Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers

Reading is the most basic of skills. Reading provides access to other skills and knowledge, facilitates life-long learning, and opens doors to opportunity. The National Institute for Literacy is authorized by the U.S. Congress to collect and disseminate information on the components of reading and the findings from scientific research. The National Center for Family Literacy fully endorses the national emphasis on reading and the efforts to promote scientifically based reading instruction for children and adults. We offer this resource for adult education teachers who want to build and strengthen adults’ reading skills. We hope that adult education instructors in family literacy, Adult Basic Education, and other basic skills programs will find it useful.

We know that large numbers of adult learners need to improve their reading skills. And yet, many instructors in adult education programs do not teach reading explicitly for several reasons:

• The assessments used in most programs don't reveal the complexities of adults' reading needs.
• Teachers often have only fragmentary knowledge about reading instruction. Many have not had specific preparation in this area.
• Most classes include adults with extremely varied skills, making specifically targeted, individualized instruction difficult, if not impossible.
• Teachers are challenged to find ways to incorporate reading instruction into their regular classroom schedules, routines, and lessons.

This book was written with these realities in mind. It aims first to build background knowledge about reading and scientifically based reading instruction. The language and format are “teacher friendly,” using student and classroom illustrations and sample instructional activities to make research principles concrete for readers. The focus in applying the research is on modeling thinking, planning, and problem solving in the context of fictional adult education settings. The student and class profiles in these illustrations are based on actual assessment data from adult literacy research studies— a reminder to readers of this book that it is a practical resource for use with real adult learners.

We titled this book "First Steps" because we know that no single resource can provide all the answers—everything that's required to change practice. But we believe this is a valuable resource for a teacher's professional development journey. By building a basic understanding of research-based reading instruction and offering suggestions for starting off in the right direction, we hope to whet teachers’ appetites for further learning.

As teachers and programs become more capable of applying research-based principles for reading assessment and instruction, the real winners should be adult learners and their families. Improved literacy skills may allow these adults to take giant steps in the journey of lifelong learning. We are privileged to play a part in this important effort.