January 22, 2020
Setting 2020 Goals with Your Students
At New Year's you probably discussed your 2020 resolutions with friends and coworkers . While it's good to get a new gym membership or to "slow down more," goals are serious business and can be a big motivator for our students. Often, a goal they have in their mind or a vision of their future is the thing that gets them to walk through your agency's door each day or week.

What can we do to take our students' goals more seriously and help them to succeed? A current LINCS discussion board by Susan Finn Miller asks participants what they do to facilitate both goal-setting and goal review with students. Miller bases her topic on a blog post by Maurice Elias, "A Framework for Student Goal-Setting." That post focuses on the need to use SMART goals and have students discuss their goals with peers.

When we can verbalize our goals to ourselves and to a partner, we accomplish four specific things, according to author and Ironman Triathlon finisher Karen Brown . We organize our thoughts that make our goals more concrete and understandable for ourselves and others. We create accountability when we share our goal with someone. We create a deadline because a SMART goal is attached to a time frame. Finally, we create accountability with ourselves, and that can enable a belief that we truly can achieve what we have named as our goal.

Think of ways that you can help your students set and work toward specific goals in the coming year. Contribute your ideas to the LINCS discussion board and see what others have done as well. 

Also, see below for information on the upcoming webinar, Using Technology to Help Students Set and Achieve Goals.
Teaching Tips and Resources
Leading students to higher order thinking
A recent Edutopia article titled "How to Lead Students to Engage in Higher Order Thinking" describes the use of thinking inventories and essential questions. These questions can act as a natural bridge between the student and the content of a course. The author likes to use thinking inventories at the beginning and end of a course to signal the expectation of higher order thinking and then to practice it. The structured nature of the questions can also allow students who may feel uneasy to participate more comfortably.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day & Black History Month readings
With Martin Luther King Jr. Day this week and Black History Month coming in February, you may be looking for relevant reading passages for your students. Readworks.org has compiled a list of readings on these topics that can be filtered by reading level, word length, or topic.
Webinar: Census 2020 Activities for Adult Education
On Tuesday, January 28, 2020, at 2:00-3:15 p.m., the Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy will host the webinar Census 2020 Activities for Adult Education Classrooms and Programs . Participants will learn about classroom resources that have a twofold purpose: to share information about the upcoming census count as well as build language, literacy, and numeracy skills for students. Register for the webinar online . To see other webinars in the series, please go to the National Coalition for Literacy's  census page.
Professional Development Opportunities
Webinar:  Making Coalitions Work!
The webinar  Making Coalitions Work! will meet on Thursday, January 23, 2020, at 12:00 p.m. 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. Log in for the webinar here .
Professional Learning for Adult Education and Family Literacy Staff
Staff at PDE-funded adult education and family literacy agencies can view  a list of upcoming courses  now available for enrollment in the PD Portal. For more information about any of these courses, please visit the   PD Portal , open the course catalog, and review the syllabus. If you are interested in enrolling in a course, please consult with your in-house professional development specialist (IHPDS) to determine if the course meets your professional learning goals.
Digital literacy skills webinar
Burlington English will host a webinar titled Daily Integration of Digital Literacy Skills for Workforce and Transition Success on Friday, January 24, at 2:00-3:00 p.m. Participants will discuss how to integrate digital literacy skills into every aspect of their curriculum, including the use of Canvas, in order to prepare learners for the requirements of the workforce or higher education. Register for this webinar online .
Webinar: Using Technology to Help Students Set and Achieve Goals
How can we use technology to encourage and enable students to set SMART goals? How can we keep track of students' achievements with tech tools? Facilitators will address these questions in a webinar, Using Technology to Help Students Set and Achieve Goals on Wednesday, January 29, 2:00-3:00 p.m. You can register online for this COABE-sponsored webinar.
Extra events at PAACE Conference
This year you can join extra events along with the annual conference for the Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education (PAACE) on March 30-31, 2020. If you will be arriving on Sunday, March 29, you can attend a matinee of Kinky Boots at Lancaster's Fulton Theater. Or start Tuesday with a yoga session at 7:30-8:30 a.m. Register for either online. You can also use this link to register and pay for Act 48 credits.
State and National Adult Education News
COABE seeking Board of Directors nominations
The Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) is seeking nominations for its Board of Directors. The COABE Board provides leadership across the nation for the field of adult education. Open seats include Vice President for Membership and Region 1 Representative (which includes Pennsylvania). Learn more or make nominations online .
Webinar: COABE Learning Upgrade Challenge
COABE is partnering with the company behind the Learning Upgrade App to start the COABE Learning Upgrade Challenge. Participating adult education providers will compete to log the most math, literacy, and GED®/HiSET® progress each semester with the use of the Learning Upgrade App with students. To learn more about the Challenge, register for the informational webinar on Friday, February 7, 2020, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
PAACE annual awards
PAACE is seeking nominations for the annual awards given for outstanding members of the adult education community. Awards include Outstanding Volunteer , Partner , Leader , Student , and Practitioner of the Year, as well as the PAACE Outstanding Adult Educator: Lifetime Achievement Award . Nominations (not self-nominations) will be accepted through February 28, 2020.
COABE Journal article submission
The Spring 2020 edition of the COABE Journal will focus on the topic of workforce development and workforce literacy. If you have knowledge and expertise to share with the readers of the Journal, consider submitting a manuscript. Submissions are due by February 15, 2020. Review the submission guidelines or submit an article online.
Grants and Scholarships
Library of Congress Literacy Awards
Do you feel that the impact that your nonprofit agency is having on literacy should be recognized? Apply for the Library of Congress Literacy Awards. In addition to the top prizes of up to $150,000, fifteen applicants will be recognized with a $5,000 award for Best Practices. Learn more details online .
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] . 

There are no posted job openings at this time.
PA Adult Education Resources
Visit  www.paadultedresources.org  for the latest PA adult education news and resources. Recent additions to the site include:

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. 

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

GED® In Session, GED Testing Service® Features news and information related to the GED® test

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.