Professional Development Workshop
Descriptions
Section E-F
A Classroom Research Initiative!
An overview about adults with learning disabilities, focusing on their characteristics and learning needs, and instructional strategies appropriate for LD learners. Teachers will have an opportunity to discuss the concerns and challenges they face in the classroom. Participants will form partnerships to develop LD-appropriate instructional projects for the population they serve -- ESOL, ABE, EL Civics, GED, workplace, or family literacy. Each instructional project will be a collaborative effort of the partners, and will include the research and development of LD-appropriate instructional strategies. Support and coaching will be provided by the presenters. In a workshop planned for the early spring 2005, you will return to participate in an in-depth, interactive presentation where you will present your classroom research project to the entire group — tell us what worked, what didn’t, and why! – as we go into deeper study and discussion about best practices for adults with learning disabilities.
Why Is It So Difficult for Some Students to Learn?
Presenters: Alex Baez & Carol Speigl
Contact Hours: 12
Audience: Appropriate for all staff, especially adult education teachers.
Activity Overview:
Topic: Teaching learning disabled adults.
Objectives: Participants will learn about:
- Definitions of Learning Disabilities & Issues Surrounding Adults who are diagnosed with, or who may be at risk for learning disabilities
- Federal Civil Rights Laws governing Adults with Learning Disabilities, and Rights & Responsibilities of those Adults with Learning Disabilities
- Diagnostic Testing vs. Screening for Learning Disabilities
- Characteristics & Identification of Learning Disabilities
- Instructional Strategies & Accommodations for Adults with Learning Disabilities, and a special look at Strategies for ESL Learners
- How Learning Styles affect the performance of Adults with Learning Disabilities
- Assistive Technologies to help Adults with Learning Disabilities learn
- Designing classroom environment, tasks, lessons, & assessment that help Adults with Learning Disabilities learn.
Attendees fully participating in this institute will be able to use many of things they have learned when they return to their classrooms.
Objectives:
Objectives: Participants will learn about:
- Definitions of Learning Disabilities & Issues Surrounding Adults who are diagnosed with, or who may be at risk for learning disabilities
- Federal Civil Rights Laws governing Adults with Learning Disabilities, and Rights & Responsibilities of those Adults with Learning Disabilities
- Diagnostic Testing vs. Screening for Learning Disabilities Characteristics & Identification of Learning Disabilities Instructional Strategies & Accommodations for Adults with Learning Disabilities, and a special look at Strategies for ESL Learners
- How Learning Styles affect the performance of Adults with Learning Disabilities
- Assistive Technologies to help Adults with Learning Disabilities learn
- Designing classroom environment, tasks, lessons, & assessment that help Adults with Learning Disabilities learn.
Although this is up to each GREAT Center, this institute is normally worth 10 Texas Adult Education Credential points, spread as follows over these content areas: 6 points, Diverse Learning Styles, Abilities, & Cultures, and 4 points, Teaching-Learning Transaction.
Reference Resources:
Participants will receive a resource packet that includes these references and more:
Brown, D. S. (2000). Learning a Living: A guide to planning your career and finding a job for people with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and dyslexia. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House.
Jordan, D. R. (1996). Teaching adults with learning disabilities: Professional practices in adult education and human resource development. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company.
Lavoie, R. D. (1989). Understanding learning disabilities: How difficult can this be? The F.A.T. city workshop (Video). Washington, D.C.: PBS Video and WETA.
National Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center (NALLD). (1999). Bridges to practice: A research-based guide for literacy practitioners serving adults with learning disabilities. Washington, D.C.: Author.
Payne, N. (1994). Building learning power for children & adults who have special learning needs: A collection of instructional strategies and adjustments. Olympia, WA: Nancie Payne & Associates.
Roffman, A. J. (2000). Meeting the challenges of learning disabilities in adulthood. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.
Schwarz, R. (April/June 2003). Planning for ESL Classes—Individualized goals and indicators of success. Cambridge, MA: The Learning Lab @ Lesley, Lesley University.
Schwarz, R. & Terrill, L. (2000). ESL instruction and adults with learning disabilities. Washington, D.C.: National Center for ESL Literacy Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EDO LE 00 01)
Shaywitz, S., M.D. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
The University of Georgia. (March 23, 2000). Teaching reading and functional writing to adults with learning disabilities—Basic level (Video). Athens, GA: PBS Adult Learning Service.
The University of Georgia. (September 28, 2000). Teaching reading and functional writing to adults with learning disabilities—Intermediate level (Video). Athens, GA: PBS Adult Learning Service.
Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center. (December 2001). The learning disabilities adaptations and accommodations guide. Richmond, VA: Author, Virginia Commonwealth University.
Vogel, S. A. & Reder, S. (Eds.). (1998). Learning disabilities, literacy, and adult education. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Instructional Activities:
The information will be presented in the following ways:
- Direct presentation of material to participants, using slides & realia
- Participants will read pertinent materials to discuss, discover, and report on newly learned material
- Participants will engage—hands-on—in strategic activities and assistive technologies
- Participants will share and problem-solve to develop teaching practices to best meet the needs of adults with learning disabilities.
A day long workshop focusing first on general ESL strategies in the ESL classroom and how to incorporate workforce perspectives in ESL instruction.
Presenter: Rosanne Loya Thompson
Contact Hours: 6
Audience: Teachers of ABE, ESL, EL Civics, Family Literacy
Activity Overview:
Participants will identify the components of effective lesson planning and analyze their lesson planning skills with the purpose of implementing new strategies and techniques that accommodate different learning styles as well as meet the needs and goals of the individual student. In addition, participants will investigate and identify various strategies used to improve student motivation and involvement within the program.
Objectives:
Participants will use the lesson plan cycle to develop more comprehensive lesson planning skills that are both specific to second language acquisition and that serve to increase student attendance and class completion.
Participants will be able to identify strategies designed to tailor the instructional focus to make the learning relevant to the student and their goals.
Participants will develop activities, orientation activities, projects to make learning stimulating and enjoyable in order to promote and maintain student interest and increase student retention.
Reference Resources:
National Center for Family Literacy and National Center for ESL Literacy Education (2004). Practitioner Toolkit: Working with Adult English Language Learners. Retrieved November 10, 2005, from the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition Web site http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/instructional/prac_toolkit.html
Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Longman.
Blanchard, K. (2002). Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships. New York: The Free Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge: University Press.
Instructional Activities:
This PowerPoint™ presentation and the accompanying handout materials will be supplemented with hands on activities to involve the audience in the various strategies being presented. The various activities will include:
- Jigsaw reading
- Matching and identifying essential components of an effective lesson plan
- Writing lesson objectives for specific ESL topics
- Developing appropriate activities for each lesson plan stage
- Solving a lesson plan cloze activity
