Literacy Basics - Community Literacy of Ontario

For example, you could ask if they have started volunteering or if they find it easier to go shopping. You could ask if they are more comfortable speaking in a group or if they use a computer more often than in the past. You could ask if they now use the library regularly or if they can use a banking machine independently.

If you only get a few positive responses, it may be that you have chosen to ask about a specific activity that students have learned to do in the program but haven’t yet tried on their own. You could then try asking students to share stories about how their new skills have made a difference. Ask them if others have noticed or commented on changes they have seen. Follow up with questions like “how does that make you feel?”. You can continue the conversation by asking other questions such as:

• Has coming to this program made a difference in your daily life? How?
• Has this program helped you set new or different goals?
• Has this program helped you see things in a new way? How?
• Has this program helped you make positive changes in your life?
• Do you feel more self-confident than you did before?
• Do you find that you don’t need as much help from other people as you used to? Are you doing things more on your own?

These questions can provide you with a good sense of the collective impact the program has had on learners. The responses will provide you with both statistical and anecdotal evidence.

Remember, outcomes include not only skills but attitudes and beliefs. You could ask learners, staff and volunteers about attitudes towards learning. Have they changed since being in the literacy program? Are students more or less motivated than they were? Do they want to continue learning or have they learned what they needed to know? Do older learners report that they now realize that people are never too old to learn?

Staff and volunteers might report that attendance has improved. This is an example of an indicator that could be used for an outcome about attitude. It can be documented from IMS or attendance records. Or a student might report that he used to think he was too old to learn, but now he realizes that people are never too old to learn.

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