East TX Symposium Program Details
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8:00 AM – 8:30 AM: CHECK-IN, BREAKFAST
VISIT EXHIBITOR TABLES
8:30 AM – 8:45 AM: SYMPOSIUM OPENS
Natasha Duncan, Executive Director, East Texas Literacy Council
Dr. Jenny McCormack Walker, Executive Director, Literacy Texas
8:50 AM – 10:20 AM: Session 1 (90 min)
Adult Learning Theory
Many of us in adult ed were trained to teach children in the K – 12 environment. However, adult students have a variety of experiences, making some learned instructional strategies not as effective.
In this presentation you will learn the basics of adult learning theory, and we’ll talk about differentiated instruction as a reflection of adult learning theory, and how it can improve adult learner outcomes. And I promise, I’ll do my best to make this entertaining!
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): OTHER
Presenter: Ann Beeson, M. Ed.
New Readers Press
Ann Beeson has worked with literacy and adult education programs for over 21 years, and currently works in seven states. As an independent sales consultant, Ann offers resources for adult learners, primarily through New Readers Press.
In addition, Ann presents on a wide variety of topics relevant to ABE and ELL programs.
She has a Master’s degree in Curriculum & Instructional design from the University of Minnesota.
Success Toolkit: Student Success is Program Success!
Repeated in session 3
Dr. Adams will facilitate this thought-provoking and collaborative session designed to empower and strengthen AEL staff in varied positions. Insights from strategies and tools that the KC-AEL Program has implemented to support the whole student to promote success in reaching their goals will be incorporated.
Topics on how to motivate and retain students, strategies for engagement, and other “in the trenches” aspects will be the emphasis of the community-building talking circle format.
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): OTHER
Presenter: Dr. ShaLonda Adams
Pine Tree ISD, Kilgore College
Dr. ShaLonda W. Adams is the Kilgore College AEL Student Success Coordinator. She has been with the program in varied capacities since 2018.
Dr. Adams is also in her 10th year as the principal at the Pine Tree PACE Alternative Campus. Her most current venture includes founding Adams’ Academia. Within this organization, The Adams’ Academia Agency, is a community resource that supports our AEL students and others.
Dr. Adams believes in ‘healing hearts’ in every area of life.
Integrating Digital Literacy – Even With Limited Access (Part 1 of 2)
In this session, participants will integrate digital literacy even with limited technology using the models of technology integration; understand and implement the Engage, Explore, Explain, Apply, & Reflect lesson module, and incorporate one or two new technology tools into adult education instruction.
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): PAL
Presenter: Ryan Lett
TCALL (Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning)
Ryan has almost 15 years of experience working with adult education programs. Her career in education began in the K-12 classroom working with special needs students and transitioned to adult education after serving as a family engagement specialist for over 20 campuses.
Currently, Ryan serves as an AEL Director for The Wilkinson Center which is part of the Dallas County Consortium. As part of the leadership team, her strengths are in program management, curriculum development, and instructional coaching with a focus on technology integration. She loves to share her knowledge and empower other adult education practitioners to be equipped with the tools needed to propel adult students in their workforce and academic careers.
Empowering Literacy Programs with AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Unlock the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in transforming literacy programs during this dynamic and insightful workshop.
Explore innovative AI applications tailored specifically for literacy initiatives, gaining hands-on experience and strategic insights that will enhance your program’s effectiveness.
Discover how AI can be harnessed to personalize learning experiences, identify areas of improvement, and create engaging content.
Join us for an interactive session where you’ll leave equipped with practical knowledge to elevate your literacy program through the power of AI.
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): PAL
Presenter: Dr. Irene Ramos
TCALL (Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning)
Irene Ramos has worked in adult education and workforce training for over 33 years and has served in a number of roles including instructor, coordinator, staff development trainer, Center Manager and more. Ms. Ramos’s unique combination of experience, education, talent and skill give her the perspective that is from the workforce side, the adult education program side, and the civic leadership side as well.
Ramos has a Bachelors from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio. She is currently the Program Manager for Crossroads Adult Education at the ESC Region 2 in Corpus Christi which is a successful program that she designed and helped build from the ground up. For the past five years, Ramos has worked tirelessly on rebranding adult education in the Coastal Bend region and building connections with partners and stakeholders.
She is a lifelong resident of Poteet, Texas and is in the 35th year of marriage to her husband Ed. She has three successful children of whom she is very proud. Her dream is that one day school systems will be radically transformed to serve diverse populations in a way that makes learning real and helps everyone thrive.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Session 2 (90 min)
ESL Teaching Strategies
Participants will explore different teaching strategies in the ESL classroom presented by an ESL teacher with more than 30 years of experience. Gareth will walk you through ideas, tips, and examples of how to implement such strategies in your classroom.
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): LIT
Presenter: Gareth Wingfield
Literacy Council of Tyler
Gareth earned his computer science degree from the University of Texas at Tyler. He has worked in Adult Education since 2007.
Gareth has been with the Literacy Council of Tyler since 2008 serving as both HSE and ESL Instructor. He has been a professional trainer since 2015, having 16 years of experience.
A Teacher’s Dozen: Activities to Engage Your Learners
In-person, virtual, hy-flex…donut worry! No matter what your English language classroom looks like, dip into our session to learn how to spice up your teaching and make any lesson more engaging.
From warm-up activities and vocabulary lessons to grammar topics and pronunciation practice, we’ll have a variety pack of ideas and activities to energize your classroom. Participants will leave full of new strategies to support their English language learners.
Join our symposium classroom and sweeten your day!!!!
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): LIT
Presenter: Martin Loa
BurlingtonEnglish
Martin Loa is Senior Customer Manager for Burlington English. He has served in that capacity for the past 6 years.
He utilizes his 20 plus years of adult education experience to assist programs with implementation of ESL curriculum to better meet the needs of their specific populations. His formal education in curriculum instruction enables him to develop and implement targeted trainings to address best practices.
Martin has served as a consultant delivering evidence-based and research-based training for the state professional development grantee for the last 7 years. His expertise includes ESL, Digital Literacy, Financial Literacy, ABE, IETs, and Literacy Organization-specific topics.
Martin has over 15 years of experience presenting at local, state, and national conferences.
Motivate & Engage: How to Maximize your Ventures Classroom
Since the pandemic, it has been a challenge keeping our students motivated and engaged. The presenter will be sharing some of her teaching tools, tips and ideas on how to accomplish these goals using the Ventures series.
Ventures offers various strategies and tools for teachers to create a successful classroom. These tools are highly designed to motivate and to engage the students in a manner that will keep them coming back to class to learn more.
For more information and to learn about other Cambridge books and materials, participants are encouraged to stop by the booth and speak personally with the representative.
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): PENDING
Presenter: Sandra Lane
Cambridge
Sandra Lane has worked in English as a Second Language (ESL) for over 18 years now. She started out working in a group home for abused girls. Because of her great love for this mission, Sandra went on to pursue her Master’s degree in Social Work and continued to work with abused children and adults.
In 2006, she stepped into the adult education world teaching ESL at Irving Independent School District and Tarrant County Community College, both in Texas, and she has never looked back. Sandra earned an ESL certification from Mountain View Community College and she received two Teacher of the Year awards from TALAE and IISD (local program).
She also has experience in Career Navigating, Training, Testing, and Networking in the adult education field.
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: WORKING LUNCH
Speaker: Michelle Gamboa, Longview City Councilwoman
An encouraging look at serving in her community and the impact made on others!
1:10 PM – 2:40 PM: Session 3 (90 min)
Success Toolkit: Student Success is Program Success!
Repeat from session 1
Dr. Adams will facilitate this thought-provoking and collaborative session designed to empower and strengthen AEL staff in varied positions. Insights from strategies and tools that the KC-AEL Program has implemented to support the whole student to promote success in reaching their goals will be incorporated.
Topics on how to motivate and retain students, strategies for engagement, and other “in the trenches” aspects will be the emphasis of the community-building talking circle format.
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): OTHER
Presenter: Dr. ShaLonda Adams
Dr. Shalonda Adams, Pine Tree ISD, Kilgore College
Dr. ShaLonda W. Adams is the Kilgore College AEL Student Success Coordinator. She has been with the program in varied capacities since 2018.
Dr. Adams is also in her 10th year as the principal at the Pine Tree PACE Alternative Campus. Her most current venture includes founding Adams’ Academia. Within this organization, The Adams’ Academia Agency, is a community resource that supports our AEL students and others.
Dr. Adams believes in ‘healing hearts’ in every area of life.
Integrating Digital Literacy – Even With Limited Access (Part 2 of 2)
In this session, participants will integrate digital literacy even with limited technology using the models of technology integration; understand and implement the Engage, Explore, Explain, Apply, & Reflect lesson module, and incorporate one or two new technology tools into adult education instruction.
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): PAL
Presenter: Ryan Lett
TCALL (Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning)
Ryan has almost 15 years of experience working with adult education programs. Her career in education began in the K-12 classroom working with special needs students and transitioned to adult education after serving as a family engagement specialist for over 20 campuses.
Currently, Ryan serves as an AEL Director for The Wilkinson Center which is part of the Dallas County Consortium. As part of the leadership team, her strengths are in program management, curriculum development, and instructional coaching with a focus on technology integration. She loves to share her knowledge and empower other adult education practitioners to be equipped with the tools needed to propel adult students in their workforce and academic careers.
Ways to Get Your Students Writing
Do your ELL students enjoy writing? Or does it take extra time and effort to get them to write?
Writing can be intimidating for adult literacy students. This session will introduce some writing activities and provide creative ways to assist in getting your students to write.
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): OTHER
Presenter: Dr. Olga Escamilla
TCALL (Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning)
Dr. Olga Escamilla has over 26 years of experience in adult education, and currently serves as a PD Specialist with TRAIN PD @ TCALL. She has served as a teacher’s aide, data entry, ABE Instructor, AEL Supervisor, Professional Development Grant Coordinator, AEL Director, Job Coach, and Workforce Case Manager.
She has served as a Senior Lecturer with TAMUK- Masters of Adult Education program since 2009.
Dr. Escamilla served as on the COABE Board as Region-4 Representative from 2019 – 2022.
Literacy and Career Pathways
Join us for a transformative 90-minute workshop as we delve into the intersection of literacy and career pathways, unraveling the key to making learning truly relevant.
Explore innovative approaches that connect literacy skills to real-world career contexts, fostering engagement and empowering learners with practical knowledge. Discover strategies to seamlessly integrate career-focused content into literacy programs, creating a dynamic learning environment that prepares participants for success in both education and their future careers.
Walk away with actionable insights to infuse relevance into your literacy initiatives and inspire learners on their journey towards meaningful career pathways.
PD Category (assigned by TCALL): PAL
Presenter: Dr. Irene Ramos
TCALL (Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning)
Irene Ramos has worked in adult education and workforce training for over 33 years and has served in a number of roles including instructor, coordinator, staff development trainer, Center Manager and more. Ms. Ramos’s unique combination of experience, education, talent and skill give her the perspective that is from the workforce side, the adult education program side, and the civic leadership side as well.
Ramos has a Bachelors from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio. She is currently the Program Manager for Crossroads Adult Education at the ESC Region 2 in Corpus Christi which is a successful program that she designed and helped build from the ground up. For the past five years, Ramos has worked tirelessly on rebranding adult education in the Coastal Bend region and building connections with partners and stakeholders.
She is a lifelong resident of Poteet, Texas and is in the 35th year of marriage to her husband Ed. She has three successful children of whom she is very proud. Her dream is that one day school systems will be radically transformed to serve diverse populations in a way that makes learning real and helps everyone thrive.
2:40 PM – 3:00 PM: CLOSING SESSION
Evaluation, wrap-up, door prizes (must be present to win!)
3:00 PM: FAREWELL
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Checked/updated 3/03/2024
