Mid-Central Spring Regional Workshop
Save Your License & Celebrate a Successful Year!

Friday, May 30, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites
St. Cloud, MN

Offered in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Education/ABE and the ATLAS program at Hamline University, this workshop will focus on relicensure areas such as reading, positive behavioral intervention strategies, and adapting curriculum to meet the needs of adult learners.  There will also be sessions on CASAS and Transitions to Post-Secondary, including a review of the results of a recent ATLAS survey of ABE and MnSCU instructors statewide.

Certificates for a total of 5.5 CEUs indicating attendance will be provided, and ABE instructors from all regions of Minnesota are welcome and encouraged to participate. 

Schedule

8:30 - 9:00 am            Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 - 9:50 am          General Session: Overview of ATLAS & Goal-Setting
                                   Presenter: Kimberly Johnson, Ph.D., Hamline University

10:00 - 11:30 am        Breakout Session I - choose one:

a) Teaching the Adult Learner with ADHD
(Addresses the relicensure area of positive behavior intervention strategies.)
Presenter: Gabi Geissler, Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) of Minnesota
This session will address specific strategies for helping students with attention deficits learn.  Through a combination of lecture and activity, content will focus on two topics – (1) understanding the learner’s experience and (2) strategies for maximizing achievement.

b) Story by Story – A Contextual Phonics Model and Curriculum
(Addresses the relicensure area of reading.)
Presenter: Marn Frank, Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) of Minnesota
Story by Story is a research and practitioner-based contextual phonics model and curriculum providing informal assessment, sequential word study, and early literacy stories (at approximately GE 0.5 – 2.5) for Beginning ABE level students.  It is intended for adults who have acquired a basic level of sight/survival word knowledge, but still need direct phonics instruction and practice.  Participants in this workshop will receive step-by-step training in the model, a reproducible word analysis inventory, and the aligned Level I and Level II curriculum for teacher or tutor use.

c) CASAS Beyond Implementation
Presenter: Marty Olsen, Certified CASAS Trainer
This session is for those who have attended an Implementation Training in the past and would like a refresher.  The basics will be reviewed, new CASAS information will be shared, and time for specific questions will be allowed.

11:45 am - 12:30 pm    Lunch/celebration

12:45 - 2:15 pm            Breakout Session II - choose one:

d) Not Yet Ready for GED
(Addresses the relicensure area of reading.)
Presenter: Marn Frank, Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) of Minnesota
Many students attending GED preparation classes are actually “not-yet-ready” for reading and understanding content materials at secondary levels.  In fact, according to an adult basic education research study called the Adult Reading Components Study (ARCS, 2003), about 25% of ABE students perform at pre-GED levels and another 56% have reading skills (including word reading, fluency, and vocabulary knowledge) “stalled” at intermediate levels.  Participants in this workshop will briefly review the ARCS findings and implications, practice using an informal word reading test, and discuss research-based “word study” and fluency/comprehension strategies for ABE students performing below the GED level.

e) Keeping Adult Learners at the Center
(Addresses the relicensure area of adapting curriculum to meet needs of adult learners.)
Presenter: Kimberly Johnson, Ph.D., ATLAS Program at Hamline University
Being a learner-centered teacher means turning the spotlight onto the learning process; it means shifting the focus from what the teacher is doing to what the students are doing.  What does this mean in actual practice?  In this interactive session, we will examine principles of learner-centered teaching, critically examine our own practices, and identify ways to keep learners at the center.

f) CASAS Beyond Implementation
Presenter: Marty Olsen, Certified CASAS Trainer
This session is for those who have attended an Implementation Training in the past and would like a refresher.  The basics will be reviewed, new CASAS information will be shared, and time for specific questions will be allowed.

2:30 - 4:00 pm          Transitions Panel & Discussion / Wrap-Up & CEUs

• Panelists include: Jan Budde (Cambridge-Isanti ABE), Bella Hanson (Mindquest Academy), Kimberly Johnson (Hamline University), Astrid Liden (MN Dept. of Education), Julie Mischke (Hutchinson ABE)

• The goals of this session are to provide an overview of Transitions to Post-Secondary, to report on the results of the recent ABE/MnSCU Curriculum Alignment survey, and to facilitate the sharing of transitions ideas across programs.

Workshop Information
• Workshop cost:  $5.00
• For questions concerning this workshop please contact: Marisa Squadrito Geisler, ATLAS Program Assistant

Accommodations
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Holiday Inn; ask for the Mid-Central Regional Workshop block.  Cost is $72.95 + 12% tax (but you must reserve your room by May 15 to receive this reduced rate).  Hotel Front Desk: 320-253-9000.
         

Workshop registrations must be received by Friday, May 23, 2008.

Registration Form: Word / PDF     Register Online     Print Map