COABE 2011
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Reflections on COABE 2011
The Professional Development List hosted an impromptu discussion of sharing reflections on what participants learned at the 2011 national conference of the Commission on Adult Basic Education, Literacy to Work: Adult Education for a Global Economy [[2]] . Participants weighed in on the following questions:
The full discussion thread is below and discussion threads-by-theme are in the box to the right. Conference materials can be found by searching the COABE Repository [[3]]or the COABE/CCAE Conference Website [[4]] (Resources posted on the COABE/CCAE Conference Website will be available for a limited time only.) [edit] Resources shared included:Online
Books
[edit] Full Discussion ThreadSubject: [PD 5395] Conference Sharing Good day or evening! Recently, we've seen several conference opportunities offered, such as
COABE, TESOL, the NCFL Conference, and the Technology Conference at Myrtle
Beach. Examining and sharing our individual learning with each other helps
us to not only critically reflect upon our individual work, but also to
collectively develop our shared practice as adult educators. Whether you
attended COABE or another recent conference, please share your reflections
with us. And thank you to Susan Gaer for being the first out of the gate! As you can
see from her post below, sharing a reflection doesn't have to be lengthy. Please reply this week with your responses to any of the following
questions:
Not everyone could go to a conference this spring. Involve us in what you
learned and any ideas you've garnered. Looking forward.Jackie Jackie Taylor Subject: [PD 5394] Re: Conference Sharing What session(s) did you enjoy most? Why? (Include name of presenter and his/her contact information) I really enjoyed all the sessions, but if I had to pick one workshop, it would be the one I least expected to like Social Media:Enhancing Numeracy and Critical Thinking Skills by Chas Durant of the University of Tennessee. What was your key takeaway(s)? Lots of ideas for using Infographics, handouts . I found that math and language are very much interwoven What new practical ideas did you have or would you like to try when you get back to your class or program? I will try using Infographics with my language arts class. Did what you learn today resonate with what you thought before, or have you revised your ideas? Well before attending this workshop, I would never have thought of using Info graphics for critical thinking and reflecting. I can't wait to try it with my class and see if they write good paragraphs based on the infographic. One really good place for info graphics is USA today at http://www.usatoday.com/snapshot/news/snapndex.htm I am planning on having my students look at an info graphic. Analyze it and then write a five paragraph essay using the components of the infographic for each main point of their essay. Subject: [PD 5397] Re: Conference Sharing There were many excellent technology sessions at the conference, it was
fun to hearar how teachers and programs might use Facebook and Twitter,
and I was especially interested in how teachers might be using cell phones
for learning, but the session that really opened my eyes the most was one
on transition to college! What session(s) did you enjoy most? Why? (Include name of presenter and his/her contact information) Creating Pathways for Career and Academic Success
Dr. Yilin Sun and Sara Baldwin, Seattle Community Colleges What was your key takeaway(s)? This community college has been working on transition for ESL students to
credit courses for 10 years, and their program is quite developed,
including faculty inquiry groups on topics such as teaching writing that
include both credit and non-credit faculty. What new practical ideas did you have or would you like to try when you get back to your class or program? The colleges receive a financial incentive when a student transferring
from adult education completes 15 units, and again when they complete 30
units. What a great idea!! This would really incentivize cooperation
between adult schools and community colleges. Did what you learn resonate with what you thought before, or have you revised your ideas? Some ideas I had heard before, such as holding a "college transition
night" where college programs present information about enrollment, job
prospects, etc., to adult learners, but this program holds a similar even
every quarter, and has developed curriculum around preparing for these
events for all levels of ESL. They have really created a "culture of
transition." Marian Thacher [ http://www.otan.us/index.cfm?fuseaction=home ]OTAN Subject: [PD 5401] COABE Reflection What session(s) did you enjoy most? Why? (Include name of presenter and his/her contact information) The session I liked the most (other than the AALPD Preconference, of
course) was Marian Thacher's (_mthacher at otan.us) _ (mailto:mthacher at otan.us) )
21st Century Skills and Digital Literacy: What do learners and teachers
need to know? I enjoyed Marian's presentation because she shared ideas and
resources that were new and meaningful to me. For example, she identified
the importance of Digital Literacy skills, through demonstrations through the
National Educational Technology Plan, the Partnership for 21st Century
Skills and the International Society of Technology Education. She introduced
new terms that I wasn't aware of, such as MOOC (Massively Open Online
Course) and Edupunk. She showed a great explanation of the different ways of
learning. 1. C-Learning (Classroom) - A Balanced Meal Marian talked about introducing creativity in the classroom and had us work in pairs to discuss ideas. Podcasts and Eportfolios also made their way into her discussion. It was just GREAT! What was your key takeaway(s)? My key takeaway was that I realized there's still so many things out in
cyberspace to learn.
I'm very fortunate to have a job where I spend the entire day either
creating Professional
Development content, or surfing the Internet to find valuable resources
for my colleagues. If there was
one particular takeaway, I guess I'd say finding out about Mahara.org. What new practical ideas did you have or would you like to try when you get back to your class or program? Florida has adopted and modified the AALPD Standards and is in the process
now of putting together a workshop for our fall State conference on
Designing a Professional Development Plan. Marian mentioned Mahara.org as an open
source software to create e-portfolios. I'm going to research Mahara.org
and determine if it's something we might could load on the Florida TechNet
server and introduce as part of our workshop in the fall. Did what you learn resonate with what you thought before, or have you revised your ideas? Yes, Marian's workshop just confirmed what I'd already known... there's
always something new
to add! What surprised you about what you heard? Nothing really surprised me What beliefs were reinforced, changed, or broadened as a result of what you learned? I learned that no matter how hard you work on finding just the right
resources for your classroom, or
for your PD workshop, that there's always going to be something new to
add. And THAT's what keeps
me energized, refreshed and proud to be involved in PD and Digital
Literacy. Thanks Marian, for a fantastic workshop! Deb Debra L. Hargrove, Ed. D. _www.floridatechnet.org_ (http://www.floridatechnet.org/) Subject: [PD 5408] Marian Thatcher's COABE session So - Marian, have you posted any materials from your COABE session 21st Century Skills and Digital Literacy online anywhere yet? Those of us who couldn't attend would love some of the info! Duren Thompson Subject: [PD 5410] Marian Thacher COABE Handouts Thank you Deb, I'm blushing! And Duren, yes, my slides are in the [
http://www.coabe.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=resource ]COABE repository,
(search for 21st century skills and presentations), on the [
http://www.ccaecoabe2011.com/handouts.html ]conference Web site, and also
on OTAN's "[ http://webtwopointohinadulted.wikispaces.com/COABE_CCAE2011
]Web Two Point Oh in Adult Ed" wiki, where you will also find a couple of
handouts. There are also lots of adult education examples of various tools
on the wiki, and since it's a wiki you can add more! It's rather
California-centric right now, but it doesn't have to be. It was a lot of fun talking with such an engaged and engaging audience! Marian Thacher Subject: [PD 5404] Re: Conference Sharing What session(s) did you enjoy most? Why? (Include name of presenter and his/her contact information) For me the whole [ http://www.ccaecoabe2011.com/handouts.html ]CCAE/COABE
2011 conference was an invigorating experience - the sessions I attended,
the people I met and connected with (old and new friends and colleagues).
Susan Gear’s presentations about Cell Phones in Education and PD from
Afar, Steve Midgley’s plenary session in the 21st Century Classroom
Inquiry Area, NY’s GED Compass project, Public Policy Panel, Keynote by
Cheryl Keenan, Jackie Taylor and Nell Eckersley’s Facebook, Twitter and
Blogs
all of these made a well rounded combination of PD while I acquired
new and reinforced my existing understanding of our field, promising
practices and direction we are going into. What was your key takeaway(s)? Social media are a powerful way to engage our learners and to put our
field on the radar of legislators and stakeholders. I was surprised to
learn how many of us had smart phones and twitter and Facebook accounts.
http://twitpic.com/4mibld We need to take it to the next step – we need to do a better job of using
these new tools to communicate with our learners, colleagues and others
partners in our mission of advancing literacy, numeracy and English
proficency, while stepping up to our current charge to dramatically
increase the skills of Americans – beyond high school level (as [
http://kenzutter.com/blog/archive-of-coabe11-backchannel-tweets/ ]tweeted
during Keenan's keynote). What new practical ideas did you have or would you like to try when you get back to your class or program? Since I oversee professional development I will spread the word about the
potential of social media and simple ways to use mobile devices in every
day teaching and learning. What new questions did the session raise for you? How do we use our diminishing and strained resources most effectively? How
do we create effective partnerships? Branka Marceta Subject: [PD 5411] Re: Conference Sharing I'm finally finding time for this, but did want to share a bit about what I found valuable. One of the sessions that I enjoyed the most was Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy (TEAL) presented by Mary Ann Corley from the American Institutes for Research. She had other presenters with her (sorry - don't know the names!), including a couple of teachers who have been part of this professional development initiative. I was very excited to find a long-term, job-embedded professional development initiative focused on effective writing instruction, because our teachers in MN are also looking for assistance with teaching writing effectively. One pleasant surprise in the TEAL model is the inclusion of things like principles of Universal Design for Learning or lesson planning. TEAL has really created something that is more holistic, recognizing that just jumping into "how to teach writing" may fall flat unless teachers have other knowledge and supports in place to do this in a meaningful, sustainable way. Listening to teachers who are part of the initiative explain their learning and enthusiasm for the project was powerful. I am anxious to learn more and to think about tapping in to the research or adapting the model to fit our context in Minnesota. Kim Johnson Subject: [PD 5413] Re: Sharing - Writing and UDL Hi Kimberley, Thank you for posting this little peek into the session you attended. We here in the Boston office of SABES (System for Adult Basic Education Support) are
about to undertake a new initiative in the area of teaching writing and my area of interest
personally is Universal Design for Learning. So one of the exciting things that I have been
thinking about is how we join these two streams together. I would be interested in more details or if you know of a way to get in touch
with TEAL- Mary Ann Corley I would very much appreciate it!! I feel Universal Design for Learning gives great foundation upon which to drive
ideas regarding use of technology in ways that are roots in cognitive science and based
around the learning goals. Far too often I find, technology initiatives are driven primarily by
the technology itself, and the students needs for learning are put secondary. -Akira Kamiya Subject: [PD 5416] Re: Sharing - Writing and UDL Akira and others, I am a huge fan of Universal Design for Learning - I keep the UDL
Guidelines posted next to my computer for me to consider for any
training or class that I teach. As I said, I was thrilled to find UDL
as a fundamental part of the TEAL PD project around writing instruction.
For more information, TEAL has a website with contact information:
http://teachingexcellence.airws.org/index.html The presenters (which I now remember also included Heidi
Silver-Pacuilla from TEAL) promised that fact sheets on effective
instruction gleaned from recent research would soon be available on the
website. It doesn't look like anything is there yet, but I know Mary
Ann and Heidi said that are currently working on getting these ready to
post. The TEAL presenters shared that they have also developed a series of
short, online courses that teachers are using as part of the PD. I am
very curious about these courses, what they entail, how they are
working. In MN, we are doing a hybrid (face-to-face and online courses)
with a cohort as part of our MN Numeracy Initiative and this is working
very well. I would love to learn more about the TEAL courses and see if
we could tap into that resource. Best, Subject: [PD 5398] Twitter @ COABE Dear PD List Colleagues, In March, I started an archive of Twitter posts using the #coabe11 hashtag via The Archivist. Here are the analytics from this conference hashtag: Hats off to the top 5 Twitter users! @LACNYCnell This is the second year COABE has used a conference hashtag. A few items that stand out from a staff development perspective:
Some questions:
What stands out to you? Thanks, Jackie Jackie Taylor Professional Development List Facilitator LINCS: <http://lincs.ed.gov/> http://lincs.ed.gov/ AALPD: http://www.aalpd.org/ Subject: [PD 5400] Re: Twitter @ COABE What do these data tell you about how effectively Twitter was used in conjunction with a real-time staff development event?
What data is missing that would be useful to collect (if possible)?
What topics or sessions seemed to be of most interest to Twitter users?
How might conferences better capitalize on Twitter for integrating technology in teaching and staff development? Where may there be some 'untapped potential'?
Ken Zutter "Literacy is not a luxury, it is a right and a responsibility" - President Bill Clinton Subject: [PD 5402] Re: Twitter @ COABE Ken, All, I realized too late that I needed to download the tweets daily (not just
once at the end of the week) in order to capture the robust discussions.
Thank you, Ken, for your work in compiling most of the tweets from
conference, using various renditions of the #coabe11 hashtag. Check this out: http://bit.ly/coabe11tweets I've now tweeted it and it's getting RT'd like crazy. Ken, I also just signed up for a trunk.ly account. Not being familiar with
the tool, would you say more about your idea here? Is it possible to do this
for hashtags? Others, your thoughts? "It would be nice if we could get a list of all of the links that were
shared into a single resource. Something like http://trunk.ly , but for a
hashtag instead a twitter account." Thanks for your reflections on the use of Twitter @ COABE. Jackie Taylor Subject: [PD 5403] COABE Tweets and Trunk.ly Trunk.ly is a new social bookmarking service. It monitors your social presence and aggregates any links you share via Twitter, Facebook, Personal Blog, etc. I found it in my search for a replacement for Delicious.com, a bookmarking service I have used for years that may be in jeopardy. (Its owner Yahoo has stopped supporting it and has put it on the selling block)
Here is a link to a Next Web blog post about trunk.ly
http://thenextweb.com/apps/2011/04/19/trunk-ly-now-an-even-better-delicious-replacement-with-improved-social-search/
As far as auto-magically collecting a list of tweets with links around a backchannel hashtag, there may be services already that do this. Let's all keep a look out. Twitter's own search tool allows you to do this with its advanced settings, however it is a manual chore. The Twitter company is actively seeking new ways to engage its members and keep these services out of third party vendors. Perhaps they will provide better tools in the future. http://search.twitter.com/advanced Ken Zutter "Literacy is not a luxury, it is a right and a responsibility" - President Bill Clinton Subject: [PD 5406] Conference Sharing & Inquiry Areas Hello Everyone! Thank you to Susan Gaer, Marian Thacher, Ken Zutter, Debra Hargrove, and
Branka Marceta for sharing their conference reflections this week. Please
keep 'em coming! I also would like to highlight a new format CCAE/COABE planners used for
this conference, the inquiry model. The conference theme this year was
Literacy to Work: Adult Education for a Global Economy and the conference
supported four inquiry areas:
Four concurrent plenaries, one focused on each inquiry area, kicked off the
inquiries. Conference strands then highlighted sessions throughout the
conference related to each inquiry area. The inquiry areas then culminated
in reflection
<http://www.ccaecoabe2011.com/inquiry-area-follow-up-session.html> sessions
at the end of the conference. For those who attended either a plenary or a conference session as a part of
an inquiry area, please share your reflections with us on any of these
sessions. Also, what did you think of the inquiry model itself? What implications for
staff development (if any) stood out to you from the inquiry area sessions
in which you participated? Looking forward, Jackie Jackie Taylor Professional Development List Facilitator Subject: [PD 5409] COABE Plenary on Social Change PD Colleagues, Jackie asked for reflections on conferences. I would like to support
that request and encourage panelists, audience participants and
planners to comment on the 2011 COABE Conference Plenary session on
Social Change held on April 18, 2011. Panelists focused on the issue of "social change" as a theme in U.S.
adult education. The panel was organized in response to the hotel
workers strike at the conference hotel that was resolved only a few
weeks before the beginning of the conference. The panel consisted of
the following members:
Panelists responded to the following questions: 1. What has been your role in adult education? 2. As adult educators, what do you think we should be teaching? 3. Are workforce preparation and learner-centered (participatory education) mutually exclusive? 4. Should we strengthen communities and workplaces through learner activism? If so, how? 5. What should we be advocating for? Organizers of the panel are exploring how to make a digital recording
of this session available to the field. In the meantime, I invite those who attended the session to share
their comments related to the session. As for my own reflections, I was pleased with the thoughtful
preparation of the panelists, the full-to-capacity room of attendees,
and their thoughtful comments and questions. I was heartened to see
how many people at this conference are interested in social change and
that most of the panelists' and others' comments supported the idea
that we should be preparing people for work _as well as_ for a wider
range of learner goals that includes their roles in family, community
and in a democracy. One panelist, a former adult learner, reminded us
that for some learners the arts are also important, as Emma Goldman
would have put it "bread... and roses too." David J. Rosen Subject: [PD 5412] Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change Hello, Adult Education Colleagues, Here are a few personal observations about the “social change” plenary
session at the COABE conference (on April 18, 2011): 1. The session drew a very big audience (about 200 people). Audience
members got actively involved in the discussion and contributed their
own responses and asked further questions related to the five discussion
questions. This is clearly a topic of interest to many people in the
field. 2. While participants generally understand the importance of focusing
on learners' employment-related needs, there is also a lot of interest
in how adult education relates to such issues as social justice, social
change, building our democracy, civic engagement, helping learners deal
with the many obstacles they face (e.g., criminal records), and worker
rights. 3. Panel members and audience members cited the need to not define
adult education’s mission too narrowly, merely as to help learners “get
a job.” Adult education can also help learners perform other life
functions (e.g., leading their families, being engaged in solving local
problems such as prisoner re-entry, etc.) Adult educators need guidance
on how to create contextualized programs that help learners deal with a
range of life and work issues. We should build on models that have
already been developed. 4. The term "social change" was a bit confusing and either needs to be
better defined or replaced with another similar term (e.g., "education
for civic engagement," or "education for democracy" or "education for
social justice"). 5. It will be healthy and important for our field to continue such
discussions. 6. Adult educators also need opportunities – and encouragement – to
learn about these issues through professional development. This could
take the form of simply reading articles and curricula that deal with
the kinds of issues discussed in this session. Here are the points that I tried – as one of the panelists -- to make
in my responses to the discussion questions. (I'm offering them as food
for thought and further discussion.) As adult educators, what do you think we should be teaching? I like the Equipped for the Future model of adult basic education,
which attempts to help adult learners develop a broad range of basic
skills they need to participate at high levels in work, family, and
civic roles. For each learner, those particular roles and needs differ. I do believe that we should put a special – though not exclusive –
focus on helping adult learners prepare for productive and rewarding
roles in the workforce. I say this for several reasons: 1. Adult learners frequently enroll in adult education
because they want to improve their ability to get a job, retain their
current job, feel more comfortable performing technical or social
aspects of their jobs, participate in job related training, and/or
advance to a better job. 2. It is important for working people, their families, and
their communities for adults to have rewarding, stable employment. 3. The country currently has a high unemployment rate and
education can be an effective way for people to reconnect to work and
move to more rewarding jobs. 4. Employers want employees who have strong basic skills
and technical skills and credentials. 5. The adult education field has developed good models of
work-related basic education that we can adapt and build on. 6. Funders of adult education have made integration of
adult basic skills with workforce development a priority. If done
correctly, this has the potential of building stronger, more
comprehensive adult learning systems than the current mishmash of
under-equipped programs that we now have. It also has the potential of
engaging employers, unions, and other stakeholders in adult education,
something that adult basic education has generally not been able to do
in a broad and sustained way until now. However, we also need to recognize that (a) adults often also have
other goals (e.g., helping kids or older family members succeed in
school, maintaining their own health and that of other family members,
feeling comfortable in their communities, participating in community
organizations and civic activities such as becoming a citizen and
voting, etc.) and (b) some adult learners are not ready to succeed in
many of the career pathway programs as they are now set up. As a field,
we need to figure out how to respond to the broader range of learner
goals that are not – at least at first glance – directly related to
“workforce preparation” – and to those learners who are not ready for
higher-level occupational skill training. Regarding how to respond to the broader range of learner goals: These
goals are not only valuable in themselves but also help people be
productive workers and should not be seen as in contradiction to
workforce preparation. For example, workers need health literacy skills
if they are to stay healthy and be able to work. Likewise, workers need
financial literacy skills so they can manage the salaries and benefits
they are earning. In a time when informed participation of the American
people in our democracy has been eroded, we need to pay attention to
civic education, as well. In short, we shouldn’t define adult basic
education too narrowly, because "getting a job" is not the only
responsibility that U.S. adults have. Regarding those who are not ready for higher-level occupational
training programs, we need to not forget these lower-skilled learners
and develop high quality services that help them develop the basic
skills and otherwise get the tools they need to participate effectively
in family, civic, and work roles. Are workforce preparation and learner-centered (participatory
education) mutually exclusive? I’m in favor of an informed, active citizenry and workforce. Our
country faces many challenges, and we need people whose brains are
engaged in working with others to solve those problems. Adults need to
be active problem solvers in their workplaces (this is something that
employers ask for) and also in their communities and in their families
(to help us deal with the many challenges that U.S. communities and
families face and to take advantage of the resources now available to
us). Adult educators should know that there are already great models of
adult basic education which are contextualized and participatory in
nature. These include program models that help parents develop the
basic skills, technical knowledge, and other tools they need to navigate
local schools, healthcare institutions, and financial institutions.
There are similar programs that help workers solve problems in their
workplaces and protect their own rights as workers. And there are
programs that help community members understand local community issues
and get involved in strengthening their communities. These kinds of adult education programs are interesting and motivating
for learners and are supportive of the many kinds of initiatives that
policy makers are confronting (e.g., public health, reforming our
schools, public safety, economic and workforce development, K-12 school
reform, etc.) In a time when government services are being reduced, we
need a self-reliant citizenry that can deal proactively with challenges
it faces. Should we strengthen communities and workplaces through learner
activism, and if so, how? The US adult literacy field has a history of programs designed to help
learners be active leaders/participants in their communities and
workplaces. These programs were developed in the civil rights movement,
in community based organizations, in labor unions, and in other
institutional settings. Programs have helped learners become leaders by using instructional and
management practices designed to help learners develop problem-solving,
teamwork, advocacy, public speaking, planning, and other basic skills
and the self-confidence that active problem solvers and leaders need.
Instructors, for example, provide learning activities in which learners
identify problems, analyze the causes and possible solutions for those
problems, do research, work individually and in teams to plan and
implement action. Programs also provide learners with work experience
as recruiters, advocates, peer-supporters, office helpers, and
peer-instructors. This participatory approach helps the learners develop confidence,
basic skills and other forms of knowledge, and support networks they can
use in their roles as family members, community members, and workers.
This approach also helps programs be relevant, attract students,
connect with the communities they are trying to serve, get support from
funders, and generally be strong and effective. This approach has in recent years largely been overlooked but is still
being implemented in various ways within the field. Those who want to
develop effective adult basic skills programs often are unaware of the
models, research, curricula, and other resources that have already been
developed. The participatory approach is, if used correctly and
creatively, something that can be used for worker education, to help
learners transition to post-secondary education, to help immigrants and
ex-offenders deal with life issues, and to otherwise serve the diverse
range of learners and adult learning needs in our nation. What should we be advocating for? Unfortunately, adult basic education has largely been ignored in this
country as a tool for workforce, family, and community development. As
a field, we generally haven’t built on the lessons to be learned from
good programs in the US and other countries. As advocates for this work, we need to: 1. do our homework and build on the good work that has already
been done in our field and that we are still doing; 2. learn how to work together to build a broad effort for adult
education as a tool for a productive, just, and forward-thinking
society; 3. develop effective positions and advocacy strategies, focused on
helping our country, states, and communities build effective,
comprehensive adult learning systems (not short-term, quick fix
“projects”) which help various populations of adults and
out-of-school youth of all skill levels participate effectively in work,
family, and civic roles. 4. acknowledge that preparing learners for productive and
rewarding work is a very important goal but it has to be done in a way
that helps workers get family sustaining wages and benefits. 5. broaden the constituency for effective adult education policy
by connecting with other organizations that are trying to develop
solutions to the economic, social, environmental, public health, public
safety challenges our nation faces. We should show these groups how
contextualized adult basic education can help them meet their goals. 6. communicate with policy makers and funders (at federal, state,
and local levels, as well as private funders) to argue for supports
needed for effective adult learning systems that help adults of varying
skill levels deal in self-reliant, thoughtful ways with work, family,
and civic responsibilities. Paul Jurmo, Ed.D. World Education is home to the National College Transition Network (www.collegetransition.org) and The Change Agent, an adult education newspaper for social justice. (Consider ordering a subscription for yourself or colleagues at www.nelrc.org/changeagent/.) Subject: [PD 5414] Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change Thank you so much to both David and Paul for sharing your experiences at
the "social change" plenary at COABE. I would have loved to be
there--so I am really happy at least to hear some of what I missed. It
sounds like a wonderful session and I am thrilled that 200 people
attended. It's heartening that so many in our field are interested in
thinking and talking about social change these days. As someone who professionally "straddles" the fields of ABE and
workforce development, I often worry both that ABE is sometimes viewed
JUST as job preparation, and that ABE folks sometimes neglect attention
to the employment needs of our learners. And, above all, that our focus
in helping students acquire basic skills can be too narrowly construed.
It's good to remember our Freirian roots! What you have shared about the plenary at the conference, and your own
remarks there, give me lots of hope for our field and for the way we
approach our jobs, our field and our students. I do feel it's
important that our work to focus not solely on how individuals can get
ahead--in the workplace, in the economy, in life--but also on how we can
all work together, collectively, to make this a better world. Change
has really only been made when people join together to improve their
lot--and this is a lesson we typically don't reflect often enough in our
programs. Some examples come immediately to mind (and maybe were talked
about at COABE--I hope so!): Career ladders, sure--but what about making the jobs we already have,
better? How can we incorporate the history of social movements, activism, and
collective action into our programs and curricula? How can we teach our students ways to protect their rights as
immigrants, as workers, as parents, as citizens without jeopardizing
what may already be fragile situations? What kinds of collective projects can we encourage students to engage
in? How can we engage students in discussions of social change activities
they've already been a part of--either in their countries of origin, or
in their own communities here? What are some ways students can incorporate more collective, activist
goals along with their individual goals for their own lives, in our
goal-setting activities and our program's forms? How can we connect our field and our programs with organizations that
already do significant social change work--e.g., unions, school parent
organizations, immigrant advocacy groups, environmental and workplace
safety and health organizations, and many others . . . at least, sharing
resources and information, and inviting speakers or paying visits? These are just a few of the questions that have bubbled up in recent
discussions I've been a part of. Is there some way we can actually make this social change theme more of
an ongoing discussion on the listserv--in addition to the wonderful
reports-back from COABE? Lots of us who were not there (or maybe some
who were) might be interested in "chiming in" as well. Laurie Laurie Sheridan, Workforce Development Coordinator Subject: [PD 5415] Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change Very nicely put Paul, which are a great summary of your approach to the field since I became familiar with your work through your 1989 publication Participatory Literacy Education which you and Hannah Fingeret jointly edited, a book that is as timely as ever http://www.amazon.com/Participatory-Literacy-Education-Directions-Continuing/dp/1555428614/ref=sr_1_35?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303999852&sr=1-35. I have turned your observations into a word document which I hope to comment on from time to time, which I hope and presume others will as well. What you've put together here is an excellent thinking tool and publicly-focused working document for our field. Very much agreed with you and many others on the need for a comprehensive focus on adult literacy education, which, as you indicate, the EFF project highlights not only in its role maps, but in the four purposes and 16 transferable content standards. To that I would add the importance of an acute understanding of the politics of literacy, as your note indicates as well as the technological emphasis of the second 21st century skills-based vision of adult education currently promoted here and highlighted so extensively at the recent COABE conference. Excellent work! Something for us as a field to consider. George Demetrion Subject: [PD 5417] Social Change and Staff Development Hi Laurie, All, Laurie, thanks for your reflections and for prompting us to delve deeper
into the social change issues. You asked: Is there some way we can actually make this social change theme more of an
ongoing discussion on the listserv--in addition to the wonderful
reports-back from COABE? Lots of us who were not there (or maybe some who
were) might be interested in "chiming in" as well. You are welcome to continue the discussion on this list, but in the context
of the list
<http://lincs.ed.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/about_profdev
elopment.html> purpose. LINCS does not have a discussion list dedicated to
social change. So for example, much of what you describe below has implications for staff
development. You might name them. Or, is there a role for staff development
in facilitating social change? Paul mentioned that people are largely
unaware of the participatory resources available even though it is
implemented in various ways throughout the field. Why are they unaware? If
that is so, then why aren't we (staff developers) doing more to raise
awareness of these resources? Not everyone sees the connections to the list purpose as clearly and it
could lead to complaints or people unsubscribing. Thanks for helping us to
see and understand the connections (and may the conversations continue!). Jackie Taylor Subject: [PD 5418] Re: Social Change and Staff Development Jackie and all: I have incorporated discussions of social change in
workshops I have given in many places for many literacy provider groups. One of the topics I discuss in workshops on Functional Context Education
(FCE) are the contributions of pioneers of adult literacy instruction to
our field. For instance, I discuss Cora Wilson Stewart and her three
Country Life Readers of the early 1900s in which she taught literacy
within the functional contexts of civics (voting; paying taxes), community
development, schooling, and other topics that aim to bring about social
change within the rural area in which students in the Moonlight Schools
lived. Others in the history of our field whom I discuss and who have
taught for one or another form of social change include Septima Poinsette
Clark and her work that taught literacy within the context of civics
(voting) and helped bring about the civil rights laws of the 1960s. I have had many workshop participants tell me that learning about the work
of these pioneers in our field had helped them see how to integrate
literacy instruction into functional contexts that help their students
become more active in their communities, schools, and workplaces. And most
everyone is impressed with and reinvigorated by the great achievements of
those in adult literacy education upon whose shoulders we stand. Of course, I also point out in my FCE workshops the important social change
brought about by adult literacy educators in workplace literacy programs. I
present information showing that workplace literacy programs can have
multiple outcomes, including many social changes beyond the workplace. Staff development that shows how to integrate basic skills instruction with
social change has been a part of our field’s history, and continues in many
places today. For more on the history of our field use Google and see Seven
Pioneering Adult Literacy Educators in the History of Teaching Reading With
Adults in the United States.
Subject: [PD 5419] Re: Social Change and Staff Development Thank you Mr. Sticht for for adding this pice to this. VALUEUSA did not have a lot of time to put this Social Change workshops we would have like to seen but we did the best we would with the time we had. I would have loved for you to have presented at the COABLE conf. for us. Thank you this is very important. Marty Finsterbusch Subject: [PD 5420] FW: Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change Hi Laurie and all, In terms of broadening the discussion, allow me to recommend to excellent books by Allan Quigley; his well known Rethinking Literacy Education http://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Literacy-Education-Critical-Practice-Based/dp/078790287X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1/191-8692112-7166906 and his more recently published Building Professional Pride in Literacy http://www.amazon.com/Building-Professional-Pride-Literacy-Development/dp/1575242621/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2 both of which discuss the prospect of building a comprehensive adult education curriculum and the complex relationship between workforce literacy and both humanitarian and social justice themes. This pdf flyer presents a nice outline of of Building Professional Pride, a book I've ordered myself and intend to study closely http://www.literaciesoise.ca/pdf/AQBookFlyer.pdf. How do we incorporate the rich professional literature that graces our field into our ongoing conversations and daily work without which there can only be a looming gap between what we write and what we enact, and ultimately, if I may add, what we may think? For the issues raised by you and Paul have gotten low press on our lists and in many of our public discussions of the past decade, even though such discourse on the politics and pedagogy of adult literacy education was much more highly focused on in the 1990s in which some of the leading voices of that decade are not even on the radar screen of much of the current consciousness. One of the prevailing themes that Quigley has discussed over the years is the prevailing historical amnesia that is all too characteristic of our field. We need to re-own as well as re-interpret the many voices of our recent past of that high-water decade of the 1990s in order to place the second 21st century skills movement into a more holistic context of the critical work the field has engaged in since, really, the 1960s, which is not to denigrate the work of the earlier 20th century that Tom Sticht has often brought to our attention. Tom is one of those key contributors whose work goes back to the late 60s and early 70s and who has made a great deal of his work avaialable at the National Adult Literacy Data Base (NALD) http://library.nald.ca/research/browse/author?name=Thomas+G.+Sticht as have I http://library.nald.ca/research/browse/author?name=George+Demetrion. Click here to get into the general NALD Libraries, which are an extremely rich repository of both adult literacy research and instructional materials. The fact that the US does not have a similar repository is a sad commentary which may have as much to do with the cultural politics that shapes the field in the two nations as much as anything else. However, having such a similar qualitative repository where researchers and practitioners freely publish their work to make it accessible for all, even if such work has been published elsewhere, would make a solid contribution to ongoing professional development efforts in this nation. Thus, having a historical repository of the work our field has constructed would at least fill some gaps that are currently missing. This might be especially important for those who have entered our field in the past decade to read with fresh eyes some of the key texts by Hannah Fingeret, Susan Lytle, Hal Beder, Elsa Aurebach, Victoria Purcell-Gates, Juliet Merrifield and many authors that are clearly not coming to mind at this time. Clearly, some of those who wrote in the 90s like Tom Sticht, Steve Reder, Paul Jurmo, and Hal Bederstill wrote in the 2000s and some of their work is available through NCSALL. Then there is the towering influence of Paulo Freire, whose on participatory education is more widely adapted than his insights on the pedagogy of the oppressed. The issues as I see them are fourfold: That of drawing constructively and creatively on the rich legacy of the adult literacy past for the purpose of enriching the field in the present and the future where all constructed presents become pasts, which, among other things, as Allan Quigley has so richly reflected upon, transcending a prevailing historical amnesia that characterizes a great deal of our field
Having a widely accessible repository somewhat analogous to NALD for the collection and analysis of such work, past and ongoing present where contribuors freely publish their work and the utilization of that resource for both ongoing research and development and dissemination of best practices. Having a vision of professional development that incorporates both theory and best practices in a more substantive way than currently evident where practice contributes to theory as well as theory contributing to practice sifted through the critical insight that sometimes the twain shall meet, and with solid work, sometimes more.
The political culture that gives direction to the context in which adult education legitimization is shaped. While I will not address this topic here in a substantive way as it move beyond the focus of this list its impact on shaping what is and what is viewed as central and marginal seeps deeply into our field and may help to explain why Canada has such a resources as NALD and the US does not. By way of example, in the current discourse there is much recent energy centering on "the 21st century skills movement." To this I would say that there is a first and second "21st century skills movement" in adult education, in which the first was the EFF framework as I've detailed in earlier posts. At this point I am not sure on the extent to which the twain actually meets, though we've heard some on this from Federico. As one effort among others it seems to me that such a movement would be greatly enhanced by a discerning and substantive working through the relationship between the two movements and how they can potentially infuse each other with much depth and profit. While EFF has lost its national grounding with the termination of the project by NIFL in the early 2000s, its framework continues to speak volumes of what a publically articulated vision of adult literacy education could become. Moreover, through the persistent focus of the Center for Literacy Studies in Knoxville, TN, EFF continues to thrive in various regional centers and the research base upon which it has been founded is as legitimate now as it was a decade ago. At the same time, EFF, as any educational reform movement could benefit by ongoing development at both the theoretical and practitioner-based levels. I've addressed some of the theoretical issues in some of my published work. On the practitioner level, one area that EFF only marginally touched upon is that of technology upon which the second 21st skills movement has done massive, and most creative work even as there may be a touch or more of a technological utopian underpinning of this second reform movement. Add to that the pervasive workforce underpinning of the current skills movement as reflected in the 2011 COABE Conference "Literacy to Work" theme, let me suggest that there is at least a touch of reductionism underlying the current movement which could become broadened through a close and substantive encounter with the previous skills movement. Clearly, I'm only sketching a few things out here, but if there's anything at all to what I am saying, perhaps there's some very constructive work still to do in these areas that would place Professional development within a broader theoretical framework that would be of value both for those at the PD forefront as well as to those working in various field sectors. Perhaps the need is for more integrative work with both practical and theoretical payoffs in which one of the problems may be silo thinking. Best, George Demetrion Subject: [PD 5421] Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change Thank you all for sharing your ideas on this topic. It is helpful to discuss how our work can contribute to social change and to articulate what social justice means, namely to make the world a place where all individuals value and recognize the dignity of all human beings. Knowledge about voting and taxes is without doubt important; but in the same way that focusing too much on job readiness is limiting, so is thinking of civic action as merely functional tools. Borrowing from H. Giroux, it is key to "allow our working-class students, women, Blacks, and others to acknowledge their own histories through the use of a language, a set of social relations, and body of knowledge that critically reconstructs and dignifies the cultural experiences that make up the tissue, texture and history of their daily lives". It can be deducted from here, that civic action is the social expression of what is initially an individual process of self-critique and understanding of the forces that shape our lives. I believe it is here where the power of education for social change resides, in giving individuals the ability to question their own reality. It is ineffective and unrealistic to expect our programs to “bring them”, “give them” the preparation “they need” in order to seek opportunities (that are not there to begin with). Education for social change should ideally allow both the teacher and the student to critically examine their role in society and to question the role that society has played in shaping their aspirations and dreams, so they can be transformed. For example, we can start by asking: why are most positions available in the field of adult education part-time without any benefits or stability? How does this reality affect our expectations for professional and economic advancement? How does it affect our teaching? What does it tell us about the expectations society has of adult learners? How do the social expectations we have of adult learners shape our work and influence our teaching, our curricula, and our programs? Why do the majority of our students continue to be "Black" and "Latino", women, "immigrants", "out-of-school youth", "poor", "underemployed" or "unemployed"? Why have we come to accept this as "normal"? Can this reality be altered? and if so, how? what is the role of Adult Education in this process? The ideas shared by Paul, Laurie and others are worth considering. Incorporate the history of social movements and collective action into our curricula. Teach our students ways to protect their rights without jeopardizing what may already be fragile situations. Use action projects to encourage students to engage in the construction of their own communities. Recognize and value the contributions and previous knowledge our students have about civic engagement, elections, rights, participation -in their country of origin and their new community-. Connect our field and our programs with organizations that already do significant social change work. Work with organizations that are trying to develop solutions to the challenges our nation faces to show them how contextualized adult basic education can help them meet their goals. Communicate with policy makers and funders (federal, state, local, as well as private funders) to argue for supports needed for effective adult learning systems that help adults of varying skill levels deal in self-reliant, thoughtful ways with work, family, and civic responsibilities. Acknowledge that preparing learners for productive and rewarding work is very important but it has to be done in a way that helps workers get family sustaining wages and benefits. Develop strategies and systems to engage learners themselves in the advocacy process in a meaningful, authentic and sustainable way. What I enjoy the most about this conversation is that it is optimistic in nature; it gives us tools to imagine and build the future. Once again, thank you all for your insightful contributions, Subject: [PD 5423] [PD5414] Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change David - I apologize for arriving so late in the discussion. I was not able to attend the COABE conference. Here are my thoughts: I believe that the most significant thing we can do as teachers, adult educators and tutors is to help others obtain literacy skills so they can rise up out of unemployment, poverty, welfare and crime, or otherwise improve their status. The second most significant contribution we can make is to help them understand how to find and access information so they can become knowledgeable and well informed about issues. The next important area is to help them understand how to participation in our democracy; that they can sit in on City Council and Board of Supervisor meetings, school board meetings, committee and commission meetings, legislative hearings, etc. They can submit written opinion to these groups, and/or they can volunteer or run for office in these bodies. Also, that there are associations and interest groups on both sides of virtually every issue in our society to which they can belong or provide input. And, if they are a citizen, they can vote. Help them understand that a democracy works best when its citizens actively advocate for what they believe in. What concerns me is that some in our profession would cross the line from professional to personal. I strongly disagree with a teacher, adult educator or tutor who would try to influence students toward one side or the other of the issues. It is not our role to try to turn students into whatever image it is we want them to be, i.e. a republican, a democrat, a union activist, an environmental activist, a school reformer, and so on, Students should be given the freedom to come to this on their own. Teachers, adult educators and tutors should reserve their personal activism to their own personal time, and keep it separate from their professional lives, regardless of how tempting the opportunity. To use our positions to recruit students to our favorite issue or organization violates our professional integrity. If we do it on our personal time, more power to us. . . that is democracy working. Regards, Alan Archer Subject: [PD 5425] Re: [PD5414] Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change Mr. Archer, Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful email regarding your three points of reference on significant contributions and/or important areas that we can address as teachers, educators, and role models for our adult students. For your information, your email was coincidental, encouraging, and timely for me! I work in a California state prison with adult male offenders, ages 19 through 58 years, and I am currently completing research on how to improve literacy with English Learners and low literacy adults through instructing fundamental writing skills and process in English and Spanish. I teach low literacy adults who scored grades 0 to 3.9 levels on the TABE reading and language tests. So, naturally, my focus is on building foundational skills to help my students move toward getting a GED or improving their life skills for employment and survival. With the work that I do, your first two "significant contributions" seem like a reasonable goal for the low literacy inmate or adult population; however, the "third important area" is obviously more realistic for the more literate adult population such as students in GED classes, vocational trades, or college classes. While I agree wholeheartedly and philosophically with your "next important area," to help our adult students be more proactive in the democratic process, low literacy adults have great difficulty with understanding, interpreting, and interacting with the literature based on my experience. According to research, English Learners may take approximately 5 to 7 years or more to obtain "academic language" in English. It is truly a several year process to reach more abstract and critical points of literacy with this population. Please know that I view this as a laudable goal which all of us can work towards as adult educators, but our work with low literacy adults and English Learners is an intense, several-year process to build reading and writing proficiency in life. And then, when students achieve higher and more critical levels, with our help, we instruct them in the political process and encourage them to use resources and the political process to work towards a better life. And how rewarding that would be to see any of our students achieve that goal! Thanks for sharing your thoughts through the professional development network because I listened and now I have another long-term goal to help my adult students achieve. Regards, Deborah Rei Subject: [PD 5427] Re: [PD5414] Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change Deborah, I'm enjoying the dialogue and while I am hesitant to jump in often, your latest post gives me encouragement. To my way of thinking, while it is absolutely true that some students
have difficulty picking up the "academic language" when they reenter the
academy, what I find even more significant is the academy's inability or
unwillingness to learn the language of their reentering nontraditional
students. I am trying to create a means whereby we, as educators, can
empower students to begin with their own voice (no matter how aberrant
it may be over/against the standards of formal academic language) and
then build upon that in a gradual but affirming way. I believe our job
as educators, especially early on in a student's journey, is to help
them translate their stories of barriers encountered and how they
managed to overcome them into some basic subjective strengths that will
then enable them to learn the more particular fineries of academic
language. At COABE, I presented a workshop on the topic wherein we
explored twenty steps for educators and counselors to become "agents of
transformational empowerment" and it seemed to be well received. My
emphasis is not so much trying to train new nontraditional students in
learning the ways of the academy. Rather, I want educators to learn how
to listen to and affirm the students where they are in their own
particular journey. Sometimes it is more difficult to suggest that the
problem may find its genesis not in our students but in the ways we as
educators approach them. Just a thought. Michael Subject: [PD 5428] Re: [PD5414] Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change Thanks Michael, Very thoughtful. Establishing mediating capacities between personal experience and academic language is critical for nontraditional students to succeed in the college classroom. I'm wondering if you can make available your 20 steps? The only caveat I would add is that the dialectic between personal and academic modes of learning and inquiry need to work in both ways; that is, I would emphasize a both/and rather than an either/or approach in that I also want (as do they, I believe) nontraditional students to progressively learn the various genres of the academic disciplines, though I would agree that effective mediation is central to that. The academic learning centers can play a strong role in that, though their legitimacy needs to be better embraced by the academy. So does the role of adult education pedagogy as a resource brought into the academic classroom. No doubt, there's a lot of challenges there. Thanks for contributing to this important line of thought. George Demetrion Subject: [PD 5431] Re: [PD5414] Re: COABE Plenary on Social Change I would love to see those twenty steps, also!
Subject:[PD 5422]COABE 2011: 21st Century Skills Inquiry Area Dear Colleagues, The 21st Century Classroom was one of the four inquiry areas featured as
part of the COABE 2011 conference. This inquiry area was sponsored by the
American Institutes for Research and the inquiry question we sought to
address through programming was: To meet the demands of the 21st century what should the 21st century adult
education classroom look like and why? We began an exploration of this question through a plenary session which
took place on April 18th that featured Steve Midgley, Deputy Director of the
USDOE Education Technology Office. Steve introduced the National Education
Technology Plan and discussed its implication for education in the United
States. Discussants Heidi Silver-Pacuilla (also our moderator), John
Fleischman, Richard Sebastian (in absentia), and myself asked questions that
prompted Steve to discuss the NETP in relationship to adult education. The
NETP can be found at: <http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010>
http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010. What questions does the NETP raise
for you in terms of its implications for adult literacy education? In her role as moderator, Heidi Silver-Pacuilla introduced the Partnership
for 21st Century Skill's Learning Framework (
<http://p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254&Itemid=120>
http://p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254&Itemid=120) at
the plenary. This framework makes a strong case for not only the teaching of
the Three Rs but also the Four C's: Critical thinking and problem solving, Communication,
Collaboration, and Creativity and innovation. A series of featured workshops took place subsequent to the plenary that
explored our central question through a number of different lenses. I invite
session presenters to share with the PD list your concepts, materials and
reflections from your sessions. Finally, we wrapped up the 21st Century Classroom Inquiry Area with a town
hall style session inviting participants (approximately 70) to consider the
significant areas of development needed in our field to see the NETP and
21st Century Skills framework actualized. The group's suggestions follow, I
also invite those who were present to add to this list if you think
something is missing:
1. Professional Development a. We need to have support for PD models that are known to be
effective (sustained, intensive, job embedded, hybrid tech and face-to-face) b. There needs to be a greater focus in our PD on the teacher as
learner c. There needs to be increased opportunities for online PD d. There is interest in a national adult ed certification e. States need PD entities similar to those in California, Texas and NY
to offer high quality and research-based PD f. Need explicit PD in techniques for integrating tech and teaching
21st Century Skills
2. Instruction a. We need assessment for 21st Century Skills and tech skills in order
to understand what we need to teach b. We need more information on the really useful tech tools c. 21st Century skills and technology need to be integrated seamlessly
into our instruction (move away from the "reading on Monday, technology on
Tuesday" model) d. There are big implications for the teaching of technology as by 2014
GED test takers will be taking the test via computer, they need to be
comfortable and competent with computers
3. Resources a. We need to have more sharing of what works and what we are using in
terms of courseware, and the content of online courses b. We need greater exploration of the use of mobile technology/cell
phones in providing learning and instruction c. We need resource collections of tech lessons, tools, approaches to
instruction that are comprehensive, up-to-date and freely available d. There are a number of both low-tech and high-tech tools that we need
to become more familiar with that could improve our instruction and learning
opportunities now
a. At the state level when a student drops out of the K-12 system and b. Federal policy must address the needs of the lowest level learners
as we move toward building a 21st century adult education system c. Their needs to be increased funding for technology integration d. Adult Literacy needs to strengthen its advocacy efforts
a. We need a research agenda for adult education generally and
specifically one that address 21st century and tech skills b. We need research on how integration of tech tools impact learner
outcomes c. We want to know more about how 21st century skills and tech is
being used in adult education internationally, and also what is taking place
nationally d. We need data from school and programs that are implementing 21st
century skills initiatives to see what is working e. We need research that tells us about what tech tools are effective
with adult learners and for adult learning Based on your read of the NETP and the P21 what are your thoughts and
suggestions for building the capacity of our field to meet the demands of
the 21st century? Most sincerely, Mariann Mariann Fedele Subject: [PD 5423] 21st C Skills & Public Policy Hello everyone, Mariann, thanks for that summary! Here are some "take away" thoughts I took with me from Steve Midgley's presentation on Monday to the National Coalition for Literacy's policy panel on Tuesday where I was representing this inquiry area. - The Common Core Standards reflect the varied core subjects and themes of the P21 framework, and I think they will impact adult education in at least two ways: 1. our own content standards and instructional expectations will have to rise to align w the Common Core 2. there will be a new wave of youth caught in the (mis)alignment phase as high schools shift gears and students who are struggling may drop out and into our alternative programs - SCANS skills: I was pleasantly surprised to see the SCANS skills of the 90's referenced in the P21 framework when I read it again in prep for COABE. I am proud of us that we have continued to value and teach social "soft" skills and critical thinking skills of the SCANS document that are essential for workers' success on the job. We never gave them up, they aren't new to us as adult educators and I think that bodes well for us as we continue to contextualize instruction and align with workforce training and all else on the horizon. We have a strong tradition here. (It would also be appropriate to update those to include some digital and media literacy.) - Steve's talk put more wind in our sails behind hybrid and online learning and Open Ed Resources (OER) that can open the adult ed classroom to the world and provide varied learning experiences for our students. One thing that I thought was really a profound shift was the amount of on the job training that is now offered online in some form. In most workplaces, not only are applications and wanted ads posted online, time clocks are "logged in" instead of punched, and you have to do your initial and continuing orientation via online training tools, now too. We have to prepare our adult students for this new world of work and we can by offering a variety of online, digital, and hybrid learning experiences. I was really jazzed by Steve Midgley's talk and am still thinking about it! Thanks for hosting an ongoing conversation about what we learned at COABE. Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, Ph.D. 2010-2011 President of the National Coalition for Literacy |
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