COABE | Commission on Adult Basic Education

COABE Presenters are welcome to send their presentations to pd@coabe.org for inclusion in COABE's online repository so that all members can access and share the best practices garnered from the conference.

April 2012

Tactile, Paper and Tech—The Complete GED Math Experience
COABE/VAACE National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia
Presenter: Michael Matos
Educational Focus: GED

Ideas for lesson planning for the ABE, GED and GED Hybrid complete math interactive classroom.
Hands on realia, hardcopy interface and computer based interactions create a harmonious balance for
instruction. These lessons help to shift from instructor-centered delivery setup to one that is very learnercentered. These math lessons will accommodate for different student learning styles and utilize
technology in a meaningful manner. These lessons motivate and actively engage students. These ideas
help to create well planned, paced and organized lessons clearly communicating to the students the
desired outcomes. Your students will be rewarded with interesting, challenging and motivating lessons.

Additional Resources:
• Math Activities Presentation Norfolk COABE (PowerPoint)
• GED Formulas Example Interactive Presentation Norfolk (PowerPoint)
• Math Website Ideas Presentation Norfolk (PowerPoint)
• Farenheit and Celsius Cooking (Word)

Minneapolis Adult Education Curriculum Alignment Project
COABE/VAACE National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia
Presenters: Heather Turngren, Janice Bisch, & Amy Vickers
Educational Focus: Program Management & Improvement

Are you searching for ways to have a consistent program-wide curriculum in a state without ABE content
standards Are you seeking a process to integrate 21st Century and employability skills in every level
Join Minneapolis Adult Education s three curriculum coordinators as they share their program s recent
curriculum alignment project which addresses these topics. Specifically, the presenters will describe the
process, timeline, and lessons learned that are part of the alignment project. They will also share related
online curriculum resources and discuss the ongoing implementation process.

Additional Resources: Minneapolis Adult Education Curriculum Alignment Project (PowerPoint)

Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap to Ensure College and Career Readiness
COABE/VAACE National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia
Presenter: Donna Chambers (Part 1 of 2) Room: Marriott VII
Educational Focus: Professional Development

This workshop will focus on ways to utilize current learning theories to facilitate ABE/ASE/ESOL student college and career readiness. Participants will explore evidence-based instruction and assessment to provide learners the opportunity to acquire fundamental reading, writing, math, speaking and listening, and language skills to prepare for a secondary credential and post-secondary education or training. Research proven teaching/learning strategies will be presented such as Understanding by Design and Depth of Knowledge. Several Common Core State Standards will be used to demonstrate how classroom instruction, curriculum and assessment together support effective learning.

Additional Resources:
• Raising the Bar and Closing the Gap to Ensure College and Career Readiness (PowerPoint)

How to Develop and Manage Your Online Personal Learning Network
COABE/VAACE National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia
Presenter: Carole Fuller
Educational Focus: Professional Development

How to develop an Online Personal Learning Network to tap into the wealth of knowledge and
experience that surrounds us. Teachers and administrators can explore how online tools such as twitter
(yes, really!), social bookmarking, and blog aggregators can facilitate the managing and sharing of
professional ideas.

Additional Resources:
• How to Develop and Manage Your Online Personal Learning Network (PowerPoint)

Start with the End in Mind: A Case Study of Adult Education as a Path to Career Training
COABE/VAACE National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia
Presenter: Jodi Perin
Educational Focus: Transitions

As adult educators working with a federally-funded scholarship program, we reflect upon our work
teaching adult education classes that focus on preparing students to enter career training in health care.
We partner with a workforce development organization and with community college advisors to assist
students in gaining the academic and soft skills needed to successfully transition from adult education to
career training at a community college. We examine and share our lessons learned in designing and
implementing intensive classes and managing multiple partnerships, and we share resources and tips to
replicate successful results.

Additional Resources:
• Start with the End in Mind: A Case Study of Adult Education as a Path to Career Training (PowerPoint)

Literature Circles and the Post-Secondary Developmental Reading Classroom
COABE/VAACE National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia
Presenter: Davonna Thomas

This presentation will explore the impact of literature circles on post-secondary developmental reading classrooms. It examines the hypothesis that the addition of literature circles to a traditional “skill and drill” post-secondary developmental reading course will positively impact student motivation, standardized comprehension test scores, and overall satisfaction with the class. This presentation considers the fact that students who speak African American Vernacular English have a unique language ideology—one which emphasizes oral language and collaborative meaning-making—which works particularly well with the literature circle format. Literature circle facilitator talk is examined as well.

Additional Resources:
• Literature Circles and the Post-Secondary Developmental Reading Classroom (PowerPoint)
• Bookmark Template Back (Word)
• Bookmark Template Front (Word)
• Literature Circle Evaluation (Word)
• Literature Circle Expectations (Word)

GAIN Test Administrator Certification Preparation Training (VENDOR)
COABE/VAACE National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia
Presenter: Bradley Olufs
Educational Focus: Adult Basic Education

GAIN (General Assessment of Instructional Needs) is included in the 'NRS Test Benchmarks for
Educational Functioning Levels'. This interactive workshop will provide an overview of the GAIN
assessment and prepare GAIN Test Administrators to become Wonderlic Certified as required by the
NRS. Topics include proper administration of GAIN to ensure that test takers are given the opportunity
to do their best and to be assessed fairly resulting in the most accurate results, maintaining test security,
Federal and State requirements.

Additional Resources:
• GAIN COABE Handout Accommodations (PDF)
• GAIN Test Administrator Certification Preparation Training (PowerPoint)
• Power of Testing Presentation (PowerPoint)
• GTA Test Prep Presentation (PowerPoint)

Teacher Identity Development Among Avocational Teachers
COABE/VAACE National Conference in Norfolk, Virginia
Presenter: Cynthia Campbell Room: James I
Educational Focus: Tutor Training, Volunteer Management, and Board Development

The adult education field, by necessity, relies on the service of avocational teachers to teach and tutor.
Developing these teachers as effective practitioners is an ongoing concern. Teacher identity describes the ongoing, dynamic process where teachers, in conjunction with individual personalities along with social and teaching contexts, make sense of themselves as teachers. This presentation will cover underlying theories, debates, and major research in teacher identity. There will also be a discussion of how the concept of teacher identity could help in the affective development of avocational teachers, potentially increasing their confidence and longevity.

Additional Resources: Avocational Teacher Identity Campbell COABE 2012 (PDF)

September 2011

Tutor Curriculum Guide for Teaching Adult ESL Preliterate Learners
Cielito Brekke, ESL Instructor
Institute for Extended Learning, Community Colleges of Spokane, MS 1050

Adult ESL students come to our IEL Adult Basic Education program with varied educational backgrounds from their native countries. Often they come with educational training or academic degrees from their native countries. Others come who have not acquired a high level of literacy in their first language due to socioeconomic status or educational circumstances. Also there are learners who come without education at all in their first language due to disrupted schooling brought about by war and poverty. And there are preliterate learners who have had no contact with print in their native languages. All of these various types of literacy levels are often placed in the same classroom regardless of their previous levels of education and literacy in their native language. Most of these students learn and acquire the English language for the first time.

This curriculum guide has been developed for tutors as well as instructors of adult refugee and immigrant ESL students who have no or limited literacy skills in their first language. The principles and strategies used in this guide can also be used for ESL students who have low or some literacy in their native language. The main focus of the guide is to develop initial English literacy skills in basic reading and writing, built upon listening and speaking skills. The students will be able to function with some difficulty in simple situations related to immediate needs, and to handle tasks including routine, entry-level jobs that involve only the most basic English communication skills. In this guide, the terms preliterate and non-literate learners are used interchangeably to mean students who have no formal literacy education in their native language.

Additional Resources: Tutor Curriculum Guide for Teaching Adult ESL Preliterate Learners (PDF)

August 2011

Adults Who Have Learning Disabilities: Transition From GED to Postsecondary Activities
Nancie Payne, President/CEO, Payne & Associates, Inc.

Approximately one third of special education students with learning disabilities leave high school before graduation. A high percentage of these students enroll in adult secondary completion classes in an attempt to obtain a high school equivalency certificate. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2003 transition planning is mandated for all students with disabilities enrolled in secondary education programs. This mandate does not apply to adult secondary completion classes and researchers clearly purport that the lack of transition planning may leave adult students with disabilities unexposed to needed services. While there is adequate substantiation within the secondary education system that transition planning leads to positive post-high school completion outcomes for students with learning disabilities, there is no evidence or validation of such within adult secondary completion programs.
Topic: Postsecondary Transitions
Resource:
• Adults Who Have Learning Disabilities: Transition From GED to Postsecondary Activities Dissertation

May 2011

Crossing the Bridge: GED Credentials and Postsecondary Educational Outcomes
Year Two Report
Margaret Patterson, PhD (American Council on Education, May 2011)

Do adults without a high school diploma pursue postsecondary education? A majority of adults who pass the GED® Tests (65.1 percent in 2009) indicate further education as a reason for testing. While the United States continues to recover from an economic recession, the need for adults to be prepared for family-sustaining careers, and the need for employers to have employees with postsecondary education–level skills, is acute for national economic recovery as well as for the success of individuals and employers. More>>

Topic: ASE, Community Colleges, Ed Research, Older Adults, US Education Stats
Resources:
• www.gedtest.org
• Crossing the Bridge Year 2 Presentation
• Crossing the Bridge Year 2 Report

Moodle Course Repositories
Penny S. Pearson (Outreach and Technical Assistance Project, May 2011)

The development of quality distance education programs can require a great deal of time, effort, and money. However, many agencies do not have an abundance of these resources. Through the generosity of dedicated teachers as well as grant-funded efforts of organizations around the world, many online courses are developed, tested and shared. Someone may have created just the course you want, and be willing to give it to you! A little time and effort could result in the discovery of many free courses available to adult education agencies to incorporate into their DL programs. This session is an introduction to these free, or very low cost, online courses. A resource list will provide participants examples of different course repository sites and include a list of course subject area, activities and resources included, licensing considerations, quality review as well as a general discussion as to how agencies could use these courses within their programs.

Topic: ABE, Adult Learning, Adult Literacy, Adult Teaching, Alt Programs, ASE, Assessment, Directories, Distance Learning
Resources:
• Moodle Course Repositories Presentation
• Repositories Resources List

The Ten Principles of Servant Leadership: Tools for Teachers and Students
Diane Silvers, Ed. D. (ESUHSD Adult Education Program, May 2011)

This practice-oriented presentation explores The Ten Principles of Servant Leadership as 21st Century tools for teachers to enhance their best practices while building community in the classroom. Participants have the opportunity to focus on innovative curriculum to stimulate students to begin to think about their roles as global citizens.

Topic: ABE, Adult Learning, Adult Literacy, Adult Teaching, ASE, Citizenship, Community Colleges, Community Coord, Culture
Resources:
• www.ProQuest.com
• The Ten Principles of Servant Leadership: Tools for Teachers and Students PowerPoint

April 2011

21st Century Professional Development
Catherine Green (American Institutes for Research, April 2011)
Through an interactive, Web-based presentation, participants explore three innovative electronic methods of delivering research-based professional development (PD). Before the presentation, participants evaluate the degree to which their current PD practices embrace 21st century skills and utilize Web 2.0 technology, either their own or their learners. After the presentation, participants evaluate the ways in which the methods presented support the development of 21st century skills and digital literacy. Next, working in teams, participants analyze case studies of adult educators, coming to consensus on the PD need(s) and suggesting creative ways to address those needs, using one or more Web 2.0 tools described. After teams report back, participants reflect on ways to adapt these methods for their own contexts. Participants will leave with a list of additional resources for further study.
Topic: Adult Literacy, Distance Learning, Internet, Staff Development, Tech Integration,Technology, Workplace Education
Resources:
• 21st Century Professional Development Handout 1 (of 3) Checklist
• 21st Century Professional Development Handout 3 (of 3) PD Resources
• 21st Century Professional Development PowerPoint Presentation

21st Century Skills: What Do Teachers & Learners Need to Know?
Marian Thacher (OTAN, April 2011)

21st Century Skills and Digital Literacy: What do Learners and Teachers Need to Know? What exactly are 21st century technology skills, and how can we make sure we are incorporating these skills into our instruction? This presentation will review the definitions of 21st century skills and digital literacy, and provide examples of how these skills can be integrated by examining the intersection of technology, pedagogy and content knowledge. Examples from adult education classrooms will be provided, including e-portfolios, collaborative online projects, and educational uses of social networking.

Topic: ABE, Adult Learning, Adult Literacy, Adult Teaching, ASE, Community Colleges, Comp Based Ed, Conference Workshop, Distance Learning, ESL, ESL Literacy, Internet, Planning, Reading, Staff Development, Tech Integration, Tech Planning, Technology,Writing
Resources:
• http://webtwopointohinadulted.wikispaces.com/21CenturySkills
• 21st Century Skills: What Do Teachers & Learners Need to Know? PowerPoint
• 21st Century Skills: What Do Teachers & Learners Need to Know? Handout

ABE and ESL Students' Spelling
Kristi Vanderhoof (California State University, Fresno, April 2011)

This lecture will provide some background on the differences between the spelling development of ABE and adult ESL students. Spelling stages identified by literacy researchers, such as Henderson (1990) and Ehri (1986) will be discussed in light of the different types of spelling acquisition observed in these two student populations. Results from previous studies and from the presenter’s recent cross-sectional study will be presented briefly. These results show that native English-speaking ABE students and adult ESL students both follow the same spelling stages, but adult ESL students tend to experience more interference due to their difficulties distinguishing English sounds. In addition, adult students tend to rely more on their visual memory than young learners do. In light of these findings, techniques for fostering word awareness and phonemic awareness in all adult learners will be shared. Further, techniques for improving adult ESL students’ ability to perceive the distinction between English sounds will be offered. Ways to integrate these techniques with reading, vocabulary, and pronunciation instruction will also be discussed.

Topic: ABE, Adult Literacy, Conference Workshop, ESL
Resources:
• Understanding and Improving ABE and ESL Students' Spelling Handout
• ABE and ESL Students' Spelling PowerPoint Presentation

Building a Bridge between Two Cultures
Mary Charuhas (College of Lake County, April 2011)

The conference workshop was Bridging the Gap between Two Cultures: Adult Education and Bridge Programming. The new workshop was designed to help people identify the demands and expectations of two difference fields of education and how important it is to understand them in order to create a partnership.

Topic: ASE, Community Colleges, Conference Workshop, Culture, ESL
Resources:
• Building a Bridge between Two Cultures Handout
• Building a Bridge between Two Cultures Handout Answers
• Building a Bridge between Two Cultures PowerPoint Presentation

Cultural Components in the Classroom
Dr. Jim Berger, Ph.D. (Western Kentucky University, April 2011)

These documents were used in the 2011 COABE/CCAE Conference in San Francisco. The session focused on cultural markers that can impact learning within the classroom. The premise of the session was that instructors establish their own classroom culture and the degree to which their culture matches the students' culture impacts how effective the learning environment is.

Topic: Adult Learning, Adult Teaching, Community Colleges, Culture, Staff Development
Resources:
• Cultural Components in the Classroom General Outline and Case Studies
• Cultural Markers Table

Curriculum: Adult Learners with Low-Level Literacy
Virginia Posey, Ph.D. (Editor, CASAS, April 2011)
This presentation provides highlights of the CASAS free online Adult Low-Level Literacy Curriculum. The curriculum was funded with the assistance of the California State Council for Developmental Disabilities and written by a workgroup of ABE teachers and coordinators who teach adult education students with low literacy skills. It follows principles of universal design for learning and features four components to meet individual differences: (1) alternate formats for learning challenges and preferences, (2) metacogntive strategies to improve student ability to think and learn, strategies to promote self-concept and independence, and activities to prepare for community and postsecondary placements. These features are built into lessons that teach basic skills in a functional adult life and work context.
Topic: Adult Learning, Adult Teaching, At Risk Populations, Conference Workshop
Website: www.casas.org/LowLiteracyCurriculum/

Digital Literacy: Global Standards in the Workplace
Lisa Dunphy Boyle (ICDL US/CEOLii, April 2011)

Digital literacy (DL) is becoming regarded as an essential skill in developed economies, where many national and international skills bodies are classifying basic digital skills as being foundational enabling skills, which exist parallel to literacy, numeracy and second level educational skills.

Topic: Adult Learning, Adult Literacy, Adult Teaching, Community Colleges, Comp Based Ed, Distance Learning, Family Literacy, Family/Child Lit, International, Internet, School-to-Work, Skill Standards, Staff Development, Tech Integration, Tech Planning, Technology
Resource: Digital Literacy: Global Standards in the Workplace Presentation

Dual Language Instruction for Adult Learners
(April 2011)

Many Spanish-speaking adult learners at Carlos Rosario International Public School choose to take both ESL and preparation classes for the Spanish GED, effectively creating for themselves a dual language educational program. An administrator, a teacher and an adult learner from the program will discuss how the program is set up.

Topic: ABE, Adult Learning, Immigration Issues
Resource: Dual Language Instruction for Adult Learners PowerPoint

ESL Reading for the Workplace
Miriam Burt (Center for Applied Linguistics, April 2011)

ESL Reading for the Workplace and What New Instructors Working with Adults Learning English Need were presented at the COABE 2011 Conference.

Topic: Adult Learning, Adult Teaching, Citizenship, Conference Workshop, ESL, ESL Literacy, Workplace Ed
Resource: ESL Reading for the Workplace PowerPoint

Explicit Instruction: What is it and is it effective for my students?
Amy Park (CALPRO/American Institutes for Research, April 2011)
According to research studies and a consensus among experienced practitioners, explicit instruction is effective for teaching reading to intermediate adult learners and adults with learning disabilities. Find out what explicit instruction is, see an example of it, and locate free resources to help you integrate it into your classroom instruction. Attached are the presentation slides and handout from the conference session.
Topic: ABE
Resources:
• Explicit Instruction PowerPoint Presentation
•Selected Resources
• Website: http://www.calpro-online.org/readinginstruction/video.asp

A Place in the Sun? Low-Literate, Low-Income Urban ABE Students and Career-Oriented Programming
Jaye Jones, MA, MSW (Literacy Chicago, April 2011)
This presentation reports on the results of a series of focus groups on employment issues conducted with a range of adult literacy and beginning ABE students at Literacy Chicago, in Chicago, IL. It also provides an example of a career development curriculum created by the program that incorporates the needs of these learners. The reflections on how students’ interests can impact programming will not only highlight how adults with significant educational and economic challenges frame workforce issues, but will also give voice to a population that is at risk for becoming progressively more marginalized within an increasingly workforce development oriented ABE system.

Topic: ABE,Adult Literacy,At Risk Populations,Older Adults,Workplace Ed
Resource: A Place in the Sun? Low-Literate, Low-Income Urban ABE Students and Career-oriented Programming PowerPoint

Generously funded by Dollar General Literacy Foundation