VALRC

ProLiteracy: “What are They Really Saying?” Helping Students Read Between the Lines and Make Inferences
2024-03-26 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Students preparing for the HSE exams often focus too much on what’s explicitly present in a text. This may allow them to recall specific details and find evidence, but it hinders them from making inferences and drawing conclusions. In this webinar, learn how to help students dig deeper to make inferences about what’s being implicitly stated in the text.
Register
This webinar is part of the Teacher Training Plus series

The Little Things You Can Do to Make a Big Impact on GED® Math Performance
2024-03-26 14:30 - 16:00
Content Session:
The Little Things You Can Do to Make a Big Impact on GED® Math Performance
Presenter: Ronald Allan Cruz
Description: Sometimes the little things students ignore could mean the difference between passing or failing the GED® Mathematical Reasoning Test. This session will focus on what teachers need to pay attention to in terms of what students do during problem-solving exercises that could help significantly improve students’ performance on the test. This session will also suggest strategies to break those bad math habits and provide tips to sustain effective problem-solving practices.

Topic of the Day: How can you break the cycle of those students who score between 140 and 144?
Presenter(s): Kelly Dages (Fifth Theory), Ann Evers, GED Testing Service
Description: Do you have a student that:

Gets a Green on GED Ready test but doesn’t pass the GED test?
Repeatedly scores between a 140-144 on the GED test?
Won’t schedule the GED test or does, but then doesn’t show up for it?

The GED TestPrepped Coaching Program Course will teach you how to break these cycles.
The program will help you identify non-academic skills where your students struggle such as, Motivation, Responsibility, Confidence, Resiliency, etc. Learn how to
work with your students to build a successful test-taking mindset.

LINCS Coffee Talk: Using AI Tools in Civics Education
2024-03-25 15:00 - 16:00 | Virtual
Leverage the power of AI tools to target and tailor the creation of level-appropriate civics course material. Re-apply these prompts to highlight and connect the language and civics content in IECLE classrooms to facilitate student leadership in the workforce and the community-at-large.
Register Here

EdWeb: Science of Reading Week
2024-03-25 - 2024-03-28 | Online
When schools and districts connect knowledge of the science of reading with instruction, we can realize exponential power for change. These panels are designed to address the needs of every educator, school administrator and district leader, empowering you with knowledge of structured literacy to forever reshape students’ academic journeys.
Join EdWeb and Lexia for four days of inspiration, guidance, and expert advice to unlock literacy learning
for every student through the science of reading. Webinars are 12:00-1:00pm Monday March 25 – Thursday March 28. Register for individual webinars or the whole week.
Register

LINCS: What's Your Story?
2024-03-22 15:00 - 16:00 | Virtual
Many of our students come to us with significant trauma that impacts their ability to learn. How can we help students learn to tell their stories and engage in the self-reflection needed to heal? Join our guest presenter, Odilia Rivera-Santos, with the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island to learn about “What’s Your Story?”—a process where writing leads to healing.
Register Here

LINCS: Let's Talk: Virtual Learning Communities to Support Practitioners
2024-03-22 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Join the LINCS Professional Development and Program Management group moderators in this coffee chat to discuss virtual learning communities – their characteristics, support for practitioners, and best practices in planning and implementation. We welcome you to listen, learn, and share your experiences!
Register Here

VALRC ESOL Beginning Literacy Webinar Series: Using the Language Experience Approach to Integrate the Components of Reading
2024-03-21 15:00 - 17:00 | Virtual
Do you work with adult ESOL learners who are building their literacy skills? Are you looking for an engaging and asset-based approach to ESOL beginning literacy instruction that allows for the integration of all four components of reading?
This webinar will present strategies for utilizing the language experience approach (LEA) in the ESOL educational setting as a strategy for integrating all four components of reading–alphabetics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension–into instruction. We will discuss LEA, walk through the steps of implementing it, and look at strategies for using the student-generated text for activities related to all four components of reading. Participants will leave the webinar with an understanding of the language experience approach, how it benefits ESOL beginning literacy instruction, and strategies for implementing this strategy in the adult ESOL classroom. The resources will include options for ESOL beginning literacy curricula and supplemental materials.
Register Here

VALRC-TSTM: Civics Education PLC
2024-03-19 15:30 - 17:00, 2024-03-12 15:30 - 17:00 | Online
Do you want to learn more about the classroom-ready lessons and other resources in the Teaching the Skills that Matter (TSTM) Toolkit?
Do you want to gain ideas for incorporating civics education and workforce preparation skills and activities into your teaching?
Do you want to work with experienced facilitators and colleagues around the state to adapt TSTM lessons to support your adult learners?
If you answered “yes,” then join us for the Spring 2024 TSTM: Civics Education Literacy Professional Learning Community (PLC). This three-week, ten-hour PLC is streamlined for instructors and designed to help teachers harness the power of the TSTM Toolkit in their current classroom or learning environment.
This PLC includes:

3, 90-minute “live” PLC sessions, held Tuesdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on March 12, March 19, and March 26;
Online collaboration and sharing with your PLC colleagues and facilitator; and,
A 90-minute follow-up session on Tuesday, April 30, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. focused on sustaining TSTM.

Registration for this event is now closed. If you have questions about TSTM, contact Hillary Major at VALRC.

NEDP for Non-NEDP Staff
2024-03-14 16:00 - 17:00, 2024-03-12 13:00 - 14:00
The most successful National External Diploma Program (NEDP) providers take a whole-agency approach to NEDP. Learners benefit when instructors, administrators, and support staff who have NOT been trained in NEDP understand the fundamentals of the program.
Join us for a one-hour crash course in NEDP for non-NEDP staff. Impress your coworkers with your fluency in NEDP terminology! Demolish your agency’s NEDP silo!

Tuesday, March 12th at 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 14th at 4:00 p.m.

Register for either session at https://casas-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpd-iorjgsGNASu2k1mcvJjZszN-OuhDwC

VALRC: Multilevel ESOL Classes Webinar Series, Session 2
2024-03-14 15:30 - 17:00 | Virtual
Do you want to tackle the challenges of teaching multilevel ESOL classes? Are you looking to address the varied learning needs of individual students within one classroom and become an effective multi-level teacher?
This 3 part webinar series will present strategies for effective multi-level instruction and planning for ESOL classes or multi-level classrooms. We will discuss the characteristics of a multilevel class, planning for differentiated instruction and implementing different classroom management strategies for effective instruction. Participants will leave the webinar with an understanding of what multilevel classroom needs consist of, how to prepare and plan for individual students needs, and strategies for implementing differentiated instruction in the adult ESOL multi-level classroom. The resources will include articles, videos and supplemental materials.
Objectives:

Understand the factors of a multilevel classroom and how to identify the needs of all students.
Identify strategies to effectively differentiate instruction in both multi level classrooms as well as leveled ESOL classes while accommodating literacy learners and more advanced students.
Discuss next steps for implementation, including adaptation of materials and strategies with a specific group of learners.

Session 2 will focus on a deep dive of differentiation by the process and the product.
Register Here

Literacy Minnesota: Teaching Intermediate Alphabetics
2024-03-13 14:00 - 16:00 | Online
Teaching intermediate alphabetics (syllables, prefixes, suffixes, root words) is a great way to help students build their decoding and comprehension skills. Come learn a variety of fun and easy-to-use routines and activities for helping intermediate-level readers develop these important tools.
Register

Boot Camp 2.0 - Building on Success
2024-03-13 09:00 - 12:00
Boot Camps have proven a worthwhile strategy in providing instruction for students who are one test away from a high school credential. For many of these students, the focus has been on math. However, we know that this strategy can and will work for other areas as well. This virtual session, Boot Camp 2.0, is designed to look at next steps and to look at some critical questions, including, but not limited to:

1) How do we define success?

2) How has our enrollment criteria impacted both program and student success?

3) What can we do to better target our curriculum to best meet the needs of our students?

4) What testing strategies should we be incorporating into our curriculum to ensure students are prepared not just for the content, but for the testing experience?

5) What is the best way to ensure that we provide boot camps on an ongoing basis?

Join us on Wednesday, March 13 from 9:00 a.m. – noon for Boot Camp 2.0 – Building on Success. This will be an interactive session, so be sure to bring and be ready to share examples of your own successes and challenges with Boot Camps.

If you have specific questions about content and logistics related to providing Boot Camps that you would like to see answered during this session, please forward those to Susan Pittman, skptvs@gmail.com.

Register for this session here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMuc–trjwiGdefnnVO5yEFUBeTY-M7FnoT

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting.

Literacy Minnesota: Developing and Practicing Reading Fluency
2024-03-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
Come and review the important role of fluency in reading instruction. We will discuss the three key components of reading fluency and look at a variety of activities tutors and teachers can try. We will talk about the mechanics of doing fluency practice via Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or any other remote tutoring tool (including the phone!). Participants will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions and share resources.
This workshop will be most useful for instructors working with low-intermediate to advanced readers.
Register

VALRC: Helping Your Students Identify, Develop, and Utilize Transferrable Skills Webinar with Cynthia Peters
2024-03-07 15:30 - 16:30 | Online
Adult education students have strong transferable skills (aka, soft skills). They just don’t know it yet! Leadership, communication, and critical thinking skills are being cultivated daily by hard-working adult learners. Employers value and seek these crucial competencies. In this webinar, adult educator and The Change Agent editor Cynthia Peters shares powerful student-written stories and demonstrates classroom activities that teach basic skills in ways that enable students to identify and amplify the transferable skills essential for employability.
Register here.

LACES Demo: Data Outputs from LACES
2024-03-05 15:00 - 16:00

VDOE 2024 Data Office Hours
2024-03-05 14:00 - 15:00

Literacy Minnesota: Teaching Reading Vocabulary Remotely or In Person
2024-03-04 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
Vocabulary is everyone’s favorite reading component! And helping students master reading vocabulary is a key to helping them master comprehension. But how many words should you teach? And which words are the most important? What strategies are best for helping students learn new words? How do you get students to make new words part of their receptive and productive vocabularies? This webinar will focus on the theory and best practice behind choosing, teaching and reviewing reading vocabulary. You’ll get a chance to learn about (and practice) a variety of activities that can be done remotely or in person. Links to great online resources will also be provided.
This workshop will be most useful for instructors working with low-intermediate to advanced readers.
Register

GEDTS Tuesdays for Teachers: Close Reading & GED Tech Apprenticeship Program Update
2024-02-27 15:30 - 17:00 | Online
Register here.
Content Session (1 hour): Starting the New Year with Close Reading Session
It’s time to be serious about close reading. Survey responses received from you echoed a desire for more strategies to improve Reasoning Through Language Arts results. Over the past few years, we have focused on mathematics. We’ve worked hard to help students build their math skills — and we are seeing results. Now, we need to transfer some of that instructional energy to reading. Join GEDTS as we explore strategies to help students build their reading skills. We will explore reading skills students need across the content areas.
Topic of the Day (1/2 hour): GED Tech Apprenticeship Program Update
The GED Tech Apprenticeship Program, a partnership between WithYouWithMe and GED Testing Service, continues to build momentum since the successful Job Fair held in Los Angeles in October 2023. Join Gregory Larson, GED Coordinator/Adjunct Faculty at Los Angeles City College (LACC), Vicki Greene, and Tom Moore as Gregory reflects upon the impact the program is having on participating LACC students following the Job Fair.

VALRC: Multilevel ESOL Classes Webinar Series, Session 1
2024-02-22 15:30 - 17:00 | Virtual
Do you want to tackle the challenges of teaching multilevel ESOL classes? Are you looking to address the varied learning needs of individual students within one classroom and become an effective multi-level teacher?
This 3 part webinar series will present strategies for effective multi-level instruction and planning for ESOL classes or multi-level classrooms. We will discuss the characteristics of a multilevel class, planning for differentiated instruction and implementing different classroom management strategies for effective instruction. Participants will leave the webinar with an understanding of what multilevel classroom needs consist of, how to prepare and plan for individual students needs, and strategies for implementing differentiated instruction in the adult ESOL multi-level classroom. The resources will include articles, videos and supplemental materials.
Objectives:

Understand the factors of a multilevel classroom and how to identify the needs of all students.
Identify strategies to effectively differentiate instruction in both multi level classrooms as well as leveled ESOL classes while accommodating literacy learners and more advanced students.
Discuss next steps for implementation, including adaptation of materials and strategies with a specific group of learners.

Session 1 will focus on an overview of the multilevel classroom & differentiation strategies.
Register Here

LINCS: The Digital Equity Act: Correctional Education Getting in the Game
2024-02-22 15:00 - 16:00 | Virtual
The Digital Equity Act now moves into the next phase of implementation across the country, and it’s important for everyone in the correctional and reentry community to get up to speed on what’s happening. Join LINCS to learn from Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, a recognized expert on state and federal workforce policies as she shares the current state of the Digital Equity Act. Learn more about what’s happening, and what’s not when it comes to digital access and digital literacy behind and beyond the wall of our prisons and jails. This is one event you just cannot afford to miss.
Register Here

DARS WINDMILLS: Harness the Power of Inclusion
2024-02-22 14:00 - 15:30
Windmills has a proven history of assisting those with and without disabilities to better understand the culture of disability in the workplace.
We will be rotating the following modules:

Fact or Fiction: Jan 25
Whose Fault: Feb 22
Perspectives: Mar 28
Taking Emotions out of Emotional Disabilities: Apr 25
Profiles (coming May 23)
AT and Reasonable Accommodations (coming June 27)

Pre-registration is required. Register HERE.

Literacy Minnesota: Phonics in Beginning ESL: Recommendations, Activities and Resources
2024-02-21 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
Phonics–the knowledge of the sounds letters make when they are combined to make words–is essential to beginning literacy and beginning level English language instruction. But, many teachers and tutors lack the knowledge, confidence and resources to teach the topic. Attend this session to learn why phonics instruction is important and leave with several ideas for phonics activities and resources to bring back to your teaching and tutoring sessions.
This session will be most useful to tutors and teachers working with beginning literacy, low beginning and high beginning English language learners.
Register

LINCS: Building Community in Adult Education Classrooms
2024-02-21 15:00 - 16:00 | Virtual
To increase their likelihood of success, adult English learners need to feel accepted and welcomed in a classroom. The guest presenter, Johanna Gleason, ESL Instructor for the San Diego College of Continuing Education will equip teachers with several tips and tools for building a welcoming classroom community that supports learners in achieving their important goals.
Register Here

Literacy Minnesota: Comprehension Strategies for Intermediate-Level Readers
2024-02-20 19:30 - 21:30 | Online
Research shows that explicitly teaching a set of comprehension strategies is a great way to help intermediate-level readers maximize their understanding of texts. Come learn a handful of great comprehension tools that will help students develop critical thinking skills and comprehension skills.
Register

Career Pathways Data Webinar
2024-02-20 15:30 - 16:30 | Online
Career coaches, adult educators, workforce professionals, and colleagues are invited to attend a webinar featuring the Virginia Office of Education Economics (VOEE) on February 20 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. to learn more about the data analytics, high-demand occupation list, and customizable dashboards available by Virginia region. Learn how to make use of these fresh data insights for your program planning and client coaching from the VOEE team!
Register HERE.

LINCS: Making Math Matter
2024-02-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual
Many adult learners struggle to learn math. LINCS offers a new, online Universal Design for Learning (UDL) module – Making Math Matter. Join us to take a deep dive into this UDL course with our guest presenters Donald Walker, Career and Technical Education Trainer at the Center for Applied Special Technology, and Carl Trank, Professor of Mathematics at Rock Valley College. You will leave this session ready to use UDL to increase access to math learning for adult students.
Register Here

LINCS: Picture Perfect! Mastering Visual Literacy in Adult Education
2024-02-14 15:00 - 16:00 | Virtual
In today’s digital age, visual literacy is a critical skill for students to navigate and communicate effectively. Join LINCS this month to explore the fundamental concepts of visual literacy and discover how it can be integrated seamlessly into various subjects and levels. Expand your teaching toolkit and empower your students to become visually literate thinkers and communicators.
Register Here

VALRC: Science of Reading Overview
2024-02-14 13:00 - 15:00 | Online
This session presents a basic overview of the science of reading and effective reading instruction, including alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. During the session, we discuss strategies for each component of reading and how to use them in the classroom. Participants will leave with resources for teaching each component.
Register
