Hi Everyone, 

Welcome to our discussion about using the Health Literacy Study Circles+!

In this message you will find:
   -a welcome to our guests
   -an article to read
   -some discussion questions to think about
   -a description of the study circles

Welcome also to our guest speakers: Winston Lawrence, senior professional development associate with the Literacy Assistance Center in New York City, and 
Lisa Soricone, a research associate and former fellow at the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL).

Together they piloted these study circles with adult learners in New York City, and wrote about their experience through an interview in "Focus on Basics" (FOB). Please see this article for more information about the study circles, and to prepare for this discussion: 

A Conversation with FOB: Learning How to Teach Health Literacy 
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=995

Winston and Lisa will introduce themselves shortly, and in the meantime we have some questions for you to think about:

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

How much health teaching do you do in your program? 

 
What challenges do you experience in teaching health?

 
In an adult literacy setting: 

What has been students? responses to the teaching of health? Do they think it adds or detracts from the acquisition of basic skills? 

There are different approaches to teaching health- content versus skills-based. Which do you prefer and why? What are the advantages or disadvantages in the different approaches? 


In a health education setting: 

What challenges do you find when teaching health information, medication instructions, or at-home management of conditions?  

How do you adapt when working with speakers of other languages, or others who seem less comfortable with text, charts, tables, etc.? 

What literacy skills do patients need to enhance in order to understand necessary medical information more clearly? 
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Please think about these questions, and feel free to send in your comments and questions anytime! See below for a description of the study circles+.

Looking forward to hearing from you all,

Julie

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An overview of the Health Literacy Study Circle+ Series

Many ABE and ESOL practitioners understand the value of teaching health literacy but they often wonder, how do I go about teaching health literacy skills to my students?  The Health and Adult Literacy and Learning (HALL) team consists of adult education practitioners and public health researchers based at Harvard University.  This group has designed a professional development program  -- called the Health Literacy Study Circles+ * to help ABE and ESOL professionals increase their understanding of health literacy skills and incorporate current thinking on health literacy into their curricula. The Study Circles+ are part of an effort at the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) to bridge research and practice.

The Study Circles+ help practitioners understand the kinds of literacy, math, and oral communication skills that adults need to use the health care system and take care of their own and their families' health.  Each Study Circle+ focuses on one of three health care topics:

1.	Health Care Access and Navigation
2.	Chronic Disease Management
3.	Disease Prevention and Screening
 	
The HALL team has created a Study Circle+ Facilitator's Guide for each of these topics.  Each guide offers step-by-step instructions for carrying out the study circle activities.  The guides are intended for use by any ABE organization or program that seeks to organize a professional development opportunity for practitioners with a focus on health literacy skills.

What is a Study Circle+?

A study circle is a forum for in-depth examination of an issue or a set of readings. Typically, a group of 10-15 participants come together to reflect on new ideas and consider classroom applications with discussions led by a facilitator.  Our study circles have an added practice component (indicated by the +) because participants are asked to complete practical, hands-on activities with their students in their classrooms over the course of the Study Circle+ sessions.  The Study Circle+ activities encourage participants to assess their students' health literacy needs, examine health tasks, identify underlying skills, and develop original lessons and units that incorporate health literacy skills into their programs and classrooms. 


 
What do participants do in the Study Circle+?

Each Study Circle+ consists of five sessions.  Here are some highlights of the types of discussion topics and activities covered in each session.

Session 1:	Introduction to health literacy
	Introduction to Study Circle topic (access and navigation, 
	   chronic disease management, disease prevention and 
	   screening)
	Plan for the needs assessment of students' health literacy needs and   
        challenges

Session 2: 	Discuss needs assessment results
		Analyze health-care tasks and related basic skills 
	Review sample health literacy lessons that include:
o	ESOL: Examining language barriers in health care
o	ESOL: Filling out health care forms
o	ABE:  Developing problem solving skills
o	GED:  Interpreting bar charts
o	Pre-GED:  How to take your medicine on time
o	ESOL: Talking about symptoms to your doctor
o	ESOL:  Health care every day, every month, every year

Session 3: 	Discuss experiences teaching a health literacy lesson
	Begin development of original lessons

Session 4: 	Share original lessons and begin creating unit plans
	Discuss ways to measure effectiveness of health literacy units
	
Session 5: 	Discuss unit plans and ideas for evaluating unit effectiveness
		Develop strategies for successfully integrating health 
		   literacy skills into ABE/ESOL programs
		Reflect on the Study Circle+ experience




Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org