Background

While it is commonly recognized that some form of postsecondary education and training is critical for workers to succeed in the global economy, there is a limited availability of courses that bridge basic skills instruction to postsecondary opportunities and support adults’ advancement along career pathways. This new activity, Designing Instruction for Career Pathways, will assist state and local adult education providers in developing and delivering classes that enable low-skilled adults to progress on a career pathway in addition to preparing them for success in postsecondary education. The project will also efficiently leverage previous Department investments to support the transition of low-skilled adults to postsecondary education.

Overview

DTI Associates, under contract with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, is creating technical assistance resources that support ED's goals for increasing the quantity and quality of available career pathways instructional programming for low-skilled adults. DTI is subcontracting with the Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD) to assist the delivery of outcomes and products. The project period runs from September 2010 to September 2013.

Project Milestones

• Convene a technical workgroup comprised of a cross-section of adult education and workforce development stakeholder groups
• Establish an electronic professional learning community of practice
• Five Webinars

Outcomes and Products

• Convene subject matter work groups and produce three policy briefs
• Create a collection of online resources for career pathways in adult education to include sample courses and “how to“ resources that address key topics
• E-Newsletters designed to update state and local adult educators on the resources in the collection and how to use them.
• Calendar of events noteworthy to adult education career pathway implementers
• Presentations at national, regional, and/or state conferences/workshops and training events
• Multimedia social networking applications that provide opportunities for ongoing collaborative learning.

Contact:

Tanya Shuy

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