According to research, Author Studies offer great benefits to beginning writers. Have you ever implemented an Author Study among adult learners? If so, please share your experience. Thanks in advance. Leecy
I am interested in knowing of initiatives in the U.S. in which adults seek to improve their literacy and numeracy skills in non-formal settings. These could include workplace literacy programs,and programs in religious organizations, housing authorities, homeless shelters, libraries, and other places outside of the formal education system. Definitions of non-formal I'm working with are:
Non-formal learning consists of learning embedded in planned activities that are not explicitly designated as learning, but which contain an important learning element. Non-formal learning is intentional from the learner’s point of view.” (Colardyn & Bjornavold, 2004, p. 71).
“Non-formal learning: Refers to learning through a programme but it is not usually evaluated and does not lead to certification.” (Cameron & Harrison, 2012, p. 280)
If anyone can give me any leads, especially web links or reports, I would appreciate it. I hope it's OK to post this information to the list. If not, please backchannel me at perin@tc.edu Thanks! Dolores Perin
I am very familiar with nonformal learning and education in an international context. Note that I don't include the hyphen in nonformal, although that is usually how it is written, because many years ago a wise nonformal education colleague of mine, Michael Frith, pointed out that the hyphen causes us to define nonformal learning in terms of (the generally assumed to be more important) formal education. He suggested that nonformal is different but not less important that formal education. Mark Twain apparently said (paraphrasing) that he was always careful not to let his schooling interfere with his education.
Some would argue, and I would be among them, that in the U.S. all_ of adult basic education is adult nonformal education except perhaps for HSE preparation. As you suggested, adult basic education takes place in community-based organizations, volunteer organizations, faith-based institutions, corrections institutions and jails, libraries, housing developments, workplaces, union halls or other organized labor-sponsored facilities, community computing centers, as well as community colleges, public schools, and city-sponsored organizations. In Boston, where I live, a housing advocacy organization that offers housing-related adult basic skills and English language learning. One fertile area for your search might be community-based organizations and others that are now offering financial literacy.
Where else could you look for examples of nonformal education in the U.S.? For young adults there are: 4H clubs, "computer clubhouses," after school programs of a huge range and variety. For adults, there are thousands of non-credit courses, continuing education, and enrichment courses offered by LEAs and community colleges. Of course, not all of these include or focus on literacy and numeracy, but some do.
There is, of course, a universe of learning that is not really formal or nonformal, but informal. It's the unorganized learning that nearly all of us do all the time, in the course of daily activities with co-workers, family members, watching TV or listening to the radio, or (to the extent that people do this now) read a newspaper, or solve a problem on one's own or with friends and colleagues.
With the Internet, and especially free online videos, the line between informal and nonformal learning is fuzzy. Suppose you are adult with low basic skills, but with some computer or smartphone savvy, and you are interested in improving your computer skills. Your Google search brings you to GCF Learn Free where you find not only free online courses for low-skilled adults but also free reading and numeracy courses, and you also decide to strengthen these skills. Is this nonformal or informal?
Now, with the XPRIZE Foundation adult literacy prize, presumably there will be many new smartphone apps designed to help zero-three level adult learners to improve their reading skills. People who may never enroll in a initiative or program, may use these as a nonformal way to improve their adult literacy and numeracy skills, We'll see.
My point is that nonformal (and informal) learning is everywhere in our society, and that already in includes, and I hope increasingly it will include, opportunities to improve reading and numeracy skills. Some of these opportunities are identifiable as programs and initiatives -- you will find these in nearly every city and town. One way to start to identify them is to pick a geographical area, a particular city for example, and search for "community-based" or "library", with "literacy", "numeracy", "financial literacy", "family literacy" or "intergenerational literacy". If you are looking for nonformal programs that operate in several areas of the country, there are national organizations like ProLiteracy, National Center for Families Learning, Goodwill Industries, the Urban League, or the YMCA, that have affiliates or partner organizations in cities across the country with adult /nonformal education programs that include adult literacy and numeracy skills.
For housing developments, incidentally, there is a new White House-sponsored initiative called Connect Home that works with a select group of housing developments in various parts of the country to offer computer skills and Internet access to families. Perhaps some of these are also offering online basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Delores, tell us why this interests you, what you may be looking to do with these initiatives or programs, and what part(s) of the country might be of special interest, and perhaps some here can suggest particular programs or organizations that might meet your criteria.
David, thank you for all this helpful information and your suggestions. I'm gathering information for a paper on ways adults can improve their literacy skills. The literature I've read that tries to make a distinction between nonformal (they do use a hyphen!) and informal learning always refers to the difficulty in delineating these two categories. I will look into your leads. Thank you so much. -Dolores
Dolores, I’m glad that you posted here. Please continue to do so! Your voice is not only welcome but encouraged! Thanks.
David has provided very useful responses to your request. I’ll add a few comments, too. Hopefully, others will join us here. Great topic and one that is dear to my heart.
My first reaction to your query relates to what David suggested – “that in the U.S. all_ of adult basic education is adult nonformal education except perhaps for HSE preparation.” I would further add that all education offered in ABE, ESL, and GED should be nonformal. Our adults resist formal settings that constantly test their academic abilities and design instruction to shove rules down their throats until the can pass tests!
Your list of possible environments offering non-formal (nonformal) education may or may not offer that kind of learning. Although the list represents community-based agencies instead of schools, many implement formal approaches among their students. It’s all that some know to do!
In my view, non-formal learning occurs through approaches, such as those listed below:
• Service Learning - http://character.org/key-topics/service-learning/ . I have witnessed this approach as really engaging adults, as well as younger folks in non-formal ways.
• Project-Based Learning (PBL) - http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=384.html (NCSALL, Focus on Basics, Volume 2, December 1998 – Oldie and goodie). PBL is an ideal way to engage adults “through back door objectives,” (my term) instead of confronting them with up-front academic objectives, which immediately turn them off. AND http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/newsletr/sep98/sep98g.htm: Assessing Adult Learners Through Project-Based Learning Instruction (Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning, Literacy Links, Volume 3, No. 1, September 1998 - another oldie and goodie).
Literacy and numeracy are naturally learned through these approaches and others. In programs that must report student progress, I am a strong advocate of assessing through performance (i.e.rubrics) and then giving students practice with interpreting what they have learned into standardized-testing formats.
There are several additional approaches that implement non-formal learning. I hope that others will join us here with more examples and resources! Leecy
Due in large part to technology, many adults are able to learn on their own (informal learning) and attend classes in a non-formal setting where there are no strict attendance requirements, guidelines and tests, etc. Distance and Blended learning are more attractive in this area, I think.
These classes, as you mentioned, are given in community centers, churches, libraries, and in any place where people can gather. They are more community centered and flexible in certain areas, such as acceptance of students' Home language use in the class.
I am not aware of any initiatives in this area, but there should be.
Usually most of the discussions that take place in the groups here center on formal programs funded by the government. I think we need a separate group that pays greater attention to the non-formal sector, and especially to immigrants. In my view there needs to be a coordination of efforts and a sharing of ideas, resources, and access to funding for non-formal adult education.
Perhaps we could eventually form a Network similar to Tech Goes Home in Boston.
Leecy, yes, we need a network that focuses on the non-formal sector: churches, libraries, community centers, etc., etc. Mmmmm.....how can we form one?
I have established my own network on Facebook, providing lessons and ideas to teachers in Latin American countries. It is very ... informal, but very interesting too.
The big need is on sharing information and then access to grants from non-profit educational foundations.
Can we do this here? I for one do not have much interest in the "Formal" side of adult ed, but would love to work with people on the other side especially with those involved in educational programs for immigrants.
Hi, Paul. I love where this thread is going. And, yes, we can start a network here! Let me start looking into the best way to do this so that the resources shared remain active.
My first reaction to your proposal is to initiate (1) an ongoing event in this group or (2) start a micro-group that would be continuous. Tomorrow, Monday, I'll contact LINCS folks to explore this wonderful idea.
I need to clarify one thing right off the bat, Paul. LINCS is not about formal of informal education. It is about learning among adults, no matter what that looks like. Dealing with immigrants, this Diversity group is ideally suited to exchange ideas and resources around informal learning approaches, among immigrants and other diverse groups. Your great list of items needs to be further developed!
We said we were going to kick up some dust. Well, let's get started.
Anyone else interested in Paul's suggestions? Join us here and let us hear your views!
Hopefully, I'll join you here tomorrow morning with more information on how we can develop your vision. Love it. Thanks! Leecy
I love this idea, too, and I'm in a "formal' education setting.
I see the people who come to community college and "place" in to the remedial courses. Now, lots of folks who don't work a lot with these students strive to find a quick bridge to academic success... and I'm sure there are folks that this works for.
However, there are lots of them who would benefit from a place to learn that didn't require FAFSA forms, and there are so many who can't juggle the highly structured course demands with their complicated lives.
I'd love to develop the open ed resources that the 'network' could use...
Susan, as you know, I strongly and wholeheartedly support providing OER to all learners. As this idea develops, I hope, we need to certainly keep that in mind! Leecy
Comments
I am interested in knowing of initiatives in the U.S. in which adults seek to improve their literacy and numeracy skills in non-formal settings. These could include workplace literacy programs,and programs in religious organizations, housing authorities, homeless shelters, libraries, and other places outside of the formal education system. Definitions of non-formal I'm working with are:
Non-formal learning consists of learning embedded in planned activities that are not explicitly designated as learning, but which contain an important learning element. Non-formal learning is intentional from the learner’s point of view.” (Colardyn & Bjornavold, 2004, p. 71).
“Non-formal learning: Refers to learning through a programme but it is not usually evaluated and does not lead to certification.” (Cameron & Harrison, 2012, p. 280)
If anyone can give me any leads, especially web links or reports, I would appreciate it. I hope it's OK to post this information to the list. If not, please backchannel me at perin@tc.edu Thanks! Dolores Perin
Hello Delores,
I am very familiar with nonformal learning and education in an international context. Note that I don't include the hyphen in nonformal, although that is usually how it is written, because many years ago a wise nonformal education colleague of mine, Michael Frith, pointed out that the hyphen causes us to define nonformal learning in terms of (the generally assumed to be more important) formal education. He suggested that nonformal is different but not less important that formal education. Mark Twain apparently said (paraphrasing) that he was always careful not to let his schooling interfere with his education.
Some would argue, and I would be among them, that in the U.S. all_ of adult basic education is adult nonformal education except perhaps for HSE preparation. As you suggested, adult basic education takes place in community-based organizations, volunteer organizations, faith-based institutions, corrections institutions and jails, libraries, housing developments, workplaces, union halls or other organized labor-sponsored facilities, community computing centers, as well as community colleges, public schools, and city-sponsored organizations. In Boston, where I live, a housing advocacy organization that offers housing-related adult basic skills and English language learning. One fertile area for your search might be community-based organizations and others that are now offering financial literacy.
Where else could you look for examples of nonformal education in the U.S.? For young adults there are: 4H clubs, "computer clubhouses," after school programs of a huge range and variety. For adults, there are thousands of non-credit courses, continuing education, and enrichment courses offered by LEAs and community colleges. Of course, not all of these include or focus on literacy and numeracy, but some do.
There is, of course, a universe of learning that is not really formal or nonformal, but informal. It's the unorganized learning that nearly all of us do all the time, in the course of daily activities with co-workers, family members, watching TV or listening to the radio, or (to the extent that people do this now) read a newspaper, or solve a problem on one's own or with friends and colleagues.
With the Internet, and especially free online videos, the line between informal and nonformal learning is fuzzy. Suppose you are adult with low basic skills, but with some computer or smartphone savvy, and you are interested in improving your computer skills. Your Google search brings you to GCF Learn Free where you find not only free online courses for low-skilled adults but also free reading and numeracy courses, and you also decide to strengthen these skills. Is this nonformal or informal?
Now, with the XPRIZE Foundation adult literacy prize, presumably there will be many new smartphone apps designed to help zero-three level adult learners to improve their reading skills. People who may never enroll in a initiative or program, may use these as a nonformal way to improve their adult literacy and numeracy skills, We'll see.
My point is that nonformal (and informal) learning is everywhere in our society, and that already in includes, and I hope increasingly it will include, opportunities to improve reading and numeracy skills. Some of these opportunities are identifiable as programs and initiatives -- you will find these in nearly every city and town. One way to start to identify them is to pick a geographical area, a particular city for example, and search for "community-based" or "library", with "literacy", "numeracy", "financial literacy", "family literacy" or "intergenerational literacy". If you are looking for nonformal programs that operate in several areas of the country, there are national organizations like ProLiteracy, National Center for Families Learning, Goodwill Industries, the Urban League, or the YMCA, that have affiliates or partner organizations in cities across the country with adult /nonformal education programs that include adult literacy and numeracy skills.
For housing developments, incidentally, there is a new White House-sponsored initiative called Connect Home that works with a select group of housing developments in various parts of the country to offer computer skills and Internet access to families. Perhaps some of these are also offering online basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Delores, tell us why this interests you, what you may be looking to do with these initiatives or programs, and what part(s) of the country might be of special interest, and perhaps some here can suggest particular programs or organizations that might meet your criteria.
David J. Rosen
djrosen123@gmail.com
David, thank you for all this helpful information and your suggestions. I'm gathering information for a paper on ways adults can improve their literacy skills. The literature I've read that tries to make a distinction between nonformal (they do use a hyphen!) and informal learning always refers to the difficulty in delineating these two categories. I will look into your leads. Thank you so much. -Dolores
Dolores, I’m glad that you posted here. Please continue to do so! Your voice is not only welcome but encouraged! Thanks.
David has provided very useful responses to your request. I’ll add a few comments, too. Hopefully, others will join us here. Great topic and one that is dear to my heart.
My first reaction to your query relates to what David suggested – “that in the U.S. all_ of adult basic education is adult nonformal education except perhaps for HSE preparation.” I would further add that all education offered in ABE, ESL, and GED should be nonformal. Our adults resist formal settings that constantly test their academic abilities and design instruction to shove rules down their throats until the can pass tests!
Your list of possible environments offering non-formal (nonformal) education may or may not offer that kind of learning. Although the list represents community-based agencies instead of schools, many implement formal approaches among their students. It’s all that some know to do!
In my view, non-formal learning occurs through approaches, such as those listed below:
• Service Learning - http://character.org/key-topics/service-learning/ . I have witnessed this approach as really engaging adults, as well as younger folks in non-formal ways.
• Project-Based Learning (PBL) - http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=384.html (NCSALL, Focus on Basics, Volume 2, December 1998 – Oldie and goodie). PBL is an ideal way to engage adults “through back door objectives,” (my term) instead of confronting them with up-front academic objectives, which immediately turn them off. AND http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/newsletr/sep98/sep98g.htm: Assessing Adult Learners Through Project-Based Learning Instruction (Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning, Literacy Links, Volume 3, No. 1, September 1998 - another oldie and goodie).
Literacy and numeracy are naturally learned through these approaches and others. In programs that must report student progress, I am a strong advocate of assessing through performance (i.e.rubrics) and then giving students practice with interpreting what they have learned into standardized-testing formats.
There are several additional approaches that implement non-formal learning. I hope that others will join us here with more examples and resources! Leecy
Dolores,
Due in large part to technology, many adults are able to learn on their own (informal learning) and attend classes in a non-formal setting where there are no strict attendance requirements, guidelines and tests, etc. Distance and Blended learning are more attractive in this area, I think.
These classes, as you mentioned, are given in community centers, churches, libraries, and in any place where people can gather. They are more community centered and flexible in certain areas, such as acceptance of students' Home language use in the class.
I am not aware of any initiatives in this area, but there should be.
Usually most of the discussions that take place in the groups here center on formal programs funded by the government. I think we need a separate group that pays greater attention to the non-formal sector, and especially to immigrants. In my view there needs to be a coordination of efforts and a sharing of ideas, resources, and access to funding for non-formal adult education.
Perhaps we could eventually form a Network similar to Tech Goes Home in Boston.
Hmmmmm.., Paul. I like that idea of forming a network as you mentioned! Leecy
Leecy, yes, we need a network that focuses on the non-formal sector: churches, libraries, community centers, etc., etc. Mmmmm.....how can we form one?
I have established my own network on Facebook, providing lessons and ideas to teachers in Latin American countries. It is very ... informal, but very interesting too.
The big need is on sharing information and then access to grants from non-profit educational foundations.
Can we do this here? I for one do not have much interest in the "Formal" side of adult ed, but would love to work with people on the other side especially with those involved in educational programs for immigrants.
Paul
Hi, Paul. I love where this thread is going. And, yes, we can start a network here! Let me start looking into the best way to do this so that the resources shared remain active.
My first reaction to your proposal is to initiate (1) an ongoing event in this group or (2) start a micro-group that would be continuous. Tomorrow, Monday, I'll contact LINCS folks to explore this wonderful idea.
I need to clarify one thing right off the bat, Paul. LINCS is not about formal of informal education. It is about learning among adults, no matter what that looks like. Dealing with immigrants, this Diversity group is ideally suited to exchange ideas and resources around informal learning approaches, among immigrants and other diverse groups. Your great list of items needs to be further developed!
We said we were going to kick up some dust. Well, let's get started.
Anyone else interested in Paul's suggestions? Join us here and let us hear your views!
Hopefully, I'll join you here tomorrow morning with more information on how we can develop your vision. Love it. Thanks! Leecy
Leecy,
I think that we can start to form a network of programs that are based in the community
first by sharing resources and ideas on How Tos...
What do libraries, community centers, churches, etc. need to either start classes or supplement their classes?
I have gathered a lot of information over the years, and last year I shared it on these lists.
The points included:
1. How To...set up a Blended and/or Distance Learning program in ESL and Citizenship.
2. How to ......start a low-cost or free re-furbished computer "loan" program for low-income students.
3. How to......write grants and conduct fund-raising events.
4. Methods of publicity or outreach.
5. Tutor training.
About a year ago a report was issued by the NETP which described how the adult ed classes enrolled
only 5% of the eligible population and the report outlined various ideas as to how to serve the needs
of the other 95%. I think that a Network of community centers could serve those needs.
The report says: “By helping the nearly two million students currently enrolled in adult education programs
meet their career and academic goals, the adult education field will play a significant role
in answering the charge of the Obama administration (U.S. Department of Education, 2009)....
Actualizing the vision of the NETP also has the potential to help the adult education field address
the need for increased infrastructure and capacity to meet the demand of the
nearly 40 million people who are in need of adult basic education but are not served (Lasater & Elliott, 2005). “
https://www.google.com.mx/?gws_rd=cr&ei=e4ZIVuCeLcGwjwOT9qOYAQ#q=Connected+
Teaching+and+Personalized+Learning:+Implications+of+the+National+Education+
Technology+Plan+(NETP)+for+Adult+Education+DRAFT+for+Public+Comment
I love this idea, too, and I'm in a "formal' education setting.
I see the people who come to community college and "place" in to the remedial courses. Now, lots of folks who don't work a lot with these students strive to find a quick bridge to academic success... and I'm sure there are folks that this works for.
However, there are lots of them who would benefit from a place to learn that didn't require FAFSA forms, and there are so many who can't juggle the highly structured course demands with their complicated lives.
I'd love to develop the open ed resources that the 'network' could use...
Susan, as you know, I strongly and wholeheartedly support providing OER to all learners. As this idea develops, I hope, we need to certainly keep that in mind! Leecy