ERIC ED395131: "What's the Buzz?" Pennsylvania's Adult Basic and Literacy Education Professional Development Newsletter. Final Report.

159 Pages·1995·6.4 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
CE 070 954
ED 395 131
"What's the Buzz?" Pennsylvania's Adult Basic and
TITLE
Literacy Education Professional Development
Newsletter. Final Report.
Adult Education Linkage Services, Troy, PA.
INSTITUTION
Pennsylvania State Dept. of Education, Harrisburg.
SPONS AGENCY
Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education.
PUB DATE
95
099-5010
CONTRACT
NOTE
159p.
Collected Works
Descriptive (141)
PUB TYPE
Reports
Serials (022)
What's the Buzz? v14 n1-10 Sep 1994-Jun 1995
JOURNAL CIT
MP01/PC07 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
*Adult Basic Education; Adult Educators; Adult
DESCRIPTORS
Learning; Adult Literacy; Adult Students; Computer
Assisted Instruction; Educational Quality; Education
Work Relationship; English (Second Language); High
School Equivalency Programs; Homeless People; Limited
English Speaking; *Literacy Education; Multicultural
Education'; *Newsletters; Professional Development;
School Community Relationship; *Special Needs
Students; Student Characteristics; Student
Recruitment; *Workplace Literacy
353 Project
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
The main objective of the "What's the Buzz?"
newsletter project was to meet the professional development needs of
adult basic and literacy educators in Pennsylvania, including
teachers, tutors, counselors, and administrators. The project
prepared and disseminated monthly, 10 issues of a 12-14 page
newsletter. It was mailed to more than 4,200 adult educators in
Pennsylvania and over 300 in other states. The newsletters included
information from a variety of sources, including the following:
research iiterature, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Adult Basic and
Literacy Education, professional organizations, conferences and
workshops, and practitioners in the field of adult basic and literacy
education. Among the topics covered in the newsletters were the
following: characteristics of adult learners; suggestions for working
with special needs students; student recruitment; educational
quality; integration of human services; workplace literacy;
marketable skills; special learning needs; assisting the limited
English proficient nonreader; English as a Second Language;
instructional strategies and assessment; multicultural adult
education; adult literacy for the homeless; computer-assisted
instruction; literacy testing; and community linkages.
(YLB)
*
*
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
*
*
from the original document.
***********************************************************************
FINAL REPORT
"What's the Buzz?"
Pennsylvania's Adult Basic and Literacy Education
Professional Development Newsletter
Submitted by:
Adult Education Linkage Services
Box 214, Troy, PA
16947
David W. Fluke, Project Director
Project # 099-5010
1994-1995
PERMISSION 10 REPRODUCE AND
U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
HAS BEEN GRANTED BY
CENTER (ERIC:
Di,. ilorrimonl r, is !leen roprndor oil as
ecen,ed from the o,lson or orwsuraboe
ongalating it
M.,1, changes have been made to
mprovereproduction,wagly
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RI:SOURCES
or opin.uns slated in this
Pcunis oi
document 10 not neressae y represent
INFORMATION CENTER (ERICI
OE HI pos.Ion :nr policy
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
4,
TITLE PAGE
Pennsylvania's Adult Basic and Literacy Education
"What's The Buzz:
Professional Development Newsletter."
Adult Education Linkage
David W. Fluke, project director and editor.
16947. [phone]
Services, Box 214, Troy, PA
1994-95
Amount of Grant: $91,042
Project #: 099-5010
the subject of this report was
The activity which is
Disclaimer:
However, the
supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education.
opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position nor
Department of Education or
the Pennsylvania
policy of
the
S.
U.
Department of Education, and no official endorsement by these agencies
should be inferred.
Education Linkage
a community-based,
non-profit
Adult Services
is
organization which provides
technical services and support to adult
education programs.
Adult Education Linkage Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Submitted: August 20, 1995
i i .
ABSTRACT PAGE
Title: "What's the Buzz?"--Pennsylvania's Adult Basic and Literacy
Education Profession9.1 Development Newsletter.
Project No.: 099-5010
Funding: $91, 042
Project Director: David W. Fluke
Phone No. [phone]
Contact Person: David W. Fluke
Phone No. [phone]
PurpoE
This project was designed to provide information which
was
relevant and informative to adult basic and literacy
education practitioners in Pennsylvania.
Procedures:
The
project
prepared
and
disseminated
a
page
12-14
newsletter for 10 months (September,
1994 through June, 1995).
The
newsletter included information from a variety of
sources including
research
literature,
the
Pennsylvania
Basic and
Bureau
Adult
of
Literacy
Education,
professional
organizations,
conferences
and
workshops and practitioners in the field of adult basic and literacy
education.
The newsletter was mailed to 4,200 + adult educators in
Pennsylvania and 300+ in other states.
Findinv:
Summary
The adult education newsletter
of
a viable
is
vehicle for
the dissemination of professional development oriented
information.
In terms of numbers of adult educators reached and cost
effectiveness it exceeds any other other dissemination tool.
Comments:
This
newsletter was extremely effective in disseminating
important professional development information to large numbers of
adult educav.rs in Pennsylvania.
Products: 10 issues of a 14 page newsletter.
Descriptors:
iii
CONTENTS
Title Page
Abstract Page
ii
Introduction
1
Statement of the ProbJem, Goals and Objectives
2
Negative Results
4
Evaluation
4
Comments Received from Postcard Evaluation and Reader Survey
5
Comments Included in Project Application
6
Distribution and Recommendations
8
Addenda
Evaluation tabulation by Sherry Spencer.
Reader Survey results.
Introduction
With the increased emphasis upon Staff Development in Adult Basic and
Literacy Education has come a parallel need to disseminate information
relevant to professional development in adult education to as broad an
audience as possible.
As the numbers of programs and adult educators has grown throughout
remoteness which many of
state
these counselors,
has
so
the
the
instructors, tutors and administators feel sets them apart from their
colleagues in other programs.
The need to communicate information and establish a networking tool
for adult educators in Pennsylvania has produced our newsletter and we
are proud to say that it is regarded very highly by our readers in
Pennsylvania as well as adult educators in other states.
"What's the Buzz?" has been produced and disseminated for 14 years.
The year's activities 1994-95 of which this report is a result saw us
mailing the newsletter to more than 4,200 Pennsylvania adult educators-
a 1,000% increase over the number of our readers when we began the
nedsletter.
The newsletter
produced and edited by David W.
Fluke, project
is
director and editor and Juliet B. Fluke, associate editor.
to meet the professional
newsletter are designed
Contents
of
the
development
needs
adult
literacy
of
basic
educators
and
in
Pennsylvania including teachers, tutors, counselors and administators.
Copies of all issues of "What's the Buzz?" are available on loan from
the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education,
12th floor, 333
Markeet Street, Harrisburg, PA
17126-0333 or the state adult literacy
resource center at the same address (11th floor).
6
2.
The need for a statewide communication tool
Statement of the Problem:
disseminate relevant information on a regular basis to
which will
nia.
adult basic and literacy educators in Penny
Goals and 01-jectives
1. To prepare a 12-14 page general newsletter containing information relevant and
pertinent to adult basic and literacy education practitioners in Pennsylvania.
of
2. To include as newsletter content information and articles from the staff
adult basic and literacy
Basic and Literacy Education,
Adult
Bureau
of
the
statewide and
education programs and program personnel throughout the state,
Division of Adult Education and
the U.S.
regional conferences and workshops,
the Pennsylvania Association for
professional organizations such as
Literacy,
the American Association for Adult and Continuing
Adult Continuing Education,
Education and the Commission for Adult Basic Education, research sources such as
ERIC, AdvancE and other adult basic and literacy education clearinghouses, other
adult basic and literacy education newsletters and whichever other sources in the
field of adult basic and literacy education that generate news and information of
importance to our readers.
3. To prepare the newsletter in a format which encourages recipients to read the
printing
available
using
latest
newsletter
the
contained
articles
the
in
technology including a variety of fonts and typestyles, two-color printing, quote
pull-outs, larger photographs, clip-art, etc.
educators
concern
in
adult
professional
to
one
of
identify
area
To
4.
Pennsylvania for each month's issue and address at least 75% of the pages in that
issue to the monthly "theme".
state with
throughout
educators
the
adult
experienced
identify
six
To
5.
their profession and in newsletter production and identify these
expertise
in
recommendations
persons as an "Advisory Committee" to meet periodically and make
to the editor for improvement of the newsletter.
3.
adult basic
6. To maintain a comprehensive up-to-date mailing list of as many
volunteers,
directors, teachers,
tutors,
(program
educators
literacy
and
counselors, etc.) in Pennsylvania as can be identified, alch mailing list to be
free of duplication.
To carry on such activities as are appropriate to adding new names of adult
7.
to the mailing list, such activities to include soliciting names at
educators
fall workshops and other professional events.
to between 3,300 and 3,800 adult
newsletter by
mail
To disseminate
the
8.
educators in Pennsylvania for the months September through June with mailing to
take place during the first week of each month
Procedures:Newsgathering and research for the newsletter are ongoing processes
Content is designed to keep our readers
which we deal with tLzoughout the year.
informed as to current happenings and developments in adult education as well as
providing relevant information which they can use to improve the quality of their
adult education services and meet the requirements of their students, communities
and state and federal adult education regulations.
Editing the newsletter demands a great deal of time in writing, re-writing
mold
and materials
of
working with
a
so
the
fits
information
it
and
the
newsletter for adult educators. A not insignificant consideration in this regard
is to produce information that is read in a format that attracts adult educators.
As we have
The final consideration is dissemination of
the newsletter.
developed an extensive mailing list from 400 when we began to now more than 4,200
adult educators, logistical problems connnected with printing and mailing have
We have established a mailing deadline of the 1st week of each month for
arisen.
the 10 months we publish and this requires careful monitoring of our activities
and time as well as those of our printer.
t7:1
LI
4.
We prepared
Each of our goals and objectives have been met and some exceeded.
4,200
and distributed 10 copies of a 14-page newsletter to, eventually, more than
through June,
adult educators in Pennsylvania for the months of September, 1994
and information
The best witness, we feel, to the success of our format
1995.
increase
in
and 13%
Appendix)
the
readers
(see
comments our
of
are
the
Nearly all of these additional new readers were adult
readership over the year.
to have their
educators who had seen or heard of the newsletter and wrote us
names added to our mailing list.
Negative Results: Despite our positive feedback from our reFlers, our project has
from the 1,400 pages produced in 1994-95 to 40 pages for 1995-
been decimated
Although we have
96 (10 issues of 14 pages each to 5 issues of 8 pages each).
been effective in meeting the needs of the adult educators in the field, we have
been ineffective in convincing the Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education
broad-based information
the most cost effective,
"What's
is
the
that
Buzz?'
dissemination vehicle for adult education information in Pennsylvania.
Evaluation
to our usual evaluation which consists of a mail-back postcard
addition
In
inserted in copies of our May issue and tabulated by a third-party (see Appendix)
adult educators who read our
we conducted a survey of a representacive sample of
readers
from
received
tabulate comments
also compile
and
We
publication.
throughout the year.
In the postcard evaluation:
85% say they read the Buzz every month.
97% say they read "all" or "some" of the Buzz
97% say the contents of the Buzz are useful
84% say The Buzz is an important part of their professional
development as an adult educator.
5.
COmments Received from Postcard Evaluation
"The Buzz will keep you buzzing about what's happening in adult education."
"Keep up the good work."
"I have sent for many things I have read in 'Buzz,' this is a big help."
and
issues
posted
an excellent newsletter which
of
keeps
us
"The
Buzz
is
activities."
"Excellent magazine--thank you for delivering it to us."
"I mainly think of The Buzz as informing me about activities across the state and
at PDE."
"Important--yes indeedr
"I am a volunteer tutor and have found it useful."
"I thought the paper got better this year."
Comments Received from Reader Survey
"I use this every month."
"You deserve a medal for all you've done and keep doing for this field."
I remember very
"Just a note to say I'm sorry to hear about the cut to toe Buzz.
cledarly how I felt I had found an island in the adult education sea the first
it was truly a lifeline to me in my early
found a Buzz eleven years ago.
time I
the Buzz has been a constant and an important resource for
Since then,
years.
all adult educators in the state."
Your
"I am very disappointed to learn that funding has been cut for The Buzz.
publication is filled with useful information which we use on a monthly basis."
"You provide so much clear and concrete information to teachers and tutors in the
field!"
"It has been an excellent magazine, and I hate see this cut happen."
"It truly is what keeps us in touch with each other."