New and Returning Volunteer Training

Saturday, September 17, 2011
Community College of Aurora, Lowry Campus

Workshop Descriptions and Presenters

Fast Track to Reading Success – Students who score at the 4th – 6th grade reading level are often discouraged to discover that it could take them one year to raise their reading scores enough to pass the GED exam.  (10th grade is a suggested level for the test.)  The Fast Track is a reading strategies program that was developed to improve reading comprehension for the GED exam in a matter of weeks.  Workshop participants will review graphic organizers for eight basic reading strategies and how they are used.  They will also be introduced to reading materials (Kids Discover) magazines which are used with graphic organizers.  The program has been successfully used at the Denver County Jail and is responsible for a passing rate of 85% on the GED exam. Carolyn Carter has been teaching GED/ABE classes at Denver County Jail for 7 years.  She completed her LIA certification in 2009 and her Master’s degree in Adult Education from CSU in 2011.  Currently, she is a substitute teacher for The Learning Source and serves on the LIA committee reviewing portfolios for adult education licensure.

Using Leading Questions Effectively to Enhance Critical Thinking – Critical thinking is the ability to reflectively question, analyze and evaluate relevant information/situation and efficiently make rational and well-supported judgment (Cervania, 2008).  As educators, it is our responsibility to help students become critical thinkers.  One simple way to do this is by challenging our students to explore the unknown and discover for themselves the information or knowledge they are seeking through leading questions.  This presentation will demonstrate how using leading questions effectively can help enhance critical thinking.  Participants will be able to share ideas of how they can adapt this concept in their own classrooms.

Using Vusual Interactivity to Develop Langusge Skills - This presentation will give participants hands-on experience on how visuals can be used interactively in the development of students’ language skills, i.e., vocabulary building, listening, speaking, reading and writing.  They will also be able to share creative ideas and create a lesson plan collaboratively using visuals to engage students actively in the learning process.Ranee Cervania, a developmental education instructor for the Community College of Denver, completed her MA in ESL and PhD in Education at the University of Hawaii – Manoa.  She has been in the field of post-secondary education for over 30 years, providing profession development workshops to Adult Ed/ESL/GED instructors.

Math: The Part/whole Concept - Description: Adults who struggle with math often are missing early math concepts.  Learn why the part/whole concept is important.  Learn how to use the part/whole concept applies to topics such as graphs; geometry; data and statistics; place value/exponents; and fractions/decimals/per cents. 
Objectives:  By the end of the session participants will be able to: Understand the importance of the part/whole concept in math; Teach the part/whole concept to students using concrete, everyday experiences;Identify and teach the two kinds of math problems strategy (Find the Whole and Find the Part) and the use of that strategy in solving word problems. Dorothea Steinke teaches developmental math/GED math at Front Range Community College.  Her research on math concepts that adults lack has  been published in peer-reviewed journals.

ESL Basics and ESL Strategies – Workshops for those just beginning to work with English as Second Language Students or tutors who are looking for new ideas and strategies. Ardith Loustalet is a professional development educator with the Northern Colorado Professional Development Center in St. Vrain, Colorado.