There are five social emotional skills included in the Skills for Success. What are they and how do they affect a person’s life outcomes? This breakout session looks at the importance of developing soft skills with adult learners, through the lens of Ontario's Literacy and Basic Skills program. Learn how practitioners are teaching these important skills and hear inspirational testimonies from the learners themselves.

Presenter:

Catherine Toovey is the Executive Director of Community Literacy of Ontario, a provincial support organization that serves over 100 community-based Literacy and Basic Skills programs across the province. Catherine is passionate about literacy as a basic human right.

Learning Objectives:

• To look at the new Skills for Success and examine the importance of the five soft skills
• To share instructional design strategies that enhance learning and to explore techniques for customizing instruction for diverse learning settings
• Participants will feel confident to start using the Skills for Success with their learners

Primary Session Thread: Skills for Success

Target Audience: Community Adult Learning Program Staff, Adult Literacy Practitioner

Recommended Participant Experience: Any level of experience

This session will take attendees through Canadian Suicide statistics and the Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) Method. The key components of this training include:

• How to Question, Persuade and Refer someone who may be suicidal
• The common causes of suicidal behaviour
• The warning signs of suicide
• How to get help for someone in crisis

Presenters:

Natasha Bozek is an Animator with the Rural Mental Health Project and is also a Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention trainer in addition to her work in adult learning.

Lacey Abt is the FCSS Coordinator in Consort and is an Animator with the Rural Mental Health Project and a Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention trainer.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will better understand the signs of suicide and how to support someone who may be suicidal by using the QPR Method
• Participants will learn about the QPR Method, the common causes of suicidal behaviour, warning signs of suicide, and how to get help for someone in a crisis
• Participants will have a better understanding of Canadian suicide statistics, causes of suicidal behaviour and warning signs of suicide, and will learn the QPR Method and how to implement it if you think someone may be suicidal

Primary Session Thread: Mental Health & Learning

Target Audience: Community Adult Learning Program Staff, Adult Literacy Practitioner, Family Literacy Program Practitioner, Board Members of Community Adult Learning Program, Volunteer Tutor

Recommended Participant Experience: Any level of experience

Facilitation and program evaluation are two words that can make people very nervous! This session will cover the goals of both, why they are important to programs, and ways to plan for them. Participants will also do hands on activities that can be incorporated into their own facilitation and evaluation.

Presenters:

Katie Johnson is the Northwest Territories (NWT) Literacy Council Program Director. She has worked with the NWT Literacy Council since 2012, working on Family, Youth and Adult Literacy projects in partnership with communities around the NWT.

Charlotte Upton has worked with the NWT Literacy Council since 2015, in many roles including Family and Youth Literacy. She is now the Senior Project Specialist working on embedded Literacy and Skills for Success projects.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn tools and knowledge about program facilitation and evaluation
• Participants will learn about the goals of facilitation and program evaluation, as well as planning tools
• Participants will take away hands-on facilitation and evaluation activities that they can use in programs

Primary Session Thread: Facilitation Skills, Evaluation

Target Audience: Community Adult Learning Program Staff, Adult Literacy Practitioner, Family Literacy Program Practitioner, Volunteer Tutor

Recommended Participant Experience: Any level of experience

This session is designed to provide practitioners with the knowledge, tools, and strategies needed to incorporate anti-racism principles into their teaching and build inclusive learning spaces. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the impact of racism on learning, and how to promote equity and social justice within learning spaces.

Presenters:

Alana Johnson has been active in English language learning for 16 years as an EAL instructor and Workplace Essential Skills Specialist. She is currently the Program Lead of NorQuest College’s Alberta Routes Initiative.

Rosalia dela Cruz has been an English language practitioner for over 30 years, having worked as a teacher, curriculum developer, language assessor, and teacher trainer. She is currently a Regional Advisor for Alberta Routes.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn about how intentionally implementing anti-racism pedagogy into teaching practices and curricula is a powerful way towards creating safe spaces that are equitable, inclusive and allow all learners to flourish
• Participants will enhance their understanding of anti-racism in learning spaces as well as strategies for creating culturally effective teaching strategies
• Participants will take away practical strategies and a deeper understanding of how to integrate anti-racism principles into their teaching practices

Primary Session Thread: Inclusion, Diversity and Safer Spaces

Target Audience: Community Adult Learning Program Staff, Adult Literacy Practitioner, Volunteer Tutor

Recommended Participant Experience: Any level of experience

This session will explore the patterns that exist in English spelling and highlight activities to help new readers and spellers. If you work with learners with a low level of literacy and/or learners who are learning English as an additional language, this session will help you help them tackle English spelling.

Presenter:

Danielle McArthur has been teaching and training teachers for over 40 years both in Canada and overseas. She currently works with CALP in St. Paul and loves to create workshops that are active, creative and useful.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn how to lessen anxiety in learners and instructors as they climb the mountain of English spelling
• Participants will learn about and practice learning activities that make English spelling patterns explicit for learners
• Participants will take away knowledge about English spelling patterns and how to increase learner awareness and decrease stress

Primary Session Thread: Adult Literacy

Target Audience: Community Adult Learning Program Staff, Adult Literacy Practitioner, Volunteer Tutor

Recommended Participant Experience: Any level of experience

Explore how free tech tools (such as Canva AI and MagicSchool.ai) can support you to create a linguistically inclusive class for foundational learners. We will introduce these user-friendly tools from a plain language & multilingual lens to help you communicate more effectively and clearly with your learners.

Presenters:

Leanne Adegbonmire is a Grants Liaison with Edmonton Community Adult Learning Association (ECALA) and a PhD candidate in Languages & Literacy Education at the University of Toronto. She is passionate about inclusive pedagogy, multilingual education, and technology.

Ella Ruth is the Communications Specialist with Edmonton Community Adult Learning Association (ECALA).

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be introduced to free digital tools that can be utilized to support foundational multilingual learners to be successful in any learning opportunity
• Participants will learn how to use AI-based tech tools to communicate with potential learners, create class materials, and reduce language barriers
• Participants will leave with guides to continue to use the tools introduced

Primary Session Thread: Digital Technology, Tools & Resources

Target Audience: Community Adult Learning Program Staff, Adult Literacy Practitioner

Recommended Participant Experience: Any level of experience

Join Brenda to explore her innovative approach to engaging your community. Aimed at uncovering the ‘how’ this presentation will help you feel comfortable in approaching the broader community for support.

Presenter:

Brenda Stanton has always had a passion for learning. Born in Olds and raised in the farming community of Wimborne, Brenda moved to the Rockies for a summer job following her first year of University. Following a career in tourism, Brenda has returned to her passion of learning and sharing her knowledge, instructing at a post secondary level both regionally and abroad. In 2021 Brenda took on the role of Executive Director of the Bow Valley Adult Learning Centre, serving the communities of Lake Louise, Banff, Canmore, Exshaw, Kananaskis and Mini Thni

Primary Session Threads: Community Capacity Building, Marketing

Target Audience: Community Adult Learning Program Staff, Adult Literacy Practitioner, Family Literacy Program Practitioner, Board Members of Community Adult Learning Program

Recommended Participant Experience: Any level of experience

CALP staff know that providing workplace training to employers in their community would help many of the adult learners they know. This type of programming is not easy and it takes time to open the right employer doors. This session will be a conversation that explores how to make these programs happen and how to be successful when CALPs are given the opportunity. Your facilitator has years of experience in workplace-based training and is eager to share what she has learned so far.

Presenter:

Sue Oguchi has a diverse background which includes instructing at both college and university language training centres as well as almost seven years in Japan as a school then corporate EFL instructor. It is this experience that led her to explore and use the essential skills framework. With this knowledge, she has used her expertise to bridge the essential skill gap in newcomer and Canadian-born workers by engaging employers, training instructors, developing curriculum and delivering employee training.

Learning Objectives:

• Employers and educators are different. Both want success for employees, but their reasons are often different. Employers want a stronger bottom line and educators want a more confident student with better skills
• Participants will learn how to meet the needs of both employers and employees. Topics will include: the structure of a needs assessment, the structure of a curriculum plan and a look at the underlying workplace expectations that may need to be addressed
• Participants will leave with tools to help them move the conversations forward with workplaces, including an example needs assessment and a curriculum development template

Primary Session Thread: Workplace Literacy

Target Audience: Community Adult Learning Program Staff, Adult Literacy Practitioner, Board Members of Community Adult Learning Program

Recommended Participant Experience: Any level of experience