California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project

Authors: Anthony Burik, Mariann Fedele-McLeod, Debalina Ganguli, Martin D. Griffin, Hilary Iserman, Nicole Jordan, Stephanie Kriebel, Yecsenia Lorenzo, Courtney McMahon, Katie Callahan Neginskiy, Penny Pearson, Theresa Petersen, Kristi Reyes, Thoibi N. Rublaitus, Shannon Swain, Lila Young, Carolyn ZachryThis evidence to action brief presents recent research on distance learning in adult education and provides an important contemporaneous account of how California adult education rose to meet the challenge of continuing to serve adult learners during the pandemic. This brief captures a snapshot of the current state of practice and evidence, including identified challenges and corresponding best practices. Additionally, it looks towards the future as adult education continues to address the identified challenges of distance learning in innovative ways, as well as to harness the ample benefits and potential for students.

Produced by California Adult Literacy Professional Development ProjectThis publication presents the outcomes of a multi-year initiative on enhancing adult learner persistence. It addresses three distinct but related efforts on learner persistence: (1) the adult learner persistence Web site developed by the California Department of Education, (2) a field-based research initiative (FBRI) on learner persistence, and (3) site-based study circles on learner persistence. The purpose of each of these efforts was the same: to make available to California adult educators information about current research findings on learner persistence and to invite them to use the findings to design and implement interventions to enhance the persistence of their adult learners.

Session 1 at Fremont Adult and Continuing EducationWhat are “Communities of Practice”?Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and strive to learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.1 To provide opportunities for California adult educators to interact regularly and to engage in sustained professional development, CALPRO is offering professional development in a Community of Practice format that includes online interaction along with two face-to-face sessions.What is a pilot?This Community of Practice is complete and ready for participants, but before offering it statewide, we are field-testing the content, design, and the online activities as a pilot. Throughout the pilot, participants will be asked for feedback. This feedback will be used to improve the delivery of future trainings.What are the benefits of participating in this CoP Pilot?More in-depth engagement with training content;Opportunity for “early adoption” of best practices;Opportunity to interact with fellow educators and the trained facilitator synchronously and asynchronously to share practical experiences and problem solve;Collegial support for thinking about program and curriculum changes;Contribution to the development of an enriched statewide professional development experience for adult educators in California.

In today's world, media literacy is an essential skill for adults to participate in academic, professional, and community activities. This webinar will explore the importance of media literacy in adult education, providing practical tools and strategies to help learners critically evaluate media sources, understand the impact of media on society, and navigate the digital landscape with confidence. Participants will gain insights into fostering critical thinking and media analysis skills among adult learners, empowering them to become informed and engaged community members.

Hosted by San Joaquin Adult Education Consortium How can you prepare your learners to succeed in the workforce? Find out what employers say are essential skills for today's workforce. This 2-hour session shows you how to integrate transferable skills seamlessly in the adult education classroom. It also offers examples of contextualizing instruction by using workplace activities and forms.Registration Information:This training is offered as part of the professional development day for the San Joaquin adult education consortium. Event registration through the consortium may be required. For more information, visit https://www.sjadulted.org/