ACES: Academic, Career &
Employability Skills
LENKA BRAGG
PATRICIA SHAPIRO-SOYDANSER
HEATHER TURNGREN
ACES - Overview
 ATLAS (ABE Teaching & Learning Advancement System)
project to advance transitions instruction for all ABE
learners in Minnesota
 Transitions = transitioning learners to post-
secondary or employment
 National and State initiatives
 ACES cohort included 3 base groups of 24 teachers
ACES – Professional Development
 Integration of ACES framework into existing
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curriculum from January - May
Readings in transition areas and research
Video observations and tasks
Moodle instructional modules
Online discussions with base groups and facilitators
Lesson planning
2 peer observations
Final group presentations
ACES Transitions Integration Framework
 Career Literacy / Awareness
 Critical Thinking
 Effective Communication
 Language and Learning Strategies
 Navigating and Understanding One’s Environment
 Numeracy
 Self-Management
 Technology
ACES Framework: Focused, Intentional Tool for
Lesson Planning.
Questions I ask myself when I plan my lessons:
 How can I address the eight areas of the framework?
 What activities will help my students in their jobs or their
academic futures?
Career Literacy/ Awareness
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Conduct mock job interviews
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Research jobs with MnCareers Books
(www.iseek.com)
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Integrate grammar into filling out job accident
report forms
Critical Thinking
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Incorporate higher order questions
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Compare, contrast and evaluate prices based on
information from flyers
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Compare money matters in the U.S. and your country
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Scavenger Hunt to predict the topic of the lesson
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Evaluate different community resources and decide
which is most useful
Effective Communication
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Use sentence strips to match symptoms and
illnesses
Games
Role play symptoms, guess illness
Partners A/B exchange information
Partners share one worksheet
Jigsaw reading
Practice taking on various team roles (scribe, time
keeper, speaker, etc.)
Language and Learning Strategies
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Use graphic organizers (Venn Diagram, grid,
schedule, T-chart)
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Read for specific purpose
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Scan community resources
Navigating and Understanding One’s Environment
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Discuss the importance of job accident report forms
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Fill out a checking account application, checks,
withdrawal forms
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Discuss advantages and disadvantages of using credit
cards vs. cash
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Indentify a personal need, contact a community
resource
Numeracy
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Compare unit prices
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Fill out a withdrawal form
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Calculate age
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Calculate how many times you can get a
prescription refill
Self-Management
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Organize class materials in 3-ring binders per
established order
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Use a calendar to track attendance and important
dates
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Track CASAS test scores using graphs
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Set specific learning goals
Technology
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Scan documents and project them in class
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Use technology to locate information and
communicate
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Endless opportunities
Patricia’s ACES Work
Participants’ Feedback
ACES helped with:
 lesson planning focused on framework
 lessons being more intentional
 lessons that were more focused
 a focus on how to teach, not what to teach
 transforming teaching
 making students become more self-sufficient and self
motivated
 engaging students
Participants’ Feedback
ACES is …
 holistic and purposeful
 a ‘mindset’ change not a curriculum
 tailored to all levels
 a way to make your teaching more intentional and
deliberate
 a toolbox for teaching
ACES is…
ACES is…
ACES is…
Future of ACES
 ACES Integration Framework will be adjusted with
recommendations of ACES Participants and ACES
Advisory Group
 ACES Participants will present in their
programs/sites
 Plan is for state-wide use by all ABE teachers in
Minnesota in future
 Other states are interested in the ACES Framework