Administrators and Teachers

Special Programs

Special Programs are short-term projects which the AALRC participates in with Adult Education programs, Literacy Councils and grant-related funding sources. The funding for these projects comes from a variety of sources which are outside the normal AALRC budgeted programs.

Often, the AALRC directs and participates in programs for adult education and literacy during the pilot phase of new developments. This effort provides staffing, materials and facilities during the experimental phase of a project and prior to receiving funding and/or resources from other areas outside the AALRC.

Grants are of particular interest to the AALRC, and we encourage adult education and literacy providers to include the Resource Center in the developmental stage of grant writing. 

AmeriCorps Life Coach Project

In 2020, Arkansas Adult Learning Resource Center (AALRC) began operating the AmeriCorps Life Coach Project which places service volunteers at adult education programs in locations in the state. These members provide life coaching to students and recruit volunteers and students in order to promote sustainability within adult education after their service term has expired.

AmeriCorps Members, serving as Life Coaches, will help Arkansans who struggle economically and lack either basic skills or have limited education backgrounds. Through this service and experience, members will make an impact on people’s economic futures. Additionally, members will gain important skills and knowledge for themselves that can help in future work endeavors. 

Arkansas Reads

 

 

SPECIAL PROGRAMS  

Center (AALRC) began operating the AmeriCorps Life Coach Project, which placed service volunteers at adult education programs in locations in the state. These members provided life coaching to students and recruited volunteers and students to promote sustainability within adult education after their service term had expired.

 

AmeriCorps Life Coach Project is now undertaken by Arkansas Reads. AmeriCorps Members, serving as Literacy and Workforce Tutors, will help Arkansans who struggle economically and lack either basic skills or have limited educational backgrounds. AmeriCorps Members are placed in service sites within Literacy Councils and Adult Education Centers around the state. Through this service and experience, members will make an impact on people’s economic futures. For the next three years, members will be responsible for providing services to 250 students annually to increase their literacy level and employability skills. Additionally, members will gain important skills and knowledge that can help in future work endeavors.

 

The Digital Resilience in the American Workforce (DRAW) initiative prepares adult education practitioners who support learners who struggle to fully engage in tasks that demand digital technologies. The DRAW Professional Development Pilot will train instructors and state leads on integrating DRAW materials, methods, activities, and tools into their programs and professional development training. Information on this project can be found by clicking here. Arkansas Adult Education was chosen to participate in the Second Co-Hort.

 

The Teaching the Skills That Matter in Adult Education project (TSTM) trains teachers to integrate the skills that matter to adult students using approaches that work across critical topics. Adult education teachers can use the project’s tools and training to teach the transferable skills students need in these critical contexts.

 

Participants in each cohort were exposed to practical applications for integrating TSTM concepts into standard lesson plans. Through a series of applicable formats, educators were shown how TSTM, which closely relates to contextualized learning, is weaved into the most basic teaching methodologies.

 

The 9 skills that matter are:

  • Adaptability & willingness to learn
  • Communication
  • Critical thinking
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Navigating systems
  • Problem solving
  • Processing & analyzing information
  • Respecting differences & diversity
  • Self-awareness

 

The 5 topic areas are:

  • Civics education
  • Digital literacy
  • Financial literacy
  • Health literacy
  • Workforce preparation

 

The 3 approaches that work are:

  • Integrated & contextualized learning
  • Problem-based learning
  • Project-based learning