An evaluation of an 18-month workplace education program at 2 health care sites in Cambridge, Massachusetts, showed that the curriculum designed could be adapted for other workplace education programs. The workplace education program was designed to help improve the language skills of employees at Neville Manor and at the Cambridge Hospital. Of 35…

This packet contains an instructor guide and student workbook detailing 32 activities that hospital workers can use in a classroom setting to improve their vocabulary and spelling skills. The activities encompass the following: (1) different ways to look up words to spell them correctly; (2) pronunciation of words used around the workplace; (3)…

This packet contains four products of a workplace literacy course on numbers and charts for hospital workers. The instructor's manual contains an answer key for the student activities, and a pre- and post-evaluation, along with a syllabus for the 13-week course that provides information on instructional goal, course description, objectives,…

This report presents a framework for considering general and work-related adult cognitive performance that is drawn from current theory and research on life-span developmental and cognitive psychology. The first section considers the concept of basic skills and the classical distinction between achievement and aptitude. By drawing linkages between…

This learning module develops basic reading strategies of previewing new information, integrating knowledge, and recalling information in an organized way that may be applied to everyday life or work-specific settings. Vocabulary building and comprehensive recall techniques for a print-rich workplace setting are also emphasized. The module…

This learning module focuses on reading for specific kinds of workplace information, interpreting that information, and summarizing main ideas. Identification of relevant details, facts, and specifications is explored, especially in reference to reading and interpreting technical materials or business correspondence. The module includes units for…

A great deal of attention has been focused on adult literacy by policy makers, employers, unions, and state and federal government. An increasing body of work is challenging conventional assumptions and values related to literacy. The National Literacy Act of 1991 has the potential to develop an essential long-term infrastructure. Some basic…

A study examined basic skills programs at 21 Illinois companies. Most of the top managers interviewed recognized the basic skills training needs of their work forces; however, only 14 of the companies actually offered workplace basic skills programs. Three major motivating factors were identified as catalysts for beginning a program: a drive for…

An evaluation of the Mountain Empire Community College workplace literacy program included interviews with representatives from three workplace partners who stated their support for skills training programs in workplace basics. Basic skills instruction was provided to 24 students from 33 industries. Students' basic skills progress and skills…

The 11-lesson instructional unit, "Work and Your Life," is designed for adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students at intermediate to advanced levels. Its focus is on the student's exploration of work and other lifestyle issues. The teacher functions as the facilitator or guide, while the student uses self-knowledge and outside resources to…

This workshop engages students of adult basic education (ABE) and English as a second language (ESL) students in the higher levels of communication necessary in the workplace: essay writing, filling out forms, and analyzing data. Students use statistics from the workplace to practice reading and manipulating data, workplace forms to practice…

This guidebook presents a collaborative or team-based model of workplace basic education. It is written particularly for practitioners--the adult educators and company and union representatives who do the work of planning, carrying out, and evaluating basic skills-related activities in the workplace. Chapter 1 provides background, assumptions that…

This document consists of four consecutive issues of a literary magazine written by adult workplace literacy students of the Casco Bay (Maine) Partnership for Workplace Education. The Partnership was a federally funded workplace literacy program that provided customized basic skills education at seven business sites in the Portland area, serving…

This instructor's manual for workplace trainers contains the materials required to conduct a course on working in teams. The course includes six lessons for workers, two lessons for supervisors, and strategies for helping workers continue to develop the skills taught in the course. The following materials are provided for each course: lesson plan,…

Researchers at Rio Salado Community College (Arizona) directing an educational research project, called the Southwest Advanced Learning System for Adults (SALSA), placed personal computers in the homes of production line workers as a supplement to traditional classroom basic skills training. Objectives were to determine whether this supplemental…