Study Circles
CALPRO trains facilitators to run site-based study circles on the topic of learner persistence. Facilitators attend a one-day training and then return to their own programs to conduct the study circles. CALPRO provides continuing support for facilitators and holds follow-up meetings for facilitators and program administrators. The study circles, which use research-based guides developed by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), consist of three 3-hour discussion sessions in which participants discuss readings, engage in interactive exercises, and identify ways to increase learner persistence. For information about the next training of facilitators, please contact Sally Ianiro sianiro@air.org.
In fall 2004 and spring 2005, CALPRO sponsored study circles focusing on the issue of learner persistence.* Twenty-four programs across the state held study circles, with a total of 180 participants. In October 2005, CALPRO organized a follow-up meeting for study circle facilitators and their administrators. This section includes information developed or identified in CALPRO’s study circles:
- Suggested techniques to enable teachers and programs to improve learner persistence
- Steps agencies have already taken to address learner persistence
- Draft action plans for responding to ideas generated in study circle meetings
* See NCSALL Study Circle Guide: Learner Persistence in Adult Basic Education. 2003. http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/teach/lp.pdf.
