Teacher Training Plus Grows in Second Year to Meet Instructional Needs

Within the Sacramento Public Library’s adult literacy services, in California, Library Associate Laura Martinez helps manage tutors who are paired with adults studying for the GED or HiSET high school equivalency tests or working to improve their math or basic literacy skills.

She provides the tutors there with training, recommendations, materials, and ongoing support. She’s found our Teacher Training Plus series invaluable to her ability to do this in a meaningful way.

Building on the success of the first year, Teacher Training Plus was presented again last year, adding more training webinars, more follow-up coaching sessions, and a revised menu of topics to meet the current needs of adult education instructors.

Laura was among the 767 professionals who attended at least one of our webinars. She said the topics align closely with the needs of the tutors at the Sacramento Public Library.

“I’ve been able to recommend the techniques and strategies that were mentioned in those webinars to some of our tutors,” she said. “The information is completely relevant.”

For her GED and HiSET tutors, Teacher Training Plus helped Laura fulfill a need she’s been struggling with for years.

She always tells her tutors to find additional readings in which students can apply the strategies they’ve learned in the lessons. But she’s never had a great list of recommended reading to give them.

Each of our 18 webinars was followed by small group coaching sessions to give attendees a chance to go deeper with the presenter on what was covered in the webinar and to ask specific questions on how to apply what was taught into their own programs.

In a coaching session following a training on reading comprehension, Laura was able to ask presenter Kara Krawiec her question about suggested readings.

Kara emailed Laura an entire list of readings that she has found may even appear on the GED or HiSET tests.

“The webinars, for me … I tend to kind of soak in the information, and then as I’m listening to the webinar, I’m thinking about questions, but then the coaching sessions give me a chance to articulate those questions,” she said. “You can get personal interaction specific to your program.”