December 2007 Calendar Archive

A list of local, state, and national professional development events of interest to adult & family literacy practitioners in Texas. If you know of other professional development opportunities or important dates of interest to Texas practitioners, please submit them to our Calendar Committee for consideration. For more information join one of our email discussion groups so you will always hear about the latest training opportunities. Click on "Discussion Lists" to read about these discussion lists and how to join.

December 2007

December 1, 2007: Effective Teaching Strategies for Multilevel ESL Classrooms, Session II will be held from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at Austin Community College-Highland Business Center, Room 214, 5930 Middle Fiskville Road, Austin, 78752. This is Session 2 of 2 sessions totaling 9 hours. The workshop focuses on appropriate lesson planning strategies, group strategies and effective multilevel activities for use in ESL classrooms. Trainer will be Linda Muñoz. Must register to attend. Central registration form. For information please contact Mario Mokarzel mm64@txstate.edu or 1-877-798-5522.

December 1, 2007: BEST Plus Training will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at Houston Community College, 3100 Main St. Room BD 12. Houston 77002. The participants will study the rationale for the BEST Plus test and acquire sufficient mastery of the BEST Plus test to perform duties of a tester in administering, scoring, and interpreting the scores. NOTE: Participants are required to have a TAG manual.No one will be allowed to attend the session without a TAG manual. Please use these numbers to register: CABEA 6800043, registration number 63537, and section number CY177. Coastal Registration form. For additional information, please email: CoastalCF@nhmccd.edu

 December 1, 2007:  BEST Plus Training will be held from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (6 hr. training with one hr. for lunch) at Technology Center Bldg – TC 136, 3600 N. Garfield, Midland.  Trainer is Bobby Jackson.  The training is open to all.  For further information please contact Patricia Zeigler at (432)685-4566 or pzeigler@midland.edu. You must register to attend. West Registration Form.

December 1, 2007: ESL Techniques will be held from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm at Trinity Valley Community College located in Palestine, Texas. For more information, please contact Jim Ratliff at (936) 435-8330 or jratliff@esc6.net

December 5, 2007: Even Start Web Conference will be hosted by Texas LEARNS on Using Evaluation for Program Improvement. Time: 1:00 - 3:00 pm Central Time. For more information, contact Texas LEARNS.

December 7, 2007: BEST Plus Refresher: Training for Trainers will be held from 10 AM to 4 PM at the Round Rock Higher Education Center, Room 365, 1555 University Boulevard, Round Rock 78664. NOTE: Participants will be learning how to use the BEST Plus Scoring Refresher Toolkit with BEST Plus test administrators at their local programs. Participants must be certified, skilled BEST Plus test administrators. We recommend that each program brings its program’s BEST Plus Scoring Refresher Tool Kit. For content questions please contact Denise Guckert, the facilitator, (512) 245-9624, dg21@txstate.edu. For information on directions or other logistics, contact Mario Mokarzel mm64@txstate.edu. Both can be reached toll-free 1-877-798-5522. Participation is limited to 20 for this workshop, first come first serve, so please register to attending. Central registration form.

December 7-8, 2007: TCABE State Leadership Conference for Adult Education, Even Start, and EL Civics Administrators, Program Leaders and Decision Makers; and State Leadershipwill be hosted by Texas Council for Adult Basic Education (TCABE) at the DoubleTree Hotel Houston Downtown. Make your own reservations by November 15, 2007 for conference rates ($85 single or double). SRP Code for reservations is TCA. Conference time is Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Program and registration will be organized by TCABE. For more information on the conference, call TCABE President Christine Nevarez (979-532-6514).

December 8, 2007: GED Content Standards workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Adult Learning Center, 3902 Morgan, Corpus Christi, 78412. The instructor is Sandi Schnieder. South Registration Form.

December 8, 2007: Culture and Learning in the ESOL Classroom, Session I will be held from 9:00 am to 12 noon Austin Community College-Highland Business Center, Room 219, 5930 Middle Fiskville Road, Austin, 78752. This workshop is a 2-part session totaling 6 hours of Professional Development for adult ESOL instructors. This workshop will look at goals of cultural instruction as well as how culture is often learned. There will be hands on activities for teachers to do as they share with each other their own cultural experiences and values, discussing how these are similar to or different from those that their adult learners may hold, and develop strategies to both recognize similarities and bridge differences. The facilitator will be Linda Muñoz. Must register to attend. Central registration form. For information please contact Mario Mokarzel mm64@txstate.edu or 1-877-798-5522.

December 8, 2007: BEST Plus Yvonne Ewell Townview Center. 1201 E. 8th St., Dallas, TX.8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Participants who successfully complete this certification process will be able to give both the computer adapted and print based version of this new oral proficiency test. This test was developed by the Center for Applied Linguistics. It is an individually administered face-to-face scripted oral interview designed to assess the English language Proficiency of adult English language learners. This test can be used for program placement, progress, program evaluation and diagnosis. BEST Plus scores can be converted to SPL descriptors that align with NRS Functioning Level Descriptors. For more information contact Dorris Baker (972) 749-2506.

December 11, 2007: National Leadership Excellence Academy continues with this second of three six-hour face-to-face meetings. For more information on this series, contact Sheryl Jefferson at Texas LEARNS  or email Ken Appelt at TCALL

December 12, 2007: Distance Learning Orientation. Cleburne Adult Education Center, 425 N. Granbury, Cleburne, TX. 5:00 pm -8:00 pm. Participants will be provided with an overview of Distance Learning 101: Teaching Adult Learners at a Distance. They will be provided guidance in how to access and use the course Web site- www.communityzero.com. For more information, contact Dorris Baker (972) 749-2506 or Marilyn Calhoun (972) 749-2637.

December 14, 2007: Credential Reflection Workshop will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Fairbanks Center, 14955 Northwest Freeway, Houston, 77040. Presenter is Michelle Janysek.  The purpose of the professional development is to introduce teachers pursuing the Credential to the Scoring Rubric and the reflective writing process.  The training will consist of a detailed overview of the Credential Reflection Scoring Rubric requirements and guidance on how to write reflections that meet the performance requirements of the rubric.  Participants must have previously attended a PDPW and should come to the training prepared to write about a recent professional development experience.  Please use these numbers to register: CABEA 6800136, registration number 63633, and section number CY 178. Coastal Registration form. For additional information, please email: CoastalCF@nhmccd.edu

December 15, 2007: Culture and Learning in the ESOL Classroom, Session II will be held from 9:00 am to 12 noon Austin Community College-Highland Business Center, Room 411, 5930 Middle Fiskville Road, Austin 78752. This is Part 2 of 2 sessions totaling 6 hours of Professional Development for adult ESOL Teachers. The facilitator will be Linda Muñoz. This workshop will continue the discussion of cultural instruction and include more hands on activities for teachers to do regarding culture in the classroom. Instructional strategies to recognize cultural similarities and bridge differences will be discussed. Must register to attend. Central registration form. For information please contact Mario Mokarzel mm64@txstate.edu or 1-877-798-5522.

 December 15, 2007:  BEST Plus Training will be held from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (6 hr. training with one hr. for lunch) at 1601 S. Cleveland, Amarillo.  Trainer is Barbara Shull.  Please contact Leslie Boyd for further information (806) 677-5280 or leslie.boyd.@esc16.net.  You must register to attend. West Registration Form.

December 15, 2007: PDPW Credential workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m.-3:30p.m. at the Adult Learning Center, 3902 Morgan, Corpus Christi, 78412. The instructor is Debbie Janysek. South Registration Form.

December 15, 2007: Texas Adult Education Content Standards, 900 N. Elm St., Weatherford, TX 76086. 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Participants will be provided with the tools to effectively implement the content standards. All participants will receive the Texas Adult Education Content Standards and Benchmarks for ABE/ASE and ESL Learners Implementation Guide. For more information contact Dorris A. Baker (972) 749-2506 or Chip Evans (817) 598-2807.

December 20, 2007: Redefining Success/Portfolio Development workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m.-3:30p.m. At the Adult Learning Center, 1625 Price Road, Brownsville, 78521. The instructor is Irene Ramos. South Registration Form.

December 20, 2007: Redefining Success/Portfolio Development workshop will be held from 5:00 p.m.-8:00p.m. At the Adult Learning Center, 1625 Price Road, Brownsville, 78521. The instructor is Irene Ramos. South Registration Form.

December 21, 2007: Cross Culture workshop will be held from 8:30 am.-11:30 a.m. At the Adult Learning Center, 1625 Price Road, Brownsville, 78521. The instructor is Irene Ramos. South Registration Form.