PROBE (Potential Reentry Opportunities in Business and Education), a program conducted in Harrisburg and Lebanon, Pennsylvania, incorporated technological training with effective communication skills preparation for single female welfare parents. Goals of the program were to provide 20 single-parent welfare women with marketable computer and…

The Nested Spiral Approach (NSA) is a teaching technique designed for students of limited English proficiency that integrates four aspects of motivated learning: contents, language, culture, and real life experiences. The approach consists of: (1) effective use of student strengths; (2) three teaching cycles for each lesson; and (3) five steps in…

The Maryland School Performance Program released six sample tasks to illustrate the types of assessment tasks that would appear on the 1992 Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). Students' responses to these tasks are open-ended; that is, students generate their own responses. A wide range of responses to each task is acceptable.…

A statistical analysis was conducted of the New York City adult literacy database for program year 1989-90. Data included extensive information on enrollees in city- and state-funded classroom and tutorial programs throughout the city, as well as information on hours of instruction received and students' achievement test results. Demographic and…

This volume, one of a series of eight curriculum guides compiled by the Colorado Workplace Learning Initiative: 1991-92, includes five courses on functional skills for a workplace literacy curriculum. Introductory materials include a table of contents, a list of the curriculum topics covered in each guide, and a section called "Hello…

A teacher used classics of children's literature to teach critical reading skills. Although scoring above the national average on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), the teacher's fourth-grade gifted students exhibited problems with critical reading skills. A literature unit involving whole language strategies and using Beverly Cleary's…

This annotated bibliography includes selected books, articles, and reports on the use of technology (primarily computers and interactive video) with students displaying moderate cognitive abilities. The bibliography lists items issued between 1979 and 1990. It describes four items on vocational skills/transition; six items on academic instruction;…

A workplace literacy project had two goals: (1) to improve the productivity and efficiency of the manufacturing industry in Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, by providing workplace literacy instruction to workers who lack the basic skills required for their jobs; and (2) to improve educational programs to meet manufacturing industry needs by…

This report presents results of a process evaluation of Michigan State bilingual education and migrant education programs. The programs provide counseling and supplemental instruction in reading, mathematics, and communication to 761 bilingual students and 855 migrant students. The process evaluation was accomplished through a questionnaire to all…

A scaling procedure is proposed, based on item response theory (IRT), to fit non-hierarchical test structure as well. The binary scores of a test of English were used for calculating the probabilities of answering each item correctly. The probability matrix was factor analyzed, and the difficulty intervals or estimates corresponding to the factors…

A study examined a unique workplace literacy program designed for college preparation. Factors related to retention were studied in a group of paraprofessional health care workers who were attending the program as a step toward career advancement. The 153 participants were mainly women of minority backgrounds who spoke English fluently but not…

This teaching unit consists of eight folktales from China and Japan, skill-development exercises, and follow-up activities. It is designed for the upper elementary grades (3-6), and is easily adaptable to a broad range of age levels and abilities. It can be used in several curriculum areas, including: (1) social studies on China, Japan or Asia;…

This paper examines the integration of Business Russian into the Russian curriculum at Michigan State University (MSU) and the creation of a capstone sequence of Business Russian courses at the advanced level. The establishment of the basic goals of the school's business language instruction and the needs of the students are discussed. The paper…

"Literacy/Alphabetisation" is the Journal of the Movement for Canadian Literacy. Each issue appears in an English version and a separate French version. This document consists of the four issues comprising Volume 15, with the French issue immediately following the corresponding English issue. Each issue begins with Notes from the Editor…

This manual is part two of a three-part series of materials from a family literacy demonstration project conducted in Philadelphia public schools. It contains materials on 10 themes that were taught over a 7-month period. The activities in each theme are organized into class activities and home activities. The class activities support the adults'…