The Key to Community Voting workshop was designed to build self-confidence via the 'how' of presentation as well as the content discussed in the last section. The main characteristics of the presentation intended to support this objective are:

- accessible language and reading level
- peer presenters, acting as role models
- a multi-sensory approach to enhance comprehension across a range of learning styles, including interactive exercises, skit and video
- hands-on practice, skill-building and role-playing
- user-friendly handouts
- personal follow-up support (provided by the convening organizations)

"The medium is the message. If the goal is to have people participate, then the format that best reinforces that goal has them participating throughout."
- Key to Community presenter

Overall format

The peer moderators and interactive format appeared to be particularly successful features of the workshop.

"Students felt empowered because they gained information in a multi-sensory, small group environment." - Chula Vista convenor

"The way the people presented it, and how they got involved with everyone. They made us feel really comfortable." - Baldwin Park woman

"The only way some of these learners' fears will be alleviated is if others [like themselves] show them that they survived the system and getting involved is okay...The Key to Community forum and workshop showed my students that they have the power within themselves to change things they care about." - Willows Coordinator

"The students respond best to people they know and respect. They are more willing to accept information from people they trust. They are watching people to see if their actions and words coincide." - Baldwin Park Coordinator

"The workshop addressed their feelings of powerlessness and demystified the voting process by providing good information. They walked away feeling they could do this!"
- San Diego Literacy Coordinator

One result of this "safe" environment was an increase in the sense that individuals really can make a difference. Among attendees, there was a 15 percentage point gain in those who answered "definitely" to the question "Can ordinary people make a difference in the community they live in?" This compares to only a three point gain among those did not attend.

Practice with speaking up

One of the skills that students were able to practice in the forum and workshop was expressing themselves. This experience with 'speaking up' about what was on their mind seemed to build personal confidence for many of the learners.

"One of my students has Lupus disease and rarely speaks up in class. I've never seen her more active and engaged in anything before. Usually she is very quiet, hardly ever saying a thing. You must have hit a topic she cares about. Maybe she'll be more inclined to speak out now that she sees her voice means something." - San Jose teacher

"I would go again because I don't speak up to other people and if I keep going it would give me courage to speak up to neighbors...the workshop gave me more self-esteem about myself. I don't hold my head down as much as I used to. I have some kind of conversation I can have with a person." - Berkeley woman

"They need to get used to talking to peers about the issues. In Berkeley there is a lot of pride. It is not okay to talk about politics and religion. There is discomfort with talking about these issues in public." - Berkeley Coordinator

"It was good for her to see other people, besides me, encouraging her to speak. I think this boosted her self-esteem tremendously." - Willows Coordinator

"Before participating in the forum, they didn't really see that their voices mattered. They also learned the value of being open-minded, listening to one another and respecting rules for discussion." - Ventura Coordinator

Role-playing

Another factor that appeared to support an increase in the students' comfort level with taking action was the visual step by step demonstration of the voting process. This was provided via skit, role-playing, video and handouts with photographs illustrating what happens at a polling place.

"If they are physically not shown and made to feel comfortable with the process, most likely they won't get involved." - San Jose Coordinator

"Many students were fearful about the process of voting and found the workshop very reassuring. Several of the students voted for the first time and a common comment was "I did it and it was just like John (the workshop presenter) showed us.' "
- Site coordinator at Rancho Santiago Community College

"At the meeting they showed us how to do it. They role played and so I felt comfortable."
- a new citizen/voter in Baldwin Park

The man who convinced his wife to vote for the first time accompanied her to the polls "for the comfort of having somebody with you walking into the strange environment where you don't know anybody." The personal element at the polling place also matters to even more experienced voters, like the student who said he votes at the polls because "I feel I'm going somewhere where they really want me to do this and I feel good about it."

A site coordinator in Northern California said that what was important about the combined forum and workshop was that students got "basic knowledge about choices and the skills they need to actually participate."

The role of the personal invitation

In addition to the supportive environment of both the forum and voting workshop, an important factor in encouraging and increasing comfort with participation for some students was the perception of personal invitation from someone they respect and trust. For some students, attendance at the forum/workshop was required by class, but for others the decision to attend appeared to be very much related to how they had been invited and by whom. A 47 year old woman who has rarely attended events at the Berkeley Reads Literacy Program said she came to the Key to Community workshop because she was invited by another student who was one of the presenters: "I wasn't sure what it was about, but I was curious."

"Learners hesitate to go to meetings when they don't know what is expected of them...One-on-one contact is the most effective way to get learners involved."
- Commerce Literacy Coordinator

The role of the personal invitation also seemed to apply to the broader question of getting involved:

Asked if he had ever worked to solve a local problem, a man in Sacramento said "I would, but no one ever asked me."

A student who serves on the Baldwin Park advisory committee said she does so "because a teacher asked me."

This effect of a personal invitation may also be accomplished via a feeling of personal connection to a public figure, as illustrated by 38 year old African American man with the Berkeley program who was not able to attend the workshop, but shared that a seminal experience for him was to hear Jesse Jackson "give an incredible speech in the 80's. It motivated me when he said you can sit by as a spectator or you can get into this game." This description suggests that this man felt he had been "personally" invited by Jackson to be an active participant in his community. He reported that he began voting regularly after that and also helped found a Neighborhood Watch group.

Specific findings about each key program element

Forum

In the Key to Community issues forums, adult learners served as the neutral moderators. They helped define the topic, set groundrules with the group and lead a discussion of three or four choices on the topic. A major focus was on encouraging participation from as many attendees as possible. At the end of the discussion of the choices, the group was asked to identify common ground and also next steps they would like to take.

For many of the students, the format of the issues discussion was a welcome change from the standard class format, which in adult education often emphasizes individual activities. One young woman in Sacramento explained, "we don't talk to people at school." She liked the issues forum on jobs because "we all got together and said what we thought. It's a way to find out that other people think differently than you."

Another young man at Baldwin Park who said his participation in the forum was his first experience speaking up thought they should have "these conversations at different schools. It should get them motivated too. They think the system is so corrupt, but there are two sides to the story. You need to see both sides."

An instructor who attended one of the combined sessions indicated that "I think establishing groundrules, especially respecting other, is very valuable. Also, I now understand how important it is to acknowledge what everyone says, even if you don't think it's a good idea."

An administrator at Rancho Santiago Community College commented: "The students were extremely engaged. It took them a while to warm up but they were captured by the subject. There were several students who don't usually participate in class but they did in the forum. Others referred to the forum in their journals in later classes."

Workshop

In the survey, the students who recalled attending the voting workshop were asked both how informative and how enjoyable it was. On a four point scale, 94% agreed that it was either very or somewhat informative. 98% said it was either very or somewhat enjoyable.

While there are no significant differences, it appears that the participants who were already active as voters or in community groups found the workshop a little more informative compared to the younger people and non-citizens who were slightly more likely to find the issues discussion a good source of information (as shown in the table at the beginning of section 3-A). On the other hand, the younger and non-citizen participants were a little more likely to say the workshop was very enjoyable.

Participants filled out evaluation forms at the end of the workshop and the ratings were uniformly positive. The voting skit was described as especially memorable and "fun."

The workshop also included an exercise that began with students throwing a wad of paper at one of several shapes posted on the wall. The shapes were then turned over to see what political party they just "joined." Brief summaries from each party were handed out and the students talked in their "party" groups to select a candidate to present their platform. While many seemed to remember the exercise because of its engaging interactive format, the content was also memorable. An elderly Laotian gentleman was amazed to find out "there are so many different parties to choose from." One Anglo man reported that "when I learned what they all stood for, it made me want to change my party because another one was more in line with what I think."

In some locations, at the end of the workshop, participants formed a circle and threw a ball of yarn to each other as they stated one thing they learned and one thing they planned to do. In Baldwin Park, things learned included: "How to vote", "To make sure what you're voting for", "To voice your opinion." What they planned to do included: "Mail in this registration form", Vote", "Spread the word to others", "Register some other new voters" and "Get involved." The Santa Fe Springs Coordinator said that he felt the yarn toss at the end was one of the highlights of the workshop because he heard the learners make commitments to each other to take action.

Format/Sequence of Forum & Workshop

Most of the site coordinators indicated that they saw a clear relationship between the forum and the workshop -- i.e. that expressing one's views and listening to each other and then engaging in community activities (voting or other) are complementary actions. At the end of the forums, when discussing ways to take action, many learners commented that voting was one thing they could do to help make a difference.

The Sacramento Regional Coordinator liked the two step process because "it gives people a chance to start thinking about things, ruminating and forming thoughts in between. If it's a one-shot deal, you haven't gathered your thoughts." She thought that the lag time gives participants a chance to talk to others and form some more thoughts before the second section. The two sessions had very different roles in her eyes: "the Forum was the catalyst to give people a chance to see the connection to their own lives. The Voting Workshop is the chance to get the hands-on information about a specific next step that they can take."

"They got hooked in the forum and wanted to come back for the workshop."
- Baldwin Park Coordinator

"They went hand in hand well. [By having the forum first] you made the connection between having your voice heard in the community and voting. I think the forum gave my learners something to think about. They got jazzed for full participation in the voting workshop." - Willows Coordinator

Voter Guide

Questions about the usefulness of the Easy Reader Voter Guide were asked of students who recalled receiving the guide. Among the total group, 62% said it was very useful and another 24% found it somewhat useful.

This was one of the few instances where gender appeared to create a directional difference, with women responding more positively than men. One of the Key to Community presenters hypothesized that the female learners may have responded more positively to the photographs used for the presidential candidates (there were no photographs for the ballot measures.)

A 19 year old Latina who voted for the first time used the Easy Reader Voter Guide to help prepare, because, "us young voters need help...it's something we can understand more."

A woman with limited English skills said the voter guide was good because it "made it simple."

The Sacramento man who convinced his wife and friends to vote, used the Easy Reader Voter Guide more than anything else because "the state book went on and on and this got to the point...it had pros, cons and told you the consequences of each measure." For past elections he had to "reread things and it seemed complicated, confusing. This year seemed easier."

The Baldwin Park woman who persuaded her neighbors to vote told her neighbors about it. "Everyone should get the Easy Reader Voter Guide."