AFB Invites Applications for a Three-Day Trainer Workshop

The American Foundation for the Blind is looking for an elite group of 100 trainers who will potentially change the way literacy instruction is delivered to adults who are visually impaired and have low literacy skills.

How?

One hundred "train-the-trainers" will be selected from applicants representing a variety of literacy instruction service delivery models. These applicants will attend a three day train-the-trainer workshop titled: Bridging the Gap: Best Practices for Instruction of Adults Who are Blind or Visually Impaired and Have Low Literacy Skills. The workshop has four goals:

• To improve the literacy skills of adults who are visually impaired by improving the skills of literacy instructors.
• To develop professional and organizational partnerships.
• To train the trainers to identify the components of the curriculum most applicable to their programs, and to plan future workshops based on those components.
• To train the trainers to locate sources of funding to support the development of accessible literacy programs/projects.

Instructors completing three full days of training will receive a stipend of $250.00 and will be given a three-ring notebook containing workshop materials. These trainers will be expected to extend the training by replicating the workshop either in whole or in part with technical support from the American Foundation for the Blind. The commitment to repeat this training must be received in writing from all applicants as a part of the screening process.

Who Should Apply?

Rehabilitation professionals and adult basic education professionals with previous experience presenting at conferences and/or providing in-service training on topics related to adult literacy. All applicants must be prepared to have their names posted on national web sites and to be recommended by peers and supervisors to do future trainings. Instructors, program managers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, One-Stop coordinators, community college disabilities program coordinators, and all others interested in developing partnerships and a sense of community with each other and with the clients we serve are encouraged to apply.

Why Is This Training Important?

This training is important for three reasons. First, the 1993 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) found that 54% of adults with visual disabilities functioned at the lowest of five literacy proficiency levels, as compared with 21% of the general population. In addition, of working age individuals, approximately 58% of those who are severely visually impaired and 70% of those who are legally blind are unemployed. And the unfortunate reality is that prevailing techniques for adult literacy instruction for this population, such as learning braille, assume previous experience reading print.

Second, the benefit from a train-the-trainer approach is that participants will teach what they have learned to other blindness and literacy professionals, creating a potential impact on the lives of thousands of adults who are visually impaired. This approach will maximize the financial resources available to AFB through a generous grant from the SBC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of SBC Communications Inc.

Third, this literacy project began with a groundbreaking roundtable of experts in San Antonio, January 2001. AFB and the San Antonio Lighthouse brought together organizations recognized for their expertise in adult literacy and blindness from around the country to identify the best practices for literacy instruction, including the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), the Hadley School for the Blind, the General Education Development Testing Service, the American Printing House for the Blind, and Lighthouse International. Many of these organizations, particularly the National Institute for Literacy, continue to offer support and technical assistance for the development of the workshop. In addition to sharing content from their “Bridges to Practice” training manual for learning disabilities, NIFL will offer on going support to future trainers via listserves and online discussion groups.

Overview of Curriculum Contents for the Three-Day Workshop

1. Creating an ideal learning environment for individuals with vision loss: assessment of functional vision; materials that can be used in the adult literacy classroom; use of assistive technology; self-advocacy skills needed by adult students entering community ABE classes; and roles and responsibilities for teaching the compensatory skills essential for functioning in an ABE classroom.
2. Developing a Teaching Plan: a review of assessment tools and how modifications impact the validity of scores; location, selection, and adaptation of textbooks and other materials; and designing appropriate service delivery models, including the impact of disability law.
3. Instructional Strategies: impact of vision loss on adult education; literacy instructional models; impact of vision loss on modifications for learning disabilities; and resources for materials.

Dates and Locations (All workshops begin at 8:00 a.m. on Day 1 and end at 5:30 p.m. on Day 3)

• Atlanta, GA January 10-12, 2002
  Applications due November 2, 2001
• San Antonio, TX February 28-March 2, 2002
  Applications due December 20, 2001
• San Francisco, CA April 11-13, 2002
  Applications due February 2, 2002
• Boston, MA May 9-11, 2002
  Applications due March 2, 2002

For applications, contact:

Tina Tucker, National Program Associate in Literacy
American Foundation for the Blind National Literacy Center
100 Peachtree St., Ste. 620
Atlanta, GA 30303;

Telephone: 404-525-2303;
E-mail: ttucker@afb.net.