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LR/RI produces a bulletin roughly every two weeks in order to inform area practitioners of news, events, and calls for participation and also as a forum for posing questions, issues and discussion topics. The current bulletin is posted below. To read previous bulletins, go to Bulletin Archives.August 15, 2001 Bulletin #123
Dear Colleagues, Calls for participation, conference announcements, information about resources on line and the usual range of notices follow. To post information, please contact LR/RI or leave a message (863-2839). Thanks.
Janet Isserlis ____________________________________________________________ NOTICES
ESOL sharing/discussion session will take place on Tuesday, September 25 at 3:00 pm at the Genesis Center. We will be thinking and talking about, among other things, project based learning and about themes and topics of focus for the coming academic year. A survey about resources for ESOL activities, developed by Debby Venator, is available online. We request that teachers complete the survey and send their responses to LR/RI as sson as possible. Save the date: On September 6th, practitioners (program directors, teachers, literacy/adult education workers) are invited to an open meeting to discuss changes to the Inquiry process and to explore new models of pursuing inquiry/teacher-based research in the state in the coming academic year. Further details will appear in coming bulletins. We look forward to exploring new options and expanding our ability to learn from our own research as part of the process of strengthening learning opportunities for adults in Rhode Island. (please note:this is a meeting that had originally been scheduled for September 6th (at the RIDE building, downtown, Room 501 from 9 am to noon). Refreshments will be provided, and parking validated, if you park in the Convention Center garage. Refreshments will be provided, parking will be validated, if you park in the Convention Center garage. http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Swearer_Center/Literacy_Resources//inquiry.html
Volunteer opportunties - Volunteer tutors needed for RI Family Literacy Initiative. Tutors work twice a week for two hours each time at library-based ESOL Family Literacy Program. Sixteen different sites available across RI (mornings, afternoons, evenings, Saturdays). Tutors work with adults or children in small groups under the guidance of teaching staff. We especially encourage retired teachers and college students interested in education/international relations. Call Kristen McKenna at 455-8066 or Denise DiMarzio at 455-8041 for more information. Training session held on August 29, 6:30-8:00 pm at the Providence Public Library, 225 Washington Street, Providence. employment opportunities ADULT ED. TEACHERS: RI Family Literacy Initiative seeks Lead ESOL Teachers for library-based Family Literacy Program. Part-time positions available in Warren, East Providence, and Cranston. Begin in August. Call Kristen McKenna at 455-8066 or Denise DiMarzio at 455-8041 for more information or send/fax resume to: Literacy Department, Providence Public Library, 225 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903. Fax: 401-455-8039. CHILDREN'S TEACHERS: RI Family Literacy Initiative seeks Program Assistants for library-based ESOL Family Literacy Program. Part-time positions available in Pawtucket, and East Providence. Begin in late August. Call Kristen McKenna at 455-8066 or Denise DiMarzio at 455-8041 for more information or send/fax resume to: Literacy Department, Providence Public Library, 225 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903. Fax: 401-455-8039. COMPUTER TEACHERS: RI Family Literacy Initiative seeks Computer Assistants for library-based ESOL Family Literacy Program. Several part-time positions available. Great job for college students. Begin in late August. Call Kristen McKenna at 455-8066 or Denise DiMarzio at 455-8041 for more information or send/fax resume to: Literacy Department, Providence Public Library, 225 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903. Employment opportunity: Energetic individual needed to teach Russian refugees citizenship material in preparation for the citizenship examination. Duties also include teaching a separate ESL class for students who will soon be taking the citizenship exam, but need extra help with their English language skills. Applicant must show sensitivity to people of Jewish culture, have good instruction and communication skills, and one year experience in adult education instruction, Please fax 401-331-5772 or send resume to Dan Kane, LICSW, Coordinator Resettlement Services, Jewish Family Service, Inc., 229 Waterman Street, Providence, RI 02906. Equal opportunity employer. No phone calls, please. Employment opportunity: Director System for Adult Basic Education
Support (SABES)
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Reading for Speed and Memory - Richard Tessier
CASAS - It's more than just a test - Howard L.Dooley, Jr,
Brother Joseph DelGiorno, Doreen Perry
Further trainings are also scheduled for the fall; see upcoming bulletins,
or the HRIC website
online EL Civics : in anticipation of funding which will be made available soon, LR/RI has begun assembling resources addressing EL Civics education; I welcome suggestions and resources to add to the site, as well as practitioners' writings, lesson ideas and other material relevant to English Language/Civics education for adults. http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Swearer_Center/Literacy_Resources/elcivics.html RIDE is in the process of developing a request for proposals for grants which will augent existing ESOL classes to expand and/or enahnce English Literacy/Civics instruction and content. These grants will be starting in late October of this year. As part of this process, RIDE is planning a full day event, tentatively set for September 17, featuring workshops and brief presentations on related topics -- preparation for the citizenship examination, use of Crossroads Cafe and /or Common Ground videos, integration of internet based materials in adult ESOL and other relevant topics. Presentations should be an hour to an hour and a half long and will run from 9 to 12 (concurrently). Following lunch and another round of workshops/ presentations, Robert
Mason, director of adult education, will hold a bidders' meeting for those
interested in submitting proposals for ELCivics grants. Whether or
not your agency is planning to bid on such a grant, we hope that you will
consider joining us for this day long event. If you have worked with any
of the topics listed above, or other topics related to EL Civics and would
like to propose a workshop to present that day, please provide a one-page
description of what you would like to do, including the goal of the workshop,
what you plan to present, what activities participants will undertake,
and what resources, if any, you might provide for particpants. We
are hoping that this first round of EL Civics workshops will help us celebrate
our skills and knowledge and will also help guide future professional development
events focused on EL Civics; please send proposals to LR/RI or Bob Mason.
(janet_isserlis@brown.edu,
or ride1555@ride.ri.net); or
call for snail mail addresses.
The ESL Special Collection http://www.literacynet.org/esl - a web site for anyone interested in teaching English to adults. From this site, you can find: Curricula for ESOL classes or tutoring sessions, Free web-based resources for instructors and learners, Reports and essays about teaching and learning ESL, Statistics about ESL and Links to organizations dedicated to ESL education The site is maintained by California Literacy, Inc., in partnership with World Education, Laubach Literacy Action, and Western/Pacific Literacy Networks. The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) funds the collection as part of its LINCS project. LINCS is a national effort to provide Web-based access to information for adult literacy practitioners. The ESL Special Collection is one of ten collections of resources relating to specific content areas within literacy education. Can I give input? Yes! Yes! Yes! We're looking for input from practitioners in the field. Please contact us with your feedback about the site, your needs, or recommendations for materials that we can add to the site. Contact: Matthew Scelza, Project Director, ESL Special Collection California Literacy, Inc. 626-395-9989 xt. 20 matthewscelza@caliteracy.org Using LINCS, a new online professional development opportunity from Eastern LINCS, is being offered this fall free to adult education and literacy practitioners (paid, volunteer. part- or full-time, administrators, staff and trainers). Through this course, participants will learn to use the National Institute for Literacy's LINCS system to: identify literacy-related resources available online, access literacy related Web sites using LINCSearch, complete searches of cataloged resources that are available through the LINCS system, access ideas and suggestions from any or all of the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) and other literacy-related online discussion lists, communicate with literacy experts through the LINCS Special Collections sites, submit documents to any of the five regional LINCS websites or the national site, Easily access grant and funding resources and Customize LINCS to users' needs . To benefit from this course, participants should be confident in basic computer and Internet browsing skills as well as sending/replying to email. To learn more about the course and its development, visit Programs and
Activities at the Eastern LINCS Web site: http://www.easternlincs.org/programsactivities.htm
To view a description and details, or to register online for the Fall 2001
course session, visit http://www.wbtc.ciu10.com/eclass/courses/usinglincs.htm
The course is also available for 2.0 Continuing Education Units with a
documentation processing fee. The goal of LINCS is to bring adult literacy-related
resources and expertise to a single point of access for users throughout
the world. LINCS features multimedia curricula developed by practitioners,
special collections on major literacy topics, the latest literacy-related
research and statistics, opportunities for communicating with colleagues
directly and through on-line discussion groups, and the best peer-reviewed
ABE and literacy sites in the US and beyond.
from The Works,Vol. V, No, 2, Summer 2001 (from University Affiliated Program of RI at RI College) The Americans with Disabilities Act - A Guide for people with disabilities seeking employment. The guide provides "easy to read information on rights, reasonable accommodations, how to request an accommodation, and what to do if you think your rights under the ADA have been violated. http://www.ssa.gov/work/workta2.html . This resource is part of the larger work site of the Office Employment Support, http://www.ssa.gov/work/index2.html . To learn more about the University Affilicated Program, go to http://www.ric.edu/uap/ coming next summer: The RI Youth Leadership Forum, scheduled for 2002, will provide a concentrated educational and motivational experience to selected students with disabilities who have leadership qualities, and will provide students with the opportunity to learn about careers. We encourage participation in the 4 day conference for students who will enroll in secondary education, enter meaningful careers and become leaders in their communities. Individuals will participate who effectively interact with other students and demonstrate involvement in extracurricular activities.. Peer counselors, program assistants and dorm parents are needed, as well as presenters, funders and committee members. Activities will include presentations exploring the history of civil rights, technology, leadership and more. Task categories are administrative, program, delegates, personnel, facilities and supplies. To learn more, to participate, contact Ginny O'Hayer at (401)295-2896
Can You Build a Stronger Community? If you have an idea that will make your neighborhood a better place to live and work, your group might be eligible for a grant from the Citizens Bank Neighborhood Fund. The idea is simple: Local residents know what matters in their neighborhoods and have creative ideas for improving their communities. Citizens Bank and United Way are offering grants up to $15,000 for improving and enhancing neighborhoods. These projects will be designed and controlled by local resident groups, who may be assisted by civic and community based organizations. "Building A Stronger Community" is based on the idea that every community, despite its challenges, and all its residents have valuable strengths and talents. Residents of a community, when working together, are in the best position to strengthen their neighborhoods when they control the planning and use their assets for change. For more information, check out this link: http://www.unitedwaysene.org/agency_pro.html resources: As part of its new web site, the Department of Children, Youth and Families provides a list of licensed day care providers in the state: http://www.dcyf.state.ri.us/cgi-bin/dcyf.cgi (This link has also been added to LR/RI's literacy center page, for easy access. The executive summary of a new NCSALL research report has just been posted on line at http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu and will be available in hard copy at the end of the month. "Toward a New Pluralism in ABE/ESOL Classrooms: Teaching to Multiple 'Cultures of Mind'" provides a summary of the research conducted by Robert Kegan and his team at Harvard (the full report will be available later but is quite long). This research applied Dr. Kegan's theory of adult development to participants in ABE and ESOL classes. I believe this report will provide adult educators with a new lens with which to look at their students, understand why students sometimes prefer teaching approaches different than those we employ, see the value of group learning, and understand the transformation adults make in our programs. - from John Comings, director, NCSALL
From Thursday Notes, August 9, 2001:
Health Literacy Community Meets
MA's Acting Governor Calls for More Adult Ed Funds - Acting
Governor Jane Swift (D) is calling for a 3-year $22M increase in state
funding for adult education programs. The increase could provide about
$7M annually for FY '02-'04. Swift aims to cut the waiting list of nearly
13,000 people on standby for adult education classes. In making the case,
Swift says learners who are motivated to move up the economic ladder should
get a chance and employers will benefit from the state investment by having
better trained workers.inder: LVA-RI with the RI
The Workforce Literacy Collaborative is updating its directory of adult education programs (online at http://www.riwlc.org/). Many of you have received requests to update your information, which needs to be in by August 31st. If you know of any additional programs that should be added to the Directory or if you need additional information, please contact Donna Sherman at 861-0815 Thank you for your assistance with this project. With your help we will have the new copies of the Directory available by the end of October.
Language and Literacy is a Canadian on-line journal for educators interested in a broad range of literacy issues encompassing research and teaching in multimedia, print, and oracy. Available at http://educ.queensu.ca/~landl/ From Taylor L. Willingham: Help me make the voices of Adult Literacy Students Heard! The literacy community has been invited to participate in developing a discussion guide on health. This guide is being developed by a network of people who participate in National Issues Forums (NIF), which bring together citizens to discuss important public matters. The NIF network wants to hear your thoughts on health so that we can write a discussion guide that reflects how you and your friends and family are experiencing health-related issues. We will produce a discussion guide that will be written at an easy-to-read level that teachers and tutors can use in lessons and that adult learners and students can use in their study and personal growth. Please copy these questions, share with learners and return your response to the email address below. If access to email is a problem, a regular mail address is also included: 1. What do you value (or what really matters to you) about your own
health and health care?
Please send your responses to me at taylor@austin-pacific.com .Thank you! Taylor L. Willingham Austin-Pacific Consulting Co. PO Box 1255 Salado, TX 76571 254.947.3793
conferences - conferences are listed chronologically and are updated with each bulletin
The National Association for Adults with Special Learning Needs - NAASLN, in conjunction with the Greater Milwaukee Literacy Coalition and the Milwaukee Area Technical College, is sponsoring an international conference, Forging the Future, September 13 -15, 2001, in Milwaukee, WI. Over 50 sessions will be presented offering you the most up-to-date research, policies and legislation, technology, and best practices to successfully support adults with special learning needs in attaining their goals to become successful workers, parents, and integrated members of our communities. Visit http://www.naasln.org for an up-to-date listing of sessions and conference information. COABE May 6 - 11, 2002, Charleston, South Carolina- http://www.coabe2002.org/ ; the call for presentation is on line at http://www.sclrc.org/coabe2002/Presentations.htm and proposals are due on December 1st. UNEVOC- Canada in partnership with the International Centre for the Enhancement of Learning Potential is hosting an international conference to be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, August 18-25, 2001. The conference entitled Unlocking Human Potential to Learn is designed to introduce participants to the best practices and innovative approaches, strategies and techniques for teaching "learning how to learn" skills to children, youth and adults. Paper presentations will focus on three major themes: enhancing learning skills of special needs and gifted learners of diverse cultures, developing critical skills for lifelong learning and improving effectiveness and efficiency in vocational education and workplace training. http://www.umanitoba.ca/unevoc/conference/ Literacy Volunteers of America, Octobe 17-20, Albuquerque, New Mexico http://www.literacyvolunteers.org/conference/ Speakers have been scheduled and information appears online. The American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) Adult Educators From the Margin Through the Mainstream: Annual Conference October 17-20, 2001 Baltimore, MD http://www.aaace.org/ Laubach Literacy Action Biennial Conference will be held in San Diego May 30 - June 1, 2002. Presentations are being solicited that reflect the theme, Literacy for All. We are particularly interested in presentations on collaborative efforts, reaching the hard to reach, accessibility, diversity and advocacy. Proposals are due by August 31, 2001. We hope to have the conference reflect the wide variety of practitioners and stake holders in the literacy field. If you would like a presenter form to be sent to you, please contact Mary Kuppinger mkuppinger@laubach.org or Pam Alger at pcalger@usa.net. - Pam Alger. MCSE. Adult Education and Literacy Services, City of Azusa 729 N. Dalton Ave Azusa, CA 91702 (626)812-5267 http://www.laubach.org/USProgram/biennial.html
The Project for Research on Welfare, Work and Domestic Violence (sponsored by the Center for Impact Research and the University of Michigan School of Social Work Center on Poverty, Risk, and Mental Health) invites you to its 3rd Trapped by Poverty/Trapped by Abuse Conference Friday, October 26 to Sunday, October 28, 2001 at The University of Michigan League Ann Arbor, Michigan Please visit the following website for registration materials, as well as list of speakers and preliminary presentation titles: http://www.impactresearch.org/documents/42.pdf MATSOL October 12-13, Sturbridge, MA. Pre-registration deadline is September 21. Full information is available at http://www.matsol.org/whatsnew/matsol.pdf, or contact LR/RI. from previous bulletins: REMINDERS, RESOURCES:
Stop the Hate, http://www.stopthehate.net/index1.htm - provides numerous resources of value to anyone working in adult education, community development and/or hoping to consider viable ways in which to approach social change. list servs: LR/RI listserv: As some of you know, Literacy Resources has a list serv - an email discussion group available to anyone with access to email in the state (or beyond, as interest warrants). To learn more about the list, or to subscribe, please send an email message to janet_isserlis@brown.edu. To date, about 30 people have joined the list. Its purpose is to provide a forum for local educators to discuss policy, practice, resources, issues and news related to our work with one another. Unlike the bulletin, which arrives as email, the list is interactive - when you respond to message from the discussion list, everyone else on the list receives your message -- and the conversation, we hope, continues and grows. VALUE e-list: VALUE has established a valuelearners mailing for email users, hosted by the Western/Pacific Literacy Network, part of the National Institute for Literacy Information and Communication Network System (LINCS). This "e-list" is a way for adult learners who are members of VALUE to communicate with each other. Only adult learners who are members of VALUE can subscribe to this e-list. VALUE is the national organization for adult learners (current or former participants in adult basic skills programs) in the United States. VALUE provides training and other supports to adult learners who want to be more effective leaders in their education programs, communities, and states. This e-list is being managed by members of VALUE's Communications Committee. Subscribers are encouraged to communicate about information, ideas, questions, or problems of interest to them. If you are a member of VALUE and need help subscribing, please contact LR/RI. If you're not a member, but would like to become one, contact LR/RI or visit the VALUE website at http://literacynet.org/value.
LEARNER is intended primarily for adult learners. LITERACY is a general list for adult literacy practitioners and others. Information on these electronic lists is below. LEARNER To subscribe to LEARNER, send an email message to: listserv@nysernet.org Skip the message header and in the body of the message, type: subscribe LEARNER Yourfirstname Yourlastname All submissions to LEARNER should be addressed to: LEARNER@nysernet.org Questions regarding the list should be sent to: Beverly Choltco-Devlin Moderator, LEARNER bdevlin@dreamscape.com LITERACY To subscribe to LITERACY, send an email message to: listserv@nysernet.org Skip the message header and in the body of the message, type: subscribe LITERACY Yourfirstname Yourlastname All submissions to LITERACY should be addressed to: LITERACY@nysernet.org Questions regarding the LITERACY list should be sent to: Beverly Choltco-Devlin bdevlin@dreamscape.com
Professional development initiative: In 1998, I spent time at the RI Dislocated Worker Program, facilitating classes for teachers there so that they could have an opportunity to observe one another's classes and to reflect on their learning and teaching. (The full text of their reflections is available on the LR/RI web site at Writing from the Field - or contact LR/RI for a hard copy). Please let me know if you would like to participate in this process of professional development. All that's required is your willingness to share your reflections about the observation/learning process for others. I hope to build a block of writing and thinking about this and other forms of our own professional development both through the bulletin and the web site.
Please contact LR/RI if you have information, questions or announcements to share with adult educators in Rhode Island. Bulletins go out at least twice a month; more frequently when there's more to share. To submit information for the next bulletin, please contact LR/RI by phone (401-863-2839), mail (PO Box 1974, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912) or email. back to LR/RI home |
