practitioner resources 

and general resource links
 

 keyboard and items on a desk


This page presents information, resources and support for practitioners --  volunteer tutors, teachers, administrators and others interested in adult literacy and language education. Additional resources also appear on the links page and throughout the rest of the site. While some overlap is inevitable, this page is specifically geared to addressing questions and issues particular to people working as volunteers in programs, and for practitioners interested in examining and considering on-line resources. Please send suggestions, comments and additions to LR/RI.  In addition to general adult education resources, the page includes sections containing numeracy,  GED and EDP resources and general reference materials available online.  Health resources appear on LR/RI's advocacy page.
New practitioner orientation - overview of orientation and resources for supporting practitioners (teachers, adminstrators, staff) new to the area and new to the field of adult education

A System Model of Professional Development for the adult education system in Rhode Island - developed by the professional development working group of the Governor's Adult Literacy Task Force, August, 2005, with Cassandra Drennon.  (if you have difficulties with the PDF format, please contact LR/RI)

RI adult educators' survey: excel raw data responses to these prompts:
1. When I first began as an adult educator, I wish I had known (how to) or (about)...
 
2. In my present role as an adult educator, I would like to learn more about...
  
3. If I had the opportunity to teach another adult educator a skill or strategy or concept, would like to teach...
Rhode Island practitioner minigrant projects - 2005 - 2006
Adult Literacy Professional Development  -  comprehensive set of resources, part of the Adult Education wiki - a collaboratively constructed online resource
Rhode Island practitioner-based inquiry and research resources, including work undertaken during the 2003 - 2004 program year.
Smart Library -  OVAE sponsored resource: "Experts select the best research on a topic, transform the research into easily readable summaries [and] connect research summaries with questions and answers" on a range of topics.
ABE-to College Transition - A resource for ABE and ESOL teachers and programs
agameaday - games and puzzles designed to stimulate learning, problem solving and creative thinking

ABE Teacher's Toolkit -  Published by: The Adult Education Professional Development and Curriculum (AEPDC) Consortium, a 353 special project sponsored by the Texas Education Agency, Division of Adult Education.

Adult Academy Tutor Training Manual. - early version of a tutor handbook developed by the Adult Academy at the Swearer Center for Public Service, at Brown University.

Adult Education Toolkit - from Utah Adult Education

The New York State Adult Education Resource Guide and Collection of Learning Experiences - from The Hudson River Center for Program Development. Curriculum and lessons contributed by adult educators and judged as best practices by their peers. These documents are intended to be resources for the national and statewide efforts to raise standards at all levels of education, and are available through the Hudson River's adult education site.

Adult Basic Skills Professional Development Project - North Carolina-based organization, committed to improving the quality of Basic Skills instruction through building the capacity of community colleges and community-based literacy organizations.

Adult and Continuing Education from About.com -- surprising collection of resources from a relatively mainstream provider.  See also About's Adult Basic Education/Literacy sites

Adult Education and Literacy - from the Office of Vocational and Adult Education

Adult Education ESL Teachers Guide - ADULT EDUCATION CENTER TEXAS A&I UNIVERSITY KINGSVILLE, TEXAS Written and Produced by C. Ray Graham and Mark M. Walsh.

Adult Education lesson plans from WNET school, covering a range of topics.

Adult Training and Development Network teacher resources - [scroll down this site map for resources related to a range of learning/teaching areas] from our colleagues in Connecticut.


The Amazing Picture Machine -  online compendium of visual resources and lesson plan suggestions for using them.

Behaviour and beliefs of volunteer literacy tutors by Catherine Hambly, MA - WORKING PAPERS ON LITERACY Working Paper No. 3, 1998, from the The Centre for Literacy in Montreal

(From a description of the paper): This study began with the assertion that tutors are important actors in the tutor-learner relationship, and that their beliefs and behaviour will affect the tutoring relationship. A better understanding of how and why tutors act in certain ways will help the volunteer programs improve training and support for their volunteers and could ultimately improve the quality of tutoring. Many volunteer tutors in one-on-one literacy programs do not keep in close contact with their training agency, nor do they rely on the support system available to them. While this is not true of all tutors, nor of all programs, it is a common phenomenon. This study associates this behaviour ... with a system of beliefs that influences a tutor to work independently of the organization, whether or not the match is proceeding well. This relationship between beliefs and behaviour surfaced in a case study of one volunteer literacy program and thus cannot be generalized to other programs. However, the pervasiveness of the beliefs among the tutor participants and the nature of the beliefs suggest that it could be present in other programs. Further research on this topic is necessary. For a hard copy of this publication, contact The Centre for Literacy of Quebec, Inc., 3040 Sherbrooke Street West, Room 4B.1-6, Montreal, QC H3Z 1A4, Tel. 514-931-8731, local 1415; Fax: 514-931-5181. E-mail: literacycntr@dawsoncollege.qc.ca (98.11.12)

Best Practices for Adult Literacy - by Joan Perry, includes consideration of adult learning theory, classroom practice, instructional appraoches and materials.

Captured Wisdom on Adult Literacy - interactive multimedia resource designed to help inform educators of successful technology integration practices in adult education environments. Captured Wisdom shows innovative, replicable activities, discussed by front-line classroom educators and learners so that other teachers can feel they have had an opportunity to actually visit the classes and chat directly with the learners and teachers about their work.
See also http://www.ncrtec.org/pd/cw/adultlit.htm to view segnemtns, and for a PDF version of the accompanying booklet, click here: http://www.literacy.org/products/ncal/pdf/CW_Video_booklet.pdf.

See also these links for using Captured Wisdom with adult learners and in middle schools.


Central Illinois Adult Educators Service Center - links to online training, compilations of resources 

Commission on Adult Basic Education - professional organization for adult educators

Community Learning Network .  Online content areas from Open Learning, BC

Demystifying Adult Literacy for Volunteer Tutors - A Reference Handbook and Resource Guide

Written by Charlene L. Ball, Produced by LITERACY PARTNERS OF MANITOBA (Formerly: Literacy Workers Alliance of Manitoba). A reference handbook and resource guide including background information gathered from a variety of different sources in adult literacy, describing various kinds of programs and providing general information about adult literacy and learning.

Ed Tech tools - generate online quizes, as well as providing sample quizzes online.


Education reform is not an `either/or' proposition - from the George Street Journal, November, 1997 - Bil Johnson, clinical professor of social studies/history education at Brown University, asks, among other things, "When was the last time you took a multiple choice test or wrote a five-paragraph essay? When was the last time you were forced to associate only with people who were born the same year as you? The current design of schools is a factory/industry model created for a world that existed between 1900 and 1950 or so - hardly an appropriate design for the turn of the millennium." Provocative questions for adult educators to consider, too.

Educational resources   from the Canadian National Adult Literacy Database.

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) - While the ERIC clearinghouses closed at the end of 2003, this link should connect to existing resources; if and as new sites are developed, they will be posted here.

English as a Second Language in Volunteer-Based Programs - Paula Schlusberg, New Readers Press Tom Mueller, Laubach Literacy Action, NCLE Digest, July 1995 EDO-LE-95-04

Field Notes - a quarterly newsletter, written by practitioners, for practitioners, providing a place to share innovative practices, new resources, information and hot topics with the field of adult education.
GED and EDP

GED 2002 - online professional development

GED testing site/home page - including information about the new GED.

GED as project - "new ways to facilitate learning and group learners" from the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center

GED instructional links from the Literacy Assistance Center, NYC

GED 2002 - links to additional resources from the Adult Education Professional Development Project.

National External Diploma Program - "The External Diploma Program grew out of a study ... designed to identify ... why many adults did not choose to earn a high school equivalency certificate through the GED testing process. That study led to the development of the EDP, an adult  applied- performance, competency-based assessment program that awards a high school diploma to skilled adults who have acquired many of their high school level abilities through their life experience. As they complete the EDP process, adults demonstrate their abilities in a series of simulations that parallel job and life situations. They are evaluated according to established performance criteria instead of by comparison with others." more resources on the National EDP from a google search


Hands on English - The web site for a publication containing practical teaching ideas, hints & tips, and copyable activities for the classroom, written by teachers for teachers. The website contains sample activities, ideas, an events calendar and ordering information for the print publication edited by Anna Silliman.

The Holistic/Rainbow Approach to Aboriginal Literacy - Work in Progress by Priscilla George, Ningwakwe / Rainbow Woman, Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation, Ontario

The Knowledge Loom  [best viewed through Internet Explorer] - a place to investigate effective practices in teaching and learning and use them to create your own models that work.  Extensive data base of promising practice, reports, as well as discussions and resource information.

Lawyers for Literacy - a site designed to assist lawyers in British Columbia in assessing the difficulty of the language they use with clients and in adapting print materials and procedures to facilitate communication. While focusing on law, many of the suggestions and processes of assessment are useful to consider in any adult learning context.
Learner Generated Materials Every Day - on using language experience approaches, from Bright Ideas

The Language Experience Approach and Adult Learners -  ERIC Digest.


Learners in action - A newsletter of the Movement for Canadian Literacy

Lesson Plan Collections and Curricula - designed by David Rosen to be especially useful to young adult GED programs, many of the links would be useful to other learners in GED -- and other  -- education programs.  Part of a larger set of teacher resources compiled by YouthBuild.

Lesson Planning Resources from the Huntington College Department of  Education

NCRTEC Lesson Planner - interactive lesson planning site from the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

Let's Get Started - An initial assessment pack for adult literacy programs; information intended to help a tutor get started with a new learner.
The Literacy Enquirer an online publication from an adult literacy worker learning circle in Ontario, Canada.

The Literacy Materials Bulletin - online reviews of literacy materials developed and reviewed by practitioners in British Columbia, Canada, and also including US resources.

Making Connections: reading/math strategies - A publication of the Cypress Hills Regional College Literacy / ESL Program

2002 minigrant projects: - projects undertaken by David Henry, Brenda McGill and Theresa Watson.

Mini-Grant Project - curriculum development at Dorcas Place - Michelle Cortes-Harkins and Louise Cherubini asked, "Does a project-based, multi-sensory 30 hour program, integrated with on-line research as well as field experiences, result in sustained student motivation and commitment as well as mastery of the specifics of our science curriculum?" to guide the development of the science unit curriculum during the 6 week Dorcas Place 1999 summer school session entitled "Take a Closer Look."Their curriculum process and its stunning results are now online.

Mini-Grant Project Staff Development at the Providence Public Library Literacy Department - Bev Chase reports on a project exploring approaches to professional development within the context of Providence Public Library literacy programming.


National Center for Adult Literacy - NCAL Connections newsletters, available online, in PDF, as well as other related resources..

The New Teachers Tool Kit - from Texas' New Teacher Project.

Newspaper in Education - a Kentucky-based site, utilizing local newspapers/offering suggestions for adaptations of using the newspaper for literacy development.
New Zealand Literacy Portal - designed to provide a knowledge base of adult literacy information contributed by both New Zealand and international organisations.
Observation:

Classroom observation: a recent thread begun online has surfaced a number of ideas about and resources related to teacher education and observation. (Read the thread at the  Adult Literacy Professional Developers Discussion List - late November, 2004).

Teacher Observation in Adult Basic Education  - Alex Risley Schroeder / SABES

Teacher Observation Project -  contains a set of tools to be used by instructional leaders -- regional specialists, program directors, lead teachers  -- for a process of teacher observation and feedback for professional development. The process is designed to help the observer better understand the teacher's classroom practice and to give the teacher objective input and the opportunity to examine and improve particular aspects of her/his practice

Virgina Adult Learning Resource Center's Teacher Observation Project - "contains a set of tools to be used by instructional leaders ... for a process
of teacher observation and feedback for professional development. The  process is designed to help the observer better understand the teacher's
classroom practice and to give the teacher objective input and the  opportunity to examine and improve particular aspects of her/his practice.


Ocean Science Station - project studying "an interesting microscopic plant, Emiliania huxleyi, which is a species of phytoplankton found in the ocean;" a rich resource, graphically striking as well.
OTAN on line resources - on the front page, go to documents by subject and type for lesson plans, course outlines and other resources.

Resources for Anti-Racism Education - by Members of the Boston Anti-Racism Study Circle

Participatory Literacy Practices: Exploring  Social Identity and Relations -  by Pat Campbell, in Adult Basic Education, Volume 6 Number 3, Fall 1996, [ pages 127 - 142]

PBS adult learning service - access to PBS-based web services/information pertinent to adult learning.

Professional Connections - the Australian National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research's national professional development website for teachers in the Adult Migrant English Program   (AMEP) - and for adult TESOL, literacy and vocational education  professionals as well.
Professional Development Kit - updated and free website resources for teacher learning and reflection on line; as well a CD-ROM containing over 8 hours of video investigations will be available for free and distributed at national and regional conferences.

Program Administrators' Manual - Ohio Department of Education, Adult Basic and Literacy Education.  Addresses issues of program management, quality indicators and other areas relevant to running adult education programs.

Resources from Project Read :The Adult Literacy Program of the San Francisco Public Library - newsletters (including learner writing and tutor tips), links to a number of interest sites, including resource material, computer information and yet more links.

Puzzlemaker - DiscoverySchool.com puzzle-generation page

Quia!: Create your own learning activities
Science and Numeracy Special Collection from the National Institute for Literacy - one of a number of dedicated resource collections for adult learners and educators

Sound Waves reading radio station; while designed to give students of English the opportunity to read different types and levels of text while listening to
native pronunciation, the site also has potential usefullness for all new readers.  Part of  Seattle Goodwill Adult Basic Education.

The Study Place - "a Web-based authoring tool that offers adult educators a simple way to create and deliver online learning activities to their adult learners. The learners can access The Study Place Web site either as part of a class or as independent self-directed learners. Once there, they can use any of the high quality, multimedia learning activities that teachers have created."


Teachers on Wheels - an adult literacy organization operating primarily in St.John's, Newfoundland and the surrounding areas. Teachers on Wheels radio plays .

Teacher Resources from NALD, Canada's National Adult Literacy Database - links to a wide range of topics and approaches.

Thirteen Ed Online - adult literacy and GED resources and services for educators and students

TV411 - stand alone interactive lessons as well as support material for the series of tapes designed for adult literacy learners.

Staff Development for ABE and ESL Teachers and Volunteers - Mark Kutner, Pelavin Associates, Inc., NCLE Digest, September 1992 EDO-LE-92-04

Teaching Adults - is it different? - Susan Imel 1995, ERIC Clearninghouse

Trends in Staff Development for Adult ESL Instructors - Miriam Burt and Fran Keenan NCLE Q and A, June, 1998

Using Volunteers as Aides in the Adult ESL Classroom - Celia Wiehe Arnade, Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP), VA, NCLE Digest, November 1997 EDO-LE-98-03. 

Verizon Literacy Campus (formerly Verizon Literacy University) - online overview of issues and topics in adult and intergenerational literacy. VLC describes itself in this way: VLC features high quality, free information on literacy and on volunteering, orientation and training for literacy volunteers, and professional development for literacy professionals, including a growing selection of self-paced online courses and a library of resources for adult and family literacy practioners."
numeracy
Adult Numeracy Discussion List - subscribe, and/or read postings; also see the Focus on Basics  discussion list, (particularly late November, 2004) for discussion of instruction and resources for adult numeracy learners.

AAA Math - interactive site; hundreds of pages of practice and problems to solve

ABC Canada Math Literacy - everyday math resources

Adult Learning Mathematics - a research forum, including print and online resources

The Adult Numeracy Network

AlgebraLAB: Making Math and Science Connections -  "online learning environment that focuses on topics and skills from high school mathematics that students must be able to draw upon in their introductory science courses."

The Components of Numeracy  by Lynda Ginsburg, Myrna Manly, and Mary Jane Schmitt - occasional paper attempting to describe the complex nature of numeracy as it exists today. While there are large-scale assessments, standards documents, and position papers, there has not been a field- and research-based synthesis of the components required for adults to be numerate, to act numerately, and to acquire numeracy skills. This paper attempts to identify and clarify the nature of these components with the hope that such identification and clarification will guide instruction, contribute to the design of assessments, frame research, and inform policy.   

Convert Plus - online weights and measurement conversion

Dyscalculia.org - math-related and other learning disabilities

The EMPower Project - Extending mathematical power - a math curriculum for adults; EMPower resources and materials.

The Math Archives - topics in mathematics

Math.com - world of math online

Math2.org - lots and lots of mathematics

Mathematics in Adult Education and Literacy - from the US Office of Vocational and Adult Education

Math Forum: Adult Education Teachers Place - resources for math education for adult learners (part of the Math Forum - a resource for math education for learners of all ages)

The Math Forum: Non-English Math Resources

Math Lessons that are fun, fun, fun - alhough these are geared toward K-12 students, there are some interesting lessons, some of which don't 'look' kid-like.

Math resources from the National Adult Literacy Database; full text documents on numeracy, also from NALD.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives provides interactive online math lessons, activities, and assessments. Topics include fractions, functions, geometric transformations, integer arithmetic, patterns and sequences, probability, right triangle trigonometry, slope, triangle geometry, and writing equations of lines.

Notation games - hands-on math activities

PBS teacher line - math resources

Project TIAN: Teachers Investigating Adult Numeracy - an approach to standards-based mathematics in-service professional development, using recently developed standards and curriculum for the Adult Basic Education system.  Rhode Island is one of six pilot states participating in this initiative.

Purplemath - your algebra resource

Radical Math - resource for educators interested in integrating issues of social, political, and economic justic into math curriculum and classes 

ThinkQuest: Algebra

Webmath - online interactive math problems

also see the Fall 2001 volume of Field Notes, an adult education quarterly journal (Volume 11, Number 2) - focused on adult math learning and teaching.
New Math issue due soon; check here.

General reference/resource materials

A & E Classroom - resources to support A&E televised offerings, as well as links to a number of sites for educators, many of which contain content adaptable to adult education work.

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence - links to hundreds of Internet-based education resources, searchable by subject.

Fernwood Publishing - Fernwood books address sociological, political, and social work issues, with a particular sensitivity to the concerns of class, race, and gender.

Grassroots Press - teachers' press addressing ABE, ESOL and professional development.

Linmore Publishling - A teachers' press specializing in ESL, adult basic education, literacy, and content area ESL for Secondary and Adult Learners

Peppercorn Books - publisher and distributor of high quality books and materials for new adult learners. Peppercorn's materials reflect practice and research in adult education that is learner centered and that is grounded in participatory and community based models of education.


The Library of Congress Homepage - access to all kinds of information, archives, resources. Endlessly interesting

The Internet Public Library - extensive collection on line resources, publications and information with sorting options for adults and youth.

IRIS (Integrated Reference Information System) and the Providence Public Library offer access to their InfoTrac's search bank to all CLAN (RI library system) cardholders. Go to http://www.provlib.org, enter your card number to use the available SearchBank reference databases. Although data base privileges are limited to RI public library card holders, the site also contains a great deal of information available to all.

Links beyond SABES - Direct links to literacy programs' and practitioners' resources: curricula, manuals, software, etc.; a link from SABES (the System for Adult Education Support in Massachusetts).

The Virtual Reference Desk - extensive reference library provided by Purdue University including dictionaries, maps, almanacs, science data, historical documents, and more.

and, another reference resource to check is Bare Bones 101, a tutorial on using search engines to locate web resources more efficiently.


Dictionaries

A Web of on-line dictionaries - links to more than 800 dictionaries in 160 different languages, as well as multilingual dictionaries, specialized English dictionaries, thesauri / vocabulary aids, a web of On-line grammars, and A Web of Linguistic Fun.

Merriam-Webster on line - including adult and kid word activities, dictionary and theasaurus.

More Words -  dictionary words for crossword puzzles, code words and word games; searchable

yourDictionary.com - English language dictionary, thesarus, multilingual dictionaries and related resources.

Thesaurus

Clear Language and Design (CLAD) searchable thesaurus. 

updated March 3, 2008

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