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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.

February 22, 1999

Bulletin #63

Dear Colleagues,

Notice of upcoming professional development events, employment opportunities, conferences and meetings. To post information, please contact me at LR/RI or leave a message (863-2839).

Thanks.

Janet Isserlis

____________________________________________________________

NOTICES

Discussion/sharing session for educators with an interest in ESOL in adult education will be held on Tuesday February 23rd from 3 - 5 at the Genesis Center, 620 Potters Avenue, Providence.

Inquiry share: On Wednesday, February 24th, one of the two small groups of adult educators who are mid-way through RIDE-sponsored inquiry projects will meet to discuss their progress. Please join us at the Genesis Center at noon; for more information, please contact LR/RI.

Adult Education Commission will meet on Thursday, February 25, from 9 to 11 am in the Senate Lounge.

Adult Literacy Council will meet on Tuesday, March 2 at 1:00 PM, room 213, International Institute of RI, 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence.

Discussion/sharing session for educators with an interest in intergenerational learning and adult education will be held on Friday, March 5, at 1:30 PM at the International Institute of RI, 645 Elmwood Avenue, Providence.

Discussion/sharing session for educators with an interest in learning disabilities in adult education will be held on Tuesday, March 2 at 3:15 at the Swearer Center for Public Service, 25 George St., Providence (3rd floor). We will review key points made in the recently broadcast teleconference, and discuss RI's plans for LD professional development work, probably focussing, too, on the topic of accommodations.

Discussion/sharing session for educators with an interest in women's issues in adult education will be held on Thursday, March 4th at 1:00 PM at the Rochambeau Branch library, Hope Street, Providence. Please join us to hear about Pat Salazar's minigrant project on women and video, and also to discuss the upcoming workshop with Jenny Horsman (see next item).

March 15 Dr. Jenny Horsman will facilitate a workshop around women, literacy and violence.

9 to 12 AM, Alumnae Hall, Brown University

"But I'm Not a Therapist" Literacy and Trauma

Dr. Jenny Horsman will introduce the findings of an extensive research study in which she examined the impacts of violence on women's literacy learning and explored approaches to literacy programming in the light of these impacts. Focusing on literacy work through the lens of the impact of experiences of violence on learning and examining literacy and therapeutic discourses offers new insights which radically shift possibilities for literacy programming for all literacy learners. Participants will be encouraged to question their own thinking about issues of violence and literacy learning and draw on their own knowledge of literacy programs and women learners, in order to consider impacts of abuse and think through options in the context of their own work.

Jenny Horsman is a community educator/researcher with a feminist perspective, based in Toronto, she carries out research, writing, curriculum development, training and facilitation projects in literacy and workplace training. Jenny has written numerous articles on literacy as well as the book: Something in My Mind Besides the Everyday: Women and Literacy. Her recent writing and current research interests centre around the impact of trauma on literacy learning and the implications for literacy programming. "But I'm Not a Therapist" Literacy and Trauma (working title) will be published in 1999. She is particularly interested in strengthening links between adult literacy theory and practice.

Registration materials are available; registration deadline is March 1. For more information, please contact LR/RI.

Connecticut Association for Adult and Continuing Education annual conference March 25-26, Waterbury, CT. Wide range of workshop topics; for full schedule/rates, please contact LR/RI, or CAACE, PO Box 499, Niantic, CT, 06357. (860) 691-2124.

"A Woman's Place Is...in the Curriculum" conference, August 1- 5, 1999, Rohnet Park, California, focusing on multicultural approaches to incorporating women's history into the k-12 curriculum. Contact: National Women's History Project, 717-838-6000 or nwhp@aol.com .

EASTERN LINCS MINI-GRANTS, designed to support adult education practitioners in developing web-based projects for publishing on Eastern LINCS Website http://easternlincs/ worlded.org, are available in the form of equipment/software and/or monetary compensation. Awards are to be used to directly to advance the on-line project being developed by the recipient. Recipients will receive ongoing development and technical support from Eastern LINCS staff and consortium members as needed. Detailed information appeared in the last bulletin; for more information or an application, please contact Lou Wollrab, World Education, 44 Farnsworth St. Boston, MA 02210 617-482-9485 Email: sabes@world.std.com or LR/RI.

New on line: From Tony Peyton, National Center for Family Literacy: Family Literacy Legislation and Initiatives in 11 States, online at http://www.famlit.org/states.html. If you have questions regarding this publication, contact Tony Peyton, email: tpeyton@famlit.org, phone (502)584-1133 x.126, or NCFL, 325 W. Main Street, Ste.200 Louisville, KY 40202

Updated on the website: New information has been added to LR/RI's welfare, learning and literature, advocacy and ESOL pages. Michigan and Arkansas also both have state plans on line, (Michigan1s is downloadable as a word document), both are linked to http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Swearer_Center/Literacy_Resources/1385.html

The Civic Participation and Community Action Sourcebook is a collection of resources that can help integrate civic involvement and community activism into adult education curricula. Workshops related to the sourcebook are being held throughout New England this spring. The first of the two workshops will orient educators to the Sourcebook as a teaching tool, explore some start-up activities, describe projects that other teachers have guided. Participants will also consider the ways particular contexts affect what one can do and develop a plan for trying out the source-book in their own teaching. In the second workshop, participants will share how they've used the sourcebook, consider ways to assess and report student growth and progress, and strategize ways to keep projects moving. Upon completion of the second workshop, participants will be given a small stipend. If you would be interested in having workshops scheduled here in RI, please contact LR/RI by March 1st, so that we can request dates for the workshops to be held locally.

reminder: VALUE (Voice for Adult Literacy United for Education), a national organization for adult learners (former and current participants in adult basic skills programs) in the U.S.,held its founding meeting at the Highlander Center in Tennessee last March. VALUE's board is inviting adult learner leaders from across the country to apply to participate in their national Adult Learner Leadership Institute to be held in Indianapolis in June, and hopes to attract about 180 adult learner leaders from around the country. For application/information, please contact LR/RI,or see the last bulletin.

JOB OPPORTUNITY - Staff Associate for Health and Literacy Initiative

World Education, a non-profit organization, seeks a Staff Associate to work with its Health and Literacy Initiative (HLI). HLI staff work on a variety of projects to promote the teaching of health content in adult basic education classrooms and to build awareness among health care providers of the links between health and limited literacy skills. The Staff Associate will work on the HEAL: Breast and Cervical Cancer Project, which introduces breast and cervical cancer education into Adult Basic Education and English for Speakers of Other Languages programs across the country. The Staff Associate will provide support on this and other related projects. For a full list of responsibilities and qualifications, please see the online posting , or contact LR/RI. This is a 20-hour-per-week position (.5 FTE) based on a full-time salary in the mid-twenties, plus excellent pro-rated benefits. Flexible schedule. To apply, send a resume and cover letter to: Meg Chute, World Education, 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210-1211. No phone calls, faxes, or e-mail. Principals only.

another posting, for a technology assistant, is online at http://www.sabes.org/lincsjob.htm

The Volunteers and Literacy Committee, FL Division of Workforce Development, Practitioners' Task Force on Restructuring and Accountability, in collaboration with Laubach Literacy Action and LVA, received a grant to adapt or develop a basic literacy assessment instrument to meet the needs of the volunteer literacy network in Florida, and are looking for an Assessment Development Specialist to develop the assessment instrument with accompanying instructions, and to manage the project. Project funding is available immediately and runs through September 30, 1999, with the anticipation that second year funding will be made available for field testing and finalizing the assessment instrument. Proposals for the work with accompanying costs must be received by March 1, 1999, and should be mailed to: Kaye Beall, Director of Program Development, Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc. PO Box 20, 120 N. Matilda St.,Warren, IN 46792 (or 219-375-2329, kbeall@citznet.com); or contact Jane Hugo at 315-422 9121, jhugo@laubach.org; or Darlene Kostrub at 561-265-3579, dkostrub@pbfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us with questions.

On February 11th, the first of two videoconferences on teaching, assessing, and accommodating adults with learning disabilities was presented at the University of Georgia, Learning Disabilities Center. The second part of the videoconference will take place on Thursday, March 11, 2 :00 - 4:00 pm, at Channel 36, Providence. The topic will be assessing and accommodating adults with learning disabilities.This program will focus on how to choose the right accommodations in different settings. Presenters will discuss what to expect from a formal learning disabilities evaluation and how to differentiate between formal and informal assessment tools. They'll also discuss how to accurately match a student's skills to potential jobs.For more detailed information on the teleconference series, visit PBS' LiteracyLink homepage

Your input is still needed: LR/RI is addressing the professional development component of the larger state plan for adult education in Rhode Island. In order for this document to reflect the needs, strengths and interests of adult education workers across the state, it will be circulated in hard copy and posted on LR/RI's web site, probably next week. If you would like to make your views known about professional development, please contact me at (401) 863-2839 or via email janet_isserlis@brown.edu . If your program staff wishes to meet together with me at your site, please let me know as well. Bob Mason has also scheduled meetings to discuss the larger state plan; for information about those meetings, please contact LR/RI or call Bob Mason directly at 222-4600, X 12180.

RI's state professional development plan, in draft form (a small piece of the larger state plan for adult education) should be online this week. Check the website, or contact LR/RI.

resources available

- new technical report from the National Center on Adult Literacy: "Literacy Skills Analysis for Job Training" by Judith Shaul Norback (TR98-07, 30 pages)

This paper provides a summary of large-scale U.S. studies relating to skills and literacy as an introduction to the discussion of literacy skills analysis for job training. The history and evolution of literacy skills analysis are covered and a description is given of the two literacy skills analysis methods currently in wide-scale application, Literacy Task Analysis and Job Literacy Analysis. The different purposes that each approach fulfills are described along with several ongoing projects that involve the application of a combination approach. Implications for literacy skills analysis of the task analysis approaches of Gagne and Landa are discussed. The author also discusses the differences between literacy skills analysis and traditional job analysis approaches. The contribution of literacy skills analysis approaches in developing customized curriculum is included, as are the evaluation procedures used to assess the effectiveness of the training. Finally, policy implications and recommendations regarding literacy skills analysis are made. Full text of this report and previous NCAL reports is available in pdf form at: http://literacyonline.org Online information about the National Center on Adult Literacy, its mission, and activities: Janet C. Smith, Ph.D, National Center on Adult Literacy. Editor/Webmaster smith@literacy.upenn.edu Tel: 215-898-4539

Lessons for ESL Students and Their Parents: A Teacher Handbook, by Michael Paul, Central Falls Jr./Sr. High School. Michael Paul, a long-time adult educator who has spent the last several years as a middle school teacher, has written lessons for K-12 teachers to use in drawing parents into their children1s education. Many of the lessons are translated into Spanish and all of them have bearing for adult educators working with many of the parents for whom the lessons are designed. For information about the handbook, made possible by a Theodore R. Sizer Fellowship and the Rhode Island Foundation, please contact Michael at RIDE5016@RIDE.RI.NET or c/o Central Falls Jr./Sr. High School, 24 Summer Street, Central Falls, RI 02963, or call 722-4019. Copies are also available for examination at LR/RI.

conferences

Trapped by Abuse Conference: April 16 - 18, 1999. At the University of Michigan League, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Participants will have an opportunity to: share information about the relationship of domestic violence, work, and welfare; learn about new research data; discuss innovative service delivery approaches; determine policy implications; and envision a new research agenda. Jill Nelson, author, is the featured speaker: "Everyday Violence: Gender and Race, Poverty and Abuse." Call Taylor Institute for more information: 773-342-5510

Workplace Learning Conference - Milwaukee, May 16-18. Bringing together teachers, program planners, funders, union representatives, business people, and governmental agency representatives, sessions will be offered across four tracks: Partnerships and Linkages; Program Design and Evaluation; Resources and Technologies; and Trends Affecting the Workplace and Workers.Information: http://www.cew.wisc.edu/workplace or call 608-265-3542.

5th Annual International Conference June 3­5, 1999, New York: "Re-inventing Freire and Boal from São Paulo to St. Paul" Proposals due Feb 1/99. - Proposals invited on all aspects of emanci-patory education and theatre including power relations in learning environments, systems of structural privilege and oppression, subversive challenge, and that relate to any oppressed group. Proposals must relate in some manner to Paulo Freire's model of liberatory education or Augusto Boal's approach to interactive theatre. Organizers seek proposals from teachers, theatre artists, and community activists who employ in their work or research the ideas of Freire and/or Boal. Please make this connection clear in your proposal; interactive presentations are strongly encouraged.The Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to challenge oppressive systems by promoting critical thinking and social justice. For more information, please go to: http://www.unomaha.edu/~pto/call.htm or contact LR/RI

relatively new on the website:

- Policy update, January/99 , from Alice Johnson, at NIFL (go to LR/RI's advocacy page).

- An update on VALUE, the national learner organization, (go to learners), new postings on the links, women and literacy and inquiry pages, as well.

- Research Agenda for Adult ESL The National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education, in collaboration with National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy and with additional sponsorship and support from Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, has published a Research Agenda for Adult ESL. Its objectives are to provide funders with clear priorities for funding; to provide researchers with support for proposing specific projects; and to provide a focus for dis-cussion about how to improve adult ESL programs. The document incorporates feedback from learners, instructors, program administrators, policymakers, and researchers, and is available, free, from NCLE, 4646 40th street NW, Washington, DC 20016; (202) 362-0700 extension 200, or can be downloaded from NCLE at http://www.cal.org/ncle (and is also linked to LR/RI's ESOL page).

- The Key on line - Monthly newspaper for adults in Wisconsin's basic education and ESL programs.  http://www.keynews.org/ (and is linked to LR/RI's learner page).

from previous bulletins: REMINDERS, RESOURCES:

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy has recently released a set of informative fact sheets outlining for practitioners and others the projects with which NCSALL researchers are currently engaged. Project histories, plans, and implications for practice are all highlighted in the fact sheets. Projects include studies of Learner Motivation, Impact of Literacy Programs on Adult learners, Adult Multiple Intelligences, Home Literacy Uses, Adult Development and Literacy Learning, Staff Development, Assessment, GED Impact, Health and Literacy, and Reading Diagnostics, Anyone interested in reading about one or all of the projects or anyone who may be interested in project participation information may receive copies by contacting David Hayes at (401) 331-9261. (The PDRN bulletin, including a link to the NCSALL fact sheets is also available online.

list servs:

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

Welfare to work listserv: from Glenn Young - For those interested in the subject of welfare reform and learning disabilities, there has been a listserv created through NIFL. To sign up, please send a message to: listproc@literacy.nifl.gov write in the body of the message subscribe nifl-wtwld and your name. Do not write anything in the subject line and do not use any dots or dashes other than between nifl and wtwld. (Click here for more information on listservs).

women and literacy listserv.

To participate, subscribe by sending an email message to: LISTPROC@LITERACY.NIFL.GOV with the following request in the body of the message: subscribe NIFL-Womenlit firstname lastname Substitute your first and last name spelled exactly as you would like it to appear. For example, to subscribe to the NIFL-Womenlit list Sue Smith would type: subscribe NIFL-womenlit Sue Smith There should be no other text in the message (e.g., your signature block). It is recommended that the subject line be left blank if possible.

PROJECT BASED LEARNING AND ACCESS TO THE INTERNET

How is the internet being used in adult education? What are some helpful uses, and how do we sort through the huge amount of material available on line? Susan Gaer is interested in helping programs link to one another, and has been doing so through an email project homepage on-line, at http://www.otan.dni.us/webfarm/emailproject/email.htm. If you have or know of similar learner work on line, please contact Susan at SusanG2@aol.com.

David Rosen has asked that we have a look at the inquiry maps on the Adult Literacy Resource Institute's home page. As he explains, "[a]n Inquiry Map is a group participatory research process on a topic of high interest to the group. Participants (in this case, adult learners) make their own questions, and then set about finding answers to them. The Inquiry map is a process which is never finished. Many of the questions go unanswered, are only partially answered, or have only one answer given where other points of view are possible. So, there is room for other participants to join in the process at any time, to add their answers, their comments on the answers already given, and questions which they might also choose to research." Questions, answers and comments can be posted to David Rosen <DJRosen@world.std.com>, and he'll add them to the inquiry map. So, it keeps on being an inquiry process with each new person who reads and adds to it. He welcomes additions of questions and answers; as you may know, many internet sites run threaded conversations on a variety of topics. The ALRI sites are: http://www2.wgbh.org/MBCWEIS/LTC/ALRI/I.M.html and http://www2.wgbh.org/MBCWEIS/LTC/ALRI/IM3.html (How to make inquiry maps).

Workshops available - Since 1995, I've worked with a team of women from around Canada, through the Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women, on Making Connections: Literacy and EAL Curriculum from a Feminist Perspective. The curriculum was developed for learners in basic education and English language programs. A series of workshops have been developed and are available to anyone in the area with an interest in learning more about incorporating the curriculum and its approaches into their own work. Please contact me (Janet) at LR/RI for more information and/or to schedule a workshop. Information about the curriculum is also available online at http://www.nald.ca/canorg/cclow/EAL.HTM. While the cost of the curriculum document itself is $20, there is no charge for the workshops.