Jackie, 

Thank you for this information. I will definitely take a look at it.  As my
experience as an adult learner leader, a lot of critical thinking happens
when adult learners are expose to new ideas and situations. They then
internalize it for their own use. So I'm back to wondering how many people
on this list serve are exposing their adult learners to situations that go
beyond classroom, teacher, and student settings.  

 

Marty

 

Marty Finsterbusch

Executive Director

VALUE, Inc.

 

www.valueusa.org

strengthening adult literacy efforts in the USA

through learner involvement and leadership

-----Original Message-----
From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Taylor,
Jackie
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 12:05 AM
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2241] Project-based learning
andempowerment

 

Hi Marty,

I have a couple of things to share on your request re: projects. Last fall,
Heide Spruck Wrigley and a team of teachers joined the PD List to share
their experiences on Project-Based Learning as Professional Development.
Both ESL and ABE teachers shared their classes projects, what worked, what
the challenges were, etc. I am compiling these project posts into one
document in my spare time. But the good news is that many rich resources
that Heide recommended are linked on the NIFL Web site and can be found by
visiting:

 

http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/07projectbased
.html

 

Heide pulled together a fantastic list of resources and coded them based on:

 

*         Project-based learning as PD

*         Practical ideas

*         Research to Practice

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion and I can't thank Heide and the teachers
enough for sharing their experiences. Check it out and see what you think.

 

Secondly, here is a link to some action research projects from Tennessee
(working with learners on public assistance mandated to attend adult
education), many of which have a project-based focus:

 

http://www.cls.utk.edu/2000_idea_book.html 

 

In it contains a collection of lesson plans for adult basic educators that
were developed through that action research in collaboration with the UT
Center for Literacy Studies. Projects included opening a printing shop in
the classroom (Micki Hendrix) and another included opening a photography
studio (some teacher named Jackie.). 

 

In the photo studio instance, the students decided that was what they wanted
to do. However, they didn't exactly feel confident that they could do it. So
I started each day by listing sample small tasks on the board that needed to
be accomplished (go through paper for the most affordable places to rent;
call electric company and find out how to turn on the power, etc.). I told
them that if they wanted to work on the project here are some things that
could be done; just check them off if you do it. Or add your own ideas to
the list and do them instead.

 

Over time, they started adding to the list and eventually they completely
took it over. When we opened, we took Easter portraits with families,
starting with their own. For women on welfare who were camera-shy, I was
amazed at the turn around in their confidence and self-esteem. It launched
our classroom to a whole new level of interacting and they were more
inclined to volunteer for roles in the classroom (post-project) when
something needed to be done (answering the phone, searching for in-kind
community donations for the class, etc). It was an empowering experience for
me as a teacher. I imagine it was empowering for them as well.

 

I wonder if others have a story they would like to share? 

 

Jackie Taylor

jataylor at utk.edu 

 

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