp://litserver.literacy.upenn.edu/capturedwisdom.html

REVIEWS

Technology and teaching:Honouring teachers’ wisdom

U.S. national technology lab for adult educationIn October 2001, the U.S. Department of Education awarded $2.4million dollars to the National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL) at theUniversity of Pennsylvania/Graduate School of Education to establishTECH.21(SM), a National Technology Lab to foster the use oftechnology in adult education instructional programs in the UnitedStates. The technologies include distance learning, the Internet, CDs,and others.

The lab will serve as a hands-on, virtual research-to-practice anddissemination system for high quality technology applications foradult education. TECH.21(SM) will develop, evaluate, and disseminatecost-effective, high quality and user-friendly models and practices ofusing technology for adult learning. It will also focus on new modelsof technology-assisted professional development.

NCAL has three national partners in this initiative. Seven adulteducation field sites across the U.S. will provide continuous feedbackof practice-based information.

The funding represents a new direction in the U.S. federalgovernment's approach to educational technology use for adulteducation by creating a one-stop research, training, and evaluationlaboratory to assist and support adult education program directors,practitioners, and state-level policymakers.

Information: Janet Smith at 215-746-6736, or E-mail [email protected]

http://litserver.literacy.upenn.edu/capturedwisdom.html

http://litserver.literacy.upenn.edu/capturedwisdom.html




Sample video scenarios from Captured Wisdom

"The Antarctica Project": Could you survive in an ice-covered environment? Adultlearners in Susan Cowles' class gathered information andcorresponded electronically with a scientist in Antarctica tofind out about research and life on the continent.

"Home Countries":How can you share your memories with new friends? ESLlearners in Suzanne Leibman's class use the Internet to findpictures and information about their home countries for oraland written reports.

"The Mars Project": Did you ever dream of visiting Mars? Susan Cowles' adultlearners went on an electronic fieldtrip to Mars and usedproject resources to learn about the environment androcketry.

"The Restaurant Problem":If you were a consultant hired to save a failing restaurant,what would you do? Lyndy Girten's GED class usestechnology to deal with irate customers, schedule workhours, and design new menus.

"Intrepid Tales":Have you ever thought of publishing a book? StephanieThomas' class relied on technology to help them publish anaccount of their fieldtrip to the "Intrepid".

"Creating Family Histories":How can you develop English and technology skillssimultaneously? Susan Gaer's ESL learners use a variety oftechnologies to present family histories online.

"Presenting the Whole Package":What will you do at your next job interview? Crystal Hackand David Baker's learners will show electronic slidepresentations and the professional portfolios they createdwith business software.

REVIEWS


Review of Awakening Brilliance, How to Inspire Children to BecomeSuccessful Learners, by Pamela Sims,Atlanta & Toronto: BayhamptonPublishing, 1997, 205 pp

by Isa Helfield, adult educator

In this award-winning book,Toronto teacher and consultantPamela Sims presents a superbphilosophy of education thattouches on some of the mostfundamental of human needs.Indeed, this book is very special: itmarries philosophy andpracticality. Through a story line ina series of short novel chapters,Sims highlights the intimateconnection between a society andits schools and casts light on theextremely critical role that teachersplay in the lives of children. It isimmensely readable.

Much of her philosophy isencapsulated in the answer to thequestion she poses at thebeginning of her book. Is there adifference between 'good' teachersand 'great' ones? Her distinction iscritical. Good teachers, sheexplains, focus solely oncurriculum, teaching students toread, write and do math. Greatteachers, however, relate to thewhole student. They are non-judgmental and caring individualswho concern themselves with thetotal being of their students - theirmind, their body and their soul.Sims has derived her philosophyand her stories from years ofclassroom and consultingexperience.

Great teachers have broken awayfrom the habitual negative thinkingpatterns that have permeated ourschools and classrooms. Theyteach the child, not the subject.They emphasize the importance ofrespect and caring, rather thandiscipline. They acknowledge thechild's humanity, understandingthat he may come to school withhis physical and emotional needsunmet; and because great teachersrealize that bad behaviour is oftenmotivated by fear, they ask

questions and empathize ratherthan blindly discipline. Schools,they say, must be places thatteach children to be successfulrather than places that confirmfeelings of failure. And so theyteach from the heart, knowing fullwell that each time they interactwith a student they areprogramming him how to feelabout himself, a feeling thatremains with him for the rest ofhis life. Their respectful andcaring attitudes form thefoundation of their classrooms:they fully recognize that childrenmust first feel safe and cared forbefore they are able to focus theirattention on learning.

Every one of these principles isembodied in a story chapter; anyone of them can be read alone toillustrate a particular point, butconsecutively they trace the voyageof one school principal who learnswhat a great teacher is through apersonal journey of discovery.

Through her main character,elementary school principal JaneMadison, Pamela Sims challengesthe concept of a 'normal' learningstyle and suggests that schoolshave too narrow a definitioncausing many children toneedlessly be placed in specialeducation classes. Becausechildren learn in a variety of ways -visual, auditory and kinaesthetic -teachers must use a variety oftechniques to satisfy the needs ofall their students. When theydon't, they sometimes createfailures. It is this mismatchbetween teaching and learningstyles, not intelligence, that oftendetermines how well a child willlearn in school. The authorbelieves that teachers should havebetter teacher training and smallerclasses so that special educationclasses with their inherentlabelling can be avoided.

Pamela Sims believes that toomany of our young people have‘lost themselves' by attempting toplay by the rules of others.Schools, therefore, should

encourage children to take chargeof their own lives and to viewdestiny as something that theycreate. She suggests, that theyshould be involved in setting theirown goals and objectives andparticipating in their ownevaluation. We must give childrenthe power over their own successesand failures and imbue them withfeelings of self-confidence, self-trust, and self-worth.

Part One of the story introduceschapter by chapter the basicphilosophical concepts ; Part Twodemonstrates their application byadministrators and teachers. Twoappendices offer concreteinformation on pedagogy. The firsthas five teacher plans for applyingthe principles in their ownclassroom. The second hascontact information for educationalassociations for parents andteachers and for specializedassociations dealing with dropoutprevention, special education,substance abuse, and more. Thereare listings for the US, Canada,Australia, Britain, and othernations. The Canadian list isbroken down by province. Simsconcludes with an excellentbibliography and suggestedreading list on communication,learning styles, self-esteem, andteaching strategies, as well as areference section and index for thewhole book.

Awakening Brilliance is a 'must'for anyone who is involved with thecare and education of children.

Isa Helfield is an adult educator atthe English Montreal School Boardand a freelance writer.

REVIEWS

Is there a difference between 'good' teachers and 'great' ones?


Edited by Maurice C. Taylor. Toronto:Culture Concepts (imprint of IrwinPublishing), 2001. 348 pp. ISBN 0-7725-2863-2.

reviewed by David Dillon, McGill University

Maurice Taylor (and the NationalLiteracy Secretariat) chose themillennium to mark what he callsthe coming of age, or the reachingmaturity, of the field of adultliteracy education in Canada. Sinceits simpler and humbler beginningsnot all that long ago, the field hasexploded in the last several decadesin two ways. One is the rapidlyincreasing proliferation of services,programs, materials, approaches,and scholarship. The other is theincreasingly multidimensionalnature of adult literacy fromtraditional school-based literacy totoday’s community-based literacy,workplace literacy, and familyliteracy—to name just a few.Taylor’s goal in this collection wasto examine where we are now inregard to adult literacy in Canada;among the guiding questions werewhat historical developments haveshaped the field’s recent path, whatcritical issues confront the fieldtoday and what might be somepromising ways forward. Taylorand his contributors succeedenormously well. In fact, thepublication of this text was timelysince the federal government’smention of literacy as a priority inlast winter’s Speech from theThrone provided the hope of anational literacy policy and anincreased profile for literacy effortsin this country.

Adult Literacy Now has a uniquestructure and organization. Thetext focuses on four keyperspectives on adult literacytoday—community-based literacy,workplace literacy, family literacy,and school-based literacy —eachcomprising a major section of thebook. Each section is organized inthe same way. A “framing chapter”provides a broad overview ofhistorical developments;fundamental theoretical,philosophical, and particularlyideological themes; and key issues

faced by this aspect of the field.Each section then contains fourchapters that examine morespecific topics within thatparticular aspect of adult literacy.Each concludes with a brief“synopsis’ that highlights the keythemes and issues in the section.Finally, the entire text is book-ended by an introductory chapterby Audrey Thomas and an epilogueby Taylor himself. The contributorsto the volume represent a broadspectrum of expertise but also ofpositioning within the adult literacyfield—academics, researchers,government civil servants, trainersand consultants from the world ofprivate business, staff membersfrom NGOs, ABE teachers, andlabour union educators.

A further significant feature is thatall the authors have been asked toengage in critical reflection on theirtopic. As Taylor himself explains,

But amid these many accompl-ishments [in adult literacy inCanada in recent decades], therehas been little time for seriousreflection. To help fill this void, allchapters in this book featurecritical reflection on literacydevelopment in Canada. AsBrookfield (1991, 1995) pointsout, critical reflection involves theidentification of a problem orincident that represents someaspect of practice requiringexamination and possible change.He believes that by identifying ourown assumptions that underliethe beliefs and actions connectedto this problem, we can betteranalyze the nature of our practice.This process results in thecapacity to imagine and explorealternatives to existing ways ofthinking. (p. ix)

This approach creates amultidimensional text not onlythrough the four key aspects ofadult literacy, but also through theviewpoints and perspectives of thecontributors. The effect is almostkaleidoscopic, yet surprisinglypowerful and coherent. The volumeprovides an excellent bird’s eyeview of each aspect in terms ofboth historical development and

current issues and themes. Myown experience with the section onworkplace literacy is illustrative. Itis the aspect of adult literacy withwhich I am least familiar, yet I came awayfeeling I had a good grasp of thebasic developments, issues, anddirections. This volume wouldserve as important reading forthose who could benefit from thiskind of “big picture” perspective—policy makers, civil servants,administrators, researchers,academics.

If there is a shortcoming in thevolume, it is that it ultimatelyreflects the situation in EnglishCanada only, and does not includeFrench Canada in its analysis.Certainly readers can extrapolatemany of the issues to FrenchCanada, yet there are particularissues of a minority languagesituation that are unique. Unlessthose are included, a volume suchas this cannot be said to be trulyand completely Canadian.

Nevertheless, any reader finishingthis volume would, I think,certainly feel that he or she had agood understanding of where adultliteracy has come in Canada in theyear 2001 and should be in abetter position to contribute to thedebate on the key issues in thefield today. If that is the case, thevolume has achieved the purposeit set for itself very well indeed.

David Dillon is a professor in theFaculty of Education, McGillUniversity. He is President of TheCentre for Literacy

REVIEWS

Adult Literacy Now


LocalLearning DisabilitiesAssociation of Quebec(LDAQ)27th Annual Conference onLearning DisabilitiesMarch 21 - 23, 2002Montreal, QCInformation: LDAQ, Tel.: (514) 847-1324; Fax: (514) 281-5187;www.aqeta.qc.caE-mail: [email protected]

Blue Metropolis LiteraryFestivalApril 3 - 7, 2002Montreal, QCInformation: 2100 Guy St., #106,Montreal, QC, H3H 2M8Tel: (514) 932-1112; Fax: (514) 932-1148; www.blue-met-bleu.com;E-mail: [email protected]

Springboards 20026th National LiteracyConference Annual Conference of theAssociation of Teachers ofEnglish of Quebec (ATEQ)and the Canadian Councilof Teachers of English(CCTELA) Literacy Beyond theClassroomApril 25 - 26, 2002Montreal, QCInformation: Faculty of Education,McGill University, Montreal. Fax:514-398-4529. Registration formsavailable January 2002.orCCTELA Office, #10-730 RiverRoad, Winnipeg, MN R2M 5A4Tel: (204) 255-1676; FAX: (204) 253-2562E-mail: [email protected]

National&InternationalBETT: The EducationalTechnology ShowJanuary 9 - 12, 2002Olympia, London, UKInformation: 020 7537 4997Web site: www.bettshow.com

Connecting the World ofFamily Literacy – A Shared Vision11th Annual NationalConference on FamilyLiteracyMarch 3 - 5, 2002Albuquerque, NMInformation: National Center forFamily Literacy, 325 West MainStreet, Suite 200, Louisville, KY 40202-4251Tel: Family Literacy InfoLine: 1-877-FAMLIT-1Web site: www.famlit.org E-mail: [email protected]

The Education ShowMarch 7-9, 2002Birmingham, U.K.Information: Tel: 0870 751-1549Web site: www.education-net.co.uk

ASCD Annual Conference& Exhibit ShowMarch 9 - 11, 2002San Antonio, TXInformation: ASCD ConferenceRegistration, PO Box 79734,Baltimore, MD 21279-0734, USATel: 703-578-9600, then press 2or toll free 1-800-933-ASCD(2723); FAX: 703-575-5400Web site: www.ascd.org

13th Annual Conferenceof the Society forInformation Technologyand Teacher Educationand The Association forthe Advancement ofComputing in EducationMarch 18 - 23, 2002Nashville, TNInformation: Tel: 757-623-7588; FAX: 703-997-8760E-mail: AACE Conference Services

CSUN 17th AnnualInternational Conferenceon Technology andPersons with DisabilitiesMarch 18 - 23, 2002Los Angeles, CA, USAInformation: 18111 NordhoffStreet, Building 11, Suite 103,Northridge, CA 91330-8340Tel: 818-677-2578Fax: 818-677-4929Web site: www.csun.edu/cod/E-mail: [email protected]

Conference on CollegeComposition andCommunication (4Cs)March 20 - 23, 2002Chicago, IL, USAInformation: NCTE, 1111 W.Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096Tel : 217-328-3870, ext. 203Fax : 217-328-0977Website: www.ncte.org

83rd Annual Meeting ofthe AmericanEducational ResearchAssociation (AERA)Validity and Value inEducation ResearchApril 1 - 5, 2002New Orleans, LAInformation: Tel: 202-223-9485Fax: 202-775-1824Web site: www.aera.net

TESOL 2002: Languageand the Human Spirit36th Annual InternationalConvention and ExpositionApril 9 - 13, 2002Salt Lake City, UT, USAInformation: Web site:www.tesol.eduE-mail: [email protected]

International ReadingAssociation (IRA) 47thAnnual ConventionGateway to GlobalUnderstandingApril 28 - May 2, 2002San Francisco, CA, USAInformation: Tel: 302-731-1600Web site:www.reading.org/2002/index.html

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Computers and AdvancedTechnology in Education(CATE 2002)5th IASTED InternationalMulti-Conference incooperation with The HongKong Institute of EducationMay 20 - 22, 2002Cancun, MexicoInformation: IASTED Secretariat-CATE 2002, #80, 4500-16thAvenue NW, Calgary, AB, T3B 0M6Tel: 403-288-1195; FAX: 403-247-6851E-mail: [email protected] Site: www.iasted.org

International Council forOpen and DistanceEducation (ICDE) andCanadian Association forDistance Education(CADE-ACED)New Century – NewModels: New Standards forthe EducationalMainstreamMay 26 - 29, 2002Calgary, ABInformation: Dr. Ken Collier,Athabasca UniversityTel: 780-428-2065; FAX: 780-497-3411E-mail: [email protected]

21st Annual Conference,Canadian Association forthe Study of AdultEducationAdult Education and theContested Terrain of PublicPolicyMay 30 - June 1, 2002Toronto, ONOntario Institute for Studies inEducationUniversity of TorontoInformation: Web site:http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/CASAE/cnf2002/cnf2002.htmlE-mail: [email protected]

Literacy for All –Laubach Literacy ActionBiennial ConferenceMay 30 - June 1, 2002San Diego, CAInformation: Pam Alger, 2002 LLABiennial Seminar Chair, 5240 TheToledo, Long Beach, CA 90803Tel: 315-422-9121, ext. 352Email: [email protected]: Tel: 757-623-7588; FAX: 703-997-8760E-mail: AACE Conference Services

2nd Pan-CommonwealthForum on Open LearningOpen Learning:Transforming Education for DevelopmentJuly 27 - August 2, 2002Durban, South AfricaThe Commonwealth of Learning,National Association of DistanceEducation Organizations of SouthAfrica (NADEOSA) and the SouthAfrican Department of EducationInformation: Ms. Jennie Louw,Conference InformationSecretariat, PO Box 31822,Braamfontein, Johannesburg2017, South AfricaTel: +27-11-403-2813; FAX: +27-11-403-2814E-mail: [email protected]

International ReadingAssociation The 19th World Congresson ReadingJuly 29 - August 1, 2002University of Edinburgh inEdinburgh, ScotlandInformation: World CongressProgram Committee, InternationalReading Association, 800Barksdale Road, PO Box 8139,Newark, DE 19714-8139FAX: 302-731-1057

The Plain LanguageAssociation International(PLAIN) 4th InternationalConference At the Heart ofCommunication Toronto, Canada.September 26 - 29, 2002Information:www.plainlanguagenetwork.org

Canadian VocationalAssociation andUNEVOC-CanadaDeveloping Skills for the New EconomyOctober 17 - 19, 2002Winnipeg, MBInformation: Dr. Chris Chinien,UNEVOC-Canada, Faculty ofEducation, University of Manitoba,Winnipeg, MB R3Tt 2N2, Canada.Tel: 204-474-8271; FAX: 204-474-7696E-mail: [email protected]: www.umanitoba.ca/unevoc/2002conference/

Living LiteraciesNovember 14 -16, 2002Toronto, ONYork University

International Conferenceon Computers inEducation – ICCE 2002December 3 - 6, 2002Auckland, New ZealandInformation: Julie Lyons,Conference Secretary, Departmentof Information Systems, MasseyUniversity, Private Bag 11 222,Palmerston North, New Zealand.Tel: +64-6-350-5233; FAX: +64-6-350-5725Web site: http://icce2002.massey.ac.nz/E-mail:[email protected]

International Federationof Teachers of English(IFTE)Transforming Literacies,Changing EnglishJuly 5 – 9, 2003Melbourne AustraliaInformation: E-mail:[email protected] Web site:http://www.ifte.net

Summer Institutes 2002

Adult Numeracy: Math,Life and LearningThe Centre for Literacy ofQuebec in collaborationwith NIFLJune 27 - 29, 2002Montreal, QCInformation: Tel.: (514) 931-8731,ext1415; Fax: (514) 931-5181; Web site: www.nald.ca/litcent.htmEmail: [email protected]

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ANNOUNCEMENTS: HAPPENING AT THE CENTRE

The Centre made a beneficialalliance in 2001with GiantBooksales that marketsremaindered books. OurInternational Literacy Monthsale in September raisedawareness about literacythrough media interviews andarticles, and also raisedmoney for The Centre andbooks for needy schools andcommunity groups.

A second sale for Christmasallowed us to distribute morethan $12 thousand worth ofnew books to groups in andaround Montreal. [Seesidebar]

The September sale alsogenerated enough funds toincrease our librarycollection, upgrade oursoftware and replace threedeteriorating computers.

The Centre is offering customized workshops related to all aspectsof literacy and basic skills to support the training needs of otherorganizations or those of several groups that want to collaboratearound a common need.

We have access to local, national and international expertise.

We have years of experience designing training workshops,organizing conferences and seminars.

We have implemented literacy across the curriculum projects inschools; these practices are part of the current education reform.

We specialize in health literacy, technology and media education,and community-based popular education.

Book salebeneficiaries • Auberge Shalom

• Batshaw Youth

• Coronation School

• Montreal Children’sHospital

• Montreal GeneralHospital

• Learning DisabilitiesAssociation of Quebec,Montreal Chapter One

• Literacy Unlimited

• Point Association forCommunity Education(PACE)

• Quebec Federation ofHome and Schools

• St. Gabriel’s School

• Storysacks QC

• Sun Youth libraries

• The Centre for Literacyof Quebec

• Tyndale-St. George’sCommunity Centre

• Westmount Park School

Book Sale benefits localcommunity andunderprivileged schools

The Centre for Literacy of Quebec

Up to 80% off

publisher’s original priceThe “Gift of Reading” Holiday Book Sale

Book SaleTO BENEFIT

3 WEEKS ONLY!

DAILYPRIZES• Children’s

• How-to

• Art Books

• Computer

• Educational

• Cookbooks

• Fiction

• Academic

• Software

1000s of English

publisher’s clearance

and bestselling titles.

Customized workshops, conferences and services for you

Contact us to ask what we can do for you or with you.


NationalStorysacksUpdate

The Storysacks Canadaproject is underway at theNational Adult LiteracyDatabase (NALD) inFredericton, New Brunswick.Project Directors are JanGreer Langley and Diane Rosswho have each taken a one-year leave from theirorganizations, the NBCoalition for Literacy and laFédération d’alphabétisationdu N.-B.

Standards and materials arebeing developed in bothofficial languages inconsultation with those in thefield across Canada who haveexperimented over the pastyear or more in deliveringStorysacks workshops. The“Standards” will guaranteequality control around theproduction and use ofStorysacks. The webdevelopment team at NALD iscurrently updating theEnglish Storysacks site anddeveloping the French one. Ifyou visit the English websitewww.storysacks.nald.ca andthe French website www.pret-a-conter.nald.ca early in theNew Year, you should seechanges. A registration page

will be functional byFebruary, 2002, so you canregister your completed Sacksand everyone can see thewonderful creations fromacross the country. Thesewebsites will continue to beupgraded and updatedthroughout the coming year.While all this is going on, Janand Diane will assist peoplein any way they can by e-mailand phone, and do whateverresearch is required todevelop resources to meetyour immediate needs.

A letter will soon go outacross the family literacy fieldin Canada announcingthe new project and abrochure will be producedearly in the New Year.

Information: Jan or Diane by E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] or toll freeat 1-800-720-6253.


Learning Disabilities Resources PartnershipThe Centre is collaborating with the Learning DisabilitiesAssociation of Quebec (LDAQ) Montreal Chapter 1, tomake resources available to their tutors and to the generalcommunity of teachers and parents.

The LDAQ chapter has used a grant from the motherassociation to purchase instructional materials for theirtutors. Since LDAQ does not have lending capacity, TheCentre will catalogue and circulate these resources to theirown tutors.

In addition, LDAQ has reviewed The Centre’s LD collectionand recommended titles to be added. The Centre ispurchasing materials, including videos, of interest toparents.

These will available for general circulation.

To view our LD collection, check our library catalogue onthe front page of our web site. Look under the subjectheading Learning Disabilities.

New on the web siteA guide to recognize signs ofdelay in language development

The Child WhoDoesn't Speak:ClinicalApproachesby Dr. Aviva Fattal-Valevski

Dr. Fattal-Valevski is a pediatricneurologist at The ChildDevelopment Centre, Tel AvivSouraski Medical Centre, TelAviv University, Israel. ThisPower-Point presentation wasgiven at The Child DevelopmentCentre in November 2001.Although designed for nurses, itprovides an extremely clearguide for parents and educatorsin recognizing early signs ofdelay in language development.

http://www.storysacks.nald.ca

http://www.pret-a-conter.nald.ca

http://www.pret-a-conter.nald.ca




At this year’s Grassroots:Community Writing event,using the Blue Metropolistheme of the architecture oflanguage, we will bringtogether storytellers andwriters from coastalcommunities in

Newfoundland, from ahomeless shelter in Toronto,from displaced youthprograms in Montreal, andfrom a native writing circle inBritish Columbia. Oneaccomplished writer-musiciancollects alphabet songs andoral stories from ruralNewfoundland, another writesher life. An urban group ofyoung men and women whohave experienced violence andused it against others nowwrite poetry and takephotographs that move themin a new direction. Twowriters who have beenhomeless publish a magazineto reach their brothers on thestreet and tell their storiesfrom the inside. A nativesurvivor of residentialschooling writes his way outof despair and tries to bringcommunity members withhim. Several of these writerswork with literacy programsin their own settings. One isthe 2001 Canada PostLiteracy Award winner as alearner who has joined theranks of published writers.In these different contexts,literacy provides the buildingblocks for further learningand for communityengagement.

Who will participate?

Writers who have written andpublished in community-based settings rather thaninside institutions, and whohave built bridges amongverbal, oral, and visualliteracies.

• Larry Loyie, and ConstanceBrissenden, LivingTraditions Writing Circle,B.C. (Larry won the 2001Canada Post LiteracyLearner Award)

• Michael Paul Martin andRobert Payne, St. Christopher HouseMeeting Point, Toronto

• Carmelita McGrath, poet-storyteller, and Jim Payne,poet-song writer,Newfoundland

• A group of writers fromLeave Out Violence (LOVE),Montreal.

• A group of writers fromShawbridge Youth, Montreal

• Jennifer Ottoway and DavidGutnick, CBC Radio, whoproduced “Jennifer’s Story,”a broadcast of a homelesswoman’s diary, in May2001. It won aCommonwealth BroadcastAward.

Share their stories, poems,songs, and experience ineffecting change in their ownmilieus.

Dates

Friday, April 5, two-hourpublic reading at the BlueMetropolis Literary Festival

Saturday, April 6, 9: 30 -1:00, a workshop atThe Centre for Literacy,Dawson College

Information: (514) 931-8731, ext 1415, or check our web site.

Brochures will be available inFebruary.


Grassroots:Community

writing2002

April 5-6,2002

The architecture of literacy

New in January 2002Working Paper No. 5

Cognitive Toolsand the

Acquisition ofLiteracy

by Professor Kieran Egan,Simon Fraser University

Check the web for details on ordering.


ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Association of Teachers of English of Quebec (ATEQ)and The Canadian Council of Teachers of EnglishLanguage Arts (CCTELA) announces Springboards 2002and the 6th National Literacy Conference

Literacy Beyond the Classroom Thursday – Saturday, April 25 –27, 2002

McGill University, Faculty of Education

Montreal

How can we help our students become truly literate forlife—to read beyond the text, to think critically, tointerpret media? ATEQ and CCTELA invite you to jointhem in an advocacy of literacy that reaches beyondclassroom walls.

Registration forms available in January.Information: Fax (514) 398-4529

Canadian Council ofTeachers of English

Language Arts (CCTELA)

Merron Chorney Award

recognizing significantcontribution to English

Language ArtsEducation in Canada

Who is eligible?

Teachers, coordinators,administrators, researchers

Nominations must beaccompanied by a 200-300word statement of supportfor the candidate, and thenames and addresses ofthree referees willing toprovide letters of support.The selection committeewill contact referees duringthe final round of selection.

Send nominations to:

Trevor Gambell, College ofEducation, University ofSaskatchewan, 28 CampusDrive, Saskatoon, SK, S7N0X1. Fax: (306) 966-7644;

E-mail:[email protected]

Deadline: January 31, 2002.

Call for Nominations

Canada BookDay 2002April 23, 2002

Canada Book Day coincideswith UNESCO’s World BookDay. April 23 is a symbolicdate. In 1616, Shakespeareand Cervantes both died.Other prominent authors ofworld literature, such asNabokov, were born on

April 23. The UNESCO daypromotes reading, books,publication, as well as abetter understanding andapplication of copyright.

Information onWorld Book Day:www.unesco.org/general/eng/events/books/book.html

Materials and information onCanada Book Day: HeatherWiley, Writers’Trust of Canada,[email protected]




ANNOUNCEMENTS: MEDIA LITERACY

Barry Duncan’s monthly bulletin, put out through the Media Awareness Network in Ottawa,contains resources, reviews and news for media educators. Current and usable.

Web site: www.media awareness.ca/eng/med/class/multilib/jan2002.htm

News on Childrenand Violence on theScreenis a newsletter that offers newsbriefs, abstracts of currentresearch, specializedbibliographies, notices of newpublications, regional overviews,and seminar, course andconference information, etc.

Volumes 1 –5 (1997-2001) areavailable in pdf format

http://www.nordicom.gu.se/unesco/newsletter.html

Setting ResearchDirections forMedia Literacy andHealth EducationNew Web site

In April 2000, a two-day workingconference was held at theRutgers' Center for Media Studies.Thirty leading media educationand public health researchers metto try to chart future researchdirections for media literacy andhealth education. The goals were(1) to identify approaches tomeasure the impact of medialiteracy interventions aimed athealth threats to youth; (2) tostimulate descriptive evidenceabout the growth and nature ofmedia literacy education in theUnited States and around theworld; and (3) to begin to morefully appreciate the complex,interdisciplinary connectionsamong the fields of media studies,education and public health.

The conference web site includesa full conference report withpictures, and a downloadable pdfversion.

Go to:http://www.mediastudies.rutgers.edu/mh_conference/index.html

Conference sponsors were Johnson &Johnson, The Center for Substance AbusePrevention: HHS Secretary's Initiative onYouth Substance Abuse Prevention;National Cancer Institute; Centers forDisease Control and Prevention; AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics; Alliance for a MediaLiterate America; Journalism ResourcesInstitute.

The International Journal ofMedia Education is the firstacademic journal devoted toMedia Education. It is editedby Dr. Andrew Hart, Directorof the Media Education CentreResearch and Graduate Schoolof Education, University ofSouthampton, U.K.

The journal is seeking articlesaround four strands:

• Media products andprocesses (including studyof media organizations, theproduction andconsumption of media texts)

• Media teachers and teaching(including curricula, trainingand accountability)

• Media classrooms andlearning (including learningstrategies in relation to

teaching modes, learningoutcomes and assessment)

• Connections between Medialearning and industrialpractices (includingindustrial views on whatmedia education mightinclude/exclude in itsvocational forms)

Information: Dr. Andrew Hart,Media Education Centre, Researchand Graduate School of Education,University of Southampton, S0171BJ, England.

Web site:http://www.soton.ac.uk/~mec/

Research Training and Master'sCourses On-line Learning Web site (password-protected):http://www.webct.soton.ac.uk

Tel (0)2380-593387; Fax (0)2380-593556; Email: [email protected]

New media education journal seekscontributors and subscribers

http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/med/class/multilib/jan2002.htm

http://www.nordicom.gu.se/unesco/newsletter.html

http://www.mediastudies.rutgers.edu/mh_conference/index.html

http://www.soton.ac.uk/~mec/

http://www.webct.soton.ac.uk



ANNOUNCEMENTS

INTERNATIONALAWARD FORLITERACYRESEARCH CALL FOR PAPERS (in English and French)

For the fifth time since1991, the UNESCOInstitute for Education isoffering an award foroutstanding research inadult literacy. Thecompetition, open toresearchers all over theworld, is supported theNational LiteracySecretariat (NLS), HumanResources DevelopmentCanada.

Deadline:

December 31, 2001

Information: http://www.unesco.org/education/uie/news/award.shtml

At the Heart of Communication The Plain Language AssociationInternational (PLAIN)4th International Conference, Toronto, Canada.

September 26 - 29, 2002

This conference will focus on the key role of plain language--acrossdisciplines and around the world. Plain language means languagethat your audience can easily understand. It saves time, money,and lives. It helps readers understand their rights and obligations.It protects them from ambiguous, evasive or bureaucraticlanguage. Plain language helps people fill out forms, read labels,follow directions, and learn new skills. Whether you are preparinga brief, writing a procedure, managing a department or trainingworkers, plain language is your business.

PLAIN's members come from a wide range of disciplines, includinglaw, health care, marketing, public relations, human resources,research, editing, technical writing and other disciplines that relyon effective communication. Internationally, English has becomethe language of business, science and the Internet. This createsnew and urgent issues for communicators around the world.

Information: www.plainlanguagenetwork.org

Multilingual Matters/ChannelView Publications are offeringfree electronic access tojournals for institutionalsubscribers in countries of "lowhuman development" asdefined by the HumanDevelopment Index(HDI)published annually by theUnited Nations DevelopmentProject (http://www.undp.org).The company will also offersubscriptions at a substantiallyreduced rate to institutionalsubscribers in countries of"medium human development."Libraries in over 100 countrieswill be able to receive journalseither completely free or atsubstantially reduced cost.

Multilingual Matters is one ofthe world leaders in researchon multilingualism andminority language rights.Under the Channel ViewPublications imprint, thecompany has developed anumber of publications on

sustainability in tourism,agriculture and transport. Thecompany believes thatadequate access to academicmaterials is a vital aspect ofsustainable development. Theyhope that the new pricingpolicy will encourage otherpublishers to adopt similarschemes to support academicactivity in the developing world.

Libraries should contact:Multilingual Matters Ltd.,Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon,England, BS21 7HH; E-mail:[email protected];Tel: +44 (0)1275 876519; Fax: +44 (0)1275 871673

Contact: Mike Grover, ManagingDirector; [email protected];

Mobile: +44 (0)7779 156794

Using Music inthe Adult ESLClassroom by Kristin Lems, is the latestdigest from

National Center for ESLLiteracy Education (NCLE). It offers suggestions for usingmusic and music-basedactivities to develop andpractice reading and writing,listening comprehension,vocabulary, and speaking,and to expand culturalknowledge.

It is available on line athttp://www.cal.org/ncle/digests/music.htm or from NCLE atthe National Center for ESLLiteracy Education (NCLE),Center for Applied Linguistics,4646 40th Street NW,Washington, DC 20015.Tel.:(202) 362-0700; Fax (202)363-7204; E-mail:[email protected]

Free Electronic Journal Subscriptionsto Developing Countries

http://www.undp.org




http://www.unesco.org/education/uie/news/award.shtml

http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org

http://www.cal.org/ncle/digests/music.htm



In partnership with The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL),in Washington, The Centre for Literacy of Quebec is sponsoring

Summer Institute 2002June 27 -29, 2002, Montreal, Quebec

Math for learning, math for life Adult numeracy and basic skills

This year’s Institute willbring together teachers,

researchers and policymakers from Canada, theUS, the UK, and Australiato explore the place ofnumeracy in the adult basicskills strategies beingdeveloped around the world.

We will examine currentpolicies and classroom

practices, look at trends,and consider how toinfluence future directionsin ways that make sense foradult learners.

Join a three-day think tankas practitioners, researchersand policy-makers identifywhat we already knowabout adults learning math,and what we still need to

learn. Share modelpractices in teaching and in staff development fromdiverse settings.

Information and registration forms:

www.nald.ca/litcent.htm orcall (514) 931-8731, ext. 1415to request a brochure.

The Centre for Literacy, 3040 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3Z 1A4

I enclose a cheque for $18 $80 $150 (Please mark choice)

Make cheque payable to The Centre for Literacy. Please enquire about international rates.

Name: ................................................................................................................................

Institution: ............................................Dept: ....................................................................

Address: ............................................................................................................................

Province/State: ......................................City: ............................ Postal Code: ....................

Tel: ........................................................Fax: ......................................................................

Single annual subscription $18Multiple annual subscription (10) $80Multiple subscription (20) $150Back issues available Call (514) 931-8731, ext. 1415

LOOK AT OUR WEBSITE AT: www.nald.ca/litcent.htm

Literacy Across the CurriculuMedia Focus is published twice a year.Between publications, original material is published on our Website.To subscribe, complete this form and mail it with your cheque to:

The Centre for Literacy of Quebec

