COABE is Around the Corner

The COABE Conference is rapidly approaching.  In glancing through the sessions, I noted many presentations around the topic of Standards.  Does anyone have any comments or thoughts that they would like to share about the Common Core/College and Career Standards?

Meryl Becker-Prezocki

SME

Comments

 

COABE 2013 will be here soon.

An important focus for many of the presentations will be the Common Core State Standards.

These standards in English/Language Arts and Mathematics were introduced in schools across the nation this past year.  As of the present, most of the states and four territories have adapted the Common Core State Standards. 

 I have selected some sessions that will provide an opportunity for you to gain information about the standards and learn about the implications for adult education students.  You may want to include these presentations in your conference selections.

Meryl Becker-Prezocki, SME

 

 

Session #B216 Monday 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM Strand 3

STRAND: Administration & Professional Development TITLE: Aligning Adult Education with the Common Core State Standards

Participants will become familiar with the Common Core State Standards and their implications for adult education. The presenters will give a brief history of the process that Illinois went through to align its ABE/ASE content standards to the Common Core State Standards. The presenters will guide participants through an NRS Leveling Activity which incorporates Bloom's Revised Taxonomy and provides insight into the rigor necessary for success in the 21st century. Participants will also gain experience into the process of bringing standards-based instruction into the adult education classroom.

PRESENTER(S):

Dawn Hughes, Executive Director

Central Illinois Adult Education Service Center

Libby Serkies, Resource Specialist

Central Illinois Adult Education Service Center

 

Session #C302 Tuesday 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM Strand 12

STRAND: GED Testing TITLE: Teaching Adults: A 2014 GED Test Resource Book Exciting Strategies to Prep Learners for the New Test

Upcoming changes to the GED test will impact all of us! Come join the author of "Teaching Adults: A 2014 GED Test Resource Book" from New Readers Press as she highlights major points of this new publication for GED test prep instructors. In this workshop, participants will consider the implications for instruction and curricula as we all transition to the Common Core State Standards, the new GED test, and the world of 21st century computer-based assessments. This workshop will include: what to expect in January 2014, involving learners in decision making, finding great (free) content, facilitating engaging lessons like “Up in Arms Over the 2nd Amendment,” and door prizes.

PRESENTER(S):

Meagen Farrell, Educational Consultant

New Readers Press

 

Session #D105 Wednesday 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM Bolden 6

STRAND: Administration & Reading/Writing TITLE: Adult Education’s Contribution to Postsecondary Writing Readiness: A Research Agenda?

How are Adult Education Transition programs preparing students with writing skills needed for success in college? Recent shifts in education policy signal a growing consensus about what it means to have college-ready writing skills. Most states have adopted the Common Core State Standards, and the Common Core writing standards are specifically designed to describe the knowledge and skills that graduating high school seniors need to be college- and career-ready. Meanwhile, the 2014 GED is intended to better reflect the writing that students are likely to be called upon to accomplish in college and will be guided by the Common Core (as well as other state standard systems). For Adult Education to respond to these developments, we first need to know more about what is (or is not) happening now to help adult learners meet postsecondary writing requirements.

PRESENTER(S):

Peggy McGuire, MA, Sr Research Associate & Training Spec.

University of Tennessee Center for Literacy, Education & Employment

 

Session #D403 Wednesday 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM Strand 11

STRAND: Technology TITLE: Teach Technology, Standards, Transition, and GED All at Once

Basic Skills programs have these four mandates: to build Standards-based curriculum, to transition students to further training, to prepare students for completing the GED, and to generate CASAS post-test gains. In addition, transition is realistic only when students have technology skills. These separate mandates can result in ongoing fragmented lessons. My solution has been Standards-based writing group projects that at once sustain transition, address the GED test, and constantly integrate technology. With frequent use of laptops and online resources, students begin to recognize themselves as capable of taking part in higher education.

 

EMPower and GED® Math Assessment Targets

Students often recognize that they are visual learners. They wake up when materials mix visuals and text. Yet to align teaching to the Common Core and GED® Assessment Targets, teachers need to pay attention to the structure of numerical and mathematical properties. While most of us learned the distributive property, for example, in a numerical, text-based way, presenters show you how you can bring life to these key ideas with visual models and number puzzles. The presenters will demonstrate how teachers can exploit this foundation for algebraic problem solving. Participants in this interactive workshop receive sample handouts from newly developed and piloted materials.

Presenters:  Donna Curry, Senior Prof. Dev. Specialist, TERC •      Martha Merson, Project Director, TERC Session: #B210, Strand: Numeracy, Room: Bolden 3

 

Aligning Adult Education with the Common Core State Standards

Participants will become familiar with the Common Core State Standards and their implications for adult education. The presenters will give a brief history of the process that Illinois went through to align its ABE/ ASE content standards to the Common Core State Standards. The presenters will guide participants through an NRS Leveling Activity which incorporates Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy and provides insight into the rigor necessary for success in the 21st century. Participants will also gain experience into the process of bringing standards-based instruction into the adult education classroom.

Presenters:   Dawn Hughes, Executive Director, Central Illinois Adult Education Service Center •  Libby Serkies, Resource Specialist, Central Illinois Adult Education Service Center Session: #B216, Strand: Administration & Professional Development, Room: Strand 3

 

The Three C’s of GED 2014: Change, Content, and Critical Thinking

Participants will explore the changes associated with the GED 2014 and become familiar with the skills and content knowledge necessary for students to earn the revised credential. Topics covered will include: computer-based assessment, new item types, deeper content knowledge in the various subject areas, the Common Core State Standards and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge, complexity of cognitive tasks, close reading techniques, and writing strategies for success. Participants will take part in activities that approximate the experience of students, including tasks that require strong reading and writing skills as well as contextual knowledge. Discussion of existing resources and strategies that instructors can employ in the classroom will follow.

Presenter:  Katherine Fergus, Coordinator, Central/Southeast ABLE Resource Center - Ohio University Session: #B402, Strand: GED® Testing Room: Strand 12

 

Get a Bead on the 2014 GED Test . . . A Simple To Use 2014 Curriculum Blueprint

Adult Educators are confused and apprehensive about the 2014 GED Test. They wonder about how to update their curriculum and if their students will be able to pass the new test. They wonder what the Common Core State Standards mean to AE. Will fewer people pass the test? Will fewer take the test because it’s more expensive? Will this movement to a more demanding standard for the GED mean less people will get their GED? The session will use a question and answer format to explore the key differences in the 2014 GED Test update and how they affect the AE curriculum. This presentation will give teachers an easy to use blueprint to redesign their GED curriculum. It will identify the core changes to the GED curriculum and what stays the same, and how Webb’s Depth of Knowledge impacts AE instruction.

Presenters:  Michael Ormsby, CEO, Essential Education • Dan Griffith, Vice President, Essential Education Session: #C214, Strand: Testing Preparation, Room: Strand 6 Boardroom

 

Preparing for the 2014 GED® and Postsecondary Reading: Strategies to Teach

With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards, there is more emphasis in education on reading informational text and learning vocabulary. Come and learn several easy-to-use strategies you can try with your students to help them be better readers!                          

   Presenter:   Donna Elder, Reading Specialist, National Center for Family Literacy Session: #C420, Strand: ABE Literacy & Testing Preparation, Room: Strand 5