This document, which is intended to assist adult literacy staff development and training personnel working at the state, district, and program levels, contains considerations and guidelines essential for an effective, comprehensive staff development and training program. Discussed in Section 1, which is an overview of staff development and…

In an effort to respond to Vermont teachers' and tutors' need for learning disabilities instruction, the Stern Center for Language and Learning developed a model program to teach adults with learning disabilities. The program included 12 hours of instruction presented over Vermont interactive television to over 100 adult basic education (ABE)…

A statewide needs assessment surveyed felt training needs of administrators, instructors, and advisors of adult literacy programs in Florida. Data were collected in the following ways: questionnaires sent to recipients of Adult Supplemental Grants and advisory-council chairpersons; indepth interviews; a literature review and document analysis; and…

Three major models of adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy professional development are discussed: craft or mentoring models, applied science or theory to practice models, and inquiry or reflective practice models. Each is outlined, examples are provided, and innovative K-12 teacher development practices are suggested. (Contains 50…

A project was conducted to provide staff development opportunities to adult education instructors so they could use the Adult Informal Measures developed at the University of Pittsburgh, with a long-range goal of creating a staff development model for the use of informal assessment in adult education programs by instructors with varying expertise…

Any proposal for training has to satisfy two major components: it must be job relevant and be accomplished without major interruption of work schedules, while incorporating strategies to help eliminate absenteeism. One recently developed model for basic skills training, the Immersion Instructional Model, meets these criteria and provides…

Poor preparation of adult literacy educators is often blamed for the failure of adult literacy students. Four critical issues related to developing the adult literacy professional work force are as follows: how literacy is learned in adulthood; how practitioners learn and improve their practice; how new knowledge is generated in and for the field;…

Inquiry-based staff development is a promising direction for rethinking practice and research and for generating knowledge from a field-based perspective for adult literacy. Rethinking staff development entails investigating a number of current assumptions: the nature and function of literacy learning in adulthood; adult literacy practitioners as…

The document provides a process model for a competency-based adult high school diploma program. Following an overview, the document is arranged into nine chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on starting such a program and gives suggestions for conducting needs assessment, setting up a planning group, implementing adult basic education awareness activities,…

This document, which was developed for use by the participants in a national staff development videoconference on making sense of the issues in family and adult literacy, contains useful information and resources for literacy program staff who are considering making changes in their literacy programs. The document consists of the following:…

This document provides reports of projects related to Internet use by adult learners and practitioners. Chapter 1 reports findings of an online survey of 113 adult literacy practitioners actively using the Internet, including difficulties encountered in learning to use the Internet; training or supports that helped; Internet features used by…

No single system or model of adult education and training describes the actual situation in the countries of Western Europe. Considerable variability exists from nation to nation in regard to scope, characteristics, organization, and financing. The countries, however, share an interest in the deliberate expansion of all phases of adult education.…

This document presents the national plan for research and development (R&D) in adult education and literacy that was developed by the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL). The document begins by explaining the process used to develop the plan, which included conducting a literature review, obtaining input from a national steering group, and…

This document contains project abstracts for 29 adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) demonstration programs that were conducted in Pennsylvania in 1997-1998 through grants funded under Section 353 of the Adult Education Act. Each abstract includes the following: project name, number, purpose, impact, outcomes, conclusions/recommendations,…