In the booklet, Improving Adult Literacy Instruction: Supporting Learning and Motivation, (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13469) the text describes principles that are suspected or considered likely to support literacy learning and motivation. This booklet was a more focused synthesis of the National Research Council's report Improving Adult Literacy Instruction: Options for Practice and Research.
One of the challenges in preparing the NRC report was that we have such a limited evidential base on adult literacy instruction. As the authors noted, "these principles and practices are derived mainly from research within K-12 students and general research on how people learn." We have little research suggesting how best to incorporate the findings into adult literacy instruction.
I imagine that many (most all?) literacy providers include explicit instruction on the reading components (e.g., phonemic awareness, vocabulary, word analysis, fluency, reading comprehension) in each of their lessons. As part of the instructional time, I imagine that learners interact with textual materials for additional practice and application of the knowledge and skills provided in the explicit instruction.
My question though concerns how instructors puzzle through their selection of textual materials. (1) On what basis are alternate texts evaluated and judged appropriate for their learners' varied skill levels? Several approaches might be taken (e.g., topical interest, difficulty level, tie to the curriculum, availability, link to the Common Core State Standards).
Similarly, (2) what choices have not worked so well? That is, what basis for deciding a text didn't work so well? For example, maybe the skill level of the learner was such that connected prose was just beyond the learners' skills. Or maybe the need to tightly control vocabulary or overall reading level was too difficult.
I appreciate your thoughts on this challenge.
Thanks.
Daryl
Comments
You identify one of the most difficult challenges a teacher faces. My background is in public education, specifically high school technical education. The same challenge exists there. There simply aren't leveled materials for focused career instruction (engine procedures for 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade etc. readers....)
What also complicates the topic is that a reading diagnostic that yields granular information will typically reveal that student skill levels vary across the components you identify (word attack, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, etc.) It is not at all uncommon to find students with 8th grade fluency and a 4th grade vocabulary, or 6th grade comprehension.
Interestingly, this is also true of K-12 students. Although the 7th grade science teacher uses the working assumption that most students have at least 7th grade reading skills across the components, it is rarely true.
There are no easy answers, and maybe no good ones. One thing that some ABE programs try (including the one I currently work at) is mostly divorcing reading instruction from content instruction. There are good sources of interesting leveled materials, and it can be reasoned that as students' reading levels improve (to at least a middle school or above) level it will be possible to find appropriate materials that match curriculum topics.
Another choice is to take content that matches the instructional topic (on photosynthesis, or causes of the civil war, etc.), run it through a readability index (I use Readability-Score.com) but there are others, and then rewrite as needed to get the level you are looking for. It is pretty labor intensive though and I don't do it very often.
I would also be interested in hearing from other teachers about approaches they believe are successful in addressing this topic.
An alternative to rewriting texts or waiting for students' reading skills to catch up to the texts used in the content areas is to use library books at different levels. There are many books written for a younger audience, even picture books, that are appropriate for adult learners. One searchable database of books on a wide variety of topics and at varying reading levels is available at http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/tradebooks/index.html These books are available for free in your local public library. Every book in the database has been reviewed by 3 adult ed practitioners. So if you are looking for books about the civil war, the database will generate a list of both fiction and nonfiction books at different reading levels. Local librarians are usually happy to help you get multiple copies. I'd be happy to answer any questions about this free resource or talk more about the features.
Hi Di,
Thank you for the reference to the searchable database of texts. I was unfamiliar with that resource and agree that your approach could be very valuable especially in a heterogeneous class.
Appreciatively,
Daryl
Hi,
You make such an excellent point. Students' reading skills are not an even profile.
In one of our analyses of adult readers, we specifically looked at the variation in reading profiles just based on reading rate measures. Mellard, D., Fall, E., & Mark, C. (2008). Reading profiles for adults with low-literacy: cluster analysis with power and speeded measures. Reading &Writing, Online first at DOI 10.1007/s11145-008-9136-8
One might think that vocabulary load is the critical element of reading comprehension or maybe the language complexity of the text. That vocabulary linkage might explain why word reading level is so highly correlated with reading comprehension levels.
As you indicate, no easy answers. If we had easy answers, I imagine that we would have a lot fewer adult literacy issues.
Thank you for your comments.
Daryl
Great question. I always find confusing recommendations based on k-12 curriculum in the face of this "lack of research." Given this lack of research, it seems just as reasonable to adapt college-style teaching methods/curriculum to adult learners than it does to import k-12 strategies. The only thing we know for sure is that these students are not going back to grammar/high school. Readability levels can be a good tool, but they should not susbsitute for the instructor's own feel for the class and what they can handle. With this in mind, I find great stuff in the NYTimes and other news outlets, and I'm usually more focused on matching tests to student interest that I am with the particular lexile level.
John and others,
The responses have been very insightful on the extent of challenges and the approaches that one might take (e.g., rewriting passages, using library books at varying levels).
I totally agree that a grammar/high school approach is not likely to be positive.
I like the mix you are suggesting of a readability level and the students' interests. My anecdotal experience is that students' interests can substantially ease the difficulty of an otherwise difficult text because they recognize the related words and know the vocabulary.
Thank you for sharing your observations.
Daryl
Daryl,
This has been a very interesting thread. Thank you and all the other participants for your insights.
One factor my colleagues and I have found important is the physical layout of the page. The font, font size, line spacing, amount of white space on the page, use but not overuse of color and text formatting (boldface, italics, etc.), use but not overuse of pictures and other graphic elements, and the overall simplicity of layout all make a huge difference in student comprehension. I can't point you toward any research in this area, but I can say that my colleagues and I are so convinced of this that we will reject adopting a text for our students solely because of poor page layout.
Peace, friends,
Pat
Pat,
I love your note about the influence of font and font size and page layout in general. You bring a good point for us to consider.
I imagine that we have all had some experience in which we use other features of a page (e.g., pictures) than just the text to aid our comprehension. My favorite examples are clothes shopping and garden seeds. Kind of like seeing those clothing items in their various colors to get a better sense of the item and then don't we tend to buy garden seeds that include a picture of the flower or veggie.
Seems to me that we do have some research about page layout and the distractions that can limit comprehension. I believe that research was done specifically regarding persons with learning disabilities. We might extrapolate that other persons with low literacy or attentional issues could also be impacted with page layout.
Regards,
Daryl
Very interesting thread!
I guess that the selection of reading materials is related to how we frame reading practices in our classrooms. Therefore, when we judge if a material is "good" or not, we have to do it not only based on its characteristics but also in function of the reading purpuses that our students will have when interacting with it. Personally, instead of selecting reading materials for my students, I try to offer them as many options as I can and teach and learn from them how to select what to read. This is, I try to bring to the classroom a reading practice that we enact as readers in every day life. This allows me to know more about the reading process of each student and share with them mine.
Violeta
Violeta,
You are so on target about the importance of defining that purpose of our reading! Excellent point.
If we are not clear about our purpose in reading, how would we know which reading strategy would be appropriate for the task? I think that we understand that authors have an intent in their writing, but we as readers have our intent. So the interaction of our intent with the text becomes very important in helping us decide how we are going to approach the task of gaining meaning and making a connection (learning) with the text. I believe that your view is in line with the socio-cultural perspective on our thinking and learning. A wonderful document, Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century from the National Research Council (2012), provides more descriptive information to integrate this perspective.
I really like your phrasing about "bringing to the classroom a reading practice that we enact as readers in every day life." I like that sense of authenticity to the reading process and similarly to be able to target the specific skills that can support learners' reading components and skill development.
Regards,
Daryl
Daryl,
Thanks a lot for the document you recommended! One of the things that I always keep on wondering is how much can we transfer if we conceptualize reading and writing practices as situated and related to context demands. I will explore the book, maybe I can get some ideas! :)
Violeta
There are certainly good suggestions for evaluating text layout. I am collecting information on adult literacy titles that can be placed in public libraries. and would like suggestions along with a short review.
Thanks,
Sandy
Dear Sandy,
I feel like I'm not understanding your request.
Are you looking for books, journal articles, reports that would be helpful for helping adults learn to read?
Or maybe it's a simpler request for books that adults with limited reading skills might find enjoyable?
Maybe if you could offer a couple examples of the information and type of review you are seeking, the discussion group members could offer alternatives.
Sorry for being so dense. I'm sure that you can enlighten me.
Regards,
Daryl