Introducing an Open-Access ESL, History, Civics, Digital Skills Curriculum

Session 2: 1:00pm-2:00pm (Friday March 07, 2025)

 

Description

English learners join adult education classes to achieve various goals, such as strengthening their academic English, developing digital skills, and understanding the systems and history of their new home (especially if they plan to pursue citizenship). We have developed a 16-module curriculum that integrates English, U.S. history, civics knowledge and digital skills. The first module builds foundational digital skills. In the following 15 modules exploring U.S. society and history, we focus on (i) expanding learners’ academic vocabulary, (ii) building on their existing knowledge and linguistic skills (iii) fostering critical thinking, in-depth analysis and real-world application. Each module can take 6-8 hours and can be taught in person and online. In this presentation, we will introduce this free, open-access curriculum along with the video tutorials and educator resources designed to help develop foundational digital skills.

Presenters

Lead Presenter Bio Photo

Aydin Durgunoglu

University if Minnesota Duluth

Aydin Y Durgunoglu is a cognitive/educational psychologist and a professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth, conducting research on language and literacy development, bilingualism, cross language transfer and knowledge acquisition. She is the project leader for CILIA-T. In addition to teaching at the university, she has worked as an ESL teacher, literacy instructor and has developed adult literacy and women’s empowerment programs in Turkiye.

CoPresenter Bio Photo

Erin Cary

Metro North ABE, Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth

Erin Cary, MA ESL (she/her), has worked in adult education since 2009 as a teacher, administrator, and in curriculum writing and professional development. She currently teaches beginner ELLs for Metro North ABE in Brooklyn Center, MN, along with creating content and coordinating development of the CILIA-T project. She is a co-founder of the teacher/learner self-advocacy movement #IamABE, which supports equity work and activism in MN adult education.

Lead Presenter Bio Photo

Leah Hauge

Literacy Minnesota

Leah Hauge is the Northstar Curriculum Manager at Literacy Minnesota and leads the development of digital literacy learning resources to support students and educators at over 3000 Northstar sites worldwide. She holds an MAT from Hamline University, an ESL teaching license, and certification in Instructional Design. She has 15 years of experience in education as a classroom teacher, program manager, and curriculum developer.

Type of Presentation

Demonstration (60 Minutes)

Audience

  • Teachers
  • Administrators

Program Strands

  • Adult Secondary Education
  • English as a Second Language

Category Strands

  • Ensuring Equity and Access
  • Digital Learning Foundations
  • Online Engagement and Assessment