6/1/09
1. ABLE in the News!!!! Check out the Billings Gazette: "Gazette Opinion: Class of 2009 will need higher ed to succeed"
Click here ( http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/05/31/opinion/gazette/20-gazetteopinion.txt ) to check out the what the Billings Gazette has to say about education - ABLE included!!! Please email MTLINCS if you have any information about your local program.
2. Reading Discussion
If you missed the discussion on reading that just took place on the Assessment Discussion list, click here ( http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/assessment/2009/date.html ) to see posts from the discussion.
3. Technology Discussion
Beginning June 1: 2-Part Technology and Professional Development Discussion
Issue: The Workforce Investment Act is up for reauthorization and some recommendations include expanding the use of technology in teaching and learning and in professional development. But what are the language and literacy skills required for adults’ independent online learning? How can technologies both assist instruction and also open access to information for adult learners? What knowledge and skills do teachers say they need in order to use these technologies? How can professional development help?
Part I: Online Learning and the Adult User:
New Findings and Applications
Guests: Heidi Silver-Pacuilla
Where: Technology Discussion List
When: June 1 –5, 2009
To participate in Part I of the discussion, subscribe (free!): http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Technology
(Web version of Part I discussion announcement: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/technology/09onlinepartI.html )
Description
The new Institute report, Investigating the Language and Literacy Skills Required for Independent Online Learning, was undertaken to investigate the threshold levels of literacy and language proficiency necessary for adult learners to use the Internet for independent learning. The report investigates the interaction among learners’ skills, opportunities and the supports available. It also discusses what students already know about existing and emerging technologies and identifies whether and how these technologies fit into the adult education classroom. Join us to discuss the report findings and what instructors need to do in order to support students in learning online.
Part II: Using Existing and Emerging Technologies in
Professional Development
Guest(s): TBA
Where: Professional Development List
When: July 2009, exact dates TBA
To participate in Part II of the discussion, subscribe (free!): http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Professionaldevelopment
Explore how professional development can help teachers increase comfort and competence with the technology that students can and do use to learn online. You will have the option to work in small groups to experiment with technologies of your choice, share and report back to the large group (PD List) what you learned and what next steps are for professional development.
Stay tuned for further information and announcements regarding Part II: http://www.nifl.gov/lincs/discussions/professionaldevelopment/09onlinepartII.html
4. Online Course:
Multiple Intelligences and Differentiated InstructionHere’s a professional development opportunity in which you may be interested.
The online course, Multiple Intelligences and Differentiated Instruction, is now open for registration.
Research conducted by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy shows that instructional practices inspired by Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory resulted in high levels of authentic instruction and student engagement.
Integrate your understanding of Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory with the power of differentiated instruction in this facilitated, eight-session course. You’ll learn how to apply MI theory and differentiate instruction for all levels of adult basic education and English for speakers of other languages. The facilitator will guide you as you develop your own MI-based lessons.
For more information about the course, or to register, visit www.professionalstudiesae.org. Scroll down to "Adult Multiple Intelligences" and click on the course title. Course dates are July 7–August 31, 2009. To ensure a seat, register early. Registrations will be accepted on a first come basis. For more information about the course and our policies, read the Course Overview and Schedule at http://professionalstudiesae.worlded.org/index.html#midi. If you have any questions about registering for the course, please contact Leah Peterson at lpeterson@worlded.org.Kaye Beall, Project Director, World Education
www.worlded.org
5.
The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools: Summary of FindingsThe extent to which a society utilizes its human potential is among the chief determinants of its prosperity. In the United States,one focus of concern in this regard has been the existence of a so-called achievement gap in education between certain groups of students and others. The persistence of educational achievement gaps imposes on the United States the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession. The recurring annual economic cost of the international achievement gap is substantially larger than the deep recession the United States is currently experiencing.
6
. Strengthening One-Stop Career Centers: Helping More Unemployed Workers Find Jobs and Build Skillshttp://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2009/0402_jobs_skills_jacobson/0402_jobs_skills_jacobson.pdfThis paper explores the role that One-Stop Career Centers play in helping the unemployed build new skills and find new jobs. Each year, One-Stops provide about 15 million workers with information about the characteristics of available jobs, strategies to land the best possible new jobs, and the benefits and costs of enrolling in training programs. Such services help workers rebound from cyclical and structural job loss in ways that foster long-term growth.
7. Neuroscientists Map Intelligence In The Brain
Neuroscientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have conducted the most comprehensive brain mapping to date of the cognitive abilities measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), the most widely used intelligence test in the world ...
ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2009) at http://www.sciencedaily.com:80/releases/2009/03/090311124020.htm
P.S. Remember -- if you are having trouble with the links in this email, go to the Email Archives at the top of the MTLINCS homepage at http://www.nwlincs.org/mtlincs/ . Also if you no longer wish to receive this mailing, please let me know! Thanks!
Norene Peterson
Adult Education Center
415 N. 30th
Billings, MT 59101
norenehp@bresnan.net