January - May 2005

     The Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded the Literacy Program of Western Kentucky University a grant which allowed the continuation and expansion of the Adult Literacy Clinic for spring semester, 2005. 

Report on Program Implementation

     The Dollar General Literacy Foundation grant awarded to Dr. Pamela Petty, Literacy Program, Western Kentucky University allowed the continuation of an Adult Literacy Clinic at WKU.  The Adult Literacy Clinic functioned from January 2005 through May 2005 and focused on the particular literacy needs of adult learners in Warren County and surrounding counties.  The Clinic used graduate students enrolled in an adult literacy course specifically designed to prepare them to deliver exemplary literacy instruction, including proper assessments, selection of appropriate materials, and planning individualized literacy learning plans for adult learners at Levels 1 and 2 as defined by the state of Kentucky.  Literacy faculty at WKU worked with the Kentucky Adult Literacy Institute to develop a clinical program that met the literacy needs of adult learners who were referred to us by the Bowling Green Adult Learning Center.  This grant allowed for adult learners to receive scholarships (fee-waivers), stipends for attendance,  and the necessary assessment and learning materials to fit their individual needs. 

Accomplishments

        Development of the Adult Literacy Clinic at Western Kentucky University has had some far reaching benefits to both adult educators and adult learners in the state of Kentucky.  The adult educators represented five counties in Kentucky and over 823 non-literate adults/families benefited from the reading and writing methods learned in this course as noted below:

Simpson County:                                                                        
50 adults from the family literacy program
Hardin County:
60 adult learners
35 families
Warren County:
350 adult learners
Cumberland County:  (approximately)
208 adults and family literacy participants
Hart/Meade County
120 adults and family literacy participants

     Ten of those adult literacy learners participated in weekly clinical experiences on Western Kentucky University’s campus in Bowling Green. Post attitude surveys revealed that 100% of the learners expressed positive attitudes toward reading at the end of the clinical sessions.  This is a considerable difference with the 20% who used positive words to describe reading in the pre-surveys.  All adults learners prepared a final essay regarding their learning in the clinic and their future goals for literacy improvement. 

In addition each county Adult Educator Center listed above received a stipend from the grant to establish a “learning library.”  Over $4,000 worth of quality literature books were purchased through this grant so that the strategies the adult educators were learning in the clinic could be used with adult learners in a five-county area.  Book clubs, discussion groups, and student-read-aloud performances were all made possible due to the influx of new reading materials into the centers.  We credit this as being one of the great successes of this year’s grant initiative.

     Adult educators took pre and post “Teacher Efficacy Surveys” to determine how their attitudes toward literacy instruction changed as a result of being a part of the Adult Literacy Clinical experience.  Adult educators in the clinic also responded to a writing prompt at the end of the semester.  Analysis of the responses revealed that the teachers could demonstrate that they increased their skills in both assessing students and in planning appropriate instruction based on those assessments.  Student work in the course demonstrated proficiency levels on all course work submitted (see syllabus at http://www.pampetty.com/523syllabus.htm). 

Obstacles in Second Half of Grant

     The main obstacle we faced last year in this grant was adult learner attendance.  The stipends not only valued the learners’ presence, but also ensured that each week the adult educators could teach and interact with the learners.  The stipends were a huge success in improving attendance.  One student missed due to sickness and otherwise all adult learners were present at each clinic session. 

 Continuation

     Drs. Powers and Petty have been on the radio via NPR to publicize the decline in reading by all adults and to specifically call attention to the plight of non-literate adults in Kentucky.  We have also done interviews with Bowling Green newspapers to let the public know the progress made by adults in our Adult Literacy Clinic and further spread the word of our need to continue to serve adult literacy learners.  A proposal was submitted to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with whom we have shared the “glory” and for whom we are very grateful for giving us this opportunity to serve, asking for a continuance in funding.