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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.July 21, 2003 Bulletin #167
Dear Colleagues, Calls for participation, employment, funding, and conference and workshop opportunities, online and other resources. To post information, please contact LR/RI or leave a message (401-863-2839).
Janet Isserlis
NOTICES
ESOL / research share, July 31st, 10 - noon. Practitioners are finding articles about, writings on and websites focused on different kinds of research. On July 31st, we'll gather to share one another's articles and resources. If you'd like suggestions about research resources, please contact LR/RI. Read more about it here. On television: POV, 7/22 9:00 PM, Boston (GBH 44); check schedules for reruns: The Flute Player If the Khmer Rouge had not taken over Cambodian in 1975, Arn Chorn-Pond probably would have carried on his familyís legacy and become an opera star. Instead, at the age of nine Arn was thrust into the darkness of Cambodiaís ghastly Killing Fields. For four long years Arn struggled to stay alive amidst torture, murder, and frontline combat. As his family and culture were destroyed, Arnís musical talent kept him from perishing in a genocide that took the lives of 2 million Cambodians. Now, after living in the U.S. for 20 years, Arn faces the dark shadows of his war-torn past as he fights to save Cambodia's once outlawed traditional music from extinction. An extraordinary story of survival, The Flute Player is a testament to one man's triumph over tragedy. For more information, please visit http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2003/thefluteplayer. The POV (point of view) website also contains links to films documenting refugee and immigrant issues around the world. Check it out: http://www.pbs.org/pov/ CASAS Certification Training. The Providence Housing Authority is looking to hold an onsite CASAS certification training for its adult education staff. Other adult education providers wishing to share the costs of this training should contact Therese Strik at 401-751-6400, ext.6402 or thereses@pha-providence.com. The Bureau of Adult Education and Nutrition Programs (formerly the Bureau of Career and Adult Education) and the Adult Training and Development Network are offering a unique training opportunity for your programs this summer. On Wednesday, July 30, two CASAS Certified POWER Trainers will present a day-long training (9-4) on POWER, a standardized, performance-based assessment that is designed for youth and adults with developmental disabilities at the Metropolitan District Commission's Training Center (MDC) in Hartford. POWER is also designed to provide on-site training to employees and supervisors working with adults with developmental disabilities. This assessment tool will help you assess the level or support an individual needs for success in a variety of settings: education, training, and employment. POWER can also provide pre- and post-testing for your students who might have difficulty with other standardized instruments. You can register by locating the POWER Assessment Training for 7/30/03 on our on-line registration: http://creccourses.com/.ÝÝ calling all artists, activists and educators.... you can be an ESOL FACILITATOR with ENGLISH FOR ACTION (EFA)Ý Work to Fuse Language Learning with Community-Based, Social Change Learn: Valuable Community Organizing Skills, Innovative ESOL Teaching Methods, Participatory Leadership and Teamwork Skills, Grassroots Fundraising StrategiesÝ Position Details: As an ESOL facilitator, you will work with 10-12 Spanish-speaking learners, two nights per week, from 6:30-8:30. Classes run from September 15th-December 11th. Expect a 10-15 hour per week time commitment, a working knowledge of Spanish is a must Work study funding is available, otherwise the position is offered on a volunteer basis. (see full job description below). For an application or information, please contact Sara at efasarita@hotmail.com or call 421.3181 by August 15th. Visit our website at http://www.englishforaction.org. EFA's Mission: English for Action strives to empower learners and educators to use language as the basis of building stronger communities and bringing about social change. Through our ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) programs, we strive to enact our belief that facilitators and learners are equal partners in the learning process, and are jointly responsible for designing and implementing educational projects that meet both individual and social goals. As such, we seek to break down the teacher-student hierarchy by building class-rooms that are collaborative and participatory in spirit. On an organizational level, we strive to model EFA around our vision for a just community, where multiple cultures, languages, and voices are honored, where people participate equally in the decision-making process, and solve problems through dialogue. Detailed Job Description: Facilitators work in pairs and are
responsible for
calling all artists, activists and educators.... you can be an efa
youth mentor -- tu puedes ser un mentor a jovenesÝ for an olneyville
after school arts and education program
What Does Freedom in the Workplace Mean to You? The Institute for Labor Studies has received a grant from the RI Committee on the Humanities to produce a video on freedom in the workplace. If you or someone you know (i.e. members, workers, employers, advocates, immigrants, people involved in union organizing drives, people fired or treated unjustly by their employers, etc., etc.) is willing to be interviewed for this project, please contact Chuck Schwartz at the Institute for Labor Studies 401-463-9900, charlesvschwartz@att.net, or http://www.RILaborInstitute.org Note: We can keep the personÇs name & workplace confidential, not show their faces, and even not use their voices.
SURVEY: As part of a project supported by the American Foundation for the Blind,
SABES South East, the Adult Literacy Resource Institute (Boston SABES)
and LR/RI are collaborating to develop a two-part workshop series addressing
issues related to adults with visual impairments participating in adult
language and literacy programs. In order to ensure that our workshops address
both needs and interests of area programs and practitioners, we ask that
you please complete this survey.Ý
If you would like a copy of the survey in word format, please contact
LR/RI.
1. Are you working with adult learners with any kind of visual impairment? If so, what kinds of visual difficulties?ÝÝ 2. Have you ever worked with adults with visual impairments? 3. If you have provided services for adults with visual impairments, what strategies/ accommodations did you utilize? (for example, large print, large computer screen, assistive devices [magnifiers, e.g.], lighting, etc.) 4. How well is your program equipped to work with learners with visual impairments? 5. What resources are you aware of to assist adults with visual impairments? 6. What would you like to learn about working with adults with visual impairments? 7. If you are interested in learning more about the training, or if you have questions that we can answer (or find those who can), please contact LR/RI. Statewide conference Save the date: April 22, 2004 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 soon as possible. Minigrant presentation - will be rescheduled - time/location TBA Please join Brenda McGill as she shares findings from her minigrant project on Students actively constructing their own knowledge. Brenda will share the definition of constructivism, its relevance to curriculum development, 5 Principles and clarifying questions. Her outline also includes: The Challenge, Cross references with Bloom and Critical Thinking Skills, Instructional design that supports Constructivism a) Guided Exploration, b) Cooperative / Collaborative Learning, c) Inquiry or Problem-Based Learning, Cross referenced with LD appropriate instruction and The Challenge revisited. A bibliography is included as well. The session will be held at the Providence (Liston) Campus of CCRI , Room #158 /Professional Devmt & Training (1 Hilton Street - directions at http://www.ccri.cc.ri.us/about/Campuses.shtml or call 455-6000. To learn more about Brenda's project see http://www.brown.edu/lrri/mingrants2002.html Rhode Island Special Interest Group of MATSOL The Rhode Island SIG is a group of professionals in ESOL and Bilingual
Education organizing under the auspices of MATSOL, in order to meet the
professional needs in the field in Rhode Island. Our purpose is to
recruit ESOL and Bilingual Education professionals in Adult ESOL, Higher
Ed, Workplace Ed, Elementary, Secondary, and Low-Incidence programs serving
English Language Learners in Rhode Island, to determine advocacy and professional
development needs. If you are interested in joining or learning more
about the Rhode Island Special Interest Group of MATSOL, you can contact
Jenifer Giroux by e-mail jgiroux@ric.edu or at 456-8794.
learning opportunities 2002 minigrant projects - read about the projects being undertaken at: http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Swearer_Center/Literacy_Resources/mingrants2002.html The three minigrant recipients will present their work in the fall. what do you think? LR/RI has had an online survey on its site for months. Previously, those who may have come across the survey were asked to copy and paste it into an email message, or to print it and complete it. Thanks to the brilliant technical support and inservice learning provided by Brown University, the survey can now be completed on line. I'd be grateful if you could please take the time to complete it. While occasional word comes back about the work LR/RI has done, this survey attempts to be somewhat more systematic in considering the work that's done and the work that needs to be accomplished. Please complete the survey at http://www.brown.edu/lrri - scroll down and click on the link to the survey. If you lack web access and wish to complete the survey, please contact LR/RI to receive one via snail mail or fax. What the feds say : OVAE review online July 11, 2003: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/news/orev071103.html Briefings Held on New Adult Education Blueprint Deputy Assistant Secretary Hans Meeder held a briefing with adult basic and literacy education state directors and members of education associations on the Adult Education Blueprint on Tuesday July 1. The PowerPoint presentation from the briefing, as well as the blueprint, will be available at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/AdultEd/index.html OVAE Distributes State Grants FY 2003 for Adult Education
OVAE's "Blueprint for preparing for America's future. The Adult and
Literacy Education Act of 2003" The Blueprint can be found at
funding opportunities - large and less large Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy invites applications for 2004 National Grant Competition Deadline: September 5, 2003 The Barbara Bush Foundation is accepting applications for its 2004 national grant competition. The goal of the national grant program is to develop and expand family literacy efforts throughout the US, and to support the development of literacy programs that build families of readers. A total of approximately $650,000 is awarded each year; no grant exceeds $65,000. Family literacy programs funded through the program must include all of the following components: reading instruction for parents or primary caregivers (pre-GED/GED/ESL etc.); literacy or pre-literacy instruction for children; and intergenerational activities where the parents/ primary caregivers and children come together to learn and to read. Programs can also include additional components such as parent support groups, parent involvement, home visits, job training, etc. In order to be considered eligible for a grant, an organization must: have been in existence for two or more years; have maintained fiscal accountability; currently have an instructional literacy program that has operated for at least two years and includes one or more components of a family literacy program, specifically, literacy for adults, parent education, pre-literacy or literacy for children, or intergenerational literacy activities; and have maintained current nonprofit or public status for at least two years as of the date of the grant application. See the foundation's Web site to download or request the complete application and for answers to frequently asked questions on the application process. http://www.barbarabushfoundation.com/nga.html For additional RFPs in Education, visit: http://www.fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_education.jhtml The Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC) announces another round of education reform grants in areas of social science research. PRACC is particularly interested in issues such as high classroom turnover/mobility and its disproportionate impact on low-income, minority, and farm worker students. However, other issues will be considered as well. To apply, send PRRAC a proposal outlining the planned research and methodology, the advocacy work it is designed to support, a budget, timeline, and qualifications of the researchers. Maximum grant: $10,000. No application deadline. http://www.prrac.org/grants.htm Funding Solutions for Small Nonprofit Organizations A collection of resources to help small nonprofit organizations fundraise including ways to motivate your board, sample fundraising letters, phonathon advice, and tips to improve your direct mail solicitation. http://www.nonprofit-innovations.com/
employment opportunities National Institute for Literacy: links to employment in adult literacy, at: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/whats_new/job_announce.html Rhode Island Community Jobs (RICOMJOB) is a public e-mail announcement list that seeks to raise the profile of meaningful work in Rhode Island by helping non-profit and public interest employers publicize openings effectively. Anyone seeking a job that makes a difference in Rhode Island can join the list. Any non-profit, government or private sector employer advertising a paid position related to the public interest or community concerns can post a free job listing. Positions must be paid but may be part-time, full-time or temporary. To join the list as a job seeker or to post a job as an employer go to: http://www.ricommunityjobs.org Rhode Island Community Jobs is supported by the Swearer Center for Public
Service at Brown University and the Rhode Island Campus Compact.
If you have questions about this service, please contact us at ricomjob@brown.edu
online / resources The Virginia Adult Education Health Literacy Toolkit[1] is a valuable resource designed to help adult education instructors and administrators better understand the problem of health literacy as it affects their learners. It supports creative approaches to helping learners increase health literacy as they engage in sound, productive adult basic literacy, GED preparation, and ESOL instruction. Information and resources are provided to educate the educator about health care in the United States and cultural issues relating to health, and to simplify creation of health lessons and curricula for teachers and programs. The Toolkit includes extensive web and print resources, including links to health curricula created by and for adult literacy and ESOL programs, reproducible teaching materials, and information on accessing affordable health care in Virginia. The Toolkit is online at: http://www.aelweb.vcu.edu/publications/healthlit/ Assessment Strategies and Reading Profiles - new web site funded by NIFL's Partnership for Reading project, through a grant to the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, for adult education practitioners on the DIAGNOSTIC assessment of reading. Teachers are able to find out about learnersí reading strengths and needs when they enter a learner's scores on a few reading sub-skills. The learner is matched to one of 11 groups of ABE participants from the Adult Reading Component Study (ARCS) who show a similar pattern of scores. Information about the matched ARCS group highlights the focus of instruction for the learner being assessed. The site also offers a mini-course in reading, resources and references to research. The ARCS was a study done by NCSALL researchers that assessed the reading and language skills of nearly 1000 adult learners in seven states. The researchers grouped these learners based on the similarity of their reading profiles, yielding a rich portrait of the types of readers found in adult education classes. Try the site, http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/ and give us your feedback -- Rosalind Davidson, Research Associate, National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy Harvard Graduate School of Education The Fairfax County EL/Civics Curriculum[2] is available, with complete high intermediate/ advanced curriculum, consisting of modules on government/civic participation, health, and consumer awareness. The high intermediate/advanced curriculum is designed for use in upper level ESOL classes and adult high school classes. Additionally, the Health Awareness modules from the Fairfax County EL/Civics ESOL Low Beginner, High Beginner, Low Intermediate, and Family Literacy curriculum levels are available within the Virginia Adult Education Health Literacy Toolkit, Section D[3]. These learner-centered modules stress problem-solving and learner interaction around many life skills topics which are needed and requested by learners but not often found in textbooks, such as using credit, making long-term financial plans, accessing community services, making change happen in one's community, finding affordable health care, and advocating for oneself within the U.S. healthcare system. Units at all levels contain complete lesson plans, reproducible handouts, and optional computer-based activities. online at: http://www.aelweb.vcu.edu/publications/ELCivics/
new ERIC Digests and Trends and Issues Alerts from the ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education are available at no cost in paper, PDF,as an e-mail message or on the Clearinghouse website http://www.ericacve.org/. Send requests to ericacve@osu.edu, indicateing the format you prefer. Intergenerational Learning and Social Capital examines the relationship
between intergenerational learning and social capital and describes research
findings and promising programs illustrating how intergenerational
programs contribute to learning and the development of social capital.
Resource available now in PDF format: Take on the Challenge: A Source Book from the Women, Violence, and Adult Education Project - by Elizabeth Morrish, Jenny Horsman, and Judy Hofer A project of World Education. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Women's Educational Equity Act (WEEA) Program. This new resource with photos and original artwork is primarily for
teachers, but will useful for all educators and activists interested in
anti-violence work. It is an analysis of the effects of violence and a
practical collection of ideas and activities, with examples from teachers
working in GED, native language literacy, ABE, ESOL, welfare-to-work, corrections,
and shelter settings. It shows how they successfully changed their curriculum
and learning environment to address the impact of violence on learning.
Based on the foundation of Jenny Horsman's research, practitioners focused
on well-being and incorporated counseling and creative arts - collage,
quilting, movement, and meditation - into the classroom. Each chapter includes
a general introduction, tools for programs, and teachers writing about
the changes they made. Chapter One explores our understanding of
violence, its impacts on learning, and first steps that programs can take.
Chapter Two - Build a Web of Support -- describes how establishing
program and community support and taking care of yourself are key to doing
this work. Chapter Three - Reform Programming examines possibilities for
changing curricula and creating conditions for learning with detailed descriptions
from each teacher.
e-literacy: The National Institute for Literacy's electronic newsletter is online (new and archived issues) at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/eliteracy/archive.html NIFL also maintains an online calendar of events at http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/Calendar/calendar_world.cgi search LR/RI - the search function at http://www.brown.edu/lrri has been improved so that the LR/RI website is now searchable. Please try it. Let me know what you think.. Thanks to Bill Dennen at Brown for his assistance in getting it to work. Free education publications are available from ED Pubs, the U.S. Department of Education's Publications Center. To order free books, brochures, videos, and more, visit the ED Pubs Web site (http://www.ed.gov/about/ordering.jsp) or call ED Pubs toll-free at 877/433-7827. LR/RI website: a shortcut. The URL for Literacy Resources/RI's website has not changed; you can now get to it more quickly by using this new address: http://www.brown.edu/lrri/ -- with thanks to Kath Connolly and Bill Dennen at Brown University for making it so. conferences and workshops - conferences and workshops are listed chronologically and are updated with each bulletin
Rhode Island - Training/events around employment issues for people with disabilities http://www.ric.edu/uap/training.html What do teachers need to know in order to use standards to guide curriculum instruction and assessment? How do we know that the standards we adopt will lead to better results for students and programs? Taking the Mystery Out of Content Standards Content Standards for Educational Improvement -- The EFF Institute on Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment in Reading and Math offered in partnership with the State Education Office, District of Columbia August 25-27, 2003 Westin Embassy Row Hotel Washington, DC The target audience is teams from states and national organizations
that are considering implementing EFF, that are interested in implementing
standards- based instruction and assessment, or that want to learn more
about EFF. Composition of teams (2-3 individuals) should be program administrators,
staff developers, and other key individuals with responsibility for implementation.
For more information or to register, go to http://cls.coe.utk.edu/eff2003
or you may contact us by email at eff@utk.edu
Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse Research Conference, October 17-19, 2003 in Austin, Texas The Center for Impact Research, the University of Michigan School of Social Work, and the University of Texas School of Social Work announce the fourth Trapped by Poverty/Trapped by Abuse Research Conference. We now understand that violence against women is a form of social control
with wide-ranging effects on women's poverty. Domestic violence can interfere
with education, training, and work, cause dependence on welfare, or prevent
a successful welfare-to-work transition. Domestic violence can sabotage
control of reproduction that, in turn, can interfere with economic self-sufficiency.
Domestic violence can cause or aggravate alcohol or drug abuse, or cause
mental and physical health problems that can also can sabotage employment.
This conference brings together researchers, policy makers, service providers,
advocates, and elected officials to learn more about these relationships,
to explore effective policy responses, and to hear about innovative service
delivery strategies.
TESOL Forum Teachers Building a Culture of Peace: Classroom Responses to War and Terrorism, The American University, Washington, D.C., October 17, http://www.tesol.org/edprg/2003/peaceforum.html The Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education presents SCALE's Read. Write. Act. Conference October 31 - November 1, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.readwriteact.org/conference.html Please join us for the only national conference created specifically for campus-based literacy programs, college student tutors, program coordinators, adult learners and community partners. Come experience a terrific weekend of workshops, keynote speakers, panel discussions, networking opportunities, and reflections on issues surrounding literacy work. [If you are interested in presenting a workshop, please visit http://www.readwriteact.org/conference.html to submit a proposal.] You will have the opportunity to participate in quality workshops offered by national leaders in the literacy field. You will also meet individuals from other campus-based programs, building a new network of peers to support you in your efforts. No matter your role in campus literacy work, the Read. Write. Act. Conference will enhance your professional development and result in real program improvement. Student Rates: SCALE member schools: $75 non-member schools: $100 For more information, visit the website above, Email scale@unc.edu -or call (919) 962-1542. other events and conferences http://www.nifl.gov/cgi-bin/Calendar/calendar_world.cgi
from previous bulletins: REMINDERS, RESOURCES:
SABES Resource Lists Available. From Carey Reid [full message here]: As you might know, Massachusetts now has a rigorous, stand-alone ABE teacher's license. SABES, the System for Adult Basic Education Support, is a state-wide staff development system funded by MassDOE. Ö[S]months ago I asked if NLA subscribers were interested in helping SABES build resource lists, by standard, in support of teachers seeking the new license here in Massachusetts. Many of you helped out, thank you, and we've also worked with small groups of people locally to build these 29 lists, now with over 150 resources--books, articles, websites, and videos. The lists are now available on SABES's license support website at http://www.sabes.org/license. You can get quickly to the lists by clicking on the "new resources added" link under What's New, or at any time by using the resources link on the bottom of every webpage. When you arrive at the chart listing the 29 standards, click on any standard to go to the resource list we've compiled for it. The lists are annotated; with the annotations, teachers who wish to improve their knowledge and skills in respect to a particular standard can be more assured they're getting the resource they want or need. If the resource can be viewed or downloaded on the Net, we've provided a link. Additionally, we want to improve these lists, so please email me
if you'd like to suggest additions or changes. BTW, the full list
of resources is also collected in a ProCite bibliography file, so if you
use that software and would like to have your own "instant" database, let
me know and I'll email you the file. As stated earlier, SABES is funded
by the Massachusetts Department of Education. To avoid confusion,
the website is not an official DOE site but rather one of SABES's means
of supporting license-seeking teachers in our state. Links to Massachusetts
DOE webpages, however, are provided on the site.
breathe - everyday yoga at your desk. http://www.mydailyyoga.com/yoga/everyday_yoga.html 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 |
