Discussion Announcement

The Family Literacy Discussion List will host the following discussion from February 4-8, 2008: Comprehension Monitoring Strategies for Adult Readers.

Guest Moderator

Susan McShane is a Reading Initiative Specialist at the National Center for Family Literacy. She has more than 20 years of experience in adult education and family literacy. She has taught adult reading students in an adult basic education reading program, a private community-based organization, and a community college developmental reading program. In her current position, she authored a book for adult education instructors, Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers, developed with funding from the National Institute for Literacy. As project manager for the Kentucky Adult Education Reading Pilot Project, she provided training and assistance to facilitate adult education teachers' implementation of scientifically based reading instruction.

Joining Susan in the discussion will be Donna Elder, a Reading Specialist at the National Center for Family Literacy. Donna served as a reading coach for the Kentucky Adult Education Reading Pilot Project, assisting adult education instructors in the implementation of reading strategies, materials and activities to improve reading instruction and learner outcomes for participants in the project.

Discussion Questions

1. What comprehension monitoring strategies do you use with your adult learners? Have you ever tried any of those mentioned on pages 80 -82 of Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers (which is available free at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications.html ). What worked, what didn't?
2. How do you as instructors introduce/make the case for comprehension strategy instruction with adult learners who may consider themselves to be competent readers?
3. What strategies do you, as a reader, use? How can you become more aware of the strategies you are using automatically, so you can teach them to others?

Suggested Reading

• Pages 80-82 (Comprehension Monitoring), Chapter 7, "Comprehension Strategy Instruction," Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers.
• Research-Based Principles for Adult Basic Education Reading Instruction by John Kruidenier. The publication is available free from http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications.html
• National Institute for Literacy Webcast: From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults, Part 1: Instructional Strategies for Alphabetics and Reading Comprehension. Both the webcast and the PowerPoint slides are available at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/assesspractice/webcast0928.html.
• National Institute for Literacy Webcast: From Assessment to Practice: Research-Based Approaches to Teaching Reading to Adults Part 2: Specific Instructional Strategies for Fluency and Vocabulary. January 11, 2008. Webcast and PowerPoint slides are available at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/webcasts/assesspractice2/webcast0111.html.
• Assessment Strategies and Reading Profiles (ASRP): Research-based assessment practices for the adult education classroom Web site at http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles/

Last updated: Wednesday, 04-Mar-2009 09:17:43 EST