Creating Authentic Materials and Activities for the Adult ...

Creating Authentic Materials and Activities

for the Adult Literacy Classroom

A HANDBOOK FOR PRACTITIONERS

Erik Jacobson Sophie Degener Victoria Purcell-Gates

Erik Jacobson has been involved in community-based adult education for more than 10 years. He has focused on materials development and capacity building from the perspectives offered by the variety of roles he has played: teacher, program developer, and researcher. At the root of his work is a commitment to addressing the connection between literacy education and social justice. Sophie Degener is currently completing a doctorate in language and literacy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her interest in the impact of teachers' pedagogical beliefs and practices on the achievement of their students has been reflected in her work as an elementary school teacher, family literacy program co-founder, and researcher. Victoria Purcell-Gates is Professor of Literacy in the College of Education at Michigan State University. She conducts research on literacy development as it occurs in and out of school. Her studies have focused on emergent literacy, early literacy learning in school, and adult literacy; she was principal investigator for NCSALL's Literacy Practices of Adult Learners Study (LPALS). She has taught literacy learners from young children through adults for more than 30 years.

Printed in April, 2003

Contents

Introduction v

1 Using and Learning Literacy in Context 1 Defining Authentic 1 Assessing Authenticity 4 Identifying the Purposes for Reading and Writing 5 Frame One: Functions of Language 5 Frame Two: Literacy Practices 8 Life Changes Yield Literacy Change 13 Learning Literacy in Context 13 Frame Three: Functional Context Education 13 Frame Four: Situated Cognition and Constructivism 16

2 Getting to Know Students 27 Getting to Know Students Through the Intake Process 30 Getting to Know Students During Class 33 Sharing Personal Histories 37

3 Using Authentic Materials and Activities

in the Classroom 43 Identifying Important Text Types 44 Types and Uses of Texts Used by Teachers and Students in the LPALS 45 Issues Related to Type of Text 53 Thinking About Purpose 56 Class Planning Issues 58

N C S A L L

Introduction x iii

4 Authentic Thematic Activities

for the Classroom 67 Sample Themes for Adult Literacy Instruction 69 Theme One: Household Tasks 70 Possible Extensions of the Cooking Activity 74 Further Suggestions for Household Related Projects 75 What Makes these Activities Authentic? 76 Theme Two: Parenting and Family 78 Further Suggestions for Thematically Related Projects 84 What Makes these Activities Authentic? 86

5 Assessment 89 Getting Started with Learner-Contextualized Assessment 90 Assessment of Progress 92 Other Forms of Learner-Contextualized Assessment 95 Standardized Assessments 97

6 Concluding Thoughts 105

References 107

Appendix One: Two Class Portraits 113 Class Portrait One 113 Class Portrait Two 116

Resources 119 Student Writings 119 Curriculum Guides and Teaching Resources 120 Webliography 124

iv x Creating Authentic Materials and Activities for the Adult Literacy Classroom

Introduction

This handbook is the result of a five-year study of adult literacy education in the United States entitled "The Literacy Practices of Adult Learners Study," which we will refer to by its acronym, LPALS. It is one of many research projects conducted by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), a joint effort of World Education, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Portland State University, Rutgers University, and the Center for Literacy Studies at The University of Tennessee. The LPALS focused on one of NCSALL's research priorities: the nature and impact of classroom practice in adult basic education. This introduction describes our research, presents key findings, and provides an overview of the goals and structure of this handbook.

x BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY When we began our work, we believed that adult literacy education should help students master new types of texts, engage in new literacy practices (uses of reading and writing), and increase the frequency with which they engage in pre-existing practices. Unlike many in the field, we also believe that individual and programmatic success should be measured by how much students use what they learn in literacy education in their lives

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