California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project

Facilitator: Mariann Fedele-McLeod, American Institutes for ResearchIn October 2016, the American Institutes for Research, under contract with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, published the English Language Proficiency Standards for Adult Education (ELP Standards for AE). This report presents and explains the ELP Standards for AE and their relevance to adult education programs. This webinar provides an introduction to the standards, explains the development process (including guiding principles and design parameters), and provides an overview of the structure, use, and supports for the standards that are found in the report. These supports include two views of the standards with their correspondences to the College and Career Readiness Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy, and Mathematical and Science Practices, scenarios that provide examples of instruction based on the standards, a glossary of key terms, and examples of instructional scaffolds and supports for learners at varying levels of English language proficiency. The intended audience for the webinar, and for the report itself, is broad and includes all practitioners involved in the education of adult English Language Learners. 

Facilitator: Andre Pecina, Principal, Fresno Adult SchoolIn April 2013, the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) released the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) for Adult Education which prepare adult students to transition more successfully to postsecondary education and workforce. In the spring of 2014, OCTAE, in conjunction with Standards Work, began offering CCRS training Institutes across the country. Fresno Adult School was one of California agencies to participate in these institutes. This presentation provides administrators with information on how to support implementing the CCRS in classrooms by sharing what it looks like at Fresno Adult School. 

Presenter: Susan Pimentel, cofounder of StandardsWork, Inc., and author of College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult EducationIn this session, Susan Pimentel discusses the College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards for Adult Education. The presentation provides background information on how and why these standards were developed. Pimentel introduces the key advances prompted by the standards for both ELA/Literacy and math, and she shares some of the implications these have for instruction. 

Presenter: Wendy Heard, Academic Department Chair and Site Technology Coordinator, Burbank Adult SchoolWendy Heard introduces participants to the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education and to Webb's Depth of Knowledge wheel. She also provides practice in identifying which Depth of Knowledge aspects various questions address, with the goal of raising the level of questions that adult students are asked to address. This helps prepare students for more analytical and evaluative thinking required in postsecondary education and on the job. The presenter also reviews how the CCR math standards are constructed and how they change the traditional approach to math instruction. 

Presenters: Lori Howard, ESL teacher, coordinator, author and CASAS Program Specialist CoordinatorSylvia G. Ramirez, Professor Emeritus at MiraCosta College and teacher educator, author and consultantIn this session, participants are introduced to the College and Career Readiness Standards and consider how these standards can be applied to ESL instruction. Participants learned and practiced an approach to unpacking each of the standards by identifying the specific skills addressed, applying the standards to currently used textbooks, and considering what additional activities might be needed to supplement existing texts in order to help ESL learners meet the standards. 

Author: Amy R. TrawickProduced by the American Institutes for Research through a contract with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education, May 2018.This 2018 report supplements the previously published Using the PIACC Literacy Framework to Guide Instruction: An Introduction for Adult Educators and provides literacy instructors ways to implement contextualized reading instruction to a population with varied needs and educational backgrounds. By connecting real-world reading tasks and standards-based instruction, this report provides resources for teachers to consider when planning a contextualized reading curriculum. The supplemental report is based on data originally released by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIACC) in September 2016 and was produced by the American Institutes for Research through a contract with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education.

Author: Susan Pimentel, 2013This document presents a set of college and career readiness standards (CCRS) of the content that is most relevant for preparing adult students to succeed in colleges, technical training programs, work and citizenship. In the areas of English language arts/literacy and mathematics. These standards were derived from the Common Core State Standards.

Produced by U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education, 2016Designed to support effective instruction of adult English language learners, this document presents a set of correspondences to the college and career readiness standards (CCRS) for English language arts/literacy, mathematical and science practices.

Join us for an insightful webinar focused on promoting math identity in adult learners and embracing productive struggle in mathematics. Research shows that students who lack confidence in math often give up when faced with challenges, mistakenly thinking that struggling indicates a lack of intelligence. Although struggle can conflict with educators’ notions of successful teaching, struggle and mistakes are the best times for brain growth and are a necessary component of learning and understanding. Teaching that embraces and uses productive struggle leads to long-term benefits, with students more able to apply their learning to new problem situations. This research forum webinar explores ways to foster a positive math identity and embrace productive struggle in adult education classrooms.

Hosted by Turlock Adult SchoolIt takes persistence as well as effective instruction for adult learners to significantly increase their skills to achieve their goals, whether it is in their community, workplace, or in postsecondary education.  Adult educators can support learners to persist and efficiently gain relevant skills by implementing standard-based instruction and evidence-based motivation strategies. This tailored community of practice (CoP) provides an overview of the motivation strategies and introduces the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards. The CoP will provide an opportunity for participants to plan classroom activities that incorporate the standards and motivation strategies. Location: Turlock Adult SchoolDate: Tuesday, April 15th, 2025Time: 3:30pm - 6:30pmRegistration Information:This tailored regional CoP is designed for the Turlock Adult School staff and teachers.There is no registration fee to participate; CALPRO professional development opportunities are available to all California Adult Education Program (CAEP) agencies and employees.