Suggestions to help the organizer and the facilitator prepare for a study circle on Portfolio Assessment for Adult Students and Literacy Program Evaluation.

Choose a facilitator - someone who has discussion leader skills rather than a content expert. That person will read the study material and help select the components to use in the program. Provide the facilitator with Role of the Facilitator and Overview of a Typical Study Circle.

Locate books and articles about standardized testing, portfolios and evaluation of programs. Gather information that presents different views on the subject. The resources used in the pilot study circle are listed on the other side of this page.

Arrange to hold the meetings in a comfortable location where you can have refreshments, a flip chart and chairs around a table or desks in a circle.

Set the dates and times. The pilot study circle met four times for two hours.

Advertise! Identify your market. Who would be interested? Who would benefit from attending? Coordinators of literacy programs and adult learning councils, tutors, upgrading teachers are all good prospects. They say it takes three contacts before people get the message. A flyer in Helpful Stuff, tailored to your program and copied on coloured paper makes a good handout or mailout.

Prepare the study materials for your participants. Hand it all out at once at registration or sometime before the first meeting. Some reflective types need time to think about what they have read before they are ready to discuss it. Be sure to include What is a Study Circle?, Role of the Participants and an Evaluation form.

Make up an agenda and leave it fairly open so the participants can direct the study.

Consider broadening your area by going on teleconference. Thanks to the Chinook Educational Consortium the pilot project was able to reach out to an individual who was too far away to attend the meetings. The study material was faxed to her. Both the facilitator and the distant participant were familiar with teleconference procedures. Although a few on-site participants thought that teleconference inhibited discussion and the interruption of using the microphone was a nuisance, the distant individual felt that she was able to participate ftffiy in the project. It was generally concluded that study circles can run very successfully by teleconference.

Suggested Resources

Arter, J. and Spandel, V. 1991. Using portfolios of StudentWork in Instruction and Assessment. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, OR. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 328 586

Fingeret, A. 1993. It Belongs to Me: A Guide to Portfolio Assessment in Adult Education Programs. Literacy South, Durham, NC Order from: Peppercorn Books & Press, Inc., PO Box 693, Snow Camp, NC 27349, Tel: 336-574-1634, Fax: 336-376-9099, Toll-free: 877-574-1634 http://www.peppercornbooks.com/

Hibler, M and Zarour, K. 1993. Standardized Testing - Boon or Bane? Today's Parent Education Report.

Holt, Daniel. editor. 1994. Assessing Success in Family Literacy Projects - Alternative Approaches to Assessment and Evaluation. Available from: Delta Systems, 1400 Miller Pkwy., McHenry, IL 60050. (800)323-8270 fax: (800)909-9901

Rice, Joe. 1994. Assessment / Portfolios. Presentation at NRSI Conference.

Taylor, Maurice. 1994. Literacy Portfolio Assessment. University of Ottawa, Faculty of Education. This is an excellent publication on which to base a study circle. It is available from the Literacy Coordinators of Alberta Library, Rm. 211 RMP, c/o A.V.C., 332 - 6th Avenue SE, Calgary, AB T2G 4S6. (403)297-4072 fax: (403)297-4849