FREE!
Adult Education Professional Development Opportunities for
May 2024
VALRC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR THIS MONTH
The following professional development opportunities are offered to Virginia adult education practitioners as well as adult education partner organizations.
During the summer months, VALRC offers a limited number of live, synchronous PD options, so we have also included our asynchronous PD options for this month.
MAY
7
2–3 p.m. EST
VDOE 2024 Data Office Hours
Join the VDOE team to discuss data questions and concerns.
VALRC Asynchronous PD Options
Adult Education in Virginia
This one-hour, adult education overview was created as a resource for teachers, staff, and partners who want to learn more about the field of adult education in Virginia.
Adult ESOL Foundations
This two-hour, self-paced tutorial was designed to introduce or reintroduce adult educators and practitioners to foundational adult English language instructional tenets, practices, and strategies in order to broaden or deepen the understanding of foundational adult English language instruction.
Five Components of Accessibility
In this one-hour, self-paced tutorial you will learn about the five main components of accessibility. These components include: color-contrast, hyperlinks, alt-text, tables, and headings.
See VALRC's Self-Paced Tutorial site for more information on registering for these offerings.
New! VALRC's April 2024 Issue of Progress:
Expanding Access to All Learners
When it comes to adult learners who have a disability, we oftentimes don’t know what we don’t know. Some of our learners are comfortable sharing with us that they have a learning or mobility-impacted disability. Others, however, are reluctant to disclose information about a disability—or, they have never been identified as having a disability. When considering the data, it should come as no surprise that adults with disabilities (both identified and unidentified) will be learners in our programs.
In this issue of PROGRESS, we go beyond lists of accommodations and strategies and instead, focus on shifting our instructional and programmatic designs toward a culture of inclusion through collaborative activities that create equitable adult education programming that benefits all learners.
VALRC's Resource Highlight
This resource provides tutorial videos and important information about the state’s new data system.
This google folder contains curated resources for the science of reading, including assessments and each component of reading (alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension). Many of these resources are open-source from other agencies. VALRC staff are continually adding new resources to the folder, so check back often!
This page contains a video tutorial, resources, and guidance documents for teachers, program managers, and learners to get the most out of the adult education courses in Virtual Virginia. The Virginia Department of Education has partnered with Virtual Virginia to develop 9 online courses for adult learners in 3 content areas: English language arts, mathematics, and English language acquisition.
This online guide provides information for instructors who are new to adult education in Virginia and may also be useful for returning instructors. The resources connect instructors to the field of adult education and provide information on quality instruction for the adult education context. It includes featured resources by subject area, information on essential topics such as standards-based instruction and inclusive practices, and an updated Adult Education Glossary and Acronym List.
SAVE THE DATE: VAACE's 2024 Conference
Planning for the VAACE 2024 Conference is underway, scheduled for October 21-23 in Charlottesville. More information and updates on registration the VAACE Conference website within the next month.
ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR THIS MONTH
The following webinars are offered by various adult education organizations and are all FREE to attend. Click the Register button below the event description to sign up for any webinars of interest.
MAY
3
3–4 p.m. EST
COABE: Ensuring Your Programs Benefit from $770 Million in Federal Digital Equity Funds to States and Territories: How to Get Ready Now
In this interactive webinar, panelists will brief state and local adult education leaders about unprecedented opportunities to tap funding for programs through $770 million coming to states and territories. This funding will be released over the next three years to implement each state’s federally approved digital equity plan. Participants will also explore how to leverage $42.5 billion in federal funds, such as bringing affordable broadband to many underserved areas, opening up new opportunities for online and hybrid learning for adult educators and students, intensifying training to foster digital navigator positions, and upskilling digital literacy and cyber safety skills. Participants will learn how to find out when their state is issuing requests for bids to deliver such training.
MAY
6
7:30–9:30 p.m. EST
Literacy Minnesota: Comprehension Strategies for Intermediate-Level Readers
Research shows that explicitly teaching a set of comprehension strategies is a great way to help intermediate-level readers maximize their understanding of texts. Come learn a handful of great comprehension tools that will help students develop critical thinking skills and comprehension skills.
MAY
8
2–3 p.m. EST
LINCS: Investing in Multiple Literacies for Individual and Collective Empowerment
The Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network (ALL IN) is a collective impact initiative formed by national thought leaders in the adult learning field and beyond. In the age of information, the types of literacies needed to participate in society have increased dramatically. Moving forward, we need to think differently about how we define, support, and measure adult literacy skills development, not in terms of reading levels, but in terms of multiple literacies that yield multiple possibilities.
Join this session to learn more about our collective impact effort to improve multiple literacy skills, including digital, information, health, and family literacy.
MAY
9
3–4 p.m. EST
LINCS: Trauma-Informed Teaching: Skills and Strategies for Working with Adult Learners
Guest presenter Sherry MacKay from the Transformational Learning Communities will focus on ways to create a trauma-sensitive learning environment for adult learners with refugee and immigrant backgrounds. Ms. MacKay will introduce concepts and tools to: (a) Understand how trauma impacts learning; (b) Support teacher and student well-being; (c) Apply mindfulness in the classroom; (d) Co-create a safe, supportive, and welcoming learning environment; and (e) Respond to potentially challenging situations, such as classroom dynamics and/or students experiencing strong emotions.
MAY
10
12–1 p.m. EST
LINCS: Supporting New Adult Education Program Administrators with Professional Development
Join an interactive presentation and discussion on professional development for new administrators. We'll hear from professional development professionals, Chrissie Klinger, Education Program Associate, Penn State University and Beverly Wilson, State Director of Adult Education, Arizona Department of Education on models and promising practices, and we invite you to share your experiences, challenges, and successes.
MAY
10
2–4 p.m. EST
Literacy Minnesota: Tips and Strategies for Online Instruction
During the early days of the pandemic, remote instruction was a necessary evil that many begrudgingly endured. But as the options for in-person instruction opened up, many learners chose to continue to learn in an online environment. Join this session to learn and see modeled tips and strategies for teaching and tutoring online, and determine how to bring them back to your context. This session is appropriate for educators working with both English language learners and adult education students. (Note: This session does not include technical how-to skills for using Zoom or other platforms.)
MAY
10
2–3 p.m. EST
COABE: Write Away Help for HSE Writing!
How can we help our students meet the challenges of GED® and HiSET® writing tasks? Find out in this interactive webinar as we start with quick writes, continue with argument essay analysis, and finish with frames, models, and graphic organizers. We will also discuss why students may not score well on HSE writing tasks and share best practice solutions.
MAY
15
3–4 p.m. EST
LINCS: Supporting Students Who Struggle With Time Management
It isn’t uncommon for adult students to struggle with managing their time effectively. During this coffee break, Elizabeth Jackson with the Literacy Assistance Center will discuss the various reasons why students may struggle with time management and provide tips and strategies to help students improve their time management skills.
MAY
16
3–4 p.m. EST
LINCS: Technology Behind the Walls
As the use of technology grows, so does the integration of technology in the educational and training classrooms in our prisons and jails. This event will explore hardware, software, and best practices for teaching and guiding students through the digital equity landscape. Join us to learn more about what has been working with technology behind the walls, what has not, and what lies ahead for educators and students in the carceral education arena.
MAY
17
2–4 p.m. EST
Literacy Minnesota: How Adult Brains Learn Languages Presented by Andrea Echelberger
Learn what research has to say about how adult brains learn a new language, how trauma and stress impact learning, and how this influences the teaching practices that we use in the language classroom. Participants will leave the webinar with suggestions for ways teachers and tutors can apply brain-based teaching practices as we are helping adult ESL students develop their language skills.
MAY
22
1:30–2:30 p.m. EST
COABE: Modernizing Adult Education Performance Accountability: Why? What? How? When?
Adult educators have been expanding the way they measure, document, and report learning gains. Recently updated National Reporting System (NRS) tables provide more opportunity to measure learning outside of traditional post-testing. Learn how one state collaborated with their program leaders to create guidance for Measurable Skill Gain types 3-5 and more. Explore OCTAE leadership’s vision for modernizing adult education and the new NRS flexibilities. Consider the opportunities for your state, program, and learners!
NOTE: This session was previously presented on April 23, 2024 via World Education/JSI.
MAY
28
3–4 p.m. EST
LINCS: Strategies and Resources for Supporting Highly Skilled Immigrants
Are you looking for strategies and resources to support immigrants who are highly skilled? Join our live event with Stefanie Vasquez from World Education Services on May 28, 2024 from 3-4 pm. Participants will leave this event with resources and strategies to better support English learners with accessing and progressing along career pathways in the United States.
MAY
29
2–3 p.m. EST
COABE: The Little Things You Can Do to Make a Big Impact on GED® Math Performance
Sometimes it’s the little things students ignore that could mean the difference between passing or failing the GED® Mathematical Reasoning Test. This session will focus on what teachers need to pay attention to in terms of what students do during problem solving exercises that could help significantly improve students’ performance on the test. This session will also suggest strategies on how to break those bad math habits and provide tips to sustain effective problem-solving practices.
MAY
30
3–4 p.m. EST
LINCS: Reading, Writing, and Workforce Prep
Do you wonder which reading and writing skills are essential for the workplace? Find out in this LINCS webinar, Reading, Writing, and Workforce Prep on May 30 at 3 PM ET. Join moderators Chrissie Klinger and Steve Schmidt as they discuss workforce prep skills and model activities that prepare students for workplace success.
MAY
30
7:30–9:30 p.m. EST
Literacy Minnesota: Teaching Reading Vocabulary
Vocabulary is everyone’s favorite reading component! And helping students master reading vocabulary is a key to helping them master comprehension.
But how many words should you teach? And which words are the most important? What strategies are best for helping students learn new words? How do you get students to make new words part of their receptive and productive vocabularies? This webinar will focus on the theory and best practice behind choosing, teaching and reviewing reading vocabulary. You’ll get a chance to learn about (and practice) a variety of activities that can be done remotely or in person. Links to great online resources will also be provided.
This workshop will be most useful for instructors working with low-intermediate to advanced readers.
Brought to you by:
THE VIRGINIA ADULT LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER AT VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
"Equipping the field of adult education and literacy with essential skills and resources through an equity mindset."
