Professional Development Workshop Descriptions
Section G-H

GED IV: Using Technology to Enhance Student Achievement

Presenter: Susan Pittman & Bonnie Vondracek
Contact Hours: 31
Audience: ABE/GED Teachers

Activity Overview:

Today’s adult education student uses technology at home and in the workplace and expects that technology will be used in the classroom. This session is designed to provide adult education teachers with strategies, techniques, and resources they can use in the classroom in order to integrate technology into the learning process. It's often difficult to locate worthwhile resources and build effective, efficient, and appealing materials. This workshop will help teachers identify thematic, web-based units that address common reading and language arts writing skills, mathematics, basic concepts and principles of science and social studies. Teachers will learn how to integrate a variety of technology-based resources and activities for students including such areas as World Wide Web, PowerPoint presentations, audio, video, games, and additional hands-on activities.

Objectives:

In this workshop, teachers will learn how to

Review a wide range of online resources for both Language Arts, Reading, Writing, mathematics, science, and social studies and determine which are most appropriate for their students
Identify online resources that can be used for drill of basic skills such as grammar usage and mechanics mathematics including fractions, decimals, percents, geometry, and algebra
Identify professional resources that they can use to access handouts and other materials that can be used in class
Match resources to the objectives that they have established for their classes
Learn how to use word processing software to edit and revise a document that is student produced
Learn how to set up electronic folders for students that include templates for items such as personal dictionaries, journals, etc.
Identify professional resources that they can use to enhance their own knowledge in areas such as physics and chemistry or geometry and algebra

Reference Resources:

Please contact trainers for references and resources.

Each teacher will receive a language arts resource guide that will include research and reference materials as well as Internet resources they can use in the classroom or when planning their own lessons.

Instructional Activities:

This workshop will provide teachers with access to the World Wide Web and the use of technology in the classroom. A computer lab will be used throughout the workshop. Individual and small group activities will be interspersed with computer activities, as well as feedback and sharing of information gained. Teachers will have an opportunity to search the web for materials, develop individualized lesson plans, and experience the different types of materials and hands-on activities available on the web. Teachers will also experience web quests in the areas of the language arts. As a part of this session, teachers will have an opportunity to review and evaluate a variety of websites that contain web quests, resources, games, and activities that can be used when teaching mathematics, science, or social studies. Teachers will also have an opportunity to design a lesson plan that incorporates technology with more standard methods of instruction.

GED Math Academy - Teaching in the Multilevel Classroom
Session 1: Focus on Geometry

Presenter: Susan K. Pittman and Bonnie Vondracek
Contact Hours: 9
Audience: ABE/GED Teachers

Activity Overview:
Most adult education programs consist of multilevel classes which presents many challenges to the adult education teacher. For many students who enroll in ABE/GED programs, mathematics is a real challenge, especially mathematical problem solving. In 2005, the GED Testing Service (GEDTS) conducted an item analysis of the GED Mathematics Test. From this item analysis, they identified three thematic areas which present the greatest challenge to students. This 9-hour workshop will focus on the first of these thematic areas – Geometry.

During this workshop, teachers will approach geometry from a problem-solving viewpoint. They will have an opportunity to learn and practice problem-solving strategies that they can use within their classroom while gaining content knowledge within the area of geometry.

Objectives:
This workshop will provide research-based strategies designed to help teachers avoid “teaching to the middle” and will enable them to teach to the strengths or challenges of each learner. In this workshop, teachers will learn how to:

Build students’ knowledge of geometric concepts and skills with a primary focus on:
- Applying the Pythagorean Theorem
- Comparing/contrasting similar geometric figures
- Partitioning geometric figures
- Using substitution to solve geometric problems that include variables
- Van Hiele Theory (levels of spatial reasoning)
Enhance students’ understanding of the problem-solving process, including strategies to solve various types of geometry problems
Identify and use a variety of organizational plans and methods of instruction that they can use when working with students with varying levels of skills
Group students based on the type of concept to be taught and activity to be conducted
Identify authentic materials that can benefit all levels of learners
Plan for multilevel mathematics classes

Reference Resources:
Each participant will receive a Part I of the Mathematics Resource Guide, which will include a list of all references and resources used in developing this workshop.

Adult Numeracy Network. (2005, August 16). Teaching and Learning Principles.

Clements, D.H. (Ed.). (2003). Learning and Teaching Measurement (2003 Yearbook). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

EMPower Mathematics. (n.d.). Over, Around, and Within: Geometry and Measurement. Emeryville, CA: Key Curriculum Press. Retrieved from http://www.keypress.com/empower and http://empower.terc.edu.

Malloy, C.E. (October 1999). Perimeter and Area through the Van Hiele Model. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 5(2): 87–90. Retrieved July 25, 2006, from http://www.aug.edu/~lcrawford/Readings/Geom_Nav_6-8/articles/geo3arg.pdf.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2003, November). Problem Solving. Mathematics Teacher, 96. Reston, VA.

Pendleton, K. (1999, June). Item Writers’ Manual Test 5 Mathematics. Washington, DC: GED Testing Service.

Pendleton, K. (2005, July). The GED Mathematics Test: Moving Our Candidates from Good to Great. Paper presented at the GED Administrators’ Annual Conference, Alabama. GED Testing Service.

Each participant will receive Part I of the Mathematics Resource Guide that will include research, general information, activities, and sample lessons that can be duplicated and used in the classroom. Part I will focus on problem-solving strategies and geometry. The guide will also include Internet resources that teachers can use in the classroom with their students.

GED Math Academy - Teaching in the Multilevel Classroom
Session 2: Focus on Calculation

Presenter: Susan K. Pittman and Bonnie Vondracek
Contact Hours: 9
Audience: ABE/GED Teachers

Activity Overview:
In 2005, the GED Testing Service (GEDTS) conducted an item analysis of the GED Mathematics Test. From this item analysis, they identified three thematic areas which present the greatest challenge to students. This 9-hour workshop will focus on the second of these thematic areas – Calculation.

During this workshop, teachers will approach calculation from a problem-solving viewpoint. They will have an opportunity to learn and practice problem-solving strategies that they can use within their classroom while building their calculation and algebraic thinking skills.

Enhance students calculation and algebraic thinking skills and will focus on the use of:
- Substitution to solve problems which contain variables
- Exponents and square roots
- Relationship among numbers within a problem
- Estimation and mental math in order to determine reasonableness of an answer
Enhance students’ understanding of the problem-solving process including strategies to solve each of the three types of GED Mathematics Test questions – procedural, conceptual, and application
Construct GED-like questions using authentic materials taken from real-life sources
Group students based on the type of concept to be taught and activity to be conducted

Reference Resources:
Each participant will receive Part I of the Mathematics Resource Guide, which will include a list of all references and resources used in developing this workshop.

Curry, D., Schmitt, M.J., and Waldron, S. (1996, July). A Framework for Adult Numeracy Standards: The Mathematical Skills and Abilities Adults Need to Be Equipped for the Future. Adult Numeracy Practitioners Network. Retrieved February 24, 2006, from http://www.literacynet.org/ann/framework-full.html.

Pendleton, K. (1999, June). Item Writers’ Manual Test 5 Mathematics. Washington, DC: GED Testing Service.

Pendleton, K. (2005, July). The GED Mathematics Test: Moving Our Candidates from Good to Great. Paper presented at the GED Administrators’ Annual Conference, Alabama. GED Testing Service.

Polya, G. (1954). How to Solve It. (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Small, M., Bernard, B., Gould, G., McManus, J., and Robichaud, S. (2001, November). Numeracy Boost: Background Materials for Adult Learners in Mathematics. Ontario, CA: National Adult Literacy Database. Retrieved February 26, 2006, from http://www.nald.ca/FULLTEXT/numboost/cover.htm#contents.

Each participant will receive a Part II of the Mathematics Resource Guide that will include research, general information, activities, and sample lessons that can be duplicated and used in the classroom. Part II will focus on GED Mathematics Test question types and calculation. The guide will also include Internet resources that teachers can use in the classroom with their students.

GED Math Academy - Teaching in the Multilevel Classroom
Session 3: Focus on Graphic Literacy and Technology

Presenter: Susan K. Pittman and Bonnie Vondracek
Contact Hours: 9
Audience: ABE/GED Teachers

During this workshop, teachers will approach graphic literacy from a problem-solving viewpoint. They will have an opportunity to learn and practice problem solving strategies that they can use within their classroom while building students’ graphic literacy skills, In addition, this workshop will be conducted in a computer lab and will provide time for teachers to visit a variety of mathematics sites and identify appropriate instructional sites that they can use in the classroom.

Enhance students graphic literacy skills and will focus on teaching students how to:
- Construct, compare, and interpret line, bar, and circle graphs
- Construct and interpret tabular information
- Develop graphs, tables, and charts for their personal use to solve real-world problems they encounter at home, work, and in the community
Assist students in using graphics in order to answer GED-type questions
Identify Internet resources that can be used with students
Access Internet resources that provide a wide range of lesson plans and activities that can be used in the ABE/GED classroom

Reference Resources:
Each participant will receive a Part I of the Mathematics Resource Guide, which will include a list of all references and resources used in developing this workshop.

Burchfield, P.C., Jorgensen, P.R., McDowell, K.G., and Rahn, J. (1993). Writing in the Mathematics Curriculum. Retrieved July 24, 2006, from http://www.geocities.com/kaferico/writemat.htm.

Pendleton, K. (1999, June). Item Writers’ Manual Test 5 Mathematics. Washington, DC: GED Testing Service.

Pendleton, K. (2005, July). The GED Mathematics Test: Moving Our Candidates from Good to Great. Paper presented at the GED Administrators’ Annual Conference, Alabama. GED Testing Service.

Polya, G. (1954). How to Solve It. (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Whitin, Phyllis and Whitin, David J. (2000). Math Is Language Too: Talking and Writing in the Mathematics Classroom. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, and Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Each participant will receive a Part III of the Mathematics Resource Guide that will include research, general information, activities, and sample lessons that can be duplicated and used in the classroom. Part III will focus on graphic literacy and Internet resources.

GED Reading Academy (Session 1):
Reading and the Multilevel Classroom

Presenter: Susan K. Pittman and Bonnie Vondracek
Contact Hours: 9
Audience: ESL/ABE/GED Teachers

Activity Overview:
Most adult education programs consist of multilevel classes. Whether the students have varying degrees of skills, progress at decidedly different rates, differ in their preferred learning style, have unique expectations, or just come from different cultures or ages, the multilevel classroom presents a wide array of benefits and challenges to the adult education teacher. This 9-hour workshop will provide teachers with information on how to teach reading in a multilevel classroom environment. A multilevel classroom is defined as one that serves students with varying levels of skills, rates of progress, and preferred learning styles.

Each participant will receive a Reading and the Multilevel Classroom Resource Guide that will include research, general information, activities, and sample lessons that can be duplicated and used in the classroom. The guide will also include Internet resources that teachers can use in the classroom with their students.

Understand a variety of multilevel classroom organizational plans and recognize the advantages and disadvantages of each
Group students based on type of activity to be conducted
Engage students in choosing the content of their learning
Identify alternative materials that can benefit all levels of learners
Plan for multilevel reading classes

Reference Resources:
Each participant will receive a Reading and the Multilevel Classroom Resource Guide. The guide will include a list of all references and resources used in developing this workshop. In addition to research and reference materials, the guide includes websites that teachers may use with their students.

Focus on Basics, Connecting Research & Practice, Volume 7, Issue C, March 2005

Moss, Donna, Teaching for Communicative Competence
Saldana, Catherine, Differentiating Instruction for a Multilevel Class
Robinson-Geller, Perrine, Individualized Group Instruction: A Common Model

Merlin, Arthur Module 4 – Core Content Areas, retrieved from the World Wide Web at: http://arthur.merlin.mb.ca/~alce/Module%204.htm

Shank, Cathy C., Terrill, Lynda R. (1995). Teaching Multilevel Adult ESL Classes, ERIC Digest. Retrieved from the World Wide Web at: http://www.eric.ed.gov

Multilevel Classes, Adult Learning Resource Center, Retrieved from the World Wide Web at: http://www.eric.ed.gov

Activities completed during the workshop will be taken from the Reading and the Multilevel Classroom Resource Guide provided to each participant.

GED Reading Academy (Session 2):
Reading, Writing, and Understanding

Presenter: Susan K. Pittman and Bonnie Vondracek
Contact Hours: 9
Audience: ESL/ABE/GED Teachers

Activity Overview:
Reading and writing are reinforcing literacy skills and need to be taught together. Reading-to-learn and writing-to-learn are “meaning-making” activities that lead to understanding. This 9-hour workshop will focus on the benefits of integrating writing into reading instruction and the need for sustained silent reading to help students improve their reading skills.

Each participant will receive resource materials that will include research, general information, and activities that can be duplicated and used in the classroom.

Objectives:
This workshop will provide research-based strategies designed to help teachers:

Understand Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) and its benefits to the adult learner
Assist students in understanding how they can use SSR opportunities to address their own needs and goals
Implement SSR in their respective classes/programs
Identify various types of technology that can be used to assist students in SSR
Understand the reading and writing connection
Identify methods for integrating writing with SSR

Reference Resources:
Each participant will receive a resource guide that will include a list of all references and resources used in developing this workshop. In addition to research and reference materials, the guide will include websites and activities that teachers may use with their students.

Focus on Basics, Connecting Research & Practice, Volume 7, Issue C, March 2005

Campagna, Susanne Sustained Silent Reading: A Useful Model
Saldana, Catherine Differentiating Instruction for a Multilevel Class
Focus on Research, Research on Factors that Shape Engagement

Hale, Suzanne. Participation and Literacy Reflections onTeaching Reading to Adults, A Balanced Approach. Retrieved from the World Wide Web at: http://www.literacyjournal.ca/literacies/2-2003/practice/3/1.htm

Kautzer, Kim. Writing Across the Curriculum. Retrieved from the World Wide Web at: http://www.writeshop.com/article2.htm

Merlin, Arthur Module 4 – Core Content Areas, retrieved from the World Wide Web at: http://arthur.merlin.mb.ca/~alce/Module%204.htm

Sorenson, Sharon. Encouraging Writing Achievement: Writing Across the Curriculum, ERIC Digest

Activities completed during the workshop will be taken from the resource materials provided to each participant.

GED Reading Academy (Session 3):
Read All About It - Using Authentic Texts
in the Adult Education Classroom

Presenter: Susan K. Pittman and Bonnie Vondracek
Contact Hours: 9
Audience: ESL/ABE/GED Teachers

Activity Overview:
Successful reading programs respond to the needs of each student. These programs make use of a student’s personal knowledge and experiences; and they use materials that are relevant and authentic. This 9-hour workshop will focus on using newspapers, magazines, and other real-life material to teach reading. This workshop will demonstrate how authentic materials can be used in multilevel classrooms, as a rich source for writing activities, and as alternative materials for Sustained Silent Reading (SSR).

Each participant will receive resource materials that will include research, general information, activities, and lesson plans that can be duplicated and used in the classroom.

Objectives:
This workshop will provide research-based strategies designed to help teachers:

Identify sources of authentic materials that can be used in the classroom.
Take a single article or graphic and use it with students who have differing skill levels and learning styles.
Identify opportunities for writing activities that are presented when using real-life reading materials.
Identify articles and feature stories that can be use for Sustained Silent Reading (SSR).
Construct a sample lesson plan that can be used in their respective classrooms.

Reference Resources:
Each participant will receive resource materials that will include a list of all references and resources used in developing this workshop. In addition to research and reference materials, the guide will include websites, activities, and lesson plans that teachers may use with their students.

Focus on Basics, Connecting Research & Practice, Volume 7, Issue C, March 2005

Donna Moss, Teaching for Communicative Competence, Interaction in the ESOL Classroom
Susan Watson, A Slow Conversion to Reading Groups
Focus on Research, Research on Factors that Shape Engagement

Campbell, Patty (2003). Teaching Reading to Adults, A Balanced Approach. Edmonton: Grass Roots Press

Merlin, Arthur Module 4 – Core Content Areas, retrieved from the World Wide Web at: http://arthur.merlin.mb.ca/~alce/Module%204.htm

Multilevel Classes, Adult Learning Resource Center, Retrieved from the World Wide Web at: http://www.eric.ed.gov

Instructional Activities:
Individual and small-group activities will be interspersed throughout the workshop. Teachers will have an opportunity to participate in a variety of activities that will model various group methods for students. Activities completed during the workshop will be taken from the resource materials provided to each participant.

Helping ESOL Learners with Learning Challenges

Presenter: Robin Lovrien Schwarz
Contact Hours: 6
Audience: Teachers of ESL

Activity Overview:

This session will address ways to help ESOL learners with learning challenges learn more effectively. Focus will be on three areas of difficulty: auditory discrimination of sounds of English; poor retention of material; and inability to grasp content information or concepts. Participants will learn about causes of these difficulties and specific approaches for addressing them. Activities will provide hands on experience with approaches suggested. Participants must have more than one year experience in teaching ESOL.

Objectives:

Participants will gain understanding of the causes of three types of difficulty frequently impacting adult ESOL learners. Then they will learn how to address each of these difficulties.

Participants will know

how to present drills for minimal pairs and how to practice them;
how to design a series of lessons on the same topic but presented in a wide variety of ways to assure mastery; and
how to do an analysis of a lesson and learners’ errors to find out why a specific learner is not getting the material

Participants should leave the session understanding that adult ESOL learners’ difficulties can stem from a wide variety of causes, but these three problems may be key difficulties for many.

Reference Resources:

Nilsen, A. & Nilsen, D. (1973). Pronunciation Contrasts in English. New York: Regents.

Schneider, E. (1997). Multisensory Structured Metacognitive Instruction. New York: Peter Lang

Instructional Activities:

Auditory discrimination difficulties result from the reduced ability of the adult learners to process sound and from interference of the learner’s first language in hearing English accurately. To increase learners’ ability to discriminate sounds in English, participants will learn about using minimal pair drills and activities. They will learn how to construct a minimal pair drill and how to develop a range of activities to practice the discrimination and assure that learners have an increased ability to hear it.

Poor retention of material often results from insufficient exposure to it and to the need for a broader range of ways of learning it. Participants will learn about ways to teach and review material using a wide variety of multisensory activities over many class meetings. They will have the opportunity to outline a series of lessons addressing the same content material but with different activities and materials. The variety of activities guarantees that learners use all learning channels to learn; the repetition guarantees that learners have the necessary time to absorb learning, and the series of lessons helps the teacher observe actual progress.

In order to know why learners have difficulty grasping materials, it is necessary to do diagnostic teaching—examining learners’ errors and difficulties to find out what core skills or knowledge is missing and preventing them from understanding the current lesson. Participants will examine several examples of diagnostic teaching and try analyzing some cases on their own by determining what skills are necessary for a given task such a writing a check or doing an activity in a workbook.

Professional Development Workshop Descriptions Section G-H

Professional Development Workshop Descriptions
Section G-H