- Mathematical concept(s) which includes: space and shape, pattern recognition, generalization, modeling, shapes and space, and number sense
- Mathematical topic(s) which includes algebra, surface area, counting, and ratios
- K-12 grade level
- Standards for Mathematical Practice(s) 1-8
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Abstract:
Adult education has evolved from informal, oral traditions to structured programs that address the changing needs of society. This article traces its historical roots from early evening schools and trade education to modern community colleges and workforce development initiatives. It explores the relevance of adult learning through andragogical principles, emphasizing its problem-centered approach and immediate application. Finally, it highlights the profound impact of adult education, showcasing its role in personal growth, economic mobility, and community engagement.
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Abstract:
Workforce Pell is reshaping the connection between adult education, workforce development, and higher education by expanding Pell Grants to eligible short-term workforce training programs. As implementation begins, adult education leaders have an opportunity to strengthen career pathways, build new partnerships, and improve learner access to high-value credentials. This session will unpack the legislation, explain the new accountability measures and eligibility requirements, and examine what they mean for adult education, Integrated Education and Training (IET), and workforce partnerships. Participants will leave with practical strategies to prepare their organizations and position adult learners for success in the Workforce Pell era.
Original webinar date: August 18, 2026
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Abstract:
For the past 15 years, Indiana has been undergoing an integrated education and training (IET) evolution. The inclusion of career training and certifications into the adult education framework has yielded economic benefits for Hoosier adults, employers, and communities. Indiana policy and legislation guided program implementation and expansion by codifying the dedication of 25% of all state and federal funding to this priority. Secondary feedback loops were established with education programs, training providers, employers, and workforce boards to inform continuous improvement and adjustments over the years. Using this information to increase completion and certification rates and refine training opportunities has improved student outcomes and certification availability. During the past 15 years, Indiana residents have earned more than 19,000 career certifications through the adult education system.
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Abstract:
This resource provided by the State of Washington helps practitioners better understand career pathways programs and expand practioners’ professional knowledge.
Publication Year
2014
Resource Type
Product
Key Words
Product Type
Abstract
The state of Washington's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program is nationally recognized as an evidence-based instructional model that supports career pathways. In an I-BEST program, two instructors are paired in the classroom - one to teach professional/technical or academic content; the other to teach basic skills in reading, math, writing or English language - so students can move through school and into jobs faster.
The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges offers an array of teaching tips, research findings, and planning tools for educators who want to learn more about I-BEST, including team teaching models, collaborative planning, and wrap-around support services. A series of videos is also available that explains the I-BEST model and demonstrates team teaching in action.
Benefits and Uses
Program developers and instructors will be able to begin the planning process for the creation of an I-BEST type bridge program.
Resource Notice
This resource was reviewed and vetted through the Designing Instruction for Career Pathways initiative of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education under Contract No. ED-CFO-10-A-0072/0001.
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Abstract:
ReadWorks is a non-profit organization which gives teachers the research-proven tools and support they need to improve the academic achievement of their students. The website provides lessons which are organized by skill and strategy units, comprehension units, and novel study units. Leveled non-fiction and literary reading passages are also provided. The ReadWorks materials are aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Benefits and Uses
ReadWorks provides teachers with a large set of grade-level aligned complex literary and informational texts on a variety of topics. Many reading passages are accompanied by text-dependent questions, vocabulary student worksheets, and teacher notes. Each reading passage that comes with a question set identifies the specific CCSS encompassed in the activities. Reading passages are tagged by K-12 grade, Lexile level, subject domain, text types, and skill/strategy employed. Many of the reading passages are appropriate for adult education programs, and adult educators can use the Lexile information to select reading passages at an appropriate level for their learners. Teachers can use the resource to address College and Career Readiness (CCR) standards’ key advance one: regular practice with complex text and its academic language and key advance two: reading, writing, and speaking are grounded in evidence from text. Paired reading passages sets enable educators to select several reading passages on a topic or theme to address key advance three: building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction.
Note: The site also provides lesson plans for grades K-6 which are aligned to the CCSS. The content of some of these lesson plans may not be appropriate for adult education students.
ReadWorks might be used in the field of adult education to identify learning level appropriate texts and text-dependent tasks for classroom instructional use. The texts do not require any modification. Teachers can use text dependent questions and vocabulary resources as is or modify the text-dependent questions and develop writing prompts. The paired passages features may be used to build content knowedge in the classroom. Teachers would need to translate K-12 grade levels to their appropriate course level and review the grade-level CCSS to identify the CCR standards addressed by the materials.
Professional developers could use the resource to prepare sample lessons using the text passages and questions.
The reading passages are the most useful resources on the site. Users can use the filter functions to find appropriate texts for adult education students. The Text Type, Grade, and Lexile Level are all useful filters to find complex texts suitable for the learning level and content needs of adult education students. After opening a free account, users can download texts or save to “My Binder” for future access.
Resource Notice
This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.
Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.
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Abstract:
This guide provides suggested classroom tasks that combine the academic knowledge and skills described by the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education with behaviors and composite skills needed to succeed in college, workplace, and civic life (essential competencies).
Publication Year
2014
The Guide to ELA Classroom Activities that Promote Life Skills, College and Career Readiness was produced by World Education. It builds on a previous publication (The Life skills, College and Career Readiness Guide for ESOL Learners, October 2011). The guide “provides suggested classroom tasks that combine the academic knowledge and skills described by the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education…with behaviors and composite skills needed to succeed in college, workplace, and civic life, expressed here as Essential Competencies.”
Seven Essential Competencies required to succeed in the college, workplace, and civic life are identified. Based on the seven Essential Competencies, the Guide further defines a series of Tier One instructional tasks appropriate for 0-8 GLE, NRS low-high ABE, and college and career readiness standards (CCR) A-D and Tier Two instructional tasks appropriate for 9-12 GLE, NRS ASE, and CCR D-E. These instructional tasks are focused on three goals: (1) meeting life skills; (2) promoting college readiness; and (3) promoting career readiness. The Essential Competencies drive the instructional tasks. A cross-reference is provided between the Tier One instructional tasks and the applicable CCR English language arts/literacy (ELA/Literacy) Anchor Standards.
The Guide also includes a set of lesson plans illustrating how a Tier One task is facilitated across several class sessions as well as a sample Tier Two project that culminates in short essays and class presentations.
What the experts say
The resource is intended for an adult educator audience. The resource contains instructional tasks that can be implemented in the adult education classroom. These instructional tasks are focused on three goals directly related to adult education students: (1) meeting life skills; (2) promoting college readiness; and (3) promoting career readiness.
Educators might use this resource to support CCR standards-aligned teaching that integrates life and workplace skills development. It is a good ‘beginner’ resource that shows educators how to think about the CCR standards for ELA/Literacy in relation to classroom activities with which they may be familiar.
While the resource lacks details about the three key advances inherent in the CCR ELA/Literacy standards, it shows adult educators how to re-conceptualize their teaching and classrooms in light of the CCR standards. It provides ideas for integrating Essential Competencies and the CCR standards at various bands of learning. It could be useful for showing educators how to start the process of bringing the key advances in instructional practice into their classrooms and lesson planning and employ transitional activities in their classrooms. To supplement and further enhance the resource, it would be beneficial for users to pair examples of level-appropriate complex texts with text-dependent tasks that support building coherent bodies of knowledge
The tables of Tier One Tasks (pp. 13-17) and Tier Two Tasks (pp. 18-20). Tier One Tasks “require that students apply several CCR standards to achieve a focused, short-term outcome, such as writing a set of notes or a one-paragraph summary of an at-level text. Some of these tasks might also require real-world applications, such as actually entering work places or college campuses to observe classes, conduct interviews, or shadow jobs.” (Tier One Tasks relate to 0-8 GLE; NRS low-high ABE; and CCR A-D.)
Tier Two Tasks are “project-based and designed to culminate in sophisticated products such as argumentative essays, reports, and/or slide presentations.” A cross-reference is not explicitly made to CCR standards in the Tier Two Tasks. (The document states that nearly all standards will come into play.) (Tier Two Tasks relate to 9-12 GLE; NRS ASE; and CCR D-E.)
These tables and examples provide teachers with a set of guides and ideas that serve as an excellent starting point for standards and life skills integration. The text resources required to complete the indicated tasks are not suggested. Thus, teachers would also need to find and apply learning-level appropriate texts to each of the tasks. This extra step, however, would help move the resource from a focus on skills development to a focus on literacy development.
The sample units provided on pages 23 and 29 are also useful tools for educators. The two sample tasks, both centering on the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, show how complex text can be used with students at different levels.
Resource Notice
This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.
Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.
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Abstract:
This guide provides a roadmap to building career pathways systems at the state level.
Publication Year
2014
A career pathway is a series of connected education and training programs, work experiences, and student support services that enable individuals to secure a job or advance in a demand industry or occupation. This guide provides a step-by-step process for creating career pathways. The primary audience for this guide is education and training institutions that are jointly responsible for designing and building seamless career pathway systems that ensure individual students and jobseekers get jobs in the driving sectors of their local economies.
The Colorado career pathways model assumes that pathways are driven out of emerging and existing sector partnerships. Sector partnerships bring together employers, at a regional level, from the same industry with the education, training and other community support programs needed to implement solutions and services that ensure the target industry thrives.
The model consists of 17 steps in five areas:
Part I: Build the Sector Partnership
1. Defining the Scope of Your Sector Partnership
2. Preparing to Launch Your Sector Partnership
3. Holding Your Launch Meeting
4. Organizing the Aftermath
Part II: Reveal the Sector’s Talent Landscape
5. Understand the Industry’s Critical Occupations
6. Develop a Rough (Not perfect!) Inventory of Education and Training Programs
7. Get the Real Story from Employers
Part III: Act Now and Lay the Groundwork for the Long Term
8. Do Something Now about Specific Critical Occupation Shortages
9. Organize Jobs by Skill Sets and Levels
10. Deeply Understand the Underlying Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)
11. Turn Your Rough Education and Training Inventory into a Refined Asset Map
Part IV: Build a System for Continuous Talent Generation and Career Mobility
12. Apply KSAs in as Many Ways as Possible
13. Turn Your Education and Training Asset Map into a Clear Skill Attainment Map
14. Market It For All Audiences
15. Create Your Career Pathway Action Plan
Part V: Ensure Your Career Pathway has Owners and a Home: Your Sector Partnership
16. Transition to Implementation
17. Sustainable Implementation
Guidance is provided to help users decide where to begin in the process.
What the experts say
Creating Career Pathways in Colorado: A Step-by-Step Guide will help practitioners understand how to organize jobs by skill sets and levels and understand that each occupation has specific knowledge and skills sets assigned to it. This is a great tool for facilitating meetings with employers to get down to the grassroots level on skills sets and occupational career ladders, which is very much needed in the field.
This guide could be used in case studies of adult work-related education, in a study circle in other kinds of professional development for administrators or industry educators. Many useful action steps and substantive examples are provided in the guide.
The guide is founded on a partnership concept consisting of multiple components including partners (strategic partners, industry members, and convener), a career pathway system, and an industry cluster. These components all interact with each other to create a partnership for success.
Resource Notice
This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.
Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.
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Abstract:
The main goal of the project, “is to inspire, educate and empower teachers of mathematics, transforming the latest research on math learning into accessible and practical forms.” The site provides research-based methods, tasks, videos, and ideas which aim to inspire teachers and empower students.
Resource URL
Publication Year
2015
Youcubed is a project of Stanford University, Graduate School of Education. The main goal of the project, “is to inspire, educate and empower teachers of mathematics, transforming the latest research on math learning into accessible and practical forms.” The site provides research-based methods, tasks, videos, and ideas which aim to inspire teachers and empower students.
The youcubed tasks have been gathered from a variety of highly reputable sources including mathematics teachers, publishers, and curriculum writers from organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Each discrete instructional task is tagged by--
Benefits and Uses
The tasks are interesting and engaging and connected to the Standards for Mathematical Practice. While focused at K-12, the tasks are, for the most part, applicable to adult education classrooms. Some tasks may require adaptations for the adult audience.
The tasks are reliable, free tools for instructors to use in overcoming several barriers to learning mathematics that adult students may bring with them to the classroom. These include mathematics anxiety, low self-efficacy in mathematics ability, learning limitations that come with aging, and fixed mindset beliefs.
The tasks complement a traditional mathematics curriculum. The actual tasks are intended to be engaging activities that require students to actively participate and work together. In the activities, students are actively involved in trying to score points, win a challenge, or accomplish a larger goal. They involve finding patterns, or attempting a strategy, or developing reasoning to solve a problem.
The tasks use the common notation (for example, “MP.2”) to link to the Mathematical Practices employed in a task although it is not always made clear how the task accomplishes this connection to the identified standards. Each task also has a discussion group link which can be used to pose questions or raise issues in connection to the individual tasks.
The tasks contain all of the information that is required to complete a task including an opening page that provides directions for starting the task, additional resources that help implement the task and handouts where appropriate.
Teachers are able to use the search options described in the abstract above to choose the tasks that are most appropriate for their students.
Resource Notice
This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites.
Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.