Seek, Gather, and Report. Experiences in Program-Based Literacy Research. Occasional Paper No. 1.

This publication contains nine articles about the process of doing research by literacy practitioners and volunteers in several areas of the Ontario (Canada) literacy field. "Implementing a Workplace Program: A Look Back" (Maria Ioannou-Makrakis) describes the process followed and the learning outcomes from planning, implementing, and developing a workplace literacy program in a rural community. "The Open Learning Network" (Frances Lever) focuses on researching and developing a cross-sectoral accreditation system with planned involvement of experts, students, providers, and information users. "Course Charting" (Deborah LeForestier) is a description of the participatory assessment process as practiced in an adult skills upgrading project. "How Are New Learners Socialized into an Existing Literacy Program?" (Michael G. Wodlinger, Regina Muetze) examines the process that would best facilitate a literacy learner's entry into a new program. "Group Process in Literacy: Program-Based Research" (Heather Lennie Segsworth) looks at the development of groups in literacy classes. "The ESL [English as a Second Language] and Literacy Bridging Project" (Judy Bernstein, Lori Rothschild) describes a curriculum development project that was allowed to evolve towards an initially undefined outcome. "Trial, Error, and Back to the Drawing Board" (Suzy Harris) tells how testing methods and instruments before starting on a full-scale evaluation saved time and made the information more interesting and useful. "Evaluation and Change in a Literacy Program" (Patrick Cummins) is a case study that explores some factors leading to evaluation use. "Dialogue: Questions of a Novice Researcher" (Suzy Harris, Michael Wodlinger) is an edited dialogue dealing with some issues around program evaluation. Also included is a review of a research report, "Literacy in South Muskoka." (YLB)