“HOW DO YOU RAISE THE LITERACY LEVELS OF AN ENTIRE PROVINCE?”

THE SARN STORY: 2008-2013”

Saskatchewan Action Research NetworkWWW.SARN.CA

Dr. Allan Quigley, Ed.D

A Statistical Picture of Literacy in Canada

43% of Canadians Limited Literacy

53% Limited Literacy

(levels 1 & 2)

Sask. = 40% Limited Literacy (levels 1 & 2)

International Adult Literacy Surveys 1994 &2003

• OECD & Statistics Canada

• Some 40 nations now involved

• Five levels of prose, document, numeracy

• Those below Level 3 are the main target group for purposes of Work Force Skills

International Adult Literacy Surveys (1994 2003)

• No significant change in 10 years . . . • Some improvement at Level One (lowest

level) in Sask and Yukon• In Sask approx. 40% adults below level 3

• Aboriginal Adult Literacy Assessment Tool challenges some of the findings

ADULT LITERACY & BASIC EDUCATION CHALLENGES

IN CANADA & SASKATCHEWAN

SOME OF THE DELIVERY CHALLENGES

Only approx. 10% eligible for sponsored programs come to basic education in Canada (& U.S.A.)

Over 65% drop out/stop out in some Cdn regions.

Approx. 40% average attrition rates in Sask ABE between 2005 -> 2008 (AEEI) ...

Saskatchewan Silo Syndrome ....

URBAN SIAST

RURAL AND “RURBAN” COLLEGES, GDI, SIIT, SALN

CBO’S AND NON-PROFITs:

RPL, READ SASKATOON, UofR Life Learning, Food Banks, Corrections,

Regina School Board, Radius Saskatoon...

DELIVERY CHALLENGES

• Basements state of the art classrooms

• Multiple grant structures and reporting systems

• Literacy/BE more complex than k-12 or most P-S

SOME OF THE SASK INSTRUCTIONAL CHALLENGES

• Huge diversity in instructors’ training &

experience (PhD -> HS)

• Huge job security, salary, & work condition disparities across the wide range of systems

• Staff turn over issues ......

How do you raise the skills, the professionalism, and effectively

combine the efforts of so many across the “adult basic education world”to address pervasive low literacy

in Saskatchewan?

Especially in a time of scarce resources?

THREE NECESSARY THRUSTS

LITERACY & BASIC EDUCATION

ENABLING POLICIES

“PROFESSIONAL WISDOM” CATALYST FOR CHANGE

#1. ENABLING POLICIES AND RESOURCES

TOP DOWN • Leadership & vision• Policies that signal commitment • Enabling Resources

• Ministry of the Economy • Adult Educational Institutions • OLES• Academic Community

#2 BOTTOM UP “Professional Wisdom”

Practitioners’ willingness to innovate and share

Practitioners’ willing to “adapt-adopt” promising practices ... Take risks

Educational institutions willing to encourage application of new ideas.

3) “Building Across” (Catalyst)

Creating & sharing evidence-based Research

• Sharing questions in workshops and sharing findings on our SARN & linked Websites

• Engaging mentors with individuals/groups in face-to-face and/or distance learning

•Building dialogue on SARN Blog/discussion circles within & across institutions and systems

SARN

Saskatchewan Action Research Network (SARN)

is the name of our province’s

growing literacy & basic education prof’ development movement.

Thanks to funding from the Ministry of the Economy, SARN is now

SARN is in its 5th year

sarn

International movement is Research-in-Practice

“Action Research” is the actual research method most used by practitioners in literacy/BE

in Canada, U.S., U.K. Australia . . .

The “Alphabet Soup”

PRACTITIONERS ARE IDENTIFYING, RESEARCHING AND SHARING

“I am doing what I have always done, just not . . .

• with others, • I never collected data before,• I usually didn’t try to share what I

learned before.”

HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF LITERACY/BASIC EDUCATION

ISSUES IDENTIFIED AND ADDRESSED THROUGH THE

SASKATCHEWAN ACTION RESEARCH NETWORK

SEE FULL REPORTS ON

THE SASKATCHEWAN ACTION RESEARCH NETWORK WEBSITE

(WWW.SARN.CA)

• Investigating the Effects of Issuing Late Slips, Andrew Quackenbush, 2011

“How will encouraging students to reflect on their reasons for being late affect the frequency of arriving late for class?”

• Northlands College, Eastern Region Study Group, 2003

“Would including food preparation and/or sharing food within the class keep students in class longer?”

• Improving Retention Rates in an Basic Education Evening Math Prep Course. Jennifer Bain, 2009

“Would using e-mail to build a sense of community among BE students improve retention rates by 10%?”

• Improving Retention Rates During the First Three Weeks of an Adult Basic Education Program at Onion Lake. Jacqueline Bruce, 2009“If I improve the social environment of the classroom, will the number of students who complete the first three weeks increase?”

• Negotiating Relationship and the Spaces Between:Building Attendance in an Adult Education Program. Kristi Yarshenko, 2010“How might increased personal communication between instructor and students affect attendance in an Adult Basic Education program?”

• Reduction of Class Time Lost Due to Morning Lateness. Shannon King, & Anna Fish, 2011“Would the use of a morning sign-in sheet change student lateness patterns?”

Categories of Practitioner Reports (Approx. 35 reports)

A. Addressing Issues of Dropout, “Lates,” and Low Attendance

B. Exploring Innovative Teaching StrategiesC. Increasing Learner Community InvolvementD. Focus on Aboriginal Literacy IssuesE. Focus on Adult Learners of English as an Additional Language IssuesF. Practitioner Professional Development

OUR STORY ...

Very briefly

Our story

– One workshop in 2003

It could have died then . .

The Funding Years:Practitioners Trained Since 2008

• Year one: 2008 – 2009: “Getting Started

• 12 participants at Saskatoon Workshop • Including 2 working with Aboriginal learners

(Onion Lake & SIIT)• Training materials developed• Presentations at conferences (SLN & SABEA)

Saskatchewan Action Research Network (WWW.SARN.CA)

• As of today = 164 TRAINED • About 50 working with Aboriginal learners • 10 Mentors trained for outreach support • Discussion Circle technology for on-going group work

AND TODAY

• Three college campuses (Great Plains + SERC + Cumberland College)

• Two SIAST campuses (Wascana + Woodland)

• Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT)

• SARN Website with active blog in place (WWW.SARN)

• Articles in SIAST newsletter, AESA newsletter, and Essential Skills ON.

• OUR WEBSITE LOOKS LIKE THIS .......

READ ON

SARN HAS CONDUCTED ANNUAL presentations at

SLN/SABEA/COLLEGES conferences

2013 SABEA CONFERENCE POSTER PRESENTATION SESSION

SABEA 2013

BULA GHOSH – GREAT PLAINS

CUMBERLAND COLLEGE ....

MELFORT

APRIL 8, 2013

“THINKING IN A RESEARCH WAY”

DEALING WITH DROPOUT

Allan Quigley, Ed.D.

Cumberland College April 8, 2013

Cumberland College Melfort

Cumberland College Melfort

Why

the SASKATCHEWAN ACTION RESEARCH

NETWORK?

WE ARE RAISING THE LEVELS OF PRACTITIONER

PROFESSIONALISM, AT A COMPARATIVELY LOW TRAINING COST

AND, BY DOING SO, WE ARE HELPING RAISE LITERACY LEVELS FOR A BETTER SASKATCHEWAN

THE FUTURE?

• Engage other literacy/BE groups—ESL SASK, NON-PROFIT OUTREACH CBO’s

• Build more distance-connected support

• Build multiple-campus model & increased cross-system workshops

• Move beyond Basic Ed to trades, technology, health training with adult learners ... ??

• Co-sponsor guest speaker(s) with SABEA, SLN or Colleges (?)• Publish in professional journals• Build Webinars & Blog dialogue

across Sask and with other provinces/states/countries

IN CLOSING

THE FUTURE? • CONTINUE TO BUILD A STRONGER

“CULTURE OF INQUIRY” FOR ADULT LITERACY AND BASIC EDUCATION

AND BEYOND ??

LOOKING AHEAD.... Hoping to receive a SARN grant next year .

Interested in a one-day PD workshop? Host cost-shares (50%-50%) with SARN

1. Identifying actual teaching issues 2. Developing systematic action plans 3. Getting follow-up help from Mentors and/or

use the Discussion Circles 4. Posting findings on the SARN Website. .

Interested in a Saskatchewan training workshop?

Always glad to hear from you