Automatic Negative Thoughts
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All of us have challenges in our lives, and this certainly includes the average adult education student. We all have successes, too. Very often, however, the challenges and failures in life take up more space in our minds than the victories or successes. One way to explain this is the concept of Automatic Negative Thoughts, or ANTs.
A list of examples of Automatic Negative Thoughts
can show us exactly how prevalent these ANTs are, both in our students and in ourselves. Perhaps, when discussing an upcoming assessment, your student predicts failure and then treats that prediction as if it has already happened. That's the "fortune telling error." Perhaps your student forgets to do something for you and then says, "I always forget everything," or "This whole day is a disaster." That's "overgeneralization." Or perhaps, when you offer constructive feedback, even offering a mix of positives and negatives, your student fixates on only the negative criticisms. That's "filtering." There are several more mental traps that people can cause them to only focus on negative thoughts. These are Automatic Negative Thoughts. A TED Talk titled
Getting Stuck in the Negatives (And How to Get Unstuck)
offers further insight into these bad habits.
How can you help your students -- or friends or family or yourself -- break the cycle of ANTs? It takes a certain amount of self-awareness and also practice, and this is where a teacher or friend can be helpful. When you see a student trapped in the downward spiral of ANTs, step in and challenge them. There are
several helpful steps
that you can take, all of which, once learned, seem logical and obvious. The first and most important step is simply to make the student aware of their Automatic Negative Thoughts. Point out to them the error that they just made and how it is not a real reflection of the situation or is not helpful to them. Once you have their feet back on the ground, have a discussion that tries to get to the bottom of their frustrations or their fears.
It is very easy for any of us to be trapped in a cycle of Automatic Negative Thoughts, but just as easy to help someone break that cycle. Only then will your students be fully empowered to fulfill their true potential.
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Teaching Tips and Resources
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How to make group work ... work
It can be a challenge to make group work really worthwhile, however, at its best, work in small groups in the adult education classroom can be a highly effective way to have students learn interactively by teaching others. Edutopia recently shared an article titled
Group Work That Works
that outlines solutions to some of the major pitfalls that can arise when students of any age work in small groups.
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Five Tips for Designing Multiple-Choice Quizzes
The multiple-choice question can be an staple of many teachers' assessment styles. But it is important to design these assessments in a way that really measures students' knowledge and doesn't trip them up with trick questions, or worse yet, actively teach them false information. A new Edutopia article titled
5 Tips for Designing Multiple-Choice Quizzes
addresses these concerns and shows how to avoid the common pitfalls.
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Professional Development Opportunities
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Foundation Skills Framework Program Checklist
Several adult education programs in Pennsylvania currently use the
Foundation Skills Framework
(FSF) to help guide workforce preparation activities. The
FSF Program Checklist
can help program staff identify which work-based foundation skills they currently address, and should address, in specific program areas of the agency. If you would like more information on FSF and FSF professional development opportunities, please contact Chrissie Klinger at
cok5111@psu.edu
.
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Webinar:
Reducing Poverty and Building Partnerships
A webinar titled
Reducing Poverty and Building Partnerships with
Adult Education Programs, Community Health Centers, Libraries, and Advocacy Groups
will be held online on Monday, February 25, 2019 at 2:00-3:00 p.m. Hosted by
David Rosen
,
Judy Mortrude, Jen Vanek, Alicia Suskin,
and
Kathy Harris
, this panel will discuss how The Open Door Collective, a national group of adult educators and others committed to reducing poverty and income inequality, works to use community partnerships to achieve those goals. Topics will include community health organizations, public libraries, and immigrant and refugee rights and services.
Register online.
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2019 HiSET
®
Program/Iowa Adult Education and Literacy Summer Conference
HiSET
®
has announced its Summer Literacy Conference which will be in conjunction with the Iowa Literacy Council. Held in Des Moines, IA, on July 15-17, 2019, this national conference will be beneficial for adult educators, program administrators, test center staff, executive officers, state employees, education leaders of the department of corrections, and others associated with adult education.
Learn more online
or consider
applying to present
by March 1, 2019.
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Minds That Move Us Adult Career Pathway Festival
The first-ever
Minds that Move Us Adult Career Pathway Festival
will be held in Miami, FL, on August 6-8, 2019. In a format that is part
Shark Tank
and part
America's Got Talent
, ten teams from around the country will pitch their education and training models to a panel of judges and the audience for the chance to win $100,000. The Festival will also feature workshops to help you incorporate the ideas that you see into your own work. Learn more about
the teams
and watch an
introductory video
online.
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State and National Adult Education News
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2019 Families Learning Conference proposals
The
2019 Families Learning Conference
will be held on November 4-6, 2019, in Louisville, KY. This conference is held by the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) and aims to serve educators, program staff, parent leaders, librarians, and others in presenting useful strategies, best practices, and resources.
Presentation proposals
are being accepted through March 2, 2019.
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Proposals accepted for coal-related POWER grants
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is accepting proposals for its congressionally funded POWE
R (
Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) initiative. A total of of approximately $45 million will be awarded through the competitive granting process with applications due before April 10. The initiative's purpose is to bring assistance to communities and regions that have seen coal-related job losses, including many areas of Pennsylvania. To learn more about the application process or the intentions of the initiative, please see the ARC's
2019 POWER request for proposals
.
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FAQs from GetEdFunding.com
The grant-finding website GetEdFunding.com has created a vlog that answers
Frequently Asked Questions
from users of their website. These FAQs can help you understand what sort of free resources are available to you through GetEdFunding.com.
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The job postings below are for adult basic education programs that are funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and, at least in part, by WIOA Title II funds. They can also be found on the
paadultedresources.org
website. To post a job, please email the job advertisement to
lbailey@tiu11.org
.
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PA Adult Education Resources
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Upcoming State and National Conferences
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- PAACE Annual Conference - March 11-12, 2019, State College, Pa.
- TESOL International Conference - March 12-15, 2019, Atlanta, Ga.
- COABE National Conference - March 31-April 3, 2019, New Orleans, La.
- Employment, Training, & Education Conference - May 8-10, 2019, Hershey, Pa.
- Minds That Move Us Adult Career Pathway Festival - August 6-8, 2019, Miami, Fl.
- NCFL Families Learning Conference - November 4-6, 2019, Louisville, Ky.
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State and National Newsletters
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Listed below are state and national organizations' newsletters that may be of interest to you. To receive the most recent editions by email, please subscribe directly to the newsletter.
COABE Journal, Coalition on Adult Basic Education.
Features national information, resources, and initiatives for adult basic education.
LINCS Region 1 Professional Development Center News.
Features information related to professional development opportunities and resources.
World Education/U.S.
Features resources and information from World Education projects including The Change Agent, College for Adults, E-Learning, LINCS Region 1 Professional Development 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.
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