Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System
What does an adult basic to post-secondary education system truly built for student learning look like, and why?
Description: In the field of adult education, being learner-centered is widely accepted as a foundation of quality instruction and programming. However, there are many interpretations of learner-centeredness, and educators’ selection and application of learner-centered practices vary greatly. What does it mean in practice to be truly learner-centered? How can we as a field ensure that our goal does not stop at quality instruction, but prioritizes quality learning? How should professional development influence and support our learner-centeredness? Given the current emphasis on students’ transitions to post-secondary opportunities, what are the implications for classrooms, schools and systems that aspire to be learner-centered? How should technology support learner-centered instruction?
Bridging Continuous Improvement with Program Data
This interactive learning session will examine reflective practice for adult education programs. Participants will explore the use of reflective practice as a professional development tool to explore program data, program outcomes and learner-centered instructional systems.
Presenter: Rebecca Wagner, Executive Director, Community Learning Center, Pennsylvania
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Adult Basic Education (ABE) Literacy
Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session V, 3:15–4:45 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 2
Classroom Coaching: A Learner-Centered Approach
This session will explore key concepts in the innovative practice of effectively coaching adult learners. Participants will take a detailed look at the relationship between student motivation and skill level. Specific coaching strategies that align with a learner-centered approach in a post-secondary transitions context will be discussed.
Presenter: Laura Kern, MA, CC, "The Classroom Coach", LJKern Enterprises, LLC, Florida
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Monday, April 18, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session I, 2:10–3:40 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
Faculty Inquiry Groups as Professional Development
This session will examine how adult educators can deepen their understanding of students by participating in a faculty inquiry group. The presenters will describe several projects in a basic academic skills program. Session participants will learn how to create faculty inquiry groups and adapt formative assessments to address an inquiry question.
Presenters:
Stanford Goto, Associate Professor, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington
Roz Spitzer, Instructor/Faculty Coordinator, Bellingham Technical College, Bellingham, Washington
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session III, 9:45-11:15 a.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
How Professional Development Can Make or Break Learner-Centerdness in Your Program
Learner-centeredness that is deeply embedded and well-practiced in programs often has roots in professional development infrastructures that support a culture of learning rather than a culture of teaching. participants will analyze critical elements of professional development practices—such as Professional Learning Communities and Lesson Study—that focus on the learner and will reflect on the degree to which practices at their own agencies align with learner-centered concepts.
Presenter: Jacques Lacour, American Institute for Research
Presentation Format: Interactive learning session (1.5 hours)
Inquiry Area: A Learner Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session VII, 1:15-2:45 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
Learning Teams: A Collaborative Approach to Meaningful Learner-Centered Professional Development
Shifting school culture from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning is critical in improving results for students. Gain insight from one school’s journey to create a system where all staff work collaboratively, using a framework of continuous improvement and collective inquiry into best practices, to achieve better learning gains for students. More>>
Presenters:
Nancy George, Director, New Haven Adult School, Union City, California
Jessica Wilder, Assistant Director, New Haven Adult School, Union City, California
Karen Barroso, Program Manager, New Haven Adult School, Union City, California
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Tuesday April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session IV, 1:30–3:00 p.m. Room: Continenetal Parlor 2
Practical Transitions
Practical solutions that are student centered to help transition your students into college and/or careers. This portfolio approach has been effective to transition GED graduates, who may not be aware of their true goals, to college. Catch a glimpse of a student-centered curriculum along with actual student portfolios. The presentation also introduces the basics that instructors must have to help guide their students through the maze of post-secondary admissions; includes step-by-step handouts that are completely reproducible. More>>
Presenters:
Melissa Sadler-Nitu, Program Director, Erskine Adult Education Cooperative, Seguin, Texas
Rene Coronado, Coordinator, Region 20 Education Service Center, San Antonio, Texas
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System
Educational Focus: Post-secondary Transitions and student Re-entry Programs
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session VI, 10:00-11:30 a.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
Taking Your Students Beyond the GED with Differentiated Instruction
Students not only have many different goals but also different learning styles, readiness levels and interests. This session will equip you with quick and effective tools to identify commonalities and differences among your students. You will learn techniques to assist students in setting goals beyond the GED. And once you have identified needs, you will be given strategies to differentiate your instruction in order to meet these varying levels within your ABE or ASE classroom.
Presenter: Dawn Hanzel, Initiative Director, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session VII, 10:00-11:30 a.m. Room:Continental Parlor 1
Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy (TEAL)
The TEAL Center provides PD on evidence-based strategies for effective teaching, with a focus on ABE writing. Participating states learn to enhance classroom practice and design learning activities around learners' skills and needs. This session will provide an overview of TEAL and involve participants in quick-writes and other activities.
Presenter: Mary Ann Corley, American Institutes for Research, District of Columbia
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session V, 3:15–4:45 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
Widening the Educational Base for ABE Students
New Mexico ABE WEBS Project is an overview of ABE teachers, administrators, tutors and students engaged in professional development through methodologies that encourage all levels of leadership to focus on data, formative assessments, and accountability. This interactive presentation will focus on the ways to engage programs to focus on student leadership, encourage statewide reflective practice, and build continuity, and momentum by structuring local ABE Regional Lead cohorts to support the diverse and vast needs of the adult learners in New Mexico.
Presenters:
*Kimberly Iwasko, New Mexico ABE Widening the Educational Base for Students (WEBS) Project, Santa Fe, New Mexico
*Gretchen Alvarado, ESL Instructor, New Mexico Junior College, Hobbs, New Mexico
*David Williams, Adult Educator, Catholic Charities of Central New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Tuesday April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session IV, 1:30–3:00 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
Description: In the field of adult education, being learner-centered is widely accepted as a foundation of quality instruction and programming. However, there are many interpretations of learner-centeredness, and educators’ selection and application of learner-centered practices vary greatly. What does it mean in practice to be truly learner-centered? How can we as a field ensure that our goal does not stop at quality instruction, but prioritizes quality learning? How should professional development influence and support our learner-centeredness? Given the current emphasis on students’ transitions to post-secondary opportunities, what are the implications for classrooms, schools and systems that aspire to be learner-centered? How should technology support learner-centered instruction?
Bridging Continuous Improvement with Program Data
This interactive learning session will examine reflective practice for adult education programs. Participants will explore the use of reflective practice as a professional development tool to explore program data, program outcomes and learner-centered instructional systems.
Presenter: Rebecca Wagner, Executive Director, Community Learning Center, Pennsylvania
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Adult Basic Education (ABE) Literacy
Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session V, 3:15–4:45 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 2
Classroom Coaching: A Learner-Centered Approach
This session will explore key concepts in the innovative practice of effectively coaching adult learners. Participants will take a detailed look at the relationship between student motivation and skill level. Specific coaching strategies that align with a learner-centered approach in a post-secondary transitions context will be discussed.
Presenter: Laura Kern, MA, CC, "The Classroom Coach", LJKern Enterprises, LLC, Florida
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Monday, April 18, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session I, 2:10–3:40 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
Faculty Inquiry Groups as Professional Development
This session will examine how adult educators can deepen their understanding of students by participating in a faculty inquiry group. The presenters will describe several projects in a basic academic skills program. Session participants will learn how to create faculty inquiry groups and adapt formative assessments to address an inquiry question.
Presenters:
Stanford Goto, Associate Professor, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington
Roz Spitzer, Instructor/Faculty Coordinator, Bellingham Technical College, Bellingham, Washington
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session III, 9:45-11:15 a.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
How Professional Development Can Make or Break Learner-Centerdness in Your Program
Learner-centeredness that is deeply embedded and well-practiced in programs often has roots in professional development infrastructures that support a culture of learning rather than a culture of teaching. participants will analyze critical elements of professional development practices—such as Professional Learning Communities and Lesson Study—that focus on the learner and will reflect on the degree to which practices at their own agencies align with learner-centered concepts.
Presenter: Jacques Lacour, American Institute for Research
Presentation Format: Interactive learning session (1.5 hours)
Inquiry Area: A Learner Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session VII, 1:15-2:45 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
Learning Teams: A Collaborative Approach to Meaningful Learner-Centered Professional Development
Shifting school culture from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning is critical in improving results for students. Gain insight from one school’s journey to create a system where all staff work collaboratively, using a framework of continuous improvement and collective inquiry into best practices, to achieve better learning gains for students. More>>
Presenters:
Nancy George, Director, New Haven Adult School, Union City, California
Jessica Wilder, Assistant Director, New Haven Adult School, Union City, California
Karen Barroso, Program Manager, New Haven Adult School, Union City, California
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Tuesday April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session IV, 1:30–3:00 p.m. Room: Continenetal Parlor 2
Practical Transitions
Practical solutions that are student centered to help transition your students into college and/or careers. This portfolio approach has been effective to transition GED graduates, who may not be aware of their true goals, to college. Catch a glimpse of a student-centered curriculum along with actual student portfolios. The presentation also introduces the basics that instructors must have to help guide their students through the maze of post-secondary admissions; includes step-by-step handouts that are completely reproducible. More>>
Presenters:
Melissa Sadler-Nitu, Program Director, Erskine Adult Education Cooperative, Seguin, Texas
Rene Coronado, Coordinator, Region 20 Education Service Center, San Antonio, Texas
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System
Educational Focus: Post-secondary Transitions and student Re-entry Programs
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session VI, 10:00-11:30 a.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
Taking Your Students Beyond the GED with Differentiated Instruction
Students not only have many different goals but also different learning styles, readiness levels and interests. This session will equip you with quick and effective tools to identify commonalities and differences among your students. You will learn techniques to assist students in setting goals beyond the GED. And once you have identified needs, you will be given strategies to differentiate your instruction in order to meet these varying levels within your ABE or ASE classroom.
Presenter: Dawn Hanzel, Initiative Director, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session VII, 10:00-11:30 a.m. Room:Continental Parlor 1
Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy (TEAL)
The TEAL Center provides PD on evidence-based strategies for effective teaching, with a focus on ABE writing. Participating states learn to enhance classroom practice and design learning activities around learners' skills and needs. This session will provide an overview of TEAL and involve participants in quick-writes and other activities.
Presenter: Mary Ann Corley, American Institutes for Research, District of Columbia
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session V, 3:15–4:45 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
Widening the Educational Base for ABE Students
New Mexico ABE WEBS Project is an overview of ABE teachers, administrators, tutors and students engaged in professional development through methodologies that encourage all levels of leadership to focus on data, formative assessments, and accountability. This interactive presentation will focus on the ways to engage programs to focus on student leadership, encourage statewide reflective practice, and build continuity, and momentum by structuring local ABE Regional Lead cohorts to support the diverse and vast needs of the adult learners in New Mexico.
Presenters:
*Kimberly Iwasko, New Mexico ABE Widening the Educational Base for Students (WEBS) Project, Santa Fe, New Mexico
*Gretchen Alvarado, ESL Instructor, New Mexico Junior College, Hobbs, New Mexico
*David Williams, Adult Educator, Catholic Charities of Central New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Presentation Format: Interactive Learning Session (1.5 hour)
Inquiry Area: A Learner-Centered System Educational Focus: Professional Development
Date: Tuesday April 19, 2011 Time: Concurrent Session IV, 1:30–3:00 p.m. Room: Continental Parlor 1
