On the basis of the reading task analysis, we designed and developed a reading program that had a functional context for Navy personnel in that the program used Navy knowledge content derived from materials that personnel must study to pass promotion tests, and the information processing skills for reading that they learned were of immediate use to them.

In a experimental classroom, materials were developed with students primarily in the mid-level of literacy, from around 5th through the 10th grade levels. The instructional program incorporated the use of teachers, books, computers and peer instructors. Two basic books were developed, one called the Navy Knowledge Base (KB), which presented Navy-related content, and the other a study skills book called the Information Processing Skills (IPS) book. In practice the students used the IPS book to perform a number of tasks that called for using the KB as a source document. This was done to make it possible to devise learning tasks in which information from the IPS book had to be held in working memory while searching the KB book to provide practice in reading-to-do tasks, as well as reading-to-learn tasks.

The computer-based instruction (CBI) consisted of both Navy-related programs and commercially available, “game” programs for vocabulary drill and practice. The Navy-related CBI was authored by the R & D team and was developed for stand-alone use aboard ships if no teacher was available of feasible. The CBI material consisted of two surriculum “strands,” each consisting of about 15-20 hours of instruction depending upon the reading skill level of the user. The Strand I materials contained content appropriate for sailors seeking promotion to lower level supervisory positions, while the Strand II material was primarily for those seeking higher level promotions)

In addition to the functional, Navy-related curriculum materials, we also developed a new reading test battery to test Navy-related reading skills (reading-to-do and reading-to-learn), as well as Navy knowledge. The latter, that is, knowledge gained, is rarely measured in adult literacy programs because reading is considered as a content-free, process skill. But cognitive science makes clear that knowledge of what one reads is required to make reading comprehension possible. So we assessed the improvement in content knowledge as a function of participation in the functional context education program.

Evaluation of the Program. In a small-scale evaluation of the program, the improvement of a sample of students who took the Navy’s “general” reading program offered by the education contractors was compared to the improvement of students in the functional context course on three tests: a commercially available, standardized reading test that the Navy used on a regular basis, the Navy-related Reading-to-Do and the Navy Knowledge tests that we developed.

The data indicated that, while the general reading program did better on the general reading test, this did not transfer to the Navy reading and knowledge tests to any significant degree. The Navy-related reading program, on the other hand, resulted in improvement on the general reading test, and it consistently made greater improvements than the general program where it counted for Navy personnel, that is, in their Navy reading and knowledge needed for job advancement.

Functional Context Mathematics Program. In addition to the Navy reading program we also developed a 3 week, 3 hours a day Navy-related mathematics program. The mathematics program used the same Navy Knowledge Base as used in the reading program, but a different information processing skills book. The latter included a number of tasks for personnel to perform that required them to go to the knowledge base book and extract numbers to be used in the tasks, such as calculating how big a budget they would need to cover personnel costs in running a mess hall aboard a ship. The types of tasks included mathematics and the management of financial resources, material resources, and human resources.