ATLAS ABE

ABE-DevEd Affinity Group
2021-10-01 10:00 - 11:15, 2021-09-30 14:00 - 15:15 (America/Chicago) | Online
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

Volunteer Foundations Training – Core Training Module 4: Instructional Best Practices: Working with Materials
2021-09-30 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: THU. 9/30/21
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.
Learn more about Literacy Minnesota’s Volunteer Foundations Training at https://www.literacymn.org/volunteer-foundations-training.

Responding to Community Trauma in the Classroom (Part 2 of 2)
2021-09-30 16:00 - 17:30, 2021-09-23 16:00 - 17:30, 2021-09-16 16:00 - 17:30, 2021-09-09 16:00 - 17:30, 2021-09-02 16:00 - 17:30, 2021-08-26 16:00 - 17:30, 2021-08-19 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

MN Lunch & Learn with Burlington English: Prepare for CASAS Part 1
2021-09-28 12:30 - 13:15
Registration Deadline: TUE. 9/28/21
In this session, we will have an overview of the Prepare for CASAS tile and explore the functions of the In-Class Lessons.
NOTE: Attendees must have current login credentials for their BE account.

SiD Fall Focus: Solving Common Data Problems
2021-09-28 09:00 - 10:30
Registration Deadline: TUE. 9/28/21
Target audience: data entry staff
During the session we plan to cover:

the expiring Covid Exemption and how to find students who need an NRS test
data cleanup and common problem areas
the latest updates and breaking news

We’ll take your questions during the Q & A segment at the end.

How to Help Students Navigate the U.S. Immigration System
2021-09-27 10:00 - 12:00
Registration Deadline: MON. 9/27/21
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.

Math Institute 2021 - Virtual Event
2021-09-24 08:45 - 15:00
Registration Deadline: FRI. 9/24/21
If you require ASL Interpretation, please contact Gail Rutan at grutan01@hamline.edu
Whether you are an experienced math teacher or just beginning the journey of incorporating numeracy into your core classes, Math Institute 2021 is for you!
The focus of this year’s Math Institute is coherence. How do I help my students successfully engage with higher level standards? What math concepts are foundational to understanding CCRS C, D, and even E level math? What math can I incorporate into my ELL classes that will help my students succeed in achieving high school equivalency or college entry later on?
Elizabeth Peyser, a national director of content and implementation at Curriculum Associates, specializes in interpreting mathematical content progressions of the Common Core State Standards, on which the CCRS was based.
In the morning, Elizabeth will lead us through two content progressions and give us time to “play” with the math ourselves. She will address proportional thinking with Moving Beyond Cross-Multiply and Divide and the common frustration of fractions with Fraction Computation on Number Lines.
Then, in the afternoon, we will offer concurrent sessions led by MN practitioners to help us wrestle with, question, digest, and apply what we have learned to our specific contexts.
This is definitely a virtual event you will NOT want to miss!
Schedule for the Day:
8:40 am – Join meeting and test your sound – Use your Registration Link in confirmation email
8:45 – 10:30 Welcome & Keynote Workshop: Fraction Computation on Number Lines, Elizabeth Peyser Number lines are a lovely sense-making model from early elementary to secondary mathematics, but often the construction and understanding are a bit elusive to students and educators! Join us for hands-on learning to build and use this important tool. Participants will experience and practice the strategies to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions using number lines. Digital tools and hands-on manipulatives will be explored.
10:30 – 10:45 am Break
10:45 – 12:30 pm Keynote Workshop: Moving Beyond Cross Multiply & Divide, Elizabeth Peyser – Many adults have difficulty with ratio and proportional understanding. Cross multiply and divide gets answers, but does not produce ratio reasoning. We will explore several visual models that help with ratio understanding, develop proportional reasoning and connect to linear algebra.
12:30 – 1:15 pm Lunch Break
1:15 – 2:00 pm Concurrent Session 1(Choose one)
a) Session #1 – Formative Assessment: Moving Beyond Cross Multiply & Divide, Facilitators: Mark Trushkowsky, CUNY Adult Literacy and HSE Program and Katy Chiqui, Minneapolis ABE – In this session, we will focus on the content from the morning’s session Moving Beyond Cross Multiply and Divide. Specifically, we will analyze student work samples for understanding of the content presented in the problems. Facilitators will share a framework with guiding questions for utilizing student work in order to make strategic instructional decisions. Come to this session if you want to apply what you learned during Liz Peyser’s workshop!
(b) Session #2 – Formative Assessment – Fraction Computation on Number Lines, Facilitator: Lindsey Pust, ATLAS Numeracy Coordinator – In this session, we will focus on the content from the morning’s session Fraction Computation on Number Lines. Specifically, we will analyze student work samples for understanding of the content presented in the problems. Facilitators will share a framework with guiding questions for utilizing student work in order to make strategic instructional decisions. Come to this session if you want to apply what you learned during Liz Peyser’s workshop!
(c) Session #3 – Reflection on the Arcs – Moving Beyond Cross Multiply & Divide, Facilitators: Tom Kroeger, Roseville Adult Learning Center and Marcie Vaiphei, SPPS – Hubbs – This is a great session for those who want to pause and reflect on the morning’s session Moving Beyond Cross Multiply and Divide. We will spend time deepening our understanding of the content progression of this arc, asking clarification questions about the content and practicing articulating the connection between the different stages of this content progression.
(d) Session #4 – Reflection on the Arcs – Fraction Computation on Number Lines, Facilitators: Andy Albee, Robbinsdale Adult Academic Program and Justine Hill, DOC: MCF-Faribault – This is a great session for those who want to pause and reflect on the morning’s session Fraction Computation on Number Lines. We will spend time deepening our understanding of the content progression of this arc, asking clarification questions about the content and practicing articulating the connection between the different stages of this content progression.
2:00 – 2:15 pm – Break
2:15 – 3:00 pm – Concurrent Session 2 (Choose one) – Repeat of all 4 sessions

Volunteer Foundations Training – Core Training Module 3: Instructional Best Practices: Working with Learners
2021-09-23 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: THU. 9/23/21
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.
Learn more about Literacy Minnesota’s Volunteer Foundations Training at https://www.literacymn.org/volunteer-foundations-training.

I Hear You! Effective Listening Instruction for English Language Learners
2021-09-22 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: WED. 9/22/21
Learn how explicit listening instruction builds a foundation for literacy skills and fosters independence for language learners. This workshop will identify authentic learning tasks that English learners encounter daily, try out a variety of listening activities across multiple levels, and discuss which explicit listening strategies are used for each one. Participants will leave with ideas for listening tasks that can be used in remote or in-person instruction.

Web Chat with MNABE
2021-09-22 13:00 - 14:30
Registration Deadline: WED. 9/22/21
Web Chat with MNABE is a webinar discussion led by state ABE staff from the Minnesota Department of Education. Web Chat webinars provide updates from the state ABE office on new and emerging issues and an opportunity for local ABE staff to ask questions and provide information to the Minnesota.
Topics will include:

Meet Neill Allard (they/them), new adult education team member at MDE
Local fall programming updates
Update on the Contact Hour Working Group
COVID Exemption update
Minnesota’s High School Equivalency Assessments
Upcoming PD opportunities
Fiscal/finance reminders
2022 federal competition (Adult Education and IELCE)
Partner updates & transitions
Questions from participants

For those unable to participate, Web Chats are recorded and posted on the Literacy Action Network website

MN Lunch & Learn: Using Progress to Engage Students
2021-09-21 12:30 - 13:15
Registration Deadline: TUE. 9/21/21
In this session, we will have an overview of how to use Progress and also go over the reports feature. We will go through helpful tips on how to increase student usage.
NOTE: Attendees must have current login credentials for their BE account.

Help Students Become College Ready with EdReady
2021-09-17 13:00 - 14:15
Registration Deadline: TUE. 9/14/21
EdReady™ lets your students assess readiness for college math and English, see target options, and get personalized study paths to fill in knowledge gaps. This training will give an overview of the EdReady platform and discuss recent changes as well as review reporting steps.

Volunteer Foundations Training – Core Training Module 2: Understanding Adult Learners
2021-09-16 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: THU. 9/16/21
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.
Learn more about Literacy Minnesota’s Volunteer Foundations Training at https://www.literacymn.org/volunteer-foundations-training.

MN Lunch & Learn: My Portfolio: Writing in Burlington English
2021-09-14 12:30 - 13:15
Registration Deadline: TUE. 9/14/21
In this session, we will learn how to use the My Portfolio feature in Core. We will also go over best practices for Writing activities.
NOTE: Attendees must have current login credentials for their BE account.

Please Say That Again: Pronunciation Instruction for Adult ESL Learners
2021-09-14 10:00 - 12:00
Registration Deadline: TUE. 9/14/21
English pronunciation is a challenge, but important to teach! In this training, learn about three different pronunciation features that can be taught and practiced during virtual and in-person instruction. Participants will learn how the three features impact speakers’ intelligibility, and explore activities designed to help learners practice using these features in their daily speech.

Volunteer Foundations Training – Core Training Module 1: Overview of MN Adult Education & Program Accountability
2021-09-09 18:30 - 20:30
Registration Deadline: THU. 9/9/21
Participants learn about Adult Basic Education programming in Minnesota, demographics of learners, instructional content standards, initial and ongoing assessment and other accountability measures.
Learn more about Literacy Minnesota’s Volunteer Foundations Training at https://www.literacymn.org/volunteer-foundations-training.

CASAS Implementation Training
2021-09-02 13:00 - 16:00
Registration Deadline: NONE; please click the Join Webinar link below to join on the day of the webinar.
All are welcome to attend! This training covers selecting and using the appropriate CASAS test, interpreting test scores, and measuring student progress. Discussion will focus on administering CASAS appraisals, pre- and post-tests, and introduce online instructional resources. Information about both CASAS Life & Work and CASAS GOALS will be included. Participants who complete this session will be authorized to order and administer CASAS multiple-choice assessments.
To access the training, click on the following link on 9/2/2021 a little before 1:00 to be admitted: https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/94522553004

Comprehension Strategies for Intermediate-Level Readers
2021-08-30 18:30 - 20:00
Registration Deadline: MON. 8/30/21
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.

Remote Tutoring 101
2021-08-26 10:00 - 11:30
Registration Deadline: THU. 8/26/21
Join Literacy Minnesota Adult Basic Education and ESL trainers for a virtual workshop on how to be an effective tutor from a distance! Learn best practices for connecting and communicating one-on-one with adult learners on the phone or online, get suggestions for correcting errors and checking comprehension in a virtual setting, and discover language activities that can be done over the phone or on a video call. Can’t wait to “see” you there!

Writing Activities for English Learners During Remote Instruction
2021-08-25 18:30 - 20:00
Registration Deadline: WED. 8/25/21
Incorporating writing activities into remote instruction for English language learners is a challenge for many teachers and tutors. In this webinar, participants will learn approaches for including writing practice throughout the lesson and activities for extended practice. Participants will also develop strategies for delivering feedback for writing during and in-between lessons. This webinar will focus on beginning level through high intermediate English language learners.

MN ABE Summer Institute 2021
2021-08-18 - 2021-08-19
Registration Deadline: WED. 8/11/21
ABE Summer Institute is Minnesota’s annual statewide Adult Basic Education conference sponsored by Literacy Action Network. Due to COVID-19 we have made the decision to hold the conference on a virtual platform. This year’s conference will include a keynote speaker, ABE updates from the ABE State Director, 30+ break-out sessions, poster sessions, vendor fair, yoga and BINGO! We are optimistic that this Virtual ABE Summer Institute will be worthwhile and continue Literacy Action Network’s tradition of providing quality professional development for Adult Education.

MN Lunch & Learn with Burlington English: Best Practices on Writing in Burlington English CORE
2021-08-17 12:30 - 13:15
Registration Deadline: TUE. 8/17/21
In this session, we will work on best practices for writing assignments and writing practice in Burlington English CORE.
NOTE: Attendees must have current login credentials for their BE account.

Writing Activities for English Learners During Remote Instruction
2021-08-17 10:00 - 11:30
Registration Deadline: TUE. 8/17/21
Incorporating writing activities into remote instruction for English language learners is a challenge for many teachers and tutors. In this webinar, participants will learn approaches for including writing practice throughout the lesson and activities for extended practice. Participants will also develop strategies for delivering feedback for writing during and in-between lessons. This webinar will focus on beginning level through high intermediate English language learners.
