Literacy Nova Scotia

Literacy Nova Scotia presents …

“Posing Problems/Solving Problems: Using Action Research to Address Issues of Retention, Recruitment and Effective Teaching in Literacy”

Facilitated by: B. Allan Quigley

Allan describes his workshop:

In several Canadian provinces and many American and Australian states, Research-in-Practice networks have emerged where teachers, tutors and program coordinators work collaboratively to address common educational concerns. In Alberta and BC, the Research-in-Practice (RiPAL, see www.nald.ca/ripal/) movement has lead to conferences, training sessions, and shared findings. A major Festival of Literacies conference was recently held in Toronto for Ontario practitioners so practitioners could talk about systematic practical approaches to help their learners and build their field. In Kentucky, a large proportion of the literacy and basic education practitioners focused on the single issue of dropout in adult literacy and, now, almost every program is contributing to a common, state-wide set of answers. In Pennsylvania, some 200 teacher-based reports are posted on their Website www.pde.state.pa.us/able/cwp/browse.asp?A=215 (or google PA-ARN). In Australia, universities have worked in close relationship with literacy programs to help get findings into the mainstream academic literature.

Our 1 ½ day gathering will have four goals:

1. to introduce the most popular method used internationally in this movement—action research. It will be seen how this method can help Nova Scotia literacy teachers, tutors, and coordinators interested with classroom and program issues such as recruitment, retention and effective teaching methods.
2. At the end of our 1 ½ day session, we will have sought to create closer work-alliances within and across literacy programs to build on-going solutions to our own everyday issues.
3. It will be a goal to demonstrate that research is not the sole “expert-domain” of universities and research institutions; rather, any practitioner can pose a problem and address a problem. If done systematically, any practitioner can not only address issues but ultimately gain valuable in-class time—and we can share those findings with confidence. Finally,
4. we will seek to create a province-wide network with the potential to lift the province’s literacy field collectively and connect us with the exciting national and international movement of Research-in-Practice.

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