Conference
Preconference Sessions
These in-depth sessions provide comprehensive strategies focused on improving outcomes for literacy students across the life span. Learn the latest approaches that distill research into tangible practice with measurable results.
All preconference sessions will take place Saturday, March 24. All preconference session attendees are invited to attend the preconference luncheon keynote session. Learn more about the keynote session speaker!
Download the 2012 preconference sessions flyer for a printable version.
Full-day sessions — 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
PD-100: Adult Education Strategies to Maximize Student Retention and Academic Gains
Dr. Sylvia Cobos Lieshoff, Senior Training and Program Specialist, NCFL
Adult students will stay in a program when they are convinced that their needs are being met. Don’t leave this to chance! Join us in this interactive session to learn how to weave goal setting, portfolios, informal assessments and differentiated instruction into your program to ensure adult students are making progress.
PD-101: Financing and Sustaining Family Literacy
Jeri Levesque, Ed. D., Center of Effort LLC and Evaluator, LIFT-MO
Get the nuts and bolts you need to finance and sustain family literacy. This session provides hands-on opportunities for designing plans to sustain family literacy after grant funds are exhausted, exploring ways to achieve collaborative synergy at the local level by establishing similar and diverse partnerships, and learning strategies for balancing declining grant funds with new revenue sources and community asset planning. As a grand finale, gain insights about leveraging resources through media showcasing, social networking and grant writing.
PD-102: How to Make Connections: A Look at Culture and Diversity in the Adult ESL Classroom
Rhonda Childress, ESL Specialist, NCFL
It’s the first day of your High Beginning ESL class, and a student says, “Excuse teacher… this no right class, I engineer in my country!” Has this ever happened to you? Some students assume they should be in a higher level ESL class because they are already well-educated. In the Adult ESL classroom, many things are said and done based on our perception of the world through culture. In this session, discover how teachers can create an inviting ESL classroom environment conducive to students not only learning English, but learning about people with languages, cultures and experiences different from their own.
PD-103: Integrating Common Core State Standards and CASAS Content Standards: Improving Instruction and Adult Learner Outcomes
Susana van Bezooijen, CASAS Program Specialist, WIAII/EL Civics/Adult Literacy
Louann Gigante, CASAS Program Specialist, WIAII/EL Civics/Adult Literacy
The new Common Core State Standards “provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn.” How will adult instructors understand these standards? How can they translate them into curriculum and classroom lessons? How will students’ assessments be aligned with the standards? Learn how the CASAS content standards and Common Core State Standards are interrelated and how to use them to ensure adults in your programs are getting standards-based instruction that will prepare them for postsecondary education and the workforce. Participants will walk away from this session with standards-based lesson plans for their programs.
PD-104: Through the Looking Glass: Meaningful Learning in Parent Time and Parent and Child Together (PACT) Time in Preschool and the Elementary Grades
Bonnie Lash Freeman, Senior Training and Program Specialist, NCFL
Parent Time and PACT Time® are the heart of a family literacy program. They are the glue that binds the four components of family literacy together, and they always complement each other. Participants will learn how to incorporate parent topics into successful Parent Time sessions and implement the process of PACT Time® for families of preschool and elementary children. Participants will leave this session with an individualized plan for Parent Time and PACT Time®.
Morning sessions — 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
PD-105 Health and Financial Literacies for the Adult Learner
Donna Elder, Senior Reading and Training Specialist, NCFL
What do your students know about the health care issues and financial crises we hear in the news? How can we make an impact on the staggering statistics and help improve the lives of our students? Come and learn how to enhance your curriculum to help your students become more health-conscious and financially savvy.
PD-106: It Just Keeps Getting Better — ReadCreateShare is the Complete Package
Mark W. F. Condon, Ph.D., Chief Learning Officer, Unite for Literacy
Sharp video! Great sound! What could be better for helping families learn to read and write? What?! That’s right. Come and try out a brand new picture book-making program that has it all: text (of course!), images, video (yes, video!) and recorded two-language speech. Learn to read, create and share these multimedia books from your computer, tablet or smartphone. Free software license for each participant. Come and experience this session in a hands-on technology lab.
PD-107: Parents and Preschoolers Reading Together Establishes a Pathway for Educational Success
Donna Bell, Senior Specialist, NCFL
Educators can provide parents with the knowledge and skills to engage their preschool children in interactive shared reading. A research-based, interactive shared reading program called “dialogic reading” has shown positive impact on children’s language and literacy development. In this session, learn about the research supporting dialogic reading, see how to identify characteristics of books appropriate for dialogic reading and get ideas for eight one-hour workshops for parents based on the findings of the National Early Literacy Panel that can help parents improve their children’s early literacy development.
Afternoon sessions — 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
PD-108: Parental Involvement in the Elementary School is at the Core of Student Achievement
Donna Bell, Senior Specialist, NCFL
Are you looking for ways to improve children’s learning and advance your school’s progress? Meaningful parental involvement can be a key ingredient to student and school success. Learn about the research that supports parental involvement, find out practical ways to increase parent engagement in the school, learn about funding that schools can access for implementing parental involvement activities and find out about other free resources that contribute to making parents a valuable asset for student achievement.
PD-109: The Next Generation of Digital Learning: Rocket Science Not Required
John Ross, Ph.D., Founder, TeachLearnTech; Educational Technology Consultant and Author
Much has changed in the technology world in the 20 years or so since “microcomputers” were introduced into the nation’s classrooms. Educators in the 21st century have access to powerful digital tools and high-quality content that hold the potential to create new learning environments that better match the way students want to learn. In this hands-on session, explore some of these new digital tools — many of which are free or low cost — and consider ways to incorporate them into your own teaching. Come and experience this session in a hands-on technology lab.