December 20, 2019
Starting Discussions About Career Options
Looking for new ways to get your adult learners talking about career options?

SchoolCounselor.org  has three different conversation starters that help you ask open-ended questions and get learners thinking more deeply about careers.

The  CTE in PA Brochure  has resources to start a reading and discussion activity in the classroom.
  • Page 6 contains a chart of job outlooks for middle-skilled occupations in PA.
  • Page 8 gives an overview of all 12 industry clusters and occupations in each cluster that can be acquired with on-the-job or short-term training.
  • Page 13 discusses a best practice in Dauphin County related to creating career portfolios, something adult learners may want to consider creating for themselves to improve digital literacy skills and capture all the various work experiences they have.

FabFems.org  is focused on getting more women into STEM careers. The site has a feature that allows you to search for women currently in STEM careers in your local area who are willing to do presentations face to face, online, or even at their worksite as a field trip.
 
Need more ideas on how to integrate career awareness and exploration into instruction?
  • Visit the PD Portal to sign up for the Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE and ESOL Classroom Study Circle offered in January 2020.
  • Use the Career Exploration Wakelet board to diversify the exploration by having students visit bit.ly/CE4ae and choose activities.
  • Reach out to Chrissie Klinger ([email protected]) or KayLynn Hamilton ([email protected]) with the Workforce Development Project for customized technical assistance.
Teaching Tips and Resources
Identify and help students with dysgraphia
A recent article from Edutopia, What Teachers Should Know About Dysgraphia, discusses this little-understood diagnosis and challenge to students. According to author Jessica Hammon, "D ysgraphia is unexpected difficulty with acquisition and production of spelling and writing skills. The word 'unexpected' is an important part of this description because dysgraphia—like dyslexia—is not related to intelligence and persists despite adequate learning opportunities." While this article is geared towards teachers of K-12, there is much to learn here for the adult education community. Hammon goes on to list the red flags that can help identify those who struggle with dysgraphia as well as remediation and recommendations.
Edutopia offers compilation of 2019 research
With 2019 coming to a close, Edutopia has published their 2019 Education Research Highlights . Among many other topics, it explores the questions of whether attendance awards boost attendance, how sleep affects academic performance, and if people learn better from a screen or from paper. There have been many interesting topics discussed this year and the collection of summaries here can be useful as you tailor your instruction to your students' needs.
Professional Development Opportunities
Webinar: Making Coalitions Work!
The webinar, Making Coalitions Work! , will be held on January 23, 2020, at 12:00 noon. Staff from the Division of Adult Education and Workforce Development Project will present information that addresses the benefits and challenges associated with adult education and workforce development. The one-hour webinar will also highlight current and promising practices. The Professional Development System will share information for accessing the webinar after January 1, 2020.
PAACE Conference offering Early Bird registration rate
When you register for the 2020 Pennsylvania Association of Adult and Continuing Education (PAACE) Conference before January 4, 2020, you will save $25 with the early bird registration rate.
Penn State Certificate Programs
In January 2020, Penn State's World Campus will offer courses of interest to adult educators. Students in these courses earn credit toward one of two Penn State certificates: a  Family Literacy Certificate  and an  online Certificate in Adult Basic Education . 
COABE Conference registration is now open
The annual conference of the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) is now open for registration . The 2020 COABE Conference will be on April 5-8, 2020, at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott. You will save $75 if you register by February 14, 2020.
State and National Adult Education News
Instructional leaders wanted
The Professional Learning Opportunities project (ProLO) is seeking instructional leaders who are interested in supporting teachers to implement content and skills from the Adult Numeracy Institute (ANI), English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) Institute, or the Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) Institute during the 20-21 program year. This support will be provided through coaches who may be involved in tasks such as leading webinars, visiting agencies to model peer observation, working directly with course participants, and completing other tasks as assigned. A link to the interest survey is  provided here .  For any questions about coaching, please contact Hanna Schlosser ( h [email protected] ).  
PAACE Awards nominations
PAACE is now accepting nominations for their several annual awards, including Volunteer, Leader, Practitioner, Partner, and Student of the Year. Make your nomination by February 28, 2020, for the awards presentation at the 2020 PAACE Conference on March 30-31, 2020.
COABE National Awards nominations
The Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation have extended the nomination period for their national awards that include Outstanding Administrator, Teacher, and Adult Learner ($10,000 each) as well as for the $2,500 Incentive Grant, and Scholarship, Workplace of the Year, Local Excellence in Advocacy, and State Innovation awards ($2,000 each). Learn details of each prize and make nominations through December 31, 2020, at the COABE website .
Updated College Scorecard
The U.S. Department of Education has shared a newly updated College Scorecard. The purpose of the College Scorecard is to provide students the information that they need to make decisions about their future options. The updates include potential debt and earnings information based on a student's focus of study, graduation rates, and apprenticeships. The comparison tool allows students to directly compare up to ten different schools at once. Start using the College Scorecard today, or watch an explanatory video .
Grants and Scholarships
Webinar: Grant Writing Part 2 - How to Find and Write Grants
"Where can I find grant opportunities?" "How do I know if a grant fits well with my organization's mission?" "How can I write a winning grant application?" These questions and others will be addressed in the webinar, Grant Writing Part 2 - How to Find and Write Grants at 1:00 p.m. on January 21, 2020. This PAACE webinar is limited to the first 100 registrants, so register online today.
Funding opportunity: Wish You Well Foundation
The mission of the Wish You Well Foundation is to support literacy and adult education in the United States. To enable this support, the foundation makes donations of between $200 and $10,000 to new and existing literacy and education programs. With a history of funding pr ograms in adult education, literacy, English language education, and workforce development training, the Wish You Well Foundation accepts donations year-round. Learn more on the foundation's website .
How to Leverage Social Media to Improve Your Grant-Writing
An article from GetEdFunding.com discusses social media and how it can be used throughout your funding process. First, you can locate funding opportunities when foundations or funders post about them on social media. Then you can use social media to explore and learn about that foundation. Later, by sharing your success through social media, you can thank your funders and perhaps attract attention of other sources of funds.
Job Posting
The job postings below are for adult basic education programs funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and, at least in part, by WIOA Title II funds. You can also find the postings on the  paadultedresources.org  website. To post a job, please email the job advertiseme nt to  [email protected] . 

PA Adult Education Resources
Upcoming State and National Conferences
State and National Newsletters
State and national organizations' newsletters are listed below and may be of interest to you. To receive the most recent editions by email, please subscribe directly to the newsletter. 

World Education/U.S. Features resources and information from World Education projects including The Change Agent, College for Adults, EdTech Center, National College Transitional network, and many others

Families Learning: News of the Week, National Center for Families Learning
Features information and resources for family literacy, early childhood education, and parent education

Workforce GPS, Workforce3 One Features career pathways and workforce development information

COABE Journal, Coalition On Adult Basic Education Features national information, resources, and initiatives for adult basic education

HiSET® Newsletter, Educational Testing Service® Features news and information related to the HiSET® test