Hi-- I have already described my sessions but will remind the list according to Jackie's good questions. 
Here are the why's:
    First session: The NAASLN pre-conference strand on adult learners with special needs:  Many reasons to attend this one:  Special needs learners in adult ed are always a puzzle to programs and teachers.  This session will provide an unprecedented opportunity to talk to practitioners and administrators of many kinds of adult education programs about how they have successfully addressed the needs of these learners.  Among these people, from all over the country, will be two teachers--maybe three- who have made significant changes in their ESOL practice in the attempt to address a wider range of learners' needs and who have had great success in that endeavor.  Why attend?  This session will provide participants with resources for getting more information and answers about learners with special needs of all kinds.  NAASLN is looking to become the "go-to" place for such information, and this session will demonstrate why that can happen. 

Second session: Tuesday afternoon-- Using minimal pairs to help adult ESOL learners with their auditory perception of English
A teacher who undertook a pilot study on the use of minimal pairs in one of his two classes in a large ESOL school in DC will share his experiences and student response to the use of minimal pairs in class.  I will present some theoretical groundwork for the project and the need for such attention to adult ESOL learners' listening skill improvement.   Why attend?? Because this approach is little used and discussed despite the clear research evidence showing that adult language learners need explicit instruction in sound discrimination.  Also, you will learn how easy and fun it is to do this work.   Finally, this project came about because of a PD project in this school, where the administration supports any and all attempts at helping learners be successful and of teachers to expand their practice to this end.  The model of PD is one to learn about!

Third session-- Wednesday Afternoon-- (I don't have the title of this one right)-- Addressing the needs of all adult ESOL learners through the use of learning centers and individualized, multisensory activities.   Two teachers representing a PD project in the mid-Hudson region of NY state will talk about and show their  work with learning centers and learner- driven instruction in their adult ESOL classes.  These are among the most successful teachers in this project who have shifted practice to increase engagement, promote persistence and improve learner outcomes-- all of which have happened.   Again, I will present the theoretical overview of this approach and will briefly describe the PD project that has supported these teachers in their work for almost two years.  Why attend??  Because adult ESOL classes, particularly those in drop-in, open enrollment situations, present so many challenges to teachers and seeing a successful model of managing these challenges may help you understand how it can be done.  

Fourth session:  Thursday AM-- Assuring the success of non/preliterate adult ESOL learners. This population of learners has a much different set of needs than do learners who have even a little education.   In this session, I will explain those needs and provide concrete ideas for ways to address the needs and assure that these learners get the foundation instruction and information they need to get off to a good start in beginning literacy --in other words, I will be talking about PRE-literacy skills, not how to teach these learners to read.  Why attend?  Because these learners are so often suspected of having LD when they do not learn at the pace expected; this happens because they are compared to literate learners and because their needs are so much more fundamental than teachers realize.   Learning how to teach these fundamental skills will make you a more effective teacher for this population and will go a long way in preventing these learners from being suspected of having learning problems.  



 Looking forward to meeting/seeing many of you in St. Louis.   Robin Lovrien Schwarz


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Taylor, Jackie <jataylor at utk.edu>
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List <professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov>
Sent: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:05 pm
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2103] Re: The PD List and COABE


































Thank you Silja, Andy, Crystal, Mev, Marilyn, and others who have
been sharing information about their COABE sessions! I’m looking forward
to the week ahead.



 



I hope others on the list will share their
thoughts on one or more of the questions below. How might we use the PD List to
take advantage of opportunities to extend the COABE experience?



 



I look forward to hearing from you.
Jackie Taylor



 



 



 



For those presenting at COABE:



Tell us about
your session(s). Why might others attend your session? What might participants
look forward to learning or exploring?



 



For those attending COABE:



What are you
looking forward to learning at COABE? What are your goals for attending COABE
and what do you plan to do to achieve them? (Here is the
session agenda for easy reference: http://www.coabeconference.org/schedule.html
)



 



For those who are not going:



What are the
issues you are confronted with in your practice that you would like to hear
more about in general? (This way, if someone attends or
presents a session on your topic of interest they might share a report of the
session with the PD List.)



 



After COABE I encourage us to share with each other what
stood out about the conference, what was gained from it, and your notes from a
session of your choice. 



 



 
















From:
professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Marilyn Rymniak

Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008
10:52 AM

To: The
 Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment
2101] Re: The PD List and COABE






 



Good Morning, All.



 



For those of you attending COABE-St. Louis
- if you have an interest in exploring innovative methodologies that positively
impact learner persistence, motivation, attendance and retention and increase standardized
test scores (and you’re an American film buff!) you may want to attend:



 



Accessing Contextualized Language and
Literacy Through American Film : Aligning EFF, CASAS + Increasing Standardized
Test Scores



 



This session will demonstrate an innovative, high
performance-outcome methodology, effective for both multi-level ESOL and
ABE/GED Literacy students. Using a carefully selected (for language chunks and
cultural elements) 60-unit American Film component, the presenter has aligned
the content to both the EFF standards and CASAS competencies. This program,
launched in 5 diverse venues around the country, including immigrant/refugee,
correctional facility, workplace, community based volunteer and college transfer
programs, has not only consistently shown remarkable gains in NRS educational
levels based on standardized test performance but has increased both learner
retention and engagement rates and provided a community bonding mechanism
within the classroom.



 



Presenter:  Marilyn J.
Rymniak



Concurrent Session E:  Wednesday,
April 30, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.



 



Safe travels. --  Marilyn



 



 






Marilyn J. Rymniak



Project Leader -  NYSED Statewide
Professional Development System



Literacy Assistance Center



32 Broadway, 10th Floor



New York, NY 10004



Voice: 212-803-3322



Fax:  212-785-3685



E-Mail:  marilynr at lacnyc.org



www.lacnyc.org



 



















From:
professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov]
On Behalf Of Taylor, Jackie

Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 8:31
AM

To: The
 Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment
2092] The PD List and COABE






 



Good day or evening, everyone!



 



Thanks to those who have been sharing information about
the sessions they are presenting at COABE. This List actually provides us
several opportunities to use the online environment to both prepare for and to
extend the COABE learning experience. 



 



I have a few suggestions and I welcome your thoughts this
week. We have done variations of this in the past -- I hope that this tradition
to use the PD List and COABE for sharing and creating blended PD will continue
to grow.



 



This week, tell us a little about yourself and your
answers to one (or more) of the questions below:



 



For those presenting at COABE:



Tell us about
your session(s). Why might others attend your session? What might participants
look forward to learning or exploring?



 



For those attending COABE:



What are you
looking forward to learning at COABE? What are your goals for attending COABE
and what do you plan to do to achieve them? (Here is the
session agenda for easy reference: http://www.coabeconference.org/schedule.html
)



 



For those who are not going:



What are the
issues you are confronted with in your practice that you would like to hear
more about in general? (This way, if someone attends or
presents a session on your topic of interest they might share a report of the
session with the PD List.)



 



After COABE I encourage us to share with each other what
stood out about the conference, what was gained from it, and your notes from a
session of your choice. 



 



I look forward to hearing from you.



 



Best, Jackie



 



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator, jataylor at utk.edu
 

National Institute for Literacy http://www.nifl.gov/

Association of Adult Literacy Professional Developers http://www.aalpd.org/




 






 





----------------------------------------------------
National Institute for Literacy
Adult Literacy Professional Development mailing list
professionaldevelopment at nifl.gov
 
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/professionaldevelopment

Provide feedback by May 30th on the AALPD Quality Professional Development 
Standards:
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/AALPD_PD_Quality_Standards_Feedback
 
Professional Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki 
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Development



 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment/attachments/20080424/a0580e2f/attachment.html