Literacy in Action

Semester and Year	FA 2010
Course Number	CLI-UG1460
Section	001
Instructor	Dianne Ramdeholl
Days	Wed
Time	6:20 PM - 9:00 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement

Description

This course combines volunteer work in New York City adult literacy and English as a second language programs with an academic introduction to the philosophy, history, and current issues of basic education. Students will work as volunteer teachers of reading and writing oral English or mentors at such institutions as the University Settlement, Union Settlement, International Rescue Committee, and Fortune Society. In class they will read about and discuss such key issues as which “basic skills” U.S. adults now need; which adults lack these skills and why; the implications for our economy, families, communities, and democracy; the instructional approaches developed for adults; and the steps that might be taken to build support for high-quality, adult basic-skills programs. Throughout the course, students will relate such issues to their own on-site experiences in class discussion and role-playing, and create a portfolio of writing that includes on-site observations, lesson plans, reflections, and a final analytical paper. Readings may include Making Meaning, Making Change (Auerbach); We Make the Road by Walking  (Horton and Freire); and the journals  Focus on Basics  and The Change Agent .

Course Type

Community Learning Courses (CLI-UG)