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.

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.

Course Description:Adult education plays a significant role in the lives of immigrants. Often adult education is the first door through which a new immigrant encounters the world of services and supports available to them as they seek to increase their skills to reach their life goals. As described in the white paper by ALLIES on the Immigrant Integration Framework: “Immigrant integration is... a two-way process involving learning and adaptation by both immigrant communities and receiving communities. Broadening an understanding of diverse perspectives and cultural resources ultimately strengthens both the immigrant and receiving communities, and increases the entire community’s capacity to adapt and respond to a changing global environment." This facilitated online course will help educators support immigrants through civics education as understood within the lens of the California Immigrant Integration Initiative and aligned to approved EL Civics metrics. Participants who successfully complete this course will receive a certificate of participation (15 hours); they are also eligible to apply to CSUS for 1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) if they wish.Goal:Participants will be able to locate and adapt Teaching Skills That Matter lesson materials on Civics Education topics in order to support immigrant students at all levels of ESL to become successful members of their communities.Registration Information:There is no registration fee to participate; CALPRO professional development opportunities are available to all California Adult Education Program (CAEP) agencies and employees.Registered participants will receive final confirmation and details by Friday, October 17, 2025. Waitlisted participants will also receive an update regarding their enrollment status by that date.Contact Information:Please contact calpro@air.org with any questions.

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

Authors: Mariann Fedele-McLeod, Anestine Hector-Mason, Steve Hinds, Rob Jenkins, Maricel Santos, Susan Pimentel, Jodi Crandall, American Institutes for Research, 2015This document outlines the core knowledge and skills that adult education teachers need to succeed in their roles. The Adult Education Teacher Competencies help teachers improve their effectiveness and learner outcomes. They also assist instructional leaders, professional developers, and teacher preparation faculty prepare effective professional development activities for teachers.