- Hardwired
for Hope: effective ABE/literacy instructors. Evelyn Battell, Leora Gesser,
Judy Rose, Jan Sawyer and Diana Twiss. Malaspina
University-College, 2004.
I don't want
to do good to people. Sometimes in a staff meeting someone will
say, “You know, we're not doing them any good to let them
come in late all the time.” I say, “I didn't sign on to do
good to people. They didn't come in and say, 'Do me some good.'" I'm
not interested in whether it's good for them or not good for them.
I figure it's up to them to figure out what's good and what's not
good
[for them]. (p.82)
Those are the words of Kate Nonesuch of the Reading and Writing Centre
of Malaspina University-College in Duncan, BC, reflecting on her belief
that students have the right to make their own decisions. Kate is one
of 17 ABE/literacy instructors in BC interviewed for the recently released
study, Hardwired for Hope: Effective ABE/Literacy Instructors. In Hardwired,
five long-term instructors research the characteristics, motivations,
beliefs, styles, strategies and skills of effective instructors. In addition
to the interviews, the research team members examine their own practice.
If you would like the opportunity to talk to the team about their
research and to share insights from your own practice, stay
tuned for an electronic
conference about Hardwired for Hope to take place in
spring 2005. If you are interested in receiving registration information,
contact conferences@literacy.bc.ca.
The publication is also available online at: “Hardwired for Hope” http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/hwired/cover.htm.
-
The
Informal learning practices and media perceptions of adults with
low literacy
skills series. Maurice Taylor, et al. Partnerships
in Learning, 2004.
This study investigates the types of learning activities adults
with limited literacy skills engage in outside of formal basic
education
programs. Data were collected using an ethnographic approach by
a team of five
field researchers under the direction of Maurice Taylor, Partnerships
in Learning, Ottawa. A key finding is that adults with limited
literacy find creative solutions to everyday problems through a
diverse range
of informal learning activities. In fact, the field researchers
were often “surprised and delighted” by their new awareness of
the strengths and assets of learners. The "Informal learning practices
and media perceptions of adults with low literacy skills" series
is also available online at http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/mtaylor/media/cover.htm.
-
The
more we get together: The politics of collaborative research
between
university-based and non university-based researchers. Marina
Niks. University of British Columbia, 2004.
This dissertation explores the experiences and understandings of
university-based and non-university based researchers about their
collaborative work:
their motivation to engage in collaborative projects, how their
understandings of research and of collaboration influence their
relationships with each
other, and the conditions they believe promote collaborative research.
The interviewees in the study chose to do collaborative research
because of its potential to involve different perspectives and
enrich the research
process. However, the study finds that influences such as funding
requirements and academic reward systems often mean that traditional
academic notions
of research overpower the collaborative process and limit the emergence
of different perspectives. For collaborative research to realize
its potential as a space where researchers from different locations
come
together to generate knowledge, existing conceptions of research
need to be deconstructed, and new meanings explored, through dialogue. “The
more we get together” is also available online at: http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/together/together.pdf.
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