New from NCSALL

NCSALL on the Web

Do you want to...

• plan a professional development activity?
• learn about the latest research on a particular topic in the field?
• find a new teaching technique or idea?
• prepare a proposal to seek additional funding?

Our Subject Index allows you to access easily all NCSALL publications by topic, including Accountability, GED, Learner Motivation, Curriculum Development, Assessment, Technology, Family Literacy, Math, Program Design, Practitioner Research, Writing, and moreb the Subject Index includes more than 50 topics.

Training Materials

NCSALL has published three new training materials: a Study Circle Guide and Mentor Teacher Group Guide on adult multiple intelligences, and a Seminar Guide on evidence-based adult education systems. See Teaching and Training Materials section to download these publications for free.

Study Circle Guide: Adult Multiple Intelligences (AMI). This nine-hour, three-session study circle introduces teachers to Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) and its application in adult basic education. It incorporates findings from NCSALL's Adult Multiple Intelligences Study, the first systematic effort to examine how multiple intelligences theory can support adult literacy education.

Mentor Teacher Group Guide: Adult Multiple Intelligences (AMI). This 12-hour, four-session guide introduces teachers to Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) and its application in adult basic education. The guide includes two classroom observations, in addition to the four meeting sessions. Like the study circle guide of the same title, this mentor teacher group guide incorporates findings from NCSALL's Adult Multiple Intelligences Study.

Seminar Guide: Establishing an Evidence-based Adult Education System. This three-hour, one-session seminar engages participants in reading and discussing NCSALL's proposal for creating an evidence-based system for adult education, and then understanding and judging the relevance of such a system to their work. This seminar is based on NCSALL's Occasional Paper entitled "Establishing an Evidence-based Adult Education System," by NCSALL Director John Comings.

NCSALL Publications
NCSALL Reports

New Published Fall 2003
Order copies for a small fee or download (for free) from the NCSALL website

How Teachers Change: A Study of Professional Development in Adult Education
by Cristine Smith, Judy Hofer, Marilyn Gillespie, Marla Solomon, and Karen Rowe
This report presents findings from the NCSALL Professional Development study (NCSALL Reports #25 in PDF, $10) that investigated how a sample of 106 adult education teachers in three New England states changed after participating in one of three models of professional development. The study's authors identify the types of change undergone by the teachers and the degree to which they changed. The authors also examine the individual, professional development, and program and system factors that interacted either to support or hinder change. (A Summary Report NCSALL Reports #25a b is also available in PDF and hardcopy.)

Full Report
The Characteristics and Concerns of Adult Basic Education Teachers b by Cristine Smith and Judy Hofer (November 2003)
Based on data gathered for the study on How Teachers Change, this in-depth exploration (NCSALL Reports #26 in PDF, or $10 hardcopy) documents what is commonly known, but not well researched, about adult education teachers: the challenges they face in their teaching, their programs, and as members of the field; the training and preparation they receive; and the conditions in which they work. The study finds that teachers and programs are stretched, stressed, and challenged as they strive to provide the best possible services to large numbers of students.

NCSALL Books

New Published Winter 2004

Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 4: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice edited by John Comings, Barbara Garner, and Cristine Smith. Published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 

Volume 4 is the newest addition to a series of annual publications by NCSALL that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and learning. 

Contents: D. Perin, Foreward. T.G. Sticht, The Year 2001 in Review. D. Dbb"Amico, Race, Class, Gender, and Sexual Orientation in Adult Literacy: Power, Pedagogy, and Programs. A. Levenson, Why do Companies Provide Workplace Education Programs? R. Stites, Implications of New Learning Technologies for Adult Literacy and Learning. D. Helsing, E. Drago-Severson, R. Kegan, Applying Constructive-Developmental Theories of Adult Development to ABE/ESOL Practice. S. Merriam, The Changing Landscape of Adult Learning Theory. Appendix: S. Merriam, Resources on Adult Learning Theory.

Review chapter summaries and order your hard copy.