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SMILIES Curriculum Development
After the initial commitment was made by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, an ambitious effort to develop suitable curriculum materials was launched by the organizers of the commitment. Dr. Shirley Freed at Andrews University, a small Midwestern Adventist university, was commissioned to write the reading/tutoring training materials. Dr. Freed is the director of the University's reading center where both undergraduate and graduate-level reading courses are offered. The center also houses a diagnostic and tutoring program for local school-age and adult students who are struggling with reading.
Dr. Freed invited another faculty member and a number of graduate students to become part of the curriculum development team. Because of my interest in this type of instruction, and because of my having authored a book for those desiring to tutor children in reading (Thogmartin, 1997), I was asked to participate in writing the training manual. Dr. Freed suggested that the instruction techniques used in the manual be classified under each of Howard Gardner's original seven intelligences as suggested in his book, Frames of Mind (Gardner, 1983). The title of the manual became SMILIES: Helping Children Read (Freed et al., 1997), with each letter in SMILIES suggesting one of the intelligences: spatial/visual, musical, intrapersonal, linguistic/language, interpersonal, exercise/movement, and solving problems. The reasoning behind this approach is explained in the introduction of the manual:
People possess every intelligence in varying strengths. If we try to teach a concept or skill in only one way, we will likely make it difficult for people who are not smart in that one way. By structuring lessons using each intelligence/pathway each day, we will reach/teach more children. . . . Our task as tutors is to find the pathway that will unlock a child's understanding into the many nuances of what it means to be literate. Using multiple pathways we will have a greater chance for success. (p. 1)

Methods adapted from other successful one-on-one approaches such as Reading Recovery (Clay, 1993) were used. The team worked together through the summer to write, gather, and organize materials for the manual and for the accompanying training videotape. The target date for completion was set for the last week of August where the SMILIES manual would be used to train the first round of volunteers.
A concern from the beginning of this project had to do with time frames–How can quality materials be developed in this short of a time period, and how can reading tutors/trainers of tutors be trained effectively in just 2 days? An E-mail to me from Dr. Freed as she introduced the challenge reflected these concerns:
Today, I got a call from the North American Division of SDA's wondering if I would help with the training and materials for the tutors–they're planning to train tutor trainers and send them out to ten cities this fall–the timing is really short but I'm thinking about it–I brought home your book tonight–actually if this flies there would be some good chances for following the tutors–what is frustrating me is the sense that there is no real concept of what it takes to teach someone to learn to read! But I am drawn by the challenge! More talk next week when you get here. (Data File, p. i)

This concern about the shortness of time has been a recurring theme through the whole project, as is discussed more fully later. But, since the time frame was beyond our control, a decision was made to continue with the development of the manual and to do the best we could with training in the time given to us.

Volunteer Recruitment and Orientation
Following the commitment at the Philadelphia summit in April 1997, a call for volunteers was sent out to Seventh-day Adventist community services offices throughout the United States. The Church does have a systematic way of disseminating this type of information through newsletters, faxes, and various periodicals, especially when issues of community service are involved. As a result of this initial call, 25 people from all parts of the country volunteered for the 5-day training session to be held at the Adventist Church General Conference headquarters near Washington, D.C., at the end of August. Volunteers represented a wide range in ages. One teenaged girl came with her mother, and several of the participants were in their 60s. Educators, pastors, community service directors, and housewives were some of the occupations represented by this diverse group of people. They, or the organizations they represented, were responsible for the $100 registration fee and expenses they incurred during the training week.
The first several days of training oriented the participants to the needs of at-risk children and the necessity for volunteers to help with their problems. The details of how to set up a community-based tutoring site were presented by the project organizers. Each participant was given a handbook consisting of helpful information and forms (Sahlin, 1997).
John Gavin, Deputy Director for ADRA/ACS North America, and Sandra Brown, the National Coordinator for the YouthNet/Alliance for Youth Project, did most of the presenting during the first few days of the training. Their sessions were well-organized, concise, and informative, and they offered frequent opportunities for the participants to ask questions. The topics covered during this time were
1. The mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the needs of disadvantaged communities
2. Understanding the lives of children at risk
3. An overview of how to build an effective program
4. An introduction to the process of community organizing and project development
5. How to identify leaders, partners, and allies
6. The power of information and how to use it
7. An overview of group dynamics and community change
8. Developing and empowering leaders
9. An introduction to basic public relations
10. How to raise money for local programs.
A news release published on the third day of the training quoted Gavin as saying, "The event is going wonderfully. We have a great group of excited and dedicated regional volunteers who are eager to implement the objectives of [the Church] with its commitment to the Presidential Summit" (DelaCruz, 1997, p. 1).
For several of the trainees, the information presented was not all that new. The Adventist church has been involved in service and disaster relief efforts for many years. Those participants who were there representing Adventist Community Service (ASC) affiliated organizations had probably received some training before in the intricacies of setting up a new operation such as a tutoring project. Many of the participants, however, were there because of their own personal interest in the project and not because of any direct responsibilities with ACS. Lindsey and her daughter June came on their own from New Mexico where they are hoping to start a tutoring project on a nearby Indian reservation. One of the trainees, Tasha, is not affiliated with the Adventist church. A Catholic sister for 17 years, she is now the community service director for a housing development in what she called a "rough neighborhood" in nearby Capital Heights, Maryland.

The SMILIES Training Sessions
Dr. Freed and I began the training in the use of the SMILIES manual on the fourth day of the seminar. The participants appeared cheerful and lively as we entered the room where the training was taking place. With us was my 9-year-old son, Philip, who was to act as our model student. He and I had rehearsed how he might role-play as a young, struggling first-grader. I had warned him that we might give him some text to read that was beyond his own comfort level just to demonstrate how a student might actually react to unfamiliar text. Philip was undaunted in his enthusiasm about being there, and he appeared to settle right in as things got started. It seemed that the participants were pleased with his being there as well because it offered a nice diversion to what had been several days of lecturing for them.
Arriving with Dr. Freed and me was a fellow university graduate student who is also a principal at a public school in Boston. Nydia wanted to come to learn more about the SMILIES curriculum. She had been thinking about the possibility of starting a tutoring project in her own school. She, like us, began introducing herself to the people there, including the organizers of the Tutoring and Mentoring project.
We were in a large conference room that had several rows of tables facing the front. At the front were a podium, a table, a screen with an overhead projector, a white board, and a television/VCR setup. The room was much wider than it was deep due to the fact that it was really two rooms with an open divider between them. At the far end of the room was a table where drinks and snacks were provided by our division hosts. A cordless microphone was available but, due to the give-and-take nature of our presentation, it was, at times, as much of a hindrance as it was a help. Philip often acted as a "microphone caddy" when he was not up front as part of the presentation or exploring the nearby facility.
The sessions began that morning as they had all week with a devotional thought by Dr. Jose Rojas. He spoke of how "the greatest things in history are the simplest. When God acts, it is usually in a simple, very clear manner." Those who can accept the "simplicity of the call" are the ones who will end up "making history together." The people there have an obvious respect and admiration for Rojas. His disarming, casual, but convincing manner may turn out to be one of the important factors in the eventual success of this endeavor.
After Dr. Freed, Nydia, Philip, and I were introduced to the group, Dr. Freed distributed the SMILIES manual and gave an overview of the SMILIES reading project, how it came together, and how the manual is organized. She showed an introductory piece from the instructional video and asked the participants to answer two questions on an index card she provided:
1. Have you ever taught a child to read? and
2. What do you plan to do with this training?
Dr. Freed presented a two-part agenda for the SMILIES portion of the training. Not only would the participants learn techniques associated with reading instruction, but they would also be discovering "who am I?" as the training progressed. She encouraged them to consider their own biases, inclinations, and gifts, and how these things might affect their ability to tutor and to train others. Because of the intensely personal nature of one-on-one tutoring, they will have a tremendous effect on the children with whom they work.
Then the participants were asked to work together in small groups for the first time during their training. They were to discuss with each other what they planned to do with this training. Following this, they were instructed by Dr. Freed to "share a pen" and make a diagram that illustrated the characteristics of a tutor. As I circulated around the room, I noticed that the participants seemed to be somewhat reserved in getting started. Dr. Freed noticed the same thing so she shifted into what could be described as a "cheerleading" mode as she shouted encouragements to the groups. I walked to one group in the back of the room and asked a gentleman named Arnold if this was the first time he had worked in groups. He said that it was. He said he had told Dr. Rojas the night before that "lecturing is extremely inefficient" and that he was surprised the organizers had spent so much time in a lecturing mode during the previous days.
This activity did help the trainees to become more actively involved during the remaining sessions. They appeared to become more lively and talkative as they worked together on various tasks and as opportunities for discussion presented themselves. Question and answer times almost always had to be cut short by Dr. Freed in order to press on into new material. She encouraged the participants to carry their feelings of comraderie home with them so that they might use each other for support as they established their programs.
This theme of needing support after the training was one that was mentioned several times that week. Sandra Brown and John Gavin both had assured the participants that they would be contacted within a month or two after the training to offer support and to check up on how things are going. I had a toll-free telephone number installed in my home to facilitate support to the participants. Our telephone numbers and addresses were made available with many encouragements to contact us at any time.
Dr. Freed involved Philip and me in several demonstrations when presenting material on text reading and strategy development. The participants appeared to appreciate our modeling of the techniques we were recommending. Dr. Freed also used portions of the SMILIES videotape in her instruction, as well as read-aloud selections of children's books. I was at liberty to interject comments or suggestions at any time during the training when I felt it was appropriate and helpful.
By the end of the 2-day training, all the major topics had been discussed, although not as in-depth as we would have liked. The manuals the participants had received did contain the core material in print form; and a copy of the SMILIES training videotape, which contained demonstrations of many of the techniques that had been presented, was given to each person as he or she left.

Analysis of the Training

The Joyce-Showers Model
A helpful analysis of the SMILIES training session can be made by using the training model proposed by Joyce and Showers (1988, 1995). In this model, high levels of implementation of new innovations can be expected when five components are in place: theory, demonstration, practice, feedback, and coaching.

Theory

The participants did receive some light instruction in the theory behind the kind of instructional techniques that were presented. Prior to each new activity or demonstration, a brief introduction was given either live or from the training video. To introduce the theory behind the use of multiple intelligence pathways in reading instruction, Dr. Freed gave each participant a simple inventory where they discovered their own intelligence preferences (Armstrong, 1993). A lively discussion followed as several of the trainees expressed surprise or agreement with the findings. Often, the participants asked questions about the theory behind the approach. The training manual given to each trainee contained mini-discussions about theory with references cited for further reading.

Demonstration
The trainees did observe a number of tutor-child sessions both on videotape and in live sessions with Philip and me as he played the part of a struggling first-grade student. For example, we demonstrated the differences in children reading at the independent, instructional, and frustration reading levels and how to determine the difficulty level at which a student is reading. We also showed how to introduce new reading material to a child. Often, the participants commented to me about how helpful these demonstrations were, and that it would be very difficult to conceptualize the methods without seeing them used firsthand. Only a small sampling of methods were demonstrated, however, due to time restraints.

Practice, Feedback, and Coaching
Very little actual practice with feedback or coaching occurred during the training sessions. Once again, time limitations prevented opportunities for us to provide practice time with any meaningful feedback to the participants.
They did practice making eight-page folded books, and the basics behind writing simple, repetitive stories with children. All of the participants created a book with some group members, and they shared it with the rest of the trainees. This provided some good opportunities for helpful feedback. They also practiced determining reading levels as Philip read some selections aloud.
We recommended that they find a child with whom they could work soon after going home, and we invited them to call the toll-free number for support as they did so. Dr. Freed stressed the absolute need for the trainees to practice tutoring a child before trying to teach these methods to others.

Written Feedback
During the SMILIES training, Dr. Freed and I had asked the participants to give us written feedback in several forms. We specifically requested that this information be completed before they left since collection after the training sessions would probably be much more difficult. In addition to a consent form required by the University, the trainees responded in writing to the following questions:
1. Have you ever taught a child to read?
2. What do you hope/plan to do with this training?
3. What are your concerns as you think about the SMILIES tutoring project?

Have You Ever Taught a Child to Read?
The participants were asked to indicate whether they had ever taught a child to read on an index card soon after the initial introductions were made. Of the 25 trainees in attendance, 21 did answer the question, and all but 3 made no extra comments (Data File, pp. 31-51). Sixty-two percent of those responding indicated that they had taught at least one child to read. Those who went beyond a simple negative or affirmative response made comments about teaching their own children. Ruth, who answered affirmatively, said "I home school" (Data File, p. 45). The other two people who commented, Arnold and Sherry, said that they had not taught a child to read, but they had helped their own children to learn (Data File, pp. 43, 48). These respondents evidently assume that only a person who is the primary reading teacher for a child can claim that s/he taught the child to read.

What Do You Hope/Plan to Do With This Training?
Trainees were asked to reply on an index card what they planned to do with this training, with the same 21 participants choosing to answer this question (Data File, pp. 31-51). Using simple content-analysis techniques, the responses to the above question were tallied into categories. Content analysis, according to Merriam (1988), is "a systematic procedure for describing the content of communication. . . . The process involves the simultaneous coding of raw data and constructing categories that capture relevant characteristics of the document's content" (pp. 116-117). As I read the responses, 10 categories emerged that described what the participants planned to do as a result of receiving this training. Table 4 details these responses. The percentages are overlapping; that is, I tallied each response given. Many participants gave multiple responses.
Not surprisingly, the participants planned to do exactly what the training was preparing them to do: tutor children, train others to tutor children, and set up tutoring
projects. Most of the responses were very brief and to the point with little or no

________________________________________________________________________
Response Percentage
________________________________________________________________________
Tutor children in reading 52
Train others to tutor 29
Promote spiritual growth in children 29
Create/help create a tutoring project 24
Improve childrens' quality of life 19
Support/promote tutors & tutoring projects 14
Follow God's leading 10
Reach out to the community 10
Add reading instruction to an existing program 5
Be supportive to parents of tutored children 5
________________________________________________________________________

elaboration. Amy said she plans to "help others to help children with reading problems and learn for myself how to teach children so I can work with the program" (Data File, p. 41).
Irene plans to "educate and help the clients' children who cannot help their children." She also adds a spiritual dimension to her vision for the program by stating that she wants to "teach them how to know Jesus by being able to read for themselves including the parents" (Data File, p. 41). More than one-fourth of the participants stated similar spiritual ambitions revealing motivations that were rooted in their Christian faith.
Two of the respondents wrote extended responses to the question, "What do you plan to do with this training?" Ruth states passionately:
Our church, or at least a few or a core group feels God's calling to reach out beyond the church walls to our community. We feel the need to share God's love and grace as Jesus Himself did. When we look at Jesus' ministry we see more often than not He met the NEED at the time! I'd even venture to say there were times, many times possibly when Jesus only met the physical need and quite possibly that's ALL HE DID. This is a wonderful opportunity to open a whole new world to a child and/or adult including but not limited to the GOOD NEWS. First we want to meet the immediate need, love them, and allow the Spirit to lead us in wisdom to share His gifts of salvation with them through reading, social, activities, events, etc. I'm excited about reaching out to other non-SDA organizations. (Data File, p. 45)

Lindsey, after stating that she plans to "teach other kids to read so they can experience the joy I get from reading and digesting God's precious Word!" also talks about reaching out to the wider community.
I'm also looking forward to involving the other Christian denominations and other service organizations. What a great way to learn from each other! I hope it'll help our church know that there are sincere Christians in other denominations. I also hope that other denominations will find out about "Adventist love" and concern (And maybe in time "doctrine") and realize we are not Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses, or another cult. My children attend a Church of Christ youth group. (Data File, p. 51)

The desire to reach out and extend Christian love in order to help others spiritually and to extend the influence of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is one that is shared by the leadership of the Tutoring and Mentoring project. In chapter 3 of the training manual, titled, "Why Should Adventists Get Involved?" Monte Sahlin (1997), executive director of Adventist Community Services, states:
The compassion of Jesus Christ demands that we get involved. There are millions of hurting children and, if we are authentic followers of Christ, we will want to help. . . .
It is an opportunity to represent the character of God. The Adventist Church needs to give a clear answer to the New Testament question, "Who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29) Random surveys of the general public reveal that the vast majority of Americans have never heard of the Seventh-day Adventist Church or, if they've heard the label, have no idea what the church stands for or is all about. We are almost invisible, and visibility comes to a church only when it is viewed by civic leaders and the media as stepping outside its religious role and making a contribution to the human and economic needs of the community. (p. 11)

What Are Your Concerns as You Think
About the SMILIES Tutoring Project?

To assess the concerns of the participants at the end of the training, I administered Newlove and Hall's Open-Ended Statement of Concern About an Innovation assessment (Newlove & Hall, 1976). Although the authors caution about using the assessment as a rigorous research tool, they say it is extremely helpful in planning and evaluating programs and workshops.
As discussed in chapter 3, Fuller (1969) hypothesized that teachers' concerns progress through several levels as they are learning a new innovation–from "self" concerns, to "task" concerns, and finally to concerns about the "impact" they are having on their students. Hall et al. (1977) break these concerns into seven stages that are on the same continuum as Fuller's. The "awareness," "informational," and "personal" concerns correspond roughly to Fuller's "self" level, the "management" and "consequence" stages correspond to Fuller's "task" level, and the "collaboration" and "refocusing" stages are contained in Fuller's "impact" level. Hall (1976) states that
educators would like to think that they always function at the impact concern level. However, it is a basic finding of [our] research that almost everyone, when first confronted with a "new" innovation, will have relatively intense personal and informational concerns. It is important to recognize that self concerns are a fully legitimate part of change. (p. 22)

To administer the open-ended questionnaire, the participants simply respond to the question, "When you think about (the innovation), what are you concerned about?" They are given a sheet of paper with the question at the top and space to record three concerns (Appendix A). The researcher, using the guidelines and examples given by Newlove and Hall, reads the responses and codes them with the numbers 0 through 6 corresponding to the stages discussed above. The coding is not a "cut-and-dried" process; rather, the evaluator must use his/her best judgment when making determinations about under which stage a concern should be classified.
I administered the open-ended questionnaire on the second day during the last hour of the SMILIES training session. The participants were tired but willing to complete the form (Data File, pp. 52-75). As I coded and evaluated their responses, I made a frequency distribution table to get a general idea under which stages the expressed

________________________________________________________________________
	Stage of Concern				Number of Concerns Expressed
________________________________________________________________________
	Awareness							0
	Informational						1
	Personal							22
	Management							14
	Consequence							8
	Collaboration						1
	Refocusing							0
	Unrelated to SMILIES				4	
		Total							50
________________________________________________________________________

concerns fell. (See Table 5.) Every concern conveyed by each participant was coded as a separate item, with most participants sharing more than one concern.
As expected, almost half of the concerns conveyed were personal in nature. Most of these comments were very similar, with the participants expressing concerns about their ability to teach the children, train tutors, or simply remembering all they need to remember:
What if I get a child who can't even identify a letter, will I be able to refer to the book and "learn how to teach this child?" (I am not an educator).
– Carla (Data File, p. 60)

At this point, my greatest concern is my ability to digest, transfer, and apply this information to the tutors and students for maximum benefit. My mind is too overloaded at this moment to decipher anything more.
– Ella (Data File, p. 73)

I am honestly concerned that I will not remember all the information. I feel "taking the course" another time would be helpful. I feel so inadequate to be a trainer.
– Sherry (Data File, p. 63)

I am concerned that I will not be able to get this whole program flying for a while allowing me to forget and maybe I will lose inspiration.
– Rose (Data File, p. 69)

I am concerned about the "shortness" of the training. Will I have the confidence necessary to be a good tutor and trainer especially to train others? (Practice makes perfect, though).
– Nydia (Data File, p. 65)

Many of the participants expressed concerns related to Fuller's "task" level. Concerns about securing and maintaining volunteers, funds, or facilities were common:
My greatest concern is finding volunteer tutors who will commit to an ongoing program every week for a year or more.
– Susan (Data File, p. 53)

I am not sure that volunteers will be able to reach a level of competence that will enable them to utilize this program effectively.
– Arnold (Data File, p. 72)

My concern is that I may not be able to find a suitable situation to set up a tutorial program.
– Edward (Data File, p. 71)

The lack of caring for the community in (our region's) SDA churches will be a major hurdle to cross. We want to reach out–but in "our own way and our own time" is the thought of a high percentage of the numbers.
– Howard (Data File, p. 64)

I am concerned about getting funds to feed them after school (nutrition) so their brain cells will be fed and they will concentrate better. I am concerned about funds because I know the tutors will ask for a stipend or at least car fare and funds for supplies.
– Irene (Data File, p. 52)

My present concern (is) about training volunteers to accept new tutoring skills. Some people don't like changes. The level of dedication and a time limit that I can get volunteers to commit to.
– Dawn (Data File, p. 57)

Only a few comments were related to the "impact" level as described by Fuller. Several participants, due to a lively discussion around ebonics and regional languages, expressed concerns about dealing with these issues in a tutoring situation. Others related compassionate concern for the well-being of children:
The children (are) my greatest concern–the welfare of the children. That their needs and well-being don't get lost in the idea of helping them learn to read and become an answer and not a problem. . . . If we as a church group that is supposed to be leading the way don't push our values on the family as was to my family.
– Paula (Data File, p. 56)

I am concerned for the many children in my immediate church neighborhood who come from low income households and may be needing this very program.
– Margie (Data File, p. 53)

I was not at all surprised by the concerns of the participants. Many of their concerns were/are mine as well. A few days after the training sessions, I made some notes in my journal where I relayed my biggest concern:
Like many of the participants have expressed, I'm concerned that their good intentions may simply melt away as they return to their busy lives. . . . Shirley has commented several times that she hopes I won't be studying a "non-event." Time will tell if this is what is going to happen. (Data File, pp. 279, 282)

Summary
The leadership of the entities involved in the Tutoring and Mentoring project are enthusiastic and hopeful that their efforts will enhance the lives of thousands of underprivileged children around the country. Certainly, the foundational framework is in place for good things to happen. Yet, the limitations in resources that need to be overcome if the project was to be successful are sobering.
As we all departed from the SMILIES training session, we were enthusiastic but full of concerns. Given the allotted time, the opportunities to introduce theory, to demonstrate effective techniques, and to initiate practice sessions were very limited. Almost no feedback or coaching was offered to the trainees. Only a few of the participants came with the educational background that would be helpful in a project of this nature. The personal and management concerns expressed by the group were certainly understandable. As Hall (1976) exhorted, "The role of the adoption agents and policy/decision-makers should be to aid in the resolution of self concerns and to facilitate movement toward task- and impact-related concerns" (pp. 22-23). The responsibilities to initiate tutoring projects in the home regions of the participants did not rest with them alone, but with the entire leadership structure of the Adventist Church.