Eye tracking has been utilized for decades to study perceptual processes in a range of fields, and it has proven particularly useful for studying how the viewing behaviours of experts and novices within a field differ from one another. This article reports on a study that uses eye tracking to examine patterns in the ways that visual communication…

Focusing on a large study of the implementation of secondary English Language Arts curriculum in California and Washington, we assess how teachers use learning goals to support students developing expert learning practices. Highlighting the value of goal setting to support students' agency in learning to write, we describe teachers' reasons for…

The United States needs strong collaboration among adult educators and all social service agencies that support the linguistic, economic and civic integration of refugees and immigrants. Such collaboration can make possible holistic support required to create linkages between English language education and other non-educational support services.…

This paper identifies approaches, challenges, and best practices related to planning and designing today's academic library learning spaces. As part of the Project Information Literacy (PIL) Practitioner Series, qualitative data is presented from 49 interviews conducted with a sample of academic librarians, architects, and library consultants.…

This study shows the value of library instruction in the building of first-year students' information literacy skills and it illustrates librarians as partners in leading student learning outcome assessment. Using research papers from a required first-year course, raters from units across the institution evaluated student information literacy (IL)…

This discussion examines an academic intervention designed to enhance the motivation and classroom engagement of English Language Learners (ELLs) during literacy-based activities. Stemming from a sociocultural perspective of literacy (Au, 1993; Perez, 2004) within a funds of knowledge framework (González, Moll, & Amanti , 2005), our approach…

Although reading fluency has been identified as a critical element in successful literacy curricula for elementary students, fluency has been relatively neglected beyond the elementary grades. Prior research has shown that word recognition automaticity (one component of fluency) is strongly associated with overall reading proficiency among…

Beginning in 2011, Lake Washington Institute of Technology initiated an I-BEST (Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training) program designed to allow upper-level basic education students to directly enter academic courses required by college transfer degrees. This program, the Academic I-BEST, represents one of the earliest examples of the…

A report of preliminary findings and analysis from student discussion groups held on 7 U.S. campuses in Fall 2008, as part of Project Information Literacy. Qualitative data from discussions with higher education students across the country suggest that conducting research is particularly challenging. Students' greatest challenges are related to…

In 2013, as new high school equivalency exams were being developed and implemented across the nation and states were deciding which test was best for their population, Washington state identified the need to adopt the most rigorous test so that preparation to take it would equip students with the skills to be able to move directly from adult…

This article describes the creation of an intercultural welcoming panel that the authors developed with English as a second language (ESL) students and communication studies (CS) students at a community college. The creation of the welcoming panel is based on their collaborative work with both sets of students over several academic quarters. The…

Adult educators are well aware of the need to understand the communities they serve. This is important, not only to improve teaching, but also to make programs more accessible. The Adult Learning Research Project (Goto, Martin, Goulet, Robinson, and Furtado, in press) was designed to gather preliminary information about communities that are…

Parents are the child's first and most important teacher. This booklet begins with a story about the parent of a first grade reader. The parent in the story models methods which a real life parent could employ to help a child learn to read such as finding words that begin with the first letter of a child's name, or taking turns with the child…

This document is the result of two years of intensive, dedicated work by a remarkable team of nearly two dozen researchers. It takes the first steps on a long overdue journey to fully understanding the realities and promise of ESL program service in community colleges across the nation. The report offers an in-depth look into several community…

"Torchlights in ESL: Five Community College Profiles" grows out of the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy's (CAAL's) recent two-year study of adult ESL service in community colleges. The five college programs at the heart of the study offer high quality ESL instruction and are considered exemplary. This publication is a supplement…