Hello Colleagues,
There were 1173 members of the LINCS Program Management group as of July 31, 2019.
Here are summaries of a few of the most substantial discussions:
Discussion: Does research evidence affect policy and practice? 883 views, 32 comments (all in July)
In another LINCS group LINCS member Paul Rogers asked , “"if there were evidence / research to prove that using smart phones etc. could enhance learning, then what? Would teachers and administrators change their policies?" David Rosen started a new thread with this question on July 11th that had 32 comments as of July 31st. Di Baycich weighed in with the first comment, offering two examples of where research in adult basic skills education has affected practice positively, the STAR Reading PD project, and the Adult Numeracy Initiative. Michelle Candy commented on how difficult it is for teachers who are not part of universities to get access to research without paying the high costs of published articles. Researcher Margaret Patterson recommended three of her favorite research databases available at no cost: ERIC, Google Scholar and Research Gate. Rachel Donelson pointed out some challenges doing research in education, and mentioned some professional development resources she has found useful. Michelle Candy agreed with Rachel that COABE has useful research-based professional development resources.David Rosen added that the World Education and Harvard University NCSALL website includes studies on program retention and student persistence research. Corlis Webb agreed with Michelle Candy that, as a graduate student it was difficult for her to find much research in adult basic skills education, especially research after 2008, when NCSALL ended. Susan Finn-Miller offered several resources on research with low-level English learners health literacy topics, as well as many excellent NCSALL resources. Pam Meader joined in to recommend NCSALL’s network of adult numeracy practitioners, the Practitioner Research and Dissemination Network. Paul Jurmo offered a new archive of work readiness and workplace basic skills studies on the Open Door Collective website at http://www.opendoorcollective.org/workforce-basic-skills-resources.html . Brooke Istas and Lynda Ginsburg both offered that the Adult Numeracy Initiative was indeed based on research evidence. Margaret Patterson added information about a new initiative organized by the Open Door Collective on building an Evidence-Based Adult Education System (E-BAES) and how to get involved. John Comings, former Director of NCSALL, commented on the importance of the adult basic skills field having a national research and development center that is well connected with practitioners.
Discussion : Learn here about learning circles 909 views and 35 comments (4 new in July, 2019.) The Learning Circles discussion begun in late June continued into July with three new replies. Kathleen O’Connell wrote about the World Education English Now! learning circles project Scale-up that included an EdTech Center/WEI blog post by teacher Linda Beliveau.
Discussion : Are our Career Pathways already out-of-date? Do workers and employers need a Careers "Waze" ? 412 views and 8 comments (2 new in July, 2019)
Elena Taylor-Garcia observed that in Omaha, Nebraska “many populations of workers are unable and/or unwilling to pay for any education or training at all.” She continued, “In the adult education world, it had always been our hope to feed GED and ESL graduates into our community college as certificate and degree seekers. With a handful of exceptions, it isn't happening. Wages are so low for service workers that cash-starved households see expenditures for education and training as unrealistic. We are having some success with newly launched IETs. Young workers are willing to participate in training or retraining more often when they are being paid to do so. In our first IET, the company pays for a summer of training for a new, young workforce. The student/worker pays nothing, receives 18 college credits (4 classes) and 3 industry-recognized certifications. The student/worker is paid minimum wage as a training wage, and then upon completion of training, graduates from the training program, gets the first in a series of raises and continues with the sponsoring employer. In my humble experience, shifting training and education costs onto workers and their families is usually not working. Construction in this region has a shortage of workers and it has the potential to slow production to unacceptable levels.“
Susan Jones added, “Tressie McMillan Cottom wrote a book called Lower_Ed about this trend (and how it doesn't work).“
Discussion: Teacher Retention 437 views and 5 comments (1 new in July, 2019)
The teacher retention discussion continued this month with a recommendation by Kathy Tracey of an Amierican Institutes of Research (AIR )study in teacher diversity.
Discussion : The Digital Divide in 2016 2,496 views, 10 comments (1 New in July 2019)
David Rosen added to the comments on the digital divide in 2019 calling attention to an interview held in May with adult basic skills practitioner, researcher and National Skills Coalition public policy advocate, Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, "The digital divide is also about the policies that affect ordinary people’s lives"
David J. Rosen, Moderator
LINCS CoP Program Management group