Alisa Belzer
Assistant Professor
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Graduate School of Education
Department of Learning and Teaching
10 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, NJ  08901
(732) 932-7496, extension 8234
belzera@rci.rutgers.edu

Academic Degrees

1998 Ph.D.  University of Pennsylvania.  Special Field:  Reading/Writing/ Literacy.  Dissertation Title: Doing school and doing school differently:  The perspectives of five adult learners on their past and current educational experiences.

1985 B.A.  University of Pennsylvania.  Major:  Elementary Education.  

Employment History

1999-present Assistant Professor, Department of Learning and Teaching/Department of Educational Theory, Policy and Administration, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education

1998  Lecturer, Department of Language Education, University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education

1997-2001 Project Director/Evaluation Director, Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education

1995-1999 Project director, Pennsylvania Adult Literacy Practitioner Inquiry Network, University of Pennsylvania

1994-1996 Tutor, Germantown women’s Educational Project

1993-1996 Research Associate, Research for Action

1993-1994 Evaluation director, Family Literacy Demonstration Project, Center for Literacy

1991-1995 Research Assistant and Co-facilitator, Adult Literacy Practitioner Inquiry Project, University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education

1991-1992 Assistant Principal Investigator, Family Functioning and Literacy Competence in the Inner City:  A focus on the 1990 U.S. National Census, University of Pennsylvania

1991-1992 Project Director, A Research Study in Retention:  A Qualitative Approach, Center for Literacy

1990-1991 Evaluator, The Gateway:  Paths to Adult Learning,  Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on Literacy

1988-1993 Practitioner-researcher, Adult Literacy Evaluation Project, University of Pennsylvania

1988-1992 Teacher, Center for Literacy

1987-1988 Program Coordinator, Center for Literacy

Honors and Awards

1988-1993 Partial tuition scholarship for graduate study

1985    Graduated cum laude

Publications

Refereed Articles
 
Belzer, A.  (under review).  In the Middle:  State agency responses to Federal Policies in Adult Basic Education.  Educational Policy.

St. Clair, R. & Belzer, A.  (under review).  Experimental Error?  The US Government and the regulation of research.  Educational Researcher.

Belzer, A. (in press).  Improving Professional Development Systems:  Recommendations from the Pennsylvania Adult Basic and Literacy Education Professional Development System Evaluation.  Adult Basic Education 15 (1).

Belzer, A. (2004).  “It’s not like normal school:”  A new look at the role of experience in adult learning.  Adult Education Quarterly 55(2), 41-59.

Belzer, A., & St. Clair, R.  (in press).  Back to the Future:  Implications of the neo-positivist research agenda for adult basic education.  Teachers College Record.

Belzer, A.  (2003).  Toward broadening the definition of impact in professional development or ABE practitioners.  Adult basic education 13(1), 44–59.

Belzer, A. (2002).  “I don’t crave to read:”  School literacy in adulthood.  Journal of adolescent and adult literacy 46(2).

Iversen, R., Furstenberg, F. and Belzer, A. (February 1999).  How much do we count?:  Interpretation and error making in the decennial census.  Demography.

Books and Monographs (peer reviewed)

Belzer, A. & Beder, H. (Eds.). (in press).  Toward defining and improving quality in adult basic education.  Mahwah, NJ:  Erlbaum.

Belzer, A. & St. Clair, R.  (2003).  Opportunities and Limits:  An update on Adult Literacy Education.  Columbus, OH:  ERIC Clearinghouse on adult, career, and vocational education.

Belzer, A.  (2003).  Living with it:  Federal Policy Implementation in Adult Basic Education.  Cambridge, MA:  National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy,  Report #24.

Other Articles

Belzer, A.  (2004).  The struggle to maintain core values:  The impact of WIA and Welfare Reform on programs and classrooms.  Literacy Update 13(4), p. 1 and 9.  New York:  Literacy Assistant Center.

Belzer, A.  (1998).  Stopping out, not dropping out.  Focus on Basics, 2 (A), pp. 15-17.

Book Chapters

Belzer, A.  (in press).  The issues and challenges of voluntarism in community empowerment efforts:  The case of volunteer tutors in community-based adult literacy programs.  In B. Courtenay and S. Merriam (Eds.), Title unknown.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

Belzer, A. (in press). Volunteer one-to-one tutoring:  Critical factors in providing quality instruction.  In A. Belzer and H. Beder (Eds.), Towards defining and improving quality in adult basic education.  Mahwah, NJ:  Erlbaum.

Belzer, A.  (2004).  Blundering toward critical pedagogy: True tales from the adult literacy classroom.  In R. St. Clair  & J. Sandlin (Eds.), New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education.  From critical theory to critical practice.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

Belzer, A., Drennon, C., and Smith, C. (2001). Building Professional Development Systems in Adult Basic Education: Lessons from the Field.  In J. Commings, C. Smith and B Garner (Eds.), The annual review of adult learning and literacy, Volume II.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

Belzer, A.  (1993).  Doing school differently.  In M. Cochran-Smith and S. Lytle (Eds.), Inside/Outside:  Teacher research and knowledge .  New York:  Teachers College Press.

Lytle, S., Belzer, A., Schultz, K., Vannozzi, M.  (1989).  Learner centered literacy assessment:  An evolving process.  In A. Fingeret & P. Jurmo (Eds.), Participatory literacy education.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

Reviews

Belzer, A. (in press).  Book review of  Belfiore, M.E., Defoe, T.A., Flinsbee, S., Hunter, J., & Jackson, N. S. (2004). Reading work:  Literacies in the new workplace.  In Adult Basic Education.

Belzer, A. (2001).  Book review of Adult literacy now! M. Taylor (Ed.).  Adult Basic Education, 11(3).

Project technical reports and evaluation reports

Belzer, A. (2001) Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education Professional Development System Evaluation report, Year2.  Harrisburg, PA:  Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Belzer, A.  (2000). Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education Professional Development System Evaluation report, Year1.  Harrisburg, PA:  Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Belzer, A.  (1996).  Final report of the Pennsylvania Adult Literacy Practitioner Inquiry Network.  ERIC Document #402494.

Belzer, A. and Gold, E. (1994, 1995, 1996).  Interim evaluation report to Bread Loaf School of English Rural Teacher Network.  Philadelphia:  Research for Action.

Belzer, A., Christman, J.B., Simon, E.  (1995).  An evaluation of the Science Resource Leaders Program.  Philadelphia:  Research for Action.

Belzer, A., Blanc, S., Christman, J.B. (1995).    An evaluation of the New York City Mathematics Project.  Philadelphia:  Research for Action.

Belzer, A.  (1993).  “Our children are eager to learn from us if we would only share:”  Final evaluation report on The Family Literacy Demonstration Project.. Unpublished manuscript.  Philadelphia:  Center for Literacy.

Lytle, S., Belzer, A., Reumann, R.  (1993).  Initiating inquiry:  Adult literacy teachers, tutors and administrators research their practice.   Philadelphia:  National Center on Adult Literacy.

Belzer, A.  (1992).  A research study in retention:  A qualitative approach.. Final report, unpublished manuscript.  Harrisburg, PA:   Pennsylvania Department of Education, Division of Adult Basic and Literacy Education.

Furstenberg, F., Belzer, A., Walthall, J. (1992).  Doing the census:  Strategies for Managing a complex functional literacy task.  Unpublished manuscript.  Philadelphia:  National Center on Adult Literacy.

Lytle, S., Belzer, A., Reumann, R. (1992).  Invitations to inquiry:  Rethinking staff development in adult education.   Philadelphia:  National Center on Adult Literacy.

Lytle, S., Belzer, A., Cantafio, E., Reumann, R. (unpublished manuscript).  Inquiry-based professional/staff development:  A conceptual model for adult literacy educators.   Philadelphia:  National Center on Adult Literacy

International Presentations

Belzer, A.  (2004).  The issues and challenges of voluntarism in community empowerment efforts:  The case of volunteer tutors in community-based adult literacy programs. Global Issues:  Roles and responsibilities of adult education, Salzburg Seminar, Salzburg, Austria.

St. Clair, R & Belzer, A. (2004).  The State of Knowledge:: Knowledge of the State: US Government Initiatives to Control Research and Curriculum in Adult Literacy Education.  Adult Education Research Conference, Victoria, BC.

Belzer, A.  (2004).  Current policy and the organizational context of adult basic education in the United States:  Limits and Opportunities.  Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Cordoba, Argentina.

Belzer, A. (2004).  What if…When research informs policy.  Keynote address, National Literacy Secretariat Consultancy, “Setting priorities for literacy research.”  Ottawa, Ontario.

National Presentations

Belzer, A.  (under review).  In the middle:  The state agency role in federal policy implementation in adult basic education.  Division L, American Educational Research Association.

Belzer, A.  (under review).  Literacy acquisition in adult developing readers and writers.  Adult Literacy and Adult Education SIG, American Educational Research Association.

Belzer, A.  (2004).  “Read that one again:”  The relationships between miscues, tutor responses, and immediate outcomes in adult literacy one-to-one tutoring contexts.  National Reading Conference, San Antonio, TX.

Belzer, A. (2004).  The outcomes of tutor assistance in word recognition/word attack while learners read aloud.  Commission on Adult Basic Education Annual Conference, Columbus, OH.

Belzer, A. (2004).  What sticks?  Issues in training volunteer tutors in adult basic education.  International Reading Association Annual Conference, Reno, NV.

Belzer, A.  (2003).  “It’s not like normal school”:  School learning in adulthood.  National Reading Conference, Scottsdale, AZ.

Belzer, A.  (2003).  What’s the difference?  The role of context in tutor-based adult literacy instruction.  National Reading Conference, Scottsdale, AZ.

Belzer, A.  (2003).  What’s really going on in there?:  A study on one-to-one volunteer based literacy tutoring.  American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Annual Conference, Detroit Michigan.

Belzer, A.  (2003).  The relationships between program contexts and volunteer based instruction in adult literacy education.  Rutgers Invitational Symposium on Education, Pisscataway, NJ.

Belzer, A. (2003).  Adult basic education as a context for policy implementation.  Adult Education Research Conference, San Francisco, CA

Belzer, A.  (2003).  Comparing and contrasting tutoring training:  4 models.  Commssion on Adult Basic Education Annual Conference, Portland OR.

Belzer, A.  (2003).  Tutor-student interactions in volunteer-based adult literacy programs.  American Educational Research Association (Adult Literacy SIG), Chicago, IL.

Belzer, A.  (2002).  Conceptualizing tutor training:  A national report on tutor training in adult basic education.  American Educational Research Association (Adult Literacy SIG), New Orleans, LA.

Belzer, A.  (2001). Evaluating Professional Development in Adult Basic Education.  American Association for Adult and Continuing Education, Baltimore, MD.

Belzer, A.  (2001). Shaping practice from the top down:  The impact of federal legislation on ABE practice.  Adult education research conference, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

Belzer, A.  (1999).  "It's not like normal school":  Adult learners perspectives on a non-traditional GED program.  Pennsylvania Adult and Continuing Education Research Conference, Temple University, Harrisburg, PA.

Belzer, A. & Evans, S. (1999).  Analyzing data for improving practice.  Pennsylvania Association for Adult and Continuing Education Midwinter Conference, Hershey, PA.

Belzer, A., Harrill, S., and Miller, S.  (1999).  Finding the balance between content and process in inquiry-based professional development groups. AAACE Conference, San Antonio, TX.

Belzer, A., Harrill, S., and Miller, S.  (1999).  Balancing content and process in practitioner inquiry groups. Ethnography in Education Forum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Belzer, A., Gleockner, K., and Harrill, S.  (1998).  Building and sustaining an on-line inquiry community. Ethnography in Education Forum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Belzer, A. Harrill, S., Miller, S. and Sides, J.  (1997).  "I don't have to have all the answers:  Making the transition from participant to leader in practitioner inquiry groups." Ethnography in Education Forum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Belzer, A. (1996).  "Sharing our lives:  Conflicting perspectives on personal disclosure in a women's literacy class." International Reading Association 4th Annual North American Conference on Adolescent/Adult Literacy, Washington, D.C.

Belzer, A. with Brandt, R., Fleschute, J., McGuire, P.  (1995).  "Gauging Learner Progress."  A four-part workshop designed to help practitioners develop new frameworks for assessment, learn data collection strategies for authentic assessment, and initiate program change regarding assessment.  Philadelphia:  Mayor's Commission on Literacy.

Belzer, A.  (1992).  “I would do everything I can to keep from leaving:”  A qualitative research study on student retention in adult literacy. Ethnography in Education Forum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Belzer, A.  (1990).  Conflicting beliefs:  Teaching and learning in an adult literacy class. Ethnography in Education Forum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Grant Funding

2002-2004 “The influence of context on Teaching/learning transactions in Tutor-based adult basic education,” Houle Scholars Program, Kellogg Foundation ($40,000)

1997-2001 Evaluation of the Bureau of Adult Basic Education Professional Development System.  Pennsylvania Department of Education ($155,000).

1995-2000 Pennsylvania Adult Literacy Practitioner Inquiry Network.  Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education ($220,000).

1994 “Doing school and doing school differently:  The perspectives of five adult learners on their past and current educational experiences.”  Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation ($2,000)

Professional Activities

Editorial and Reviewer Activities

2004  Reviewed proposals, National Reading Conference, Division 6
2003  Review proposals for Adult Literacy SIG, AERA
2004  Reviewer, Literacy Harvest
2003  Reviewer, Teachers College Record
2002-2003 Reviewer, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy
2004-present Editorial Board, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy
2002-present Editorial Board, Adult Basic Education
2000, 2003-present Reviewed proposals for Adult Literacy Special Interest Group, AERA 

Memberships

American Association for Adult and Continuing Education
American Educational Research Association
Commission on Adult Basic Education
International Reading Association
New Jersey Association for Lifelong Learning

Service
  
Professional
  
2004 Co-Director, 20th Annual Rutgers Symposium on Education, “Toward Defining and Improving Quality in Adult Basic Education
2003-2004 Family Literacy sub-committee, International Reading Association.

Public
  
Adult literacy tutor, Germantown Women’s Educational Project, Philadelphia, PA and Abington Free Library Literacy Program

University

Member, Admissions and Scholastic Standing Committee (2004 - present)
Chair,  Rules and Procedures Committee (2002-2003)
Faculty Counselor, Phi Delta Kappa (2001-present)
Member, Search Committee for Literacy (2000-2003)

Courses Taught

Adult Basic and Literacy Education, Teaching Reading and Writing to Adults, Adulthood and Learning, Teacher as Researcher, Adolescent Literature.