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Adult Education Professional Development Opportunities for
March 2025
VALRC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR THIS MONTH
The following professional development opportunities are offered to Virginia adult education practitioners as well as adult education partner organizations.
MARCH
6
12:30–2 p.m. EST
Structure Your Program So Students & Staff Want to Stay
Presented by Joyce Clement Jackson and Melinda Dart of Chesterfield County Public Schools Adult Continuing Education.
This webinar will focus on the tools and strategies necessary to build a program where both staff and students learn and grow together. The three focus areas include building relationships, building learning models, and building partnerships. For each of these areas, we will provide practical ways to make programs meaningful for both staff and students. Learning tools and templates will be provided.
MARCH
10
1:30–3 p.m. EST
LACES Data Housekeeping and Diagnostics
Join us for a webinar on the LACES data system for Virginia adult education programming.
MARCH
15
10 a.m.–2 p.m. EST
In-Person, Instructor Professional Learning Community
Are you looking for an opportunity to network with other adult education instructors? Do you want the space to consider application of the science of reading and access-oriented instructional strategies?
This in-person, instructor professional community is meant to be a gathering place for all adult education instructors to meet, network, and learn together! More Information
MARCH
17
1:30–3:30 p.m. EST
Bimonthly Program Managers Meeting
This year’s bimonthly program managers meetings will be held on Mondays at 1:30p – 3:00p with an optional 30 minutes for discussion. Registering once will enable you to join ALL of the meetings for the 2024 – 2025 year.
MARCH
18
12–1 p.m. EST
Regional Instructional Specialist PLC
This professional learning community is open to Regional Instructional Specialists (and other Virginia adult educators whose work includes instructional leadership). Focused on problem-solving and sharing promising practices, this discussion-based PLC will address topics including classroom observations, retention strategies for learners and educators, curriculum choices, partnerships, and supporting effective instructional practices. The PLC meets monthly.
MARCH
21
1–2:30 p.m. EST
Digital Resilience in the American Workforce (DRAW) PLC
These interactive sessions will define digital resilience and focus on its importance for both instructors and students. Participants will gain insight and discover practical ways to begin implementing EdTech routines in the classroom, as well as participate in guided learning circles to share ideas and challenges.
MARCH
28
1–2:30 p.m. EST
Trauma-Informed Practices: An Introduction
This webinar will present a working overview of this topic to begin incorporating trauma-informed practices into classroom instruction. Participants will also gain a better sense of what is happening to a learner’s brain when they experience stress and trauma.
Now accepting SPOTLIGHT 2025 submissions!
SPOTLIGHT is an annual online publication that seeks to shine a light on Virginia's adult education learners, their experiences, and their learning through the creative process.
SPOTLIGHT welcomes a variety of genres, including both fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose, as well as picture stories, illustrations, and other artistic works are also welcome.
Complete the online submission form by March 14, 2025, to be considered for publication. See our guidelines and FAQs for more information.
In this one-hour, self-paced tutorial, you will learn about the five main components of accessibility. These components include: color-contrast, hyperlinks, alt-text, tables, and headings.
This one-hour, self-paced tutorial introduces a working overview of this topic to begin incorporating trauma-informed teaching into classroom instruction. Participants will also gain a better sense of what is happening to a learner’s brain when they experience stress and trauma.
Disabilities and the Adult Learner Recorded Webinar Series:
This three part webinar series includes the following topics (click on the topic to access the webinar recording): a) an introduction to working with adults with {dis}abilities; b) instructional strategies for working with adults with {dis}abilities; and c) making content accessible. (Duration: each webinar recording is 1 hour & 30 minutes)
This 90-minute, webinar recording presents part basic overview of the science of reading and effective reading instruction, including alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. During the webinar, we discuss strategies for each component of reading and how to use them in the classroom.
See this announcement with more information about registering for and accessing VALRC's on-demand and self-paced learning opportunities using the Reach 360 platform.
VALRC's Resource Highlight
This resource provides tutorial videos and important information about the state’s new data system.
This google folder contains curated resources for the science of reading, including assessments and each component of reading (alphabetics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension). Many of these resources are open-source from other agencies. VALRC staff are continually adding new resources to the folder, so check back often!
The information and resources on these resources can be used to support newly arrived refugees, immigrants, and new Americans with accessing English language learning opportunities through federally-funded adult education programs, community-based organizations, or other educational materials as well as accessing additional services that may be needed by the immigrant and refugee population.
The Lessons from the Field webinar series showcases the expertise of adult education and literacy practitioners from across the state. This playlist will grow as more recordings are added. It launches with 2024 Lessons from the Field webinars, with topics including digital literacy, generative AI, and English language learning.
The Change Agent's Newest Issue, Digital Tools at Work, School, and Everyday Life, available now
Virginia adult educators and their learners currently have free access to The Change Agent with username VALRC and password VALRC2025.
ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR THIS MONTH
The following webinars are offered by various adult education organizations and are all FREE to attend. Click the Register button below the event description to sign up for any webinars of interest.
MARCH
4
1–2 p.m. EST
ProLiteracy: Incorporating Reading Comprehension into Any Instructional Material
Students often need more practice on a specific skill than the worksheets you have on hand. Join us to learn how to make your materials do double duty to practice reading comprehension. This session is for those whose students are native English speakers.
MARCH
4
7:30–9:30 p.m. EST
Literacy Minnesota: Teaching Intermediate Alphabetics
Teaching intermediate alphabetics (syllables, prefixes, suffixes, root words) is a great way to help students build their decoding and comprehension skills. Come learn a variety of fun and easy-to-use routines and activities for helping intermediate-level readers develop these important tools.
MARCH
7
2–4 p.m. EST
Literacy Minnesota: Tips and Strategies for Online Instruction
During the early days of the pandemic, remote instruction was a necessary evil that many begrudgingly endured. But as the options for in-person instruction opened up, many learners chose to continue to learn in an online environment. Join this session to learn and see modeled tips and strategies for teaching and tutoring online, and determine how to bring them back to your context. This session is appropriate for educators working with both English language learners and adult education students. (Note: This session does not include technical how-to skills for using Zoom or other platforms.)
MARCH
12
7:30–9:30 p.m. EST
Literacy Minnesota: Comprehension Strategies for Intermediate-Level Readers
Research shows that explicitly teaching a set of comprehension strategies is a great way to help intermediate-level readers maximize their understanding of texts. Come learn a handful of great comprehension tools that will help students develop critical thinking skills and comprehension skills.
MARCH
18
1–2 p.m. EST
ProLiteracy: “What Am I Looking At?”
It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but how do we know what that picture is saying? Even though we use visual literacy to understand what we see and encounter in our everyday lives, there is added pressure when facing it on a High School Equivalency (HSE) test. In this webinar, Kara will identify key methods for decoding graphs, charts, tables, and maps on the HSE tests.
MARCH
18
4–5 p.m. EST
CASAS: Assessing NEDP Client Work
Join the NEDP national trainer and assessors from across the country as we practice assessing client responses to newly added questions.
Participants can choose to attend this webinar on Tuesday OR Wednesday.
MARCH
19
1–2 p.m. EST
CASAS: Assessing NEDP Client Work
Join the NEDP national trainer and assessors from across the country as we practice assessing client responses to newly added questions.
Participants can choose to attend this webinar on Tuesday OR Wednesday.
MARCH
25
2–4 p.m. EST
Literacy Minnesota: Developing and Practicing Reading Fluency
Come and review the important role of fluency in reading instruction. We will discuss the three key components of reading fluency and look at a variety of activities tutors and teachers can try. We will talk about the mechanics of doing fluency practice via Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or any other remote tutoring tool (including the phone!). Participants will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions and share resources.
This workshop will be most useful for instructors working with low-intermediate to advanced readers.
MARCH
27
2–3 p.m. EST
DARS WINDMILLS
Fact or Fiction: This module teaches participants to anticipate situations that might occur in the workplace with people with disabilities.
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"Equipping the field of adult education and literacy with essential skills and resources to expand access to high-quality instruction and workforce preparation."