This article reviews teacher professional development norms as they are shifting toward collaborative practice. It is posed that passive and individual practices are inadequate to prepare teachers to integrate the academic skills that learners need for both workforce and college readiness. Promising practices in professional development are…

Correctional Education English as a Second Language (ESL) literacy programs vary from state to state, region to region. Some states enroll their correctional ESL students in adult basic education (ABE) classes; other states have separate classes and programs. At the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup, the ESL class is a self-contained…

Recent research from the K-12 field indicates that professional development (PD) is a necessary (although not sufficient) factor in improving teacher quality. The research also clearly identifies ways to make professional learning activities for teachers effective. Yet the adult basic education and literacy (ABEL) field is not, for the most part,…

This study investigated informal learning activities among low-education adults, using data from the 2005 National Household Education Survey. Survey respondents were asked about their participation in six types of informal learning activities, from reading books to using computers to attending conventions. Respondents with the lowest educational…

Student feedback is essential to improving the quality of instruction in higher education. This article chronicles the process by which an end-of-course reflection exercise was used to gather additional feedback from students and to determine learning outcomes in online course for adult learners. Students were given guiding questions for the…

In many U.S. prisons an overuse of individualized instruction silences literacy learners and reinforces oppressive notions about what knowledge is and whose knowledge counts. In these classrooms, methods that invite learners to tap their background knowledge, reflect on their worlds, and dialogue with others to construct meaning--commonplace in…

This brief report describes a 1-year project to develop a curriculum on career exploration for adult basic education (ABE) students. The project components included developing and administering a needs assessment, developing and testing a curriculum during six workshops, and revising and packaging the curriculum. The curriculum was used with 35…

Activity and involvement are the keys to effective learning in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom. The fragile self-concepts of many adults, however, make them hesitate to plunge into the practice of their newly developed language skills. The answer may lie in simple games and role-playing activities that are useful in establishing…

This packet contains both a teacher's guide and a student activity book designed to help adult students prepare to find and keep a job. Both booklets cover the following topics: preparing oneself and looking for jobs, filling out applications and other forms, writing resumes, preparing for an interview, and keeping a job. The teacher's guide…

This guide is designed for use in providing English-as-a-second-language training to adults. The first part of the package describes the development of these materials during a project to provide training in conversational English to refugees and migrants. Outlined next are procedures and activities for assessing student needs, taping student…

These curriculum materials were collected from teachers in the Lehman College Adult Learning Center (New York). They include various activities and resources, such as a series of questions about the aims of teaching adults, a list of sources for adult basic education (ABE) materials, poems, and autobiographical materials. Teaching suggestions and…

This book examines the basic principles of the cognitive psychology of literacy and explains how insights gained from that theory can inform and improve reading, spelling, and writing instruction aimed at adults. The following are among the topics discussed in the book's eight chapters: the principles of cognitive psychology (the nervous system,…

Based on a graduate course, this manual was written to help instructors (professional or volunteer) understand and teach beginning adult learners and other adults with learning problems. The manual is organized into seven sections. The first two sections provide background information on the development of the manual and suggest ways that it can…

This handbook provides General Educational Development (GED) teachers with information on critical thinking and teaching ideas to support a commitment to the idea of critical thinking as an essential tool for adult basic education (ABE) students. The importance of critical thinking skills for GED students is emphasized. Sample questions from the…

This publication contains a selection of exemplary teaching techniques for instructors of adults in English as a Second Language (ESL). Its scope covers the spectrum of ESL instruction and is designed to assist teachers ranging from the inexperienced to the experienced, without prior inservice orientation. The book contains 202 techniques…