California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project

Presenter: Karyn Ruiz, Instructor at Visalia Adult SchoolIn this second Webinar of the Instructors Forum, the presenter demonstrated how to contextualize workforce skills into adult basic education (ABE)/adult secondary education (ASE) instruction. Objectives included identifying skills being taught to students, assisting students to articulate and reflect on what they are learning, and integrating workplace documents and activities into classroom instruction. 

Presenters: Ronna Magy, Professional Development Specialist, and Donna Price, ESL Instructor at San Diego Community College DistrictIn this first Webinar of the Instructors Forum, presenters showcased how to contextualize workforce skills into English as a second language (ESL) instruction. The presenters demonstrated ways to help adult learners articulate transferable skills that they are learning in the classroom to the workplace. 

Author: Karin Martinson, Abt Associates, Inc., September 2010This paper explores the importance of employer-program partnerships for improving economic outcomes for both low-skill workers and businesses. It identifies the fac¬tors that have hindered the growth of these partnerships as well as promising approaches to building further partnerships.

Authors: Judith Crocker, John Tibbetts, Renee Sherman, and Michael Dlott, American Institutes for Research, May 2002This guide helps agencies assess their ability to design and deliver a workplace education program. The guide is divided into two sections—the instruction and the program administrative characteristics needed for program success. 

How can you prepare your learners to succeed in the workforce? Find out what employers say are essential skills for today's workforce. This series shows you how to connect transferable skills in the classroom to the workplace. There are two sessions; each session is broken into two parts (4 webinars total). This series will provide background on skills transferable from the classroom to the workplace and to teach students how to articulate those skills.  Registration information: This event is not currently scheduled. Registration will become available once this topic is scheduled. 

Hosted by the San Joaquin Adult Education ConsortiumThe goal of this CoP is to support adult learners’ postsecondary and workforce transitions bybuilding consortia and adult education program staff’s capacity to implement evidence-based practices that facilitate transitions.identifying ways to enhance support services, program structures, and local partnerships. prioritizing improvement actions and identifying challenges and solutions for implementation.

Course Description :This course takes place entirely online and runs for four consecutive weeks. Weekly participation is required, though participants may, during a given week, log in whenever they wish. A kick-off Webinar will take place during the first week of the course. This course will introduce participants to a wide variety of strategies for both program and classroom that move students towards their career goals in the most efficient way possible. Agencies are encouraged to register as a team of at least two members but may include up to four members. An assumption behind this team approach is that that program changes have to be implemented and led by administrators but cannot be successful without the understanding and support from teachers. Participants who successfully complete this course will receive a certificate of participation (14 hours); they are also eligible to apply to CSUS for 1.4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) if they wish.Goals :• Define the concepts of career pathways and accelerated learning • Identify the role of adult education in the career pathway process and ways in which accelerated learning can help students overcome barriers to success • Describe a variety of accelerated learning strategies • Initiate planning for the implementation of one or two selected accelerated learning strategies • Develop problem-solving approaches to address implementation challenges • Select continuous improvement strategiesRegistration Information :There is no registration fee to participate; CALPRO professional development opportunities are available to all California Adult Education Program (CAEP) agencies and employees.Contact Information :Please contact calpro@air.org with any questions.

This issue brief provides an overview of workforce preparation skills, a description of why these skills are important for adult learners, recommendations for implementation, and tips for teaching workforce preparation in the classroom.