2017 Workshop Descriptions
Tickets: eventbrite.com/tickets-external?eid=32549052091&ref=etckt
1. 3-Act Math Tasks: Let Students Build the Problem
Presenters: Eric Appleton, CUNY Adult Literacy/HSE Program; Brian Rausse, Lehman College; Mark Trushkowsky, CUNY Adult Literacy/HSE Program
Category & Level: Math; BE, HSE – All levels
Intended Audience: BE, HSE Math Instructors, All welcome
Workshop Description:
Our students can sometimes show a lack of initiative and perseverance in facing word problems. We need teaching strategies that encourage students to practice independence and develop confidence. In this workshop, members of the Community of Adult Math Instructors (CAMI) will lead participants through a 3-Act Math Task, a lesson format designed to intrigue students through use of multimedia, get them asking questions and deciding what they need to find answers to their own questions. Participants will leave with materials for teaching 3-Act Math tasks, along with other problems suitable for HSE math classrooms and professional development workshops.
2. School Lunch: An Introduction to Memoir
Presenter: Mary Cinadr, Founder of Circle of Writers
Category & Levels: ESOL/ABE Writing and Family Literacy; ESOL and BE Level 2 and Above
Intended Audience: Teachers of ESOL and BE Level 2 and Above
Workshop Description:
Why write about the ridiculous, hilarious, tragic, and mundane moments that make up our lives? Because these moments can unveil the whole of our lived experience, and the meaning we assign to it. Writing a memoir can feel like a daunting task. In this fun workshop we will learn how to start with a narrow focus, or “one-inch picture frame,” as Annie Lamott says. Using the contents of our school lunches, we can unpack information about cultural influences, socio-economic standing, social scene, family dynamics, and much more. In fact, all of these layers, peppered with sensory details, could form an entire story. Writing about the contents of your lunchbox can unlock other memoir-rich topics. Be prepared to go through playful and experimental pre-writing and drafting processes, and share your work with your peers.
3. Promoting Intergroup Conversations in the ESOL Classroom
Presenters: Elaine C. Ferrara, Jewish Community Center of Staten Island; Ellen Navarro, Wagner College, Staten Island
Category & Level: ESOL/Social Justice; ESOL intermediate, advanced
Intended Audience: ESOL instructors and Administrators
Workshop Description:
The presenters will assist workshop participants to begin the process of developing a curriculum on the theme of Social Justice that includes Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking and Research Skills. Curriculum models and media applications to promote intergroup conversations that support cultural diversity and intercultural learning in the classroom will be will be used in conjunction with the issue of Social Justice. The role of materials such as Easy English News, biographies, literature, and film as well as activities such as field trips will be discussed. Participants will engage in a variety of activities such as social justice dialogues and will make brief presentations. At the workshop’s conclusion, participants will have an awareness of social justice through curriculum choices in the ESOL classroom.
4. Social Media Integration for Better Student Engagement in Learning (Canceled)
Presenter: Fatma Ghailan, New York Public Library
Category and Levels: Instructional Technology; All levels: BE, ESL Literacy, ESOL
Intended Audience: BE and ESOL teachers
Workshop Description:
Innovative and diverse instructional techniques are no longer a luxury or added value in teaching. The wide range of learning styles and abilities amongst our students calls for the integration of readily available social media and technology. In this hands-on workshop, we will explore active learning and tech activities to motivate students to become independent learners and to build a strong learning community. I will utilize Bloom’s theoretical framework to integrate and scaffold social media projects for meaningful Higher Order Thinking Skills into the ESOL and ABE classrooms. The workshop will engage attendees in communicative activities using a readily available, free phone application: WhatsApp.
5. Becoming Certain that You Can Learn and Develop in an Uncertain World
Presenters: Jim Martinez, New York Institute of Technology; Gwen Lowenheim, New York Institute of Technology, East Side Institute
Category & Levels: ESOL, BE, HSE, Instructional Technology; All levels
Intended Audience: ESOL, BE, HSE, Technology Instructors
Workshop Description:
Given the uncertainty of our world, with challenges of globalization and automation, adult learners can benefit from learning to embrace and deal skillfully with the unexpected; i.e., becoming adept at improvising as they learn new academic and job-related skills. This workshop, led by two educators specializing in ESOL and Instructional Technology, will show teachers how to co-create improvisational learning environments with their students in which they can make use of opportunities for the growth these challenging times present, even as they learn new technological, language and academic skills. We will provide hands-on experience and materials for improv-based activities for technological literacy, ESOL and a variety of academic skills. Resources for local community-based programs will be provided.
6. The Challenge of Teaching Zero-level Adult ESOL Learners
Presenter: Nick Miraflores, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD)
Category & Levels: Beginning ESOL; ESL Literacy, ESOL, Family Literacy
Intended Audience: ESL Literacy, ESOL Teachers 0-low beginning
Description:
The most challenging students to teach are those who get a score of zero or a very low score on the placement test. In this workshop, you will actually experience how it feels to be an absolute beginner and discover metacognitive as well as coping skills of struggling second language learners. Effective techniques and strategies to address the needs of zero-level students will be demonstrated. Sample lesson plans and materials will be provided.
7. Adult Literacy as a Means to Foster Community Action: Puerto Rico’s ENLACE Project
Presenters: David Schlifka, Adult Literacy Program of the Martin Peña Channel ENLACE Project, San Juan, P.R.; Alondra Ocasio de Jesús, AmeriCorps VISTA for adult literacy
Category & Level: Problem-posing pedagogy; BE
Intended Audience: BE Teachers, Administrators, Volunteers
Description:
As adult literacy students critically reflect upon what Paulo Freire describes as their ‘’present, existential, concrete situation,’’ they are led to act to transform this reality. Through Puerto Rico’s ENLACE Project, several immigrant and native students have mobilized and organized their neighbors, publicly asked questions to political election candidates, voted for the first time and published articles for their community newspaper. In this workshop, participants will learn how the implementation of a Freirean problem-posing pedagogy, along with the engagement of students, volunteer tutors and community leaders, motivated students to act in their communities. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to share strategies they may have used to encourage community action among their adult basic education students as well as possible ways to better promote student action in the future.
8. 2 in 1 – Citizenship Preparation with TASC study
Presenter: Cheryl Wilson, Queens Public Library at Elmhurst Adult Learning Center
Category & Levels: Civics/TASC; BE, Pre-HSE, HSE, High Level ESOL
Intended Audience: BE Teachers, Upper level ESOL Teachers & Students
Description:
The United States has established itself as the nation which welcomes newcomers from all over the world. The resulting diversity is reflected in adult education classes where many immigrants come to seek assistance with their application for US citizenship.
This workshop will provide participants with tools for building a comprehensive adult citizenship education program. Participants will experience a demo lesson incorporating civics content, work in small groups, share strategies and acquire tools for meeting the challenge of preparing students for the TASC while coaching them to pass the naturalization test.
9. Pendulums and Turning Points: Connecting Past and Present in the TASC Classroom
Presenters: Steven Clarke, Lehman College ALC; Kate Brandt, CUNY Adult Literacy Program
Category & Levels: TASC Social Studies; BE, HSE
Intended Audience: Teachers of Social Studies/ELA pre-HSE and HSE
Description:
The Great Depression and World War II are high emphasis topics for the current form of the Social Studies TASC. Steven Clarke of Lehman College has developed a curriculum which immerses students in the social history of the time while also making clear connections to current issues in our national politics. Teachers in this workshop will take part in demonstration activities designed to immerse students in the ‘’feel’’ of the times. They will listen to music and speech excerpts, study images, and read primary source documents to build background knowledge about the time; then consider parallels between domestic changes brought about by the War -- such as the Civil Rights movement and women in the workforce --and current political tensions.
10. Poetry and Parts of Speech: A Hands-On Exploration of How Poetry Can Strengthen and Enhance Language Learning
Presenter: Madeline Cohen, Symphony Space “All Write!” Program
Category & Levels: BE/ESOL Writing; BE, ESOL Level 2 and above
Intended Audience: ESOL Teachers, BE Teachers, Tutors, PD Coaches
Description:
Certain forms of poetry, such as cinquains, 5W poems, Where I’m From, and others rely on specific parts of speech, vocabulary connected to the five senses, a very simple format, and repetition. In this workshop, we will model lessons on parts of speech and vocabulary with creative writing. Participants will see how this makes writing an original, effective, and satisfying poem virtually foolproof, regardless of the student’s level. The activities bring essential building blocks of English into the realm of personal expression and imagination, providing students with ownership of the concepts. In groups, participants will experience this writing process and share their work. Handouts will include worksheets with instructions for each of the poetic forms. Adaptation of the activities for different levels will also be discussed.
11. A Seat at the Table: A Project Based Learning (PBL) Research Paper and Presentation that Integrates Art into Instruction
Presenters: Caryn T. Davis, NYC Tech, CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP); Former City Tech undergrad students: Eman Faygis, Razan Iklmaies, Alhassane Diallo, LingPing Chen
Category & Level: Project-based Learning; All levels
Intended Audience: ESOL, BE Teachers, Administrators, Program Managers
Description:
Adult education instructors for lower level students sometimes avoid assigning research papers and the oral presentations that often accompany them. However, this PBL research project has the possibility of engaging adult learners at any level, including lower level learners, in a memorable experience that utilizes numerous learning styles and enhances creative and critical thinking. During this fully interactive workshop, former CUNY students and I will share our experiences with you. Participants will hear about the students’ research presentations while they show the amazing ‘’place settings’’ based on Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party they created. Participants will construct and present their own and brainstorm how this approach to building research, writing and public speaking skills could work in their classes. Materials provided.
12. Going Mobile: Literally Meeting Your Students Where They Are
Presenter: Nell Eckersley, Literacy Assistance Center
Category & Level: Instructional Technology; All levels
Intended Audience: BE, HSE, ESOL Instructors
Description:
How often do you or those around you go to a smart phone when looking for the answer to a question? Who was in that movie? What will the weather be like next Tuesday in Atlanta? How do I get to my job interview? The digital divide is as much about access to digital devices as it is about knowing how to use our digital devices to get the information we need, when we need it. We will explore the benefits of making content you already use accessible on mobile devices and learn about several free and easy ways we can use technology tools to make content mobile friendly for your students. Participants are requested to bring their own mobile devices for hands-on activities in this session.
13.Giving Our Students a Voice (Canceled)
Presenter: Jay Klokker, City Tech, CUNY
Category & Levels: Writing; BE, HSE, ESOL – Intermediate-advanced
Intended Audience: Intermediate-advanced ESOL Instructors, BE, HSE Instructors
Description:
The time since the 2016 election has been filled with turmoil and shock, both for the country and for the adult education community where most students are immigrants, people of color, and members of other vulnerable populations. This writing workshop will give participants an opportunity to try out activities designed to help students clarify their questions and concerns – and be heard. Among the approaches we will explore are: responding to a video clip, writing letters to government officials and using a learning journal to keep a record of this unprecedented moment in American history.
14.What’s in Your Manager’s Toolkit? The Key Elements of an Effective Adult Education Program
Presenter: Fatiha Makloufi, Educational Consultant, Makloufi Language Solutions and Instructor, Hunter College School of Education
Category & Levels: Leadership; All levels
Intended Audience: Educators, adult education directors, aspiring program managers
Description:
Are you new to program management? Are you looking for new strategies to energize your adult education program? Are you tired of putting out fires with no time to reflect or plan for your long-term goals? In this workshop we will discuss strategies and tools for ensuring that you have an effective program and a highly-motivated community of teachers, learners and support staff. The workshop will cover the key administrative components for running a program smoothly, the strategies for creating a strong curriculum and educational vision and how to outreach to and work with the community and volunteers.
15.WANY MYNI: Setting Low Level Students Up for Success with Reading
Presenter: Moira Taylor, CUNY Adult Literacy Programs
Category & Levels: ESOL Reading; Low-Level
Intended Audience: Low-level ESOL Instructors
Description:
The We Are New York (WANY) series has a set (10) of low-level readers called “My Name is…” (MYNI). Each “My Name is…” is a part of a low-level curriculum that uses these readers to help beginning students develop strategies for success in reading, including alphabetizing, scanning, and vocabulary development. The curriculum is communicative in nature and provides opportunities for students to develop their speaking, listening, and writing skills as well as their reading skills. Participants will engage in demonstration activities using the curriculum and will brainstorm their own ideas for using the list. Copies of the “My Name is…” books will be distributed. The curriculum will be made available online.
16. Sense-Making in Mathematics
Presenters: Mark Trushkowsky, CUNY Adult Literacy/HSE Program; Eric Appleton, CUNY Adult Literacy/HSE Program
Category & Levels: Math; BE 3 and up
Intended Audience: BE, HSE Math Teachers
Description:
Somewhere along the way, many adult education students have developed the belief that mathematics is not supposed to make sense. Among students who have not found success in math there is often a misconception that math is about memorization of formulas, tricks and key words. Too often, our students check their real-life experiences and knowledge of the math they do every day at the door of our classrooms. How can we break that wall and develop their perseverance, confidence and ability to make sense of problems? In this workshop, participants will explore that question as we work on a math problem from a teaching resource we’ve developed called MathMemos.org. Participants will be led through a few sense-making instructional routines and we will discuss the sense-making routines and implications and adaptations for use in their classes.
17. ESL Literacy Instruction 101 for the Level O Classroom
Presenter: Lisa Vogl, Goodwill NY, NJ
Category & Level: Literacy; ESL Literacy, Low-level ESOL
Intended Audience: Adult ESOL Beginning Language and Literacy Teachers
Description:
In this workshop, classroom teachers will learn best practices in literacy instruction with a special focus on level 0 students who are not literate in their first language. Teachers will receive tools and strategies to assess and teach handwriting, phonemic awareness, reading fluency, and writing. We will try out activities together and discuss classroom design, routines, and materials. Teachers will come away with resources and a deeper understanding of adult literacy acquisition from the latest research in the field.
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18. Using Timelines to Teach Key Content and Skills for SS/ELA TASC Prep
Presenters: Erna Golden, Brooklyn Public Library; Kate Brandt, CUNY Adult Literacy/HSE Program; Falinia Adkins, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation; Lester Lambert, Borough of Manhattan CCALC
Category & Levels: SS/ELA TASC; BE, HSE, BE Levels 3-6
Intended Audience: Pre-HSE and HSE Teachers
Description:
Students at the HSE and pre-HSE levels need to build background knowledge about U.S. history for the TASC. In this workshop, we will demonstrate how students can improve their summary-writing skills through an activity called GIST while creating a student-created timeline of major events in U.S. history. The workshop will also show the many ways a class timeline can be a resource for review, to be used in tandem with vocabulary word walls and sentence-combining exercises. Demonstrations of these review activities will be practiced during the workshop, so that teachers leave with a rich ELA/SS TASC prep & tool kit.
19. New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy (NYCCAL): What It Does and How You Can Participate
Presenters: Nell Eckersley, Literacy Assistance Center; Elaine Roberts, International Center at Catholic Charities
Category & Levels: Advocacy; BE, HSE, ESOL – All levels
Intended Audience: BE, HSE ESOL Instructors, Program Managers
Description:
The New York City Coalition for Adult Literacy (NYCCAL) is an advocacy organization composed of New York City adult literacy practitioners. Learn about what the coalition does and how you can participate. We will also share a number of advocacy lesson ideas you can tailor to your students’ needs and abilities. Participants will engage in discussion on education issues they would like to take action on, plan next steps and generate advocacy lesson ideas.
20. Writing about Social Justice
Presenter: June Foley, NYU Gallatin
Category & Level: ESOL/ABE Writing; Adaptable for All levels
Intended Audience: All
Description:
In this workshop, we will read aloud essays and poems from the NYU publication, The Literacy Review, describing, for example, the desperation of a refugee, the dramatic journey of an immigrant, the lifelong discrimination and daily micro-aggressions experienced by many people of color, sexism and spousal abuse far away and here in New York City, and a piece listing an employer’s demands and a housekeeper’s only possible answer, “Yes, ma’am.” Some writing will recount an injustice rectified or the recognition of the writer’s own injustice. Participants will brainstorm ways to encourage their students to tackle this topic and will draft their own brief works. Handouts: Works on social justice from The Literacy Review.
21. Exploring the Mind-Body Connection: Helping Students to Practice English beyond the Classroom
Presenter: Elizabeth Kaune, New York Public Library
Category & Levels: ESOL; ESL Literacy, ESOL
Intended Audience: ESOL, ESL Literacy Instructors
Description:
We encourage our ESOL students to practice English outside of the classroom as much as possible. However, students are not always sure how to do that. In this workshop, participants will work in small groups to explore the connection between the mind and body in second language acquisition. They will complete tasks (in another language) that integrate kinesthetic, tactile, audio and visual learning. Participants will be able to take this experience, repeat it with their students (in English), and give students relevant ways to practice English outside of the classroom.
22. Project-based Learning: The 1-2-3 Approach
Presenters: Meghan Killeen, ESL School at the New York Film Academy; Drew Knight Weller, ESL School at the New York Film Academy
Category & Level: ESOL, Instructional Technology; Intermediate – Upper Intermediate
Intended Audience: ESOL Teachers
Description:
Project-based learning enables students to explore real-world challenges over the course of time, which allows for a more immersive level of comprehension. Project-based learning works with students’ innate curiosity and is motivated by goal-oriented outcomes. In-class projects are conducive to reiterating vocabulary and grammar in an organic and active way that shows students how to apply their skills. We will demonstrate how project-based learning has been successful and how to create a curriculum based on the scaffolded phases of a project. We will provide sample project ideas ranging from creative projects to technical-driven objectives. We will ultimately present teachers with the ability to apply an effective approach to creating a project-based learning curriculum. Enacting the ‘knowing and doing’ mantra of project-based learning, we will also provide teachers with the opportunity to apply this 1-2-3 phase approach to their own ideas for in-class projects.
23. Poetry, Power, and Paulo Freire: Achieving Multiple Goals in a BE or ESOL Class Meeting
Presenters: Crystal Rodwell, New York Public Library; James Robinson, Hostos Community College
Category & Levels: Writing; BE, ESOL – Intermediate and above
Intended Audience: BE, ESOL Instructors
Description:
Why teach poetry? It seems to be the least of our concerns in a climate in which success is measured in test scores and employment rates. But poetry can be the entry point to authentic engagement with reading and writing. In this workshop, we explore poetry as a tool to reinforce reading comprehension and facilitate robust writing within the theme of personal power. We model teaching a poem rich in Freire’s generative themes because they resonate with the students’ own lives. We provide different levels of scaffolding and address mechanics for mid-level BE and ESOL classrooms. Participants will read and analyze poems, write poems/sentences using the literary and linguistic tools of a specific poem, and leave the workshop with ideas and techniques they can incorporate into their classrooms.
24. Content Retention Strategies for TASC Exam Takers
Presenter: Timothy Ruffin, Literacy Partners
Category & Levels: Retention Strategies; BE, Pre-HSE, HSE
Intended Audience: BE/pre-HSE, HSE Instructors
Description:
The purpose of this workshop is to present BE, pre/HSE and HSE instructors with instructional strategies to help TASC Test-Takers, pre-HSE and Basic Education students retain content information. Participants will be presented with 3 models to help students retain information Active Andragogical Pedagogical Process Model (AAP), Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Motivational Interviewing (MI). Participants will actively engage in each model and present a 5 minute mini-lesson on one of the retention strategies.
25. Studying the Alphabet with ESOL/Literacy Learners
Presenter: Emily Skalet, New York Public Library
Category & Level: Basic Literacy; ESOL Literacy, BE 1
Intended Audience: Instructors, volunteers working with ESOL/Literacy and BE students
Description:
Beginner speakers of English with limited literacy have a valid need to study the alphabet. This workshop will review how instructors can incorporate and balance level-appropriate phonics and phonemic awareness in a student-centered classroom. Using a theme-based curriculum model, this workshop will present methods, resources and collaborative activities to scaffold instruction for ESOL/Literacy learners. We will examine ways to prepare students to recognize initial sounds, identify phonological patterns, and eventually to construct words with authentic opportunities and strategies for practice and application.
Session IV: 2:45-4:00 PM
Panel Discussion
Mutual Support: Finding a Local Focus in This Uncertain Time
Facilitators:
Ira Yankwitt, Executive Director of the Literacy Assistance Center
Carmencita Gutierrez, Queens District Attorney's Office
Bino Realuyo, Director of Adult Education at Queens Community House (QCH)
Hillary Gardner, Director, La Guardia College Center for Immigrant Education and Training
Susannah BIen-Gund, Adult Education Program Manager, Arab American Association of New York
A social conscience and strong concern for our students’ welfare has always been integral to the ABE Conference. In these uncertain and troubling times, when immigrants have ample cause to live in fear, there is a pressing need to focus the efforts of the community of adult educators on behalf of our adult learners and to provide mutual support. The aims of the Panel Discussion are:
· to better our understanding of the new regime’s policies and their effect on immigrant adult learners and on their communities;
· to share what some programs and individuals have been doing to support their adult learners; and
· to foster mutual support and sharpen our focus on issues and solutions most germane to the community of adult educators so that we can effectively assist and advocate for our students.
Panel Discussion
Mutual Support: Finding a Local Focus in This Uncertain Time
Facilitators:
Ira Yankwitt, Executive Director of the Literacy Assistance Center
Carmencita Gutierrez, Queens District Attorney's Office
Bino Realuyo, Director of Adult Education at Queens Community House (QCH)
Hillary Gardner, Director, La Guardia College Center for Immigrant Education and Training
Susannah BIen-Gund, Adult Education Program Manager, Arab American Association of New York
A social conscience and strong concern for our students’ welfare has always been integral to the ABE Conference. In these uncertain and troubling times, when immigrants have ample cause to live in fear, there is a pressing need to focus the efforts of the community of adult educators on behalf of our adult learners and to provide mutual support. The aims of the Panel Discussion are:
· to better our understanding of the new regime’s policies and their effect on immigrant adult learners and on their communities;
· to share what some programs and individuals have been doing to support their adult learners; and
· to foster mutual support and sharpen our focus on issues and solutions most germane to the community of adult educators so that we can effectively assist and advocate for our students.