The adult educator should take some specific steps before the first students arrive to meet the needs of students with different orientations. A 15-20 minute interview helps the teacher to get to know prospective students. The physical facilities should be conducive to learning, including adequate lighting, a comfortable room temperature, an…

This article focuses on using writing activities in adult basic education/General Educational Development level classes to increase students' self-confidence, enjoyment of writing, and opportunities for group instruction. Suggestions are made for early writing experiences as well as later activities. The writing activities most enjoyed by other…

During the first half of the 1980s, the focus of the literacy movement was on strengthening literacy programs through the recruitment of volunteers. Although these early efforts are continuing, the focus in adult literacy has changed. Job-related or workplace literacy has become a national priority, and the impact of adult illiteracy on private…

This curriculum guide contains materials for a course that explores ways of improving the lives of older citizens and helping them cope with the rigors and pursuits of life. Section I discusses the development of community resource files at adult basic education (ABE) sites. Forms for each step are provided. Section II presents information on the…

For the first time, federal funding for literacy services will focus new attention on the plight of the homeless. Under the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, each state will receive funds for literacy for the homeless. Although there are no firm estimates on how many persons are homeless, a number of indicators point to a problem of major and…

This document contains a collection of direct quotations from the nearly 50 participants at a roundtable on workplace literacy. It also includes an executive summary, a list of participants, a list of related publications, and a synopsis of a presentation made at a follow-up activity.) The participants included business people, literacy experts,…

This document from the task force charged with assessing Wisconsin's adult illiteracy problem and recommending what to do about it reports that the state has 492,720 residents who are at or below the level of functional illiteracy and another 412,720 considered to be "at-risk" due to the increased demand for higher-level basic skills in…

This book is designed to provide practical suggestions and teaching approaches for both administrators and instructors involved in teaching reading to adults. The book contains the following chapters: (1) "Overview"; (2) "Diagnosing Learner Characteristics"; (3) "Goals and Objectives"; (4) "Planning…

Although many teachers force-feed the "meaning" of poetry to puzzled students or teach poetry by way of dissecting poetic techniques, more productive approaches to the study of poetry exist, as reflected in the literature in the ERIC database. Units of study can be organized around particular kinds of inquiry instead of around a literary…

This report and reference booklet is designed to provide adult education supervisors, instructors, and General Educational Development (GED) students and alumni with information to establish GED alumni associations as part of the adult basic education program. The final report details the GED Alumni Stretch and Reach project, which was proposed to…

This manual presents a model with all of the ancillary components that have made the Job Club/Literacy Education Program a successful undertaking for the White Plains (New York) Adult Literacy Program. Section I for administrators focuses on establishing the service (assessing the need, funding, developing linkages, location), managing the…

The purpose of a project was to develop a comprehensive distance learning system for undereducated adults not being served through traditional adult education classroom instruction. Odessa College (Texas) developed and implemented a televised delivery system for General Educational Development that complemented and supplemented existing adult…

This report concentrates on the specific educational phenomenon of popular education in Brazil. It highlights the social context and the frequent political controversies that surround it. The first section depicts the popular education movement with respect to its self-image. Part II describes the societal groups involved. Part III discusses in an…

In order to provide the personnel of Rio Salado Community College's Adult Basic Education Program (RSCC/ABE) with the most up-to-date experience in software selection and usage, a proposal was written for two persons to attend the Computer-Assisted Instruction Adult Literacy Workshop at Oregon State University, which afforded participants an…

Adult and continuing education is the most evolutionary area in education today. It is growing, both in terms of student participation and in the number and types of providers. Of the approximately 120 million adults in the United States, 12 percent (or 18 million) were involved in a formal learning experience leading to a diploma last year. Adult…