ATLAS ABE

Be Rational! Get Real! An Exploration of Number Categories
2023-03-14 14:30 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 3/14/2023
brokrek, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
In this webinar, we will be investigating what makes a number fit into a particular category (Counting, Whole, Integer, Rational, Irrational, Real – We will not be covering Imaginary or Complex). The focus will be on the common characteristics of numbers in different categories, including the reason for rules that we have for operations with integers and how we know that irrational numbers are irrational. We will see a few ways that ℼ was estimated and will talk about how accurate we really need to be with ℼ. Let’s play on ℼ day!
CCRS Connection: Students are asked to work with formulas involving ℼ in levels D and E. Deepening our own understanding of numbers – and specifically ℼ – will only enhance our teaching as we help students prepare for HSE diplomas. PLUS students all the way from level A to level E need an understanding of number categories!
If you require ASL Interpretation, please contact Gail Rutan at grutan01@hamline.edu.

EBRI Webinar Series - 4 of 6
2023-03-17 13:00 - 14:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: FRI. 3/17/23
If you require ASL interpretation, please contact Gail Rutan
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:

March 17 – 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 14 – 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 5 – 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 >>

Text Complexity: What? Why? How? (rescheduled from February 9)
2023-03-20 15:00 - 16:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: MON. 3/20/23
Let’s spend a bit of time together talking about text complexity! What is it, and why is it important for our students? We’ll talk about pre-teaching with complex texts and about effective scaffolds to make these texts accessible to students. We’ll also talk about text sets, including what they are and how to build them to help students engage with complex texts, collect evidence and build knowledge around an essential question.

ACES Webinars "TIFty Tuesdays": Creating More Diverse and Equitable ABE Classrooms
2023-03-21 13:30 - 15:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 3/21/23
Coming in winter and spring 2023, please join us for three webinars that will help MN ABE practitioners become more familiar with the newly updated TIF. We will look at the new lesson plans and ACES Routines and explore some great resources. These webinars will be an opportunity for ABE teachers and administrators to learn about the changes to ACES/TIF and connect with others who have been involved in this work. ACES/TIF is one of the three sets of MN ABE Content Standards, and you won’t want to miss out on getting some fresh ideas for bringing these critical Transitions skills into your classroom.
On March 21, ACES Coordinator Stephanie Sommers will be joined by two special guests: Sudie Whalen, the LINCS (Literacy Information and Communication System) director of online learning, and Cydnee Sanders, MA TESOL, whose previous work in this area includes developing the Antiracist Praxis Study Circle for ATLAS. Cydnee is currently a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa, where she is continuing her education in antiracist teaching.
In addition to learning from our special guests, webinar participants will have the opportunity to look at newly updated TIF 2.0 lessons in two categories.

Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices for Adult Learners
2023-03-24 13:00 - 15:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: FRI. 3/24/23
Learning new languages and skills as an adult is a challenge for most people, and that challenge grows when trauma and stress are present. Trauma and chronic stress can come in many forms, and impact people’s ability to learn new skills and process information in a variety of different ways. In this webinar, learn how stress and trauma can manifest in the adult education classroom, and learn about healing-centered teaching practices that can help to support positive learning behaviors and increase retention and learner comfort.

Comprehension Strategies for Intermediate-Level Readers
2023-03-28 18:30 - 20:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 3/28/23
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.

Phonics in Adult ESL: Recommendations, Activities and Resources
2023-03-29 18:30 - 20:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: WED. 3/29/23
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.

ABE-Dev Ed Affinity Group Meeting
2023-03-30 14:00 - 15:15, 2023-03-31 10:00 - 11:15 | Online
Mark your calendar NOW, for this school year’s online ABE-Dev Ed Affinity Group meetings. Attendees are provided two meeting options to discuss the same content, allowing for greater practitioner engagement. The upcoming meeting options are:

Thursday, March 30 (2-3:15pm) or Friday, March 31 (10-11:15am)

Affinity Group meetings are facilitated by Lesley Blicker and Russ Fraenkel.
Registration
For more information, or to register for Affinity Group meeting participation, contact Russ Fraenkel at rwfraenkel@gmail.com

What is the ABE-Dev Ed Affinity Group?
Developing and advancing effective ABE-Dev Ed classroom partnerships is the business of ABE and Minnesota State educators working together through periodic Affinity Group (AG) meetings throughout the 2022-23 academic year. The Affinity Group – attended by ABE and Dev Ed instructors and administrators, as well as system-level administrators – continues to meet in its third academic year to ensure Minn State developmental education students are provided access to educator expertise and resources to help them complete their Dev Ed coursework in the most expeditious fashion possible.
The 75-minute AG virtual meetings provide the opportunity for educators to learn about and discuss partnership best practices. Previous AG engagement has led to:

the development of a Dev Ed/ABE Toolkit (https://atlasabe.org/dev-ed-abe-toolkit/)
many statewide and national presentations
continuation grants from Minn State and ABE
a 2023 work plan that features learning circles
a statewide symposium to occur the morning of February 16, 2023 (stay tuned)!

Core Training Module 1: Overview of Minnesota Adult Education and Program Accountability
2023-04-03 18:30 - 20:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: MON. 4/3/23
Participants learn about Adult Basic Education programming in Minnesota, demographics of learners, instructional content standards as well as initial and on-going assessment. This session wraps up with learner motivations, barriers and persistence.

Burlington English Lunch and Learn: Exploring the Readers
2023-04-04 12:30 - 13:15 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 4/4/23
In this session, we will explore the Burlington English Readers and brainstorm different ways to use them in class and outside of class. We will go through ways of introducing the Readers into your class and activities you can do with your students.
NOTE: Attendees must have current login credentials for their BE account.

Teaching Online: Support and Idea Swap
2023-04-06 14:30 - 15:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: THU. 4/6/23
This will be the first 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:

Accessibility options for classroom students and online lessons
Integrating browser extensions in your teaching
Teaching digital literacy skills to participate in blended and online classes
Locating classroom ready lessons online
The state of broadband updates and digital equity planning
Setting up and/or best practices for using Chromebooks
Best practices and tips & tricks using instructional tech tools
Making and using instructional screencasts

Jason Brazier (DL Team/Literacy Minnesota) will be facilitating and hosting these sessions.
Two subsequent sessions are scheduled for Thursday, May 4, and Thursday, May 18. You can get the links to attend on the ATLAS Events page: https://atlasabe.org/events/

Writing Activities for Beginning Literacy and Beginning English Language Learners
2023-04-07 10:00 - 12:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: FRI. 4/7/23
While most in our society take the ability to write for granted, it can be laborious for ESL learners with little experience with this skill. Attend this webinar to learn about and try out engaging, interactive activities for English Language Learners in Beginning Literacy and Beginning level classes. Ideas for in-person, remote, one-on-one, all-class, as well as low-tech and no-tech options will be covered.

Burlington English Lunch and Learn: Xue's Office Hour
2023-04-11 12:30 - 13:15 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 4/11/23
You will be able to join Xue’s open office hour to come with any questions or issues that you have. If you need help with a technical issue, Xue will be able to walk you through and train you in how to resolve the issue. If you need teaching tips or strategies, we can brainstorm in this session. If you need training in a specific area of Burlington English, Xue will be able to help you navigate through the features.

Evaluating CCRS Alignment of Lessons, Units & Resources
2023-04-11 14:30 - 16:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 4/11/23
The CCRS Evaluation and Rating Tool and CCRS High Value Action Tool were designed to help instructors evaluate their own lessons, units and resources for alignment to the standards. Based on feedback from the field, we’ve:
(1) combined these TWO tools into ONE tool (yay!) and
(2) revamped Criterion 4 by adding content that will help teachers assess how learner-centered and inclusive their instruction and instructional materials are.
Join us as we dig into this revised tool and explore how it connects to our own instructional practices.

Teaching Reading Vocabulary Remotely or In Person
2023-04-11 18:30 - 20:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 4/11/23
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.

Working with Literacy and Beginning Level ESL Learners
2023-04-12 18:30 - 20:30 | Literacy Minnesota – main office, 700 Raymond Ave., Ste. 180, Saint Paul, MN, 55114, United States
Registration Deadline: WED. 4/12/23
Learners with limited English and literacy skills have unique needs for in-person and remote instruction. Participants will learn best practices and tips for success at this level. They’ll also get several ideas for routines, activities and resources to use in their tutoring sessions.

Burlington English Lunch and Learn: The Admin Zone & Teacher's Zone
2023-04-18 12:30 - 13:15 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 4/18/23
This session is open to both admin staff and teacher staff. In this session, we will go over the functions of the Admin Zone where you can manage classes and accounts in your program. We will then transition over to the teacher’s functions in the Teacher’s Zone.
NOTE: Attendees must have current login credentials for their BE account.

ACES Webinars "TIFty Tuesdays": Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
2023-04-18 13:30 - 15:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 4/18/23
Coming in winter and spring 2023, please join us for three webinars that will help MN ABE practitioners become more familiar with the newly updated TIF. We will look at the new lesson plans and ACES Routines and explore some great resources. These webinars will be an opportunity for ABE teachers and administrators to learn about the changes to ACES/TIF and connect with others who have been involved in this work. ACES/TIF is one of the three sets of MN ABE Content Standards, and you won’t want to miss out on getting some fresh ideas for bringing these critical Transitions skills into your classroom.
On April 18, we’ll be focusing on Social-Emotional Learning. Just as we understand that our adult learners need transitions skills in order to be successful in all areas of their lives, we also understand that being an adult educator means nurturing the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. We recognize that adults need to understand and take care of their emotional health in order to be successful and reach their goals, and this is what SEL is all about.
Dr. Jamie Kreil will be our special guest, and we will share ideas for ways to support SEL while also incorporating ACES/TIF in your instruction.

Tutoring with Northstar Digital Literacy
2023-04-18 18:30 - 20:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 4/18/23
You don’t need to be a computer expert in order to teach computer skills! Come learn how help students build their digital literacy skills using Northstar Digital Literacy.
In the webinar, participants will learn:

The features of Northstar Digital Literacy.
How to help learners set digital literacy learning goals.
How to help learners navigate Northstar Digital Literacy assessments.
How to guide learners through the Northstar Digital Literacy Online Learning Modules.

The training will be appropriate for tutors working one-to-one with learners or assisting in a computer lab.
If you are not familiar with Northstar Digital Literacy Assessments, please go to digitalliteracyassessment.org and take the Computer Basics assessment prior to the training.

Adult Career Pathways / IET Networking Series
2023-04-19 13:00 - 14:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: WED. 4/19/23
Join ATLAS and ABE professionals around Minnesota for the third of three career-cluster networking sessions. Each webinar will have a primary facilitator to guide discussions and networking in specific career clusters that include:

Community Interpreter Training (CIT)
Education: ParaPro and Child Development Associate (CDA)
Information Technology (IT): Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)
Food Service: Certified Food Manager Certification (CFPM) and Food Handler
Entrepreneurship: small business
Healthcare: certified nursing assistant (CNA), personal care attendant (PCA), and home health aid

The networking series will be a success with YOU in the discussion! Join us for the series to learn and explore ways to strengthen these career pathways for your students. As makes sense, we’ll delve specifically into IET (Integrated Education and Training) programming with colleagues from around the state.

How to Work Effectively with Muslims
2023-04-19 13:00 - 15:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: WED. 4/19/23
Join Jaylani Hussein of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) MN for a proactive diversity training that bridges the gap of misunderstanding and provides resources to employers, attorneys, community leaders and educators.
This single diversity training will cover three different sections.
1. First, the presentation will open with a brief introduction on how to effectively work with Muslim learners by bringing awareness and eliminating a potential bias. This session will also include an interactive polling exercise. Participants will answer questions to both learn about Muslim culture, while also learning ideas about unconscious bias.
2. The second segment highlights Muslim demographics worldwide, in the United States and in Minnesota. This section includes an in depth explanation of the religion and cultural norms, including keywords, holidays, and customs held in Muslim culture, and concludes with a discussion on how Muslims practice their beliefs, emphasizing the continuum of diversity of practice within the religion.
3. The third part of this presentation will include how to provide religious accommodations in an educational setting. It emphasizes:
a. the main practices for which school staff should expect a request for accommodation
b. practices to be mindful of when interacting with Muslim learners

MCTM 2023 Spring Conference
2023-04-20 08:00 - 2023-04-22 17:00 | DECC, 350 Harbor Dr., Duluth, MN, 55802, United States
Registration Deadline: THU. 4/13/23
Come learn from engaging presenters and network with teachers from K-12, 2-year colleges, and other ABE programs!
Conference Details

Date: Friday, April 21 – Saturday, April 22, 2022
Location: DECC in Duluth, MN
Cost: $180 for general participants, $100 for Lead Presenters
Deadlines:

Apply for a scholarship from ATLAS by Thursday, April 13
Register for the conference by Thursday, April 13

More Information: Visit the MCTM website

Scholarships: To help support Minnesota Adult Education practitioners to take advantage of this amazing opportunity, ATLAS is again offering a number of scholarships for up to $750 each to help offset the cost of attending the conference. This scholarship can be used toward registration, lodging, and/or mileage/parking/transit.
APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP >>

Kami 101 Training
2023-04-20 13:00 - 14:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: WED. 4/19/23
Are you looking for a way to help students stay engaged while saving time creating lessons ? Kami’s accessible annotation tools allows you to upload all your teaching resources (including PDFs, slides, images, and more) and turn them into interactive and engaging learning experiences.
Presenter: Avra Robinson is a Teacher Success Champion at Kami. Before coming to Kami, Avra served as the Director of Online Learning and an Instructor for the professional learning organization, EdTechTeacher.

Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices for Adult Learners
2023-04-21 13:00 - 15:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: FRI. 4/21/23
Learning new languages and skills as an adult is a challenge for most people, and that challenge grows when trauma and stress are present. Trauma and chronic stress can come in many forms, and impact people’s ability to learn new skills and process information in a variety of different ways. In this webinar, learn how stress and trauma can manifest in the adult education classroom, and learn about healing-centered teaching practices that can help to support positive learning behaviors and increase retention and learner comfort.

Developing and Practicing Reading Fluency
2023-04-25 13:00 - 15:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 4/25/23
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.

BASE SEL Courses - Overview, Updates, and Discussion
2023-04-25 15:30 - 16:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: TUE. 4/25/23
Have you started using the online BASE SEL (social and emotional learning) courses with learners? Or are you not sure how to start, or just interested in learning more? Join us for an introduction/refresher on these resources from BASE Consultant Kathy Hakes-Fastner. There will be time for questions, sharing feedback, and troubleshooting.
For more about using BASE to support the ACES/TIF standards, see this article by Stephanie Sommers.

SiD 22-23 End-of-Year Data Cleanup
2023-04-27 10:00 - 11:30 | Online
Registration Deadline: THU. 4/27/23

Time is flying by! Mark your calendar for our annual webinar to help you get ready for the state and federal ABE reporting.
This session is for admin staff who compile and submit year-end state and federal reports for your consortium. Topics include:

Reporting deadlines
Clean up and collect student info
Clean up and collect staff info
Turn in report tables
Year-end reminders

If you can’t make it, no worries! The webinar will be recorded. The link will be posted in the SiD Help Center and emailed to registered participants.

Spring 2023 ABE Virtual Conference
2023-04-28 09:00 - 16:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: FRI. 4/28/23
If you require ASL Interpretation, please contact Gail Rutan at grutan01@hamline.edu
Schedule:
9:00am – Welcome and State PD Updates
9:30am – Session 1 (1-hour sessions) These sessions will be recorded
a) Financial Literacy for Adult Learners (Presented by Helen Delfeld and Carrie Mann, International Institute of Minnesota) – While many ABE teachers effectively internalize cultural differences and approaches, we often don’t fully appreciate how thoroughly different perspectives affects economic behavior and choices. Nor do we necessarily consider how alienating navigating our complex finance system can feel. Financial literacy can fit comfortably into ABE lesson plans, and can help students advance in their goals outside the classroom. And it can be fun! We will explore some different perspectives on money and finance, and give some ideas for lesson plans and resources to help learners be in charge of their money, instead of money being in charge of them.
b) Engaging Employers: The Who, What and Why (presented by Karen Gerdin, Hubbs Center; Lynn Thompson, International Institute of Minnesota; Terry Cherne, Innovize) – In this presentation you will learn about the differences between IET and Workplace Literacy. You will hear from two local companies and their ABE partners who are utilizing these two program models to support adult learners and benefit employers. We will also discuss how IET and workplace literacy can co-exist. As well as discuss best practices for engaging and working with employers.
c) What Does ‘College Ready’ Math Look Like? (Presented by Amber Delliger, Metro North ABE and Rebecca Strom, Mankato ABE) – t’s always exciting when a student completes their high school credential! However, for those who have college or post-secondary training as a goal additional skills may be needed for success. While we have students engaged in our ABE programs, it’s the perfect time to help students bridge that gap. In this session, we will explore common skill gaps are and different strategies to address them.
d) READING* Effective Strategies for Working with English-Speaking, Low-Literacy Adults (Presented by Jane Weiner and Meagan Hymes, Metro North ABE) – How do know if I have a low-literacy student in my class? What basic concepts could I include in my classroom to help such students? How could I structure my class to support low-literacy learners? Come to this session to hear from an experienced Basic Skills educator on how she structures her class, implements effective strategies, and utilizes resources to help low-literacy adults gain the skills they need.
10:30am – Break
10:45am – Session 2 (1-hour sessions) These sessions will be recorded
a) Nuts and Bolts on Adult Career Pathways Credentials (Presented by Amanda Tall, Moundsview ABE; Andrea Hasslinger, Winona ABE; Heather Turngren, Minneapolis ABE; and Julie Dincau, Minnesota Dept. of Education) – Join us as we focus on the basics around three credentials in Adult Career Pathways (ACP) and Integrated Education and Training (IET) programming. Three instructors will highlight the steps to earn each credential and updates to the certification process (Paraeducator = Amanda Tall; Community Interpreter = Andrea Hasslinger; Certified Food Protection Manager = Heather Turngren). Julie Dincau, MDE Transitions Specialist, will moderate the panel presentation.
b) Teaching with Northstar Digital Literacy Educational Resources (Presented by Rob Podlasek, Literacy Minnesota) – Northstar Digital Literacy is more than just assessments! Come learn more about the Northstar instructor-led curriculum and the self-directed learning modules. We will explore how teachers can integrate these resources into their ESL, reading and digital literacy lessons.
c) Tips for Teaching Writing (Presented by Kristine Kelly, ATLAS; Natalie Seger, Youthbuild; Jaime Wright, International Institute of Minnesota; Heather Anderson, Mankato ABE; Stacy Abraham, SW ABE) – Join us and hear from some current Writing Study Circle participants about how they’ve been incorporating writing tasks with their adult education students at various levels. We’ll talk a bit about writing in adult education in general, and then each panelist will share a task or routine they’ve been working with to improve the frequency and/or quality of writing their students are doing and tips for implementing it into instruction!

d) PBIS* Please Don’t Do That…and Other Positive Behavioral Interventions in the ABE Classroom (Presented by Miriam Bosveld and Erin Parker, AAP-Robbinsdale) – With our ABE student population trending younger and displaying more mental health concerns, teachers are reporting challenging behaviors in their classrooms. We will present research-based positive behavioral interventions that can help to prevent and change these disruptive behaviors. Participants will get a chance to share experiences, discuss strategies that have been successful, and problem-solve with other ABE colleagues.
11:45 – 12:15 pm – Lunch Break
12:15pm – Session 3 (45-minute sessions) These sessions will be recorded
a) LAN Legislative Update (Presented by Kaija Bergen, Hubbs Center) – Learn about what LAN has been doing to advocate at the Capitol this legislative session, including updates on bills, lobbying efforts, and ABE Day on the Hill and how you can get involved!
b) EL* Math in Your ESL Class – Yes, Really! (Presented by Elizabeth Bennett, Burnsville School for Adults) – This session is intended for ESL teachers who may not (yet!) think of themselves as math teachers. I will share my approach to developing numeracy skills with adult learners in ESL classes. You’ll participate in an instructional routine that you can implement in your own classroom, whether it’s in-person, online, or HyFlex. I’ll also share some of my favorite resources. Wrong answers are welcome!
c) Moving Forward with Racial Equity: Updates on Racial Equity Activities in Minnesota Adult Education (Presented by See Moua-Leske and Addy Wolbaum, SW ABE-Marshall) – The grantees of the Racial Equity Grant will be providing an update of what has been accomplished so far, including findings from the administrator surveys, and what to expect in the last year of the grant. The presentation will also include background on what equity in adult education can look like and how your program can be more inclusive to all that work and learn there. This presentation will also lay the foundation for the coffee break to follow, but is not necessary.
d) Teaching Essential Gmail Skills (Presented by Adam Kieffer, Hubbs Center) – We all agree that it’s essential for adult learners to know the basics of how to send, read, and receive emails, but there are some other overlooked, yet essential email skills we should also be teaching. These include: how to manage the inbox, search archived emails, unsubscribe from unwanted emails, how to scan for spam/phishing signs, understand the difference between Gmail site and app, deleting vs. archiving, and how to recognize and use the many tools built into Gmail. Attend this session to get some great ideas on how to teach these essential email skills in any class.
1:00pm – Break
1:15pm – Networking Coffee Break (45-minute sessions) These sessions WILL NOT be recorded
a) Math (Facilitated by Justine Hill)
b) Administrators (Facilitated by Renada Rutmanis)
c) Low-level ESL (Facilitated by Amy Van Steenwyk)
d) One-Room Schoolhouse (Facilitated by Matt Dehmer and Sara Sundberg)
e) Teaching Young Adults (Facilitated by Christopher Riha)
f) Corrections (Facilitated by Harmony Wilson)
g) Racial Equity (Facilitated by See Moua-Leske and Addy Wolbaum) This session is an opportunity for you to share your program’s successes and challenges in creating a welcoming and equitable program. In this coffee break, attendees will participate in a focus group setting. The questions will be based on findings from the Racial Equity Surveys distributed last year. If you completed the survey, this is an opportunity for you to expand on your responses or a makeup opportunity for those who missed the survey. This coffee break is the continuation of the Moving Forward with Racial Equity: Updates on Racial Equity Activities in Minnesota Adult Education session. Even if you didn’t attend that session, we still welcome your participation.
2:00pm – Break
2:15 pm – Session 4 (45-minute sessions) These sessions will be recorded
a) Solvers of All Your Problems–Volunteers! (Presented by Meghan Boyle and Sophie Phan, Literacy Minnesota) – When asked what their classroom struggles are, coordinators and teachers often say things like the following: “It’s hard to engage everyone in this multi-level class. I have trouble incorporating learners who arrive late. I can’t get my students to talk.” Attend this workshop to collaborate with your colleagues and the presenters to solve allllll* your classroom problems with the help of volunteers! We’ll review a classic list of volunteer roles and collectively adapt it and add to it for online and hybrid contexts. You’ll leave the session with renewed excitement to engage volunteers to help you solve your classroom problems.
*Not quite all, but most!
b) SSLOs and Course Design: Why the 30,000 Foot View is Key! (Presented by Patsy Egan and Kristine Kelly, ATLAS) – If you are working in an IET and are tasked with (co)writing the single set of learning objectives (SSLOs), this session is for you! We’ll share a few of the “a-ha” moments we’ve gathered over the last few months of coaching programs who are engaged in this complex work. Come learn a bit about course design and how it relates to IETs and SSLOs, and why we need to zoom out to 30,000 feet to get the best view!
c) EL* Panel: Pronunciation Instruction Tips for Literacy Level Classrooms (Presented by Suzanne McCurdy; Jamie Kreil, Cedar Riverside Adult Education Collaborative; Anne Nervig, Hubbs Center) – Intelligible pronunciation is a key component of learners’ communication needs in the workplace and community. This is true even for literacy-level learners; however, resources at the beginning level often lack attention to this important skill and rely too heavily on literacy skills. Join our panel of ESOL teachers to talk about adaptations to materials and scaffolding approaches they use to bring pronunciation instruction to their literacy-level classrooms.
d) PBIS* De-escalation Techniques for Student Behavior Problems (Presented by Wendy Sweeney, PANDA) – Have you been in situations where a student’s behavior is alarming or highly inappropriate and you don’t know what to do? If so, this session is for you. Come to this session to learn about the conflict cycle, how problem behaviors serve a function, and the stages of behavior escalation. You will be educated about de-escalation techniques and how to find resolution with students. And gain important mental health resources. This course is intended to meet positive behavioral interventions and in accommodating, modifying and adapting strategies.
3:15 pm – Affinity Groups (45 minute sessions – optional) These sessions WILL NOT be recorded
a) Equity/Inclusion
b) LGBTQIA+

*Licensure Sessions:
Reading
PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports)
EL (English Learners)

TABE Virtual Focus Group
2023-05-02 13:00 - 14:00 | Online
Registration Deadline: None
The publisher of TABE is hosting a virtual Focus Group to answer practitioner questions and receive input. All ABE programs, whether users of TABE or CASAS, or a combination of both, are invited to participate. There is no registration required; simply view the informational flyer and click on the link below.
View flyer with information to join >>
JOIN WEBINAR >>
Possible discussion topics:

The current state of assessing students

Computer vs Paper
In-person vs Remote

Why did my TABE Online assessments expire?
Strengths and areas to improve TABE 11/12
TABE or CASAS – How do we decide?
Other areas as interest leads

For more information, contact Michele Ruszkowski, mruszkowski@datarecognitioncorp.com
