What do adult students with learning differences have to say about their own classroom experiences, and how does that inform instruction? During this session, you will reflect on your classroom and learn strategies for teaching reading and writing using content that centers on the voices and experiences of adult learners with disabilities and learning differences.
- ELA teachers, instructional leaders, and program administrators
This professional development activity/course is designed for:
The three most recent issues of The Change Agent, featuring articles written by adult learners, focus on disabilities and learning differences. What do adult learners say about their own disabilities and learning differences? What adaptations and accommodations work best for them, and how might that inform instruction? How have they advocated for themselves and their children? What do they want others to know about their experiences?
When these questions are addressed by adult learners themselves, speaking in their own authentic voices, and at their own reading/writing levels, they provide scaffolding to their peers to read closely and critically, pursue more and more complex texts, and consider the topic from various points of view. The Change Agent provides standards-aligned pre- and post-reading activities that support teachers to build these skills in their students.
In addition to learning how to access this content and group the essays in order to explore various points of view, participants will gain access to graphic organizers, which they can adapt for their own classroom use. These graphic organizers are designed to help students gather evidence from various sources and use that information as the basis of an essay or presentation.
Participants will receive 1.5 PD hours in LACES upon completion of this session.
ABE Professional Standard addressed: P1
Please note: You cannot access this session from the SABES website. You will receive an email from the ELA PD Team 1–2 days before the webinar with instructions on how to access the Zoom session.
For more information, please contact Elena Ruiz, elena_ruiz@worlded.org.
- Identify multiple learner viewpoints on disabilities and learning differences, including the impact of social barriers and individual assets
- Provide English language arts instruction incorporating multi-level, authentic texts on the topic of learning challenges
- Access relevant articles from The Change Agent and ready-to-use pre- and post-reading instructional materials, including graphic organizers, to incorporate into reading and writing instruction
Upon completion of this professional development activity/course, you will be able to:
United States
