Increasing Engagement and Student Persistence Through Distance - and Blended-Learning Models; What the Research Says and Which Practice Work
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 Zachry
This 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.
Collaboration in Adult Education
Author: John Tibbetts and Anestine Hector-Mason, September 2015
Produced by California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project
Collaboration has been shown through research to be an effective strategy both in the classroom and in program management. This CALPRO Research Brief examines the research as it applies to both Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) at the program level, and to classroom instruction, and finds that in both applications collaboration improves outcomes.
Adult Education: What Makes Teaching Effective?
Author: Anne Mishkind, CALPROThis brief provides an overview of research on effective teaching that can be applied in multiple settings by a broad range of teachers across diverse settings. Adult education in California takes place in environments including school districts, community colleges, community-based organizations, libraries, and correctional facilities, and serves students with skills that range from basic literacy to international professional training. Across contexts, research finds that effective teaching is enriched by:thoughtful attention to student backgrounds,collecting and using student data to inform the implementation of evidence based practices including (1) learner-centered instruction, (2) rich and contextualized content knowledge, (3) use of standards to inform learning objectives, and (4) attention to foundational skills and higher-order thinking, and planning for professional development that targets specific teacher competencies
Evidence-Based Professional Learning
Author: Anne Mishkind, American Institutes for Research, 2014This brief provides instructors, professional development coordinators, and program administrators with research and implementation guidance related to evidenceâbased professional learning and dataâdriven instruction.
Guidelines for Facilitating Discussion Groups Using CALPRO Research Digests, Research Summaries, and Research Bibliographies
Produced by California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project, 2006
CALPRO offers these suggested guidelines for initiating and conducting discussion groups using the research digests, summaries, and bibliographies.
Partnering with Employers to Promote Job Advancement for Low-Skill Individuals
Author: Karin Martinson, Abt Associates, Inc., September 2010
This paper explores the importance of employer-program partnerships for improving economic outcomes for both low-skill workers and businesses. It identifies the facÂŹtors that have hindered the growth of these partnerships as well as promising approaches to building further partnerships.
Admin Forum: From Reports to Results: Using Data to Drive Program Growth
Webinar date: 1/21/2026, 1-2pmCoordinator: Cherise MoorePresenters: Dr. Carolyn Zachry, Kathleen Porter, and Carlos RodriguezView this one-hour webinar designed to strengthen your use of data in shaping and advancing your Continuous Improvement Plan. Youâll hear professional perspectives from the California Department of Education, CASAS, and the field on how to effectively analyze and apply data for program improvement. Together, weâll explore specific reports you can generate to guide decision-making and provide hands-on practice in developing clear, actionable SMART goals.