2024 Symposium

Session descriptions: 

Strategies for Engaging Adult Learners Through the Language Experience Approach
Presenters: Abbey Weathers & Jamie McAllister 
The Language Experience Approach (LEA) is a tutoring method that uses a learner’s personal experiences to help them develop literacy skills. Through LEA, tutors can create meaningful connections between adult learners’ experiences and literacy, fostering both skill development and personal growth. This method not only enhances their ability to read, write, and comprehend, but also supports learners in achieving their personal goals. In this session, you will learn how to use your adult learners’ goals and experiences to assist them in making literacy and life skill gains.

Talent Pipeline Management ® (TPM) Strategies for Adult Education
Presenter: Michael Evans
Getting a job is a major motivation for many adult learners. This session will explore how adult education providers can partner with employers to create career pathways for adult learners and workers utilizing the Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) framework. This employer-led approach to talent development is being implemented across Michigan and throughout the country. Local applications of TPM, such as the Edison Early Childhood Education Career Pathway, will be shared along with plans to expand to other high-demand industry sectors in the region. Best practices to support workforce efforts and partnerships will also be shared.

Parent Literacy Together: A Multi-Generational Approach to Learning
Presenter: Michael Evans
Parents are the first teachers of their children, and helping their children read is a critical part of parenting. This session will provide an overview of the multi-generational learning model that drives the Parent Literacy Together program developed by the KlC in collaboration with the Adult Education and Training Program at Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan. The unique feature of this program is incorporating adult learning goals that correlate with College and Career Readiness Standards for adult education into family literacy activities. Examples that will be shared include lessons for weekly Parent Literacy Together classes, multi-generational learning strategies for interactive StoryWalk® exhibits and storytelling, and how this model will be applied to create curricular materials for the new Literacy Lane mural in the Edison neighborhood.

Adult Learners’ Roadmap to Digital Literacy
Presenters: Jessi Pavey & Julie Hyatt
Empower your adult learners as they map a path down the digital highway. Using this roadmap of successfully tested tools and techniques, we will explore courses through Typing.com, use the Northstar Digital Literacy assessment, as well as take a look at hands-on activities created by the Kalamazoo Literacy Council. Get ready to take a ride with us as we show you our full course created specifically with the adult learner in mind, and designed to give you the keys to success.

Strategic Goal Setting with S.M.A.R.T. Goals and a Growth Mindset
Presenter: Dr. Esther Gray
Personalized goal setting and follow-through transmit power to the literacy development of adult readers. KLC learners work hard to strengthen their reading skills, and we can enable them to improve their effectiveness when we teach them clear ways to set and meet achievable goals. This session offers structure for tutors to use in coaching their readers to set, carry out, and evaluate their personalized literacy goals, both short-term and long-term. We will incorporate the well-researched Growth Mindset approach of Carol Dweck to enhance the process.

50 Years of Empowerment Through Literacy
Facilitator: Michael Evans
The panel will discuss the development of partnership efforts among the Kalamazoo Literacy Council, Western Michigan University, and the Edison Neighborhood. Dr. Cooney has been engaged with the community since his arrival at WMU in the late 1970s. He will discuss some of the projects he has participated in and how he sees the Edison partnership progressing. Lisa Garcia is the co-facilitator of the WMU/KLC Advisory Board, a multi-faceted group of university faculty, KLC staff, and Fellows who meet monthly to discuss the progress of projects, plan events, and outline implementation needs. Raymond Gant is a long-time resident of the Edison neighborhood and a direct descendent of the architect, mason, and builder Albert White. He will discuss the efforts by KLC, WMU, and DHCS to commemorate the life and accomplishments of Albert White. He will also discuss how the family perceives the work of the partnership.

Everyone Needs To Read: Empowered Learner Voices
Presenters: Michael Evans & Kito Jumanne-Marshall
Join us for a dynamic session where we highlight the creation and evolution of the Kalamazoo Literacy Council’s public awareness campaign. Presenters will share what it means when we say “Everyone Needs To Read to excel at work, teach their kids, and keep their family healthy.” We will also discuss the importance of incorporating the empowered perspective of the adult learner – whose stories are the heart and soul of what we do – in brand communications and programming. Attendees will gain insights into their unique experiences, plus tools and techniques to advocate for learner-centered approaches in literacy programs.