Chapter 4 Understanding and Assessing Literacy

7/28/2019 Chapter 4 Understanding and Assessing Literacy

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Understanding

and AssessingLiteracy

Michelle M. Cueto, PTRP, MASEd


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Literacy

The ability to read and speak

US Department of Educationdefined as the ability to useprinted and written information to

function in society, to achieveones goal and to develop onesknowledge and potential.


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Category of literacy into 3

general kinds of task1. Prose task

Which measure reading comprehension and the ability to extractthemes from newspaper, magazines, poems and books

2. Document task

Which assess the ability of readers to interpret documents suchas insurance reports, consent forms and transportation schedules

3. Quantitative task

Which assess the ability to work with numerical informationembedded in written materials such as computing restaurantmenu bills, figuring out taxes, interpreting paychecks stubs, orcalculating calories on a nutrition checklist.


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4 classification levels of NALSLiteracy test

Level I. BELOW BASIC

Ranges from non literate English to the ability to find simpleinformation in the prose text. Can perform simple math such asaddition

Level 2 BASIC

Understand information in short prose text with everydaylanguage. Can use numbers to solve simple one-step arithmeticproblem such as comparing 2 prices

Level 3 INTERMEDIATE

Understand and can locate information in fairlt dense prose anddocuments and can make simple inferences from them. Can solve

quantitative problems even when the necessary steps are notprevious

Level 4 PROFICIENT

Understand complex prose and analyze complex documents. Cansolve multistep arithmetic problems


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Assessing LiteracyPeople with low literacy give us clues that can lead usto a realization that they may have a reading orcomprehension problem:

1. Not even attempting to read printed materials

2. Asking to take PEMS home to discuss with SO

3. Claiming that eyeglasses were left at home

4. Stating that they cannot read something becausethey are too tired or they do not feel well.

5. Avoiding discussion of written material or not askingquestions about it

6. Mouthing words as they try to read


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2 test used to measure patientliteracy

REALM rapid estimate of adult literacy inmedicine

It measures ability to read medical and health

related vocabulary, it takes less time to administer,the scoring is simpler and is well recieved by mostclients

WRAT Wide Range Achievement Test

It is a word recognition screening test. It is used toasses a learners ability to recognize and pronouncea list of words out of context as a criterion for

measuring reading skills.


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Teaching people with low literacy

Assessing reading ability is only thefirst step in the process of healtheducation for people with low

literacy skills

The second step is planning an

approach to teaching that will bestmeet the needs of individuals inthis group.


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Steps in teaching people with lowliteracy

Set objectives that are realistic for person level of

understanding.

Choose information that will meet the objectives andpare it down to the minimum amount that isnecessary.

Keep instruction simple by breaking them down into

smaller units. For example:when teaching abouttaking digoxin, first teach a liitle about the action ofthe drug, then how to take the pulse rate and the needfor follow up visit

If possible, use more then one teaching method toreinforce the learning.computer or videotape

In the process of teaching, use examples andanalogies with which the person can relate. Usefamiliar illustrations and pictures that are culturallyrelevant

Be creative in evaluating them , ask them to repeatwhat you have said in their own words.


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Developing Printed EducationalMaterials

Consider the following:

Organizational Factors

1.Include a short but descriptive title

2.Use brief heading and subheadings

3.Incorporate only one idea per paragraph,and be sure the first semester is the topicsentence

4.Divide complex instruction into small steps

5.Consider using a question-answer format

6.Address no more than three or four mainpoints

7.Reinforce main points with a summary at

the end


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Linguistic Factors Keep the reading level at grade 5 and 6 to make the material

understdable to most low literate persons

Use mostly one or two syllable words and short sentences

Use a personal and conversational style.

For example: you should weigh yourself everyday is preferable.

Define technical terms if they must be used.

Use words consistently throughout the text

Example: stay with pill rather than medicine

Avoid the use of idioms that mean different thing to otherpeople. The term junk food may mean different to other people

Use graphics and language that are culturally and age relevantfor the intended audience

Use active rather than passive voice

Example: take one pill every morning rather than A pill should betaken every morning

Incorporate examples and simple analogies to illustrate concepts


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Appearance factorsAvoid a cluttered appearance by

including enough white space

Include simple diagrams that are welllabeled

Use upper and lower case letter. Allcapitals are difficult to evryone to read

12 to 14 serif is preferred

Placed emphasized word on bold do notuse capital

Use list when appropriate

Try to limit limit line length of no morethan 50 or 60 characters


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Information literacyInformation literacy is the ability to

identify the need for information; tocollect, evaluate, and interpret ; and it

use appropriately.

Computer literacy is a basis for

information literacy, because thenurse must be able to use thecomputer in order to accessinformation.


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Documents

Chapter 4 Understanding and Assessing Literacy