Julie and others,

There is a new online and telephone support model being developed now  
through a federally-funded, national demonstration grant. It is  
called the Learner Web. Beginning its second year in October, in  
several regions of the country a range of Learning Plans will be  
field-tested with adults in libraries, community centers, at home and  
work, and in adult basic education classes. It is built from an eight- 
year longitudinal study in adult Literacy, conducted by Portland  
State University researchers Steve Reder and Clare Strawn. In their  
study of adults in Portland Oregon who had left school without  
graduating, Reder and Strawn found a large number of people who  
pursued their education independently, without enrolling in adult  
education programs. The Learner Web is designed to support these self- 
study learners as well as to supplement learning for those who enroll  
in adult basic education classes or tutorials.

A Learning Plan is a set of carefully designed steps to accomplish a  
learning goal such as "Get a GED or high school diploma", "Prepare  
for college", "Learn English", or "Learn to read to my children". It  
would be possible to develop Learning Plans for health literacy such  
as "Learn about a new disease" or "Learn how to eat healthy food  
inexpensively". The steps would lead to online learning resources  
such as those that have been mentioned in discussions on this list,  
or they could lead to face-to-face learning resources in a particular  
community where someone logged in. The learning resources might  
include face-to-face or online tutorials, as well as telephone-based  
help.

I wonder if anyone on this discussion list is interested in  
developing a health literacy Learning Plan. It's a time-consuming  
process to do it well. However, it could eventually be used by  
thousands or millions of adults who need to learn about a disease or  
condition that might affect them or their family members, or who want  
to learn good illness prevention practices. The Learner Web is  
designed so that adults whose reading skills are not strong might  
benefit from the Learning Plans. If you are interested in creating a  
health literacy Learning Plan, first take a look at http:// 
learnerweb.org to learn more, and then contact Steve Reder  
[ reders at pdx.edu ] to discuss your interest.

David J. Rosen
Learner Web Implementation Advisor
djrosen1 at gmail.com


On Sep 24, 2008, at 12:13 PM, Julie McKinney wrote:




> Hi Everyone,

>

> My question this week comes from the Webcast and Doug's response.  

> It is

> about the model of how we reach people (the patients or consumers) for

> health literacy education.

>

> We saw that Dr. Ian Bennett's study found that a home-based model of

> education worked better than the classroom model. Of course, that is

> coming from a Health Center-initiated program, where forming into

> classes is not expected from patients. Dr. Susan Levy's study,  

> which was

> done in adult literacy programs, did have success with the classroom

> model. However, we see that a relatively low percentage of adults with

> literacy challenges are actually enrolled in these kinds of  

> programs, so

> we do need to find other ways. Dr. Bennett emphasized that new models

> need to be explored.

>

> So let's exlpore some! What other ways can we reach people to help  

> them

> learn about basic health, health literacy, health care access, finding

> and using health info, etc?

>

> What are our options?

>

> So far:

>

> classroom setting in adult education program (adult literacy or  

> English

> classes)

> patient waiting room of clinic, hospital or community health center

> media (TV, radio, bulletin boards in libraries, hosptials, school)

> K-12 health education

> people lucky enough to participate in a research study

>

> What other options are there?

> What are the pros and cons of groups vs. individual?

>

> Please share your thoughts and experience on this!

>

> All the best,

> Julie

>

> Julie McKinney

> Health Literacy List Moderator

> World Education

> jmckinney at worlded.org

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

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>

>



David J. Rosen
djrosen1 at gmail.com