DRAW (Digital Resilience in the American Workforce)
This initiative is brining together resources and expertise to achieve the following goals:
- Support professional development that enables teachers to be strategic and learner-focused in their lesson planning and instruction
- Support adult education programs in designing effective, flexible technology-enabled education and support services
- Provide state Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) funders and their professional development providers with models, guidance, and resources for supporting programs that sustain and expand digital literacy efforts
You can stay connected to DRAW through the LINCS Integrating Technology group and the Advancing Equity in Digital Learning; Employment Tech for Adults Listserv.
EARN (Enhancing Access for Refugees and New Americans)
"The Enhancing Access for Refugees and New Americans project provides resources and technical assistance to adult education state agency staff, local programs, and instructors who serve or are aiming to serve English learners in Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) programming and are interested in using an immigrant integration approach. Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) requirements offer IELCE programs opportunity to support learners’ linguistic, economic, and civic integration needs."
This landing page has videos and other resources to support adult education practitioners with instruction and career planning for refugees and new Americans.
Raise the Bar: Lead the World-
"Raising the bar means recognizing that our nation already has what it takes to continue leading the world—if we deliver a comprehensive, rigorous education for every student; boldly improve conditions for learning; and ensure every student has a pathway to multilingualism and to college and careers.
When the bar is raised in education, all our nation's students will build the skills to succeed inside and outside of school. Our students will reach new heights in the classroom, in their careers, and in their enriched lives and communities, making a positive difference in the world, for generations to come."
Although many of the resources are focused on K-12, there are some resources that may be helpful to adult education practitioners when helping adult learners navigate career options.
Future Finder Challenge
"Although there are a growing number of digital career navigation tools for professionals and higher education students, few are designed specifically for adult learners — a diverse group that includes adults who have not completed high school and/or who are learning English. Many adult learners, who are often already underserved, do not have the support they need to enter and thrive in high-quality, in-demand occupations and high-growth industries."
"At the end of the accelerator, finalists will submit their market-ready tools and accompanying proposals, and present at a live demo day in fall 2023. A judging panel will review the submissions against the Stage 2 criteria and recommend a slate of winners to the Department. One grand-prize winner will receive $500,000, and up to two runners-up will receive a share of at least $250,000. Winners will be announced in fall 2023. Beyond Stage 2, the challenge will support winners into 2024 as they deploy their solutions.
In the meantime, stay tuned for a behind-the-scenes look at the mentors helping the challenge finalists build and test their tools."
ADVANCE Integrated Education and Training (IET)
"The ADVANCE IET project (2022–2025) provides new training opportunities and resources to assist state adult education offices, professional development providers, and local program staff in enhancing and expanding IET programs for adult education participants.
Building upon the inaugural Increasing IET Opportunities for Adults project (2019 – 2022), which resulted in an IET Design Toolkit and Train-the-Trainer resources to support the design and development of IET programs for adults, ADVANCE IET will provide:
- Two Basic IET Design Camp cohorts in spring and summer 2023
- Five Advanced Design Camp cohorts in winter and spring 2024
- Deployment of a National IET Coaching Cadre to provide customized and targeted state technical assistance
- Curation and distribution of IET program and instructional resources
- A new IET video series documenting implementation strategies, promising program design, and specialized models that serve diverse learners in a variety of settings
- Three new online self-paced IET courses"
Integrated Education and Training in Corrections
This project developed the Integrated Education and Training (IET) in Corrections: A Companion Guide to the IET Design Toolkit and continues to offer technical assistance across the United States. To learn more about these opportunities, email IETinCorrections@rti.org .
Teaching Skills that Matter
The Teaching the Skills That Matter in Adult Education project (TSTM) trains teachers to integrate the skills that matter to adult students using approaches that work across critical topics. Using the project's tools and training, adult education teachers can teach the transferable skills students need in these critical contexts. Over 30 states have been TSTM trained.
The 9 skills that matter are:
- Adaptability & willingness to learn
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Interpersonal skills
- Navigating systems
- Problem solving
- Processing & analyzing information
- Respecting differences & diversity
- Self-awareness
The 5 topic areas are:
- Civics education
- Digital literacy
- Financial literacy
- Health literacy
- Workforce preparation
The 3 approaches that work are:
- Integrated & contextualized learning
- Problem-based learning
- Project-based learning