ATLAS ABE

How to Help Students Navigate the U.S. Immigration System
2022-03-15 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 3/15/22
The U.S. immigration system is complex, and it impacts the lives of many learners in adult education. In the first part of this interactive two-hour webinar, attorney Erin Schutte Wadzinski will provide a general overview of immigration law and answer your questions about the complexities of the U.S. federal immigration system. In the second hour, Erin will share guidance on how teachers, volunteers and community members can support immigrants as they navigate their personal immigration journey.

HyFlex Community of Practice
2022-03-15 14:00 - 15:00
Registration Deadline: NONE; please click the Join Meeting link below to join on the day of the webinar:
JOIN MEETING >>
Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) classes (classes that are taught synchronously in-person with a remote synchronous option) offer students the opportunity to participate online or in the classroom, but can be intimidating for teachers to implement. Literacy Minnesota and the Support Services Distance Learning team would like to invite you to join a new HyFlex Community of Practice facilitated by Cathy Grady from Hubbs Center (Saint Paul Public Schools) and Kirsten Collins from Literacy Minnesota.
This informal group is a fun place to share and build on our collective knowledge and experience in this new and growing area. We will decide as a group areas for future exploration, but some options are: exploring HyFlex technology options, hearing from teachers currently using HyFlex and classroom management tips for the HyFlex class.
This group will meet online periodically throughout the school year and our next meeting is set for March 15 at 2:00 pm CST and will focus on sharing resources and include a “show and tell” from teachers using HyFlex in the classroom.
All meetings will be held in Google Meet and are open to both teachers and managers. No need to sign up, just use the link above to join! We look forward to seeing you then!

Core Training Module 2: Understanding Adult Learners
2022-03-14 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: MON. 3/14/22
Participants develop their personal cultural awareness and learn how expectations around school culture shape how people teach and learn. Motivations and barriers to learning are also covered, as well as guiding principles for effectively delivering instruction to adults. Participants also increase their sensitivity to the challenges of learning English/developing literacy as an adult.

Speak Up! Pronunciation Activities for Remote or In-Person Instruction
2022-03-11 13:30 - 15:00
Registration Deadline: FRI. 3/11/22 (Part 1); FRI. 3/18/22 (Part 2)
English pronunciation is a challenge for teachers and learners alike! In order for learners to be able to add the features of English pronunciation to their speaking toolbox, they need explicit instruction so that they can hear and produce the target sounds and rhythms.
In these two sessions, you will learn about techniques to teach pronunciation that will be helpful for learners from a variety of language backgrounds and ESOL levels, and multisensory activities that can be used during in-person or remote instruction that go far beyond “listen and repeat”. The training will also discuss the importance of focusing on intelligibility as opposed to accent reduction, and provide suggestions for incorporating the techniques and activities into existing curriculum rather than stand-alone classes. Participants do not need to attend both sessions.
In Part 1 (a 90-minute session on March 11 from 1:30-3:00pm), we will dive into ways to teach and practice the sounds of English, including minimal pairs, articulatory settings, final consonant production, and consonant clusters.
In Part 2 (a 90-minute session on March 18 from 1:30-3:00pm), we will go above and beyond the sounds to explore ways to teach and practice the rhythms of English, including word stress, thought groups, and intonation.
Come prepared to try a variety of activities with your teaching colleagues, and leave with ideas that you can implement immediately!
If you require ASL interpretation, please contact Gail Rutan

Developing and Practicing Reading Fluency
2022-03-11 13:00 - 15:00
Registration Deadline: FRI. 3/11/22
Come and review the important role of fluency in reading instruction. We will discuss the three key components of reading fluency and look at a variety of activities tutors and teachers can try. We will talk about the mechanics of doing fluency practice via Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or any other remote tutoring tool (including the phone!). Participants will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions and share resources.
This workshop will be most useful for instructors working with low-intermediate to advanced readers.

Responding to Community Trauma in the Classroom (Part 2 of 2)
2022-03-10 16:00 - 17:30, 2022-03-03 16:00 - 17:30, 2022-02-24 16:00 - 17:30, 2022-02-17 16:00 - 17:30
Registration Deadline: THU. 5/27/21
NOTE: If you were unable to attend Part 1 (on May 20), please watch the recording prior to this meeting.
The second part of the training will consist of small group discussions led by ABE teachers that will focus on adapting the practices for adult classrooms to better serve ABE learners of all backgrounds and levels.
If you require ASL Interpretation, please contact Gail Rutan at grutan01@hamline.edu

CCRS Support Webinar: Building Inquiry in ELA & Math (Rescheduled from 2/24/22)
2022-03-10 14:00 - 15:30
Registration Deadline: THU. 3/10/22
Telling students rules and facts doesn’t always ‘stick!’ When learners discover for themselves how a text operates or how a math problem is unfolding, the real magic happens. Join special guest Mark Trushkowsky as we experience inquiry-based learning and consider ways it helps our students deepen their understanding of both ELA and math.

Phonics in Adult ESL: Recommendations, Activities and Resources
2022-03-10 10:00 - 12:00
Registration Deadline: THU. 3/10/22
Phonics–the knowledge of the sounds letters make when they are combined to make words–is essential to beginning literacy and beginning level English language instruction. But, many teachers and tutors lack the knowledge, confidence and resources to teach the topic. Attend this session to learn why phonics instruction is important and leave with several ideas for phonics activities and resources to bring back to your teaching and tutoring sessions.
This session will be most useful to tutors and teachers working with beginning literacy, low beginning and high beginning English language learners.

Teaching Online: Support and Idea Swap #3
2022-03-09 14:00 - 15:00
Registration Deadline: NONE; please click the Join Meeting link below to join on the day of the webinar:
JOIN MEETING >>
This will be the final of three Teaching Online: Support and Idea Swap sessions. Participants can attend any or all of these sessions; there’s no requirement to attend all three. Participants should be prepared to articulate their current and urgent instructional issues and questions, as well as be willing to provide their expertise and advice, and share resources with others. Consider these sessions as a informal support group for teachers from which you’ll leave with advice, resources, and a productive perspective. Possible topics for support and discussion during these sessions include:

Communication in a blended environment: Google Voice, email, Remind, Whats App, etc.
Integrating approved DL platforms with synchronous instruction (online or in person)
Teaching digital literacy skills to participate in blended and online classes
Prioritizing and setting expectations for hybrid/blended teacher responsibilities and workloads
Setting up and/or best practices for using an online website or class in an LMS (Classroom, Schoology, etc.)
Best practices and tips & tricks using instructional tech tools (EdPuzzle, Jamboard, Flipgrid, Mentimeter, Kahoot, Padlet, etc.)
Making and using instructional screencasts

Adam Kieffer (DL Team/St. Paul ABE) will be facilitating and hosting these sessions.

Core Training Module 1: Overview of Minnesota Adult Education and Program Accountability
2022-03-07 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: MON. 3/7/22
Participants learn about Adult Basic Education programming in Minnesota, demographics of learners, instructional content standards, initial and on-going assessment and other accountability measures.

EBRI Webinar Series: Meeting 2
2022-03-04 13:00 - 14:30
Registration Deadline: FRI. 3/4/22
Join Marn Frank this winter and spring for the EBRI Webinar Series! There are 6 webinars, each on Friday from 1:00-2:30pm CST. Participants may choose to attend some or all of the webinars. The meetings focus on the following topics or questions:
Webinar 2: What is the value of diagnostic reading assessment (DRA)? What are the purposes and processes for assessing word reading skills, phonics knowledge, fluency and comprehension levels? How are the results used to plan effective reading instruction?

ABE-DevEd Affinity Group
2022-03-04 10:00 - 11:15, 2022-03-03 14:00 - 15:15
Registration Deadline: NONE; please click the Join Zoom link below to join on the day of the meeting:

JOIN ZOOM (the passcode is Partners!)

The ABE-DevEd Affinity Group was established in academic year 2020-21 and will continue in 2021-22, meeting via Zoom. The group consists of Minn State (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system) faculty and staff, ABE teachers and administrators currently engaged in DevEd classroom partnerships, and educators with an interest to establish successful partnerships.
The group shares effective practices, including the creation of a partnership toolkit, and discusses topics of common interest. The intent of the collaborative work is to increase the quality and quantity of partnerships to improve Dev Ed student outcomes and help students to advance to credit-bearing courses in the most expedient fashion, having gained the confidence and competence to move forward with their higher education goals. This statewide effort is led and funded by the Northwest Transitions Region.
Note: The Affinity Group meeting schedule for 2021-22 includes 5 sessions starting in late September and ending in late April. Each of the five sessions offers two options (same topics) – one on Thursday from 2:00-3:15 pm and one on Friday from 10:00-11:15 am – as follows:

Session One – Sep. 30 or Oct. 1
Session Two – Nov. 18 or 19
Session Three – Jan. 13 or 14
Session Four – Mar. 3 or 4
Session Five – Apr. 21 or 29

In all cases, use this JOIN ZOOM link to join the meeting; the passcode is Partners!
Interested in more Information? Contact Russ Fraenkel, Regional Transitions Coordinator, at rwfraenkel@gmail.com

Proportional Reasoning: Strategies that Make Sense
2022-03-03 15:00 - 16:30
Registration Deadline: THU. 3/3/22
We have lots of ways of reasoning intuitively about ratio and proportion, but in school we tend to see only one method: cross-multiplication. While this strategy is effective, it doesn’t connect to the way most people reason proportionally. In this session we will explore our own intuition about how to reason proportionally and learn to generalize those ideas into a strategy that works even when the numbers get messy – and that makes sense!
Presented by Sarah Lonberg-Lew, Adult Numeracy Center at TERC. Sarah has worked in the field of adult numeracy for seven years, both as a classroom teacher and providing professional development for math and numeracy teachers. She is a consultant for the SABES (System for Adult Basic Education Support) Mathematics and Adult Numeracy Curriculum & Instruction PD Center at TERC, where she develops and facilitates trainings and workshops and assists programs with curriculum development. She is the treasurer for the Adult Numeracy Network (ANN).
If you require ASL interpretation, please contact Gail Rutan

Refining Your Teacher Talk
2022-03-02 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: WED. 3/2/22
Many tutors know they should limit their talking time, but struggle to do so. In this webinar, revisit the importance of reducing teacher talking time and learn ways to improve it to maximize learner engagement and comprehension.

Google Suite Webinar Series #2: Google Slides
2022-03-02 14:00 - 15:00
Registration Deadline: WED. 3/2/22
The second in Literacy Minnesota’s spring webinar series will dive deep into Google Slides. Join us to hear how adult educator Staci Landsem (Lakes Area ABE) uses Slides to create reusable tools (such as number lines) for screen sharing, interactive worksheets, custom printable worksheets, and fun and interactive slideshows. Whether you teach in person, online, hybrid or asynchronously, Slides is a powerful tool to support teaching and learning.

Tips and Strategies for Adult Education Math Tutors
2022-03-01 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: TUE. 3/1/22
Join us for this interactive session and pick up some ideas that will maximize your impact as a math tutor. This webinar will be appropriate for volunteers assisting a teacher in a math classroom as well as those leading their own classes, small groups or one-to-one sessions. Topics covered will include:

Levels of Math Knowing.
Procedural vs Conceptual Understanding.
Strategies for Fostering Independent Learning.
Asking Facilitating Questions.
Productive Struggle.

PELSB Cultural Competency Training - PART 2
2022-02-25 08:30 - 12:00
Registration Deadline: THU. 2/10/22
(Register on February 11 calendar entry; you do not need to submit a separate registration for each meeting.)
Eligibility: Minnesota adult education practitioners only

This Cultural Competency training is only open to Minnesota adult educators. Our apologies if you are located outside of Minnesota! Please note that you are welcome to access our Cultural Competency resource library.

There is a great deal more to cultural competency than using the right words or choosing multicultural readings. This training will introduce adult educators to concepts and skills needed to start on the journey to becoming a more culturally competent educator. Per MN Statutes 122A.181 and 122A.182, and MN Administrative Rule 8710.7100, every teacher in Minnesota who is seeking relicensure needs to complete the cultural competency training requirement. This PELSB-approved cultural competency training is aligned to MN Administrative Rule 8710.0310 Subpart 1D and provides Minnesota adult educators the opportunity to learn together through dialogue, activities, and reflective practices. Come join us in advancing your skills and knowledge for a more culturally responsive adult teaching and learning environment. Facilitated by Dr. Rose Wan-Mui Chu and Andrea Echelberger.
Note: This is a two-part training from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm on BOTH February 11 and February 25. You must attend both days in full to meet the PELSB requirement. The training will not be recorded.
If you require ASL Interpretation, please contact Gail Rutan at grutan01@hamline.edu

Dr. Rose Wan-Mui Chu has dedicated her professional life to the tireless pursuit of education equity and excellence for children and youth. Rose brings almost 30 years of rich and diverse cross-sector experiences.
Founder and President of Plum Blossom Strategy LLC, Dr. Chu is an experienced educator and consultant, a fierce advocate for elevating, demystifying and strengthening the teaching profession. Rose has a diverse professional portfolio: such as designing and facilitating community engagement activities or Minnesota state-approved Cultural Competency Training for educators, supporting community based organizations in youth development efforts, and being a thought partner for organizational leaders on systems thinking and systems change.
A first generation immigrant from Hong Kong and a first generation college graduate, Rose’s original Industrial Engineering background and work experience, coupled with her most honored role as a classroom teacher have continued to ground her life’s work in educational reform and transformation. She is professor emerita at Metropolitan State University​, where she has previously been a faculty and department chair at the Urban Teacher Program. Rose also held executive leadership positions as Assistant Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education, and as interim Dean of Urban Education at Metropolitan State University.
Rose was elected to the school board of the Roseville Area Schools and began her first term in January 2020..

In 2004, Andrea Echelberger began a two-year AmeriCorps position in St. Paul teaching adult refugees and immigrants English, and she’s never looked back. Throughout her teaching career, she has worked with a wide variety of cultural backgrounds and language levels, and while she’s loved every class that she’s taught, literacy level learners are her favorite group to teach. After five years of teaching with Literacy Minnesota, she left in 2013 to work with the U.S. English Language Fellowship program in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Andrea returned in the fall of 2015 to take up a position teaching the Basic English Class at the Open Door Learning Center – Lake Street. In 2016, Andrea became the ESL Training Coordinator at Literacy Minnesota, where she conducts interactive and engaging professional development for Minnesota teachers and tutors. She received her MAESL from Hamline University and holds an ABE Minnesota Teaching License from the University of Minnesota.
Andrea is continuously humbled and inspired by the lessons and stories that she hears from her learners every day, and is passionate about helping the people that she works with develop their voices in English so that they and their families are able to thrive in Minnesota.

Core Training Module 2: Understanding Adult Learners
2022-02-24 10:00 - 12:00
Registration Deadline: THU. 2/24/22
Participants develop their personal cultural awareness and learn how expectations around school culture shape how people teach and learn. Motivations and barriers to learning are also covered, as well as guiding principles for effectively delivering instruction to adults. Participants also increase their sensitivity to the challenges of learning English/developing literacy as an adult.

Core Training Module 4: Instructional Best Practices: Working with Materials
2022-02-23 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: WED. 2/23/22
Participants learn about the types of materials that they may be working with, including prepared texts and realia. Participants also learn about the practice of explicit instruction, how to effectively give instructions, and suggestions for extending worksheets to maximize understanding and practice.

Where Shall We Begin? Planning and Budgeting for the Coming Year
2022-02-23 13:00 - 14:30
Registration Deadline: WED. 2/23/22
Decisions, decisions… It’s that time again; planning for the coming school year is upon us! Join us for a time of discussion and learning around making plans and budgeting strategically for the 2022-2023 school year. Panelists from various programs around the state will share their puzzles and strategies, with ample time for conversation.

Teaching Reading Vocabulary Remotely or In Person
2022-02-22 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: TUE. 2/22/22
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.

MN Lunch & Learn: Burlington English Readers
2022-02-22 12:30 - 13:15
Registration Deadline: TUE. 2/22/22
In this session we will explore the benefits of using Burlington Readers and what they are.
NOTE: Attendees must have current login credentials for their BE account.

EBRI Webinar Series
2022-02-18 13:00 - 14:30
Join Marn Frank this winter and spring for the EBRI Webinar Series! There are 6 webinars, each on Friday from 1:00-2:30pm CST. Participants may choose to attend some or all of the webinars.
This 6-part series of webinars will provide the background of Evidence-Based Reading Instruction or EBRI, tools and processes for assessing readers’ strengths and weaknesses, crucial skills for all four reading components, and practitioner-tried routines for teaching them across ABE and ESL levels. The meetings focus on the following topics or questions:

February 18 – Webinar 1: What is EBRI? What are the four reading components?

REGISTER for Webinar 1 >>

March 4 – Webinar 2: What is the value of diagnostic reading assessment (DRA)? What are the purposes and processes for assessing word reading skills, phonics knowledge, fluency and comprehension levels? How are the results used to plan effective reading instruction?

REGISTER for Webinar 2 >>

March 25 – Webinar 3: What are evidence-based incentives, routines, and resources for teaching alphabetics (phonics and multisyllabic word decoding) across ABE and ESL levels?

REGISTER for Webinar 3 >>

April 15 – Webinar 4: What are evidence-based incentives, routines, and resources for teaching vocabulary (Tier 1-3 word knowledge) across ABE and ESL levels?

REGISTER for Webinar 4 >>

April 29 – Webinar 5: What are evidence-based incentives, routines, and resources for teaching fluency (text accuracy, rate, and prosody) across ABE and ESL levels?

REGISTER for Webinar 5 >>

May 20 – Webinar 6: What are evidence-based incentives, routines, and resources for teaching comprehension (text engagement strategies) across ABE and ESL levels?

REGISTER for Webinar 6 >>

If you require ASL interpretation, please contact Gail Rutan

Core Training Module 3: Instructional Best Practices: Working with Learners
2022-02-16 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: WED. 2/16/22
Participants learn how to apply teaching practices that support language and skill development for all learners. These practices include checking comprehension of all learners, using an appropriate level of teacher talk, delivering error correction and feedback, facilitating learner questions, and ensuring that instruction is learner centered.

Teaching Online: Support and Idea Swap #2
2022-02-16 14:00 - 15:00
Registration Deadline: NONE; please click the Join Meeting link below to join on the day of the webinar:
JOIN MEETING >>
This will be second of three Teaching Online: Support and Idea Swap sessions. Participants can attend any or all of these sessions; there’s no requirement to attend all three. Participants should be prepared to articulate their current and urgent instructional issues and questions, as well as be willing to provide their expertise and advice, and share resources with others. Consider these sessions as a informal support group for teachers from which you’ll leave with advice, resources, and a productive perspective. Possible topics for support and discussion during these sessions include:

Communication in a blended environment: Google Voice, email, Remind, Whats App, etc.
Integrating approved DL platforms with synchronous instruction (online or in person)
Teaching digital literacy skills to participate in blended and online classes
Prioritizing and setting expectations for hybrid/blended teacher responsibilities and workloads
Setting up and/or best practices for using an online website or class in an LMS (Classroom, Schoology, etc.)
Best practices and tips & tricks using instructional tech tools (EdPuzzle, Jamboard, Flipgrid, Mentimeter, Kahoot, Padlet, etc.)
Making and using instructional screencasts

Adam Kieffer (DL Team/St. Paul ABE) will be facilitating and hosting these sessions.
The final session is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9. You can get the link to attend on the ATLAS Events page: https://atlasabe.org/events/

Comprehension Strategies for Intermediate-Level Readers
2022-02-15 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: TUE. 2/15/22
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.
