LINCS Resources

This practice-oriented Companion Learning Resource helps adult ELL instructors to better understand and meet the language demands of rigorous college- and career-focused content. A variety of instructional strategies and supports are included, such as nurturing academic conversations in the classroom, engaging learners with increasingly complex texts while building content knowledge, expanding project-based learning into academic subjects, and building teachers’ knowledge and skills around reading instruction. Formatted as a digital magazine, this clickable PDF contains embedded resources and links to websites, encouraging users to delve deeply into the areas of greatest relevance. Through the resource, practitioners are able to link to concrete examples taken from each of the seminal resources and, where relevant, additional examples drawn from other relevant contexts (e.g., K–12 education).

Integrated Education and Training Policy: 50-State Scan is highly relevant to adult education. It is a practical resource that summarizes the how academic skills and job-related training can be combined (integrated) and what the states are doing in this regard. The report consists mostly of easy-to-read diagrams summarizing the accomplishments of each state in integrating instruction. It could be used in a study circle of program developers, state education and training directors, and program administrators. This report is a good overview of the status of Integrated Education and Training Policy as of December 2016. It may be useful for a variety of individuals interested in adult education and the workforce including local leaders who are developing procedures and programs and want to see what other states are providing. Legislators could review this report to understand the status of neighboring and other states for policy development and federal policymakers could consider this information in identifying funding priorities. Certainly, adult education students doing research may have an interest in this report. The map and chart are the most useful features in that both provide information about the states at a glance. Adult education state leaders, program managers, curriculum writers, and professional developers might use this scan to identify states that have adopted IET systems, but they would need to reach out to their counterparts in those states to learn about how those IET programs were/are created, funded, supported, and organized. The descriptions of what is actually happening in the states are brief and do not describe the substance or quality of the programs. This resource would be more useful if it included model programs and provided more detail on the funding, structure, curricula, instructor training, and other components.

The activities modeled in the Classroom Activities for Adult ESL Learners videos bring variety and interest to the classroom. They will be helpful to beginning tutor and teachers as well as those who previously relied on workbooks and lecture. Many of the activities are directed toward beginning learners, who often present a challenge to teachers. There is, however, little information about learner preparation or follow-up activities. The videos in the Classroom Activities for Adult ESL Learners series show teachers working with adult ESL students without a formal workbook or worksheets. The videos feature teachers facilitating cooperative/collaborative learning activities with small group work and discussion. ESL students are quick to learn and engage when the instructor (like those in the video) demonstrates a true interest in them and their learning. Performance-based assessments activities are used in some of the videos that concentrate on oral communication and/or reading.