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Pre-CAEL Conference
CAEL’s Pre-Conference Workshops
November 8-9, 2010
Monday, November 8: 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. (Dinner included)
Tuesday, November 9: 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (Lunch included)
PLA 101 Workshops provide the basic “nuts and bolts” of how to design and implement PLA at colleges and universities. These 1½ day workshops will help institutions design and implement a program that is both attractive to students and consistent with high academic standards. The overall goal of the CAEL PLA 101 workshop is to provide faculty and practitioners who are new to PLA programs with the understanding and tools they need to begin to build, or develop and expand PLA programs that will benefit adult learners in their institutions. Participants will also be better prepared to be internal advocates within their own colleges and universities for establishing principles of good practice. A secondary goal for the PLA 101 Workshop is to build a national network of skilled and informed PLA professionals who can provide leadership within higher education on the importance of CAEL standards for good practice in prior learning assessment.
At the completion of the workshop, participants will:
- Understand the principles and value of experiential learning.
- Deepen their understanding of the history and development of prior learning assessment in higher education.
- Be able to advance the CAEL principles of best practice in prior learning assessment.
- Become familiar with the steps, tools and procedures in the PLA process with an emphasis on Portfolio Development.
- Be able to articulate the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the PLA process.
- Gain a better understanding of the administrative principles of prior learning assessment.
- Be able to articulate to various audiences the value of prior learning assessment.
- Be able to bypass the first workshop in the CAEL PLA online workshop and, with possible supplemental work, begin with workshop two in the online course.
Facilitator: Patricia DeWees, Ohio University
November 9, 2010
8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (Lunch included)
Advising Adult Learners
Adults learn differently, face different issues related to work-life balance, and may have access to different financial aid sources than their younger counterparts. In this one-day workshop you will learn to respond to the needs of adult learners and receive a toolkit of resources for advisors and students.
As a participant in this workshop you will:
- Become familiar with adult learning theory and how to adapt your interactions with students
- Understand the characteristics and needs of the adult learner
- Learn about the use of assessments in the advising process
- Deepen your understanding of the labor market as it relates to your students
- Gain knowledge about career pathways and how to succeeds and falls short nin serving adult learners
- Identify the areas in which your institution succeeds and falls short in serving adult learners
- Gain an overview of Prior Learning Assessment and its relevance to adult learners
- Become familiar with a variety of resources related to advising adult students from financial aid to career exploration
Facilitator: Dorothy Wax, Director of CAEL Career Services
November 9, 2010
8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (Lunch included)
Defining College-Level Learning
Each institution struggles with its operational definition for college-level learning while upholding academic quality standards. Identifying student knowledge from experience requires a unique blend of pedagogy and coaching techniques.
In this ½ day workshop, you will have the opportunity to “go beyond the basics” and, using best practices in PLA, explore the meaning of college-level learning from a theoretical and practical perspective.
As a participant in this workshop you will:
- Identify college-level learning imbedded in student experiences throughout academic disciplines
- Utilize models, rubrics and coaching techniques that move students beyond experience to articulating a knowledge base.
- Examine faculty assessor criteria for college-level learning
- Increase student retention and success
Facilitator: Theresa Hoffmann, PLA Consultant
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Issues in Portfolio Assessment of Experiential Learning
This ½ day Pre-conference Workshop will address some of the most commonly asked questions in the establishment of a portfolio assessment program and/or in the evaluation and revision of policies and procedures for the valid and reliable assessment of college-level learning. Small collaborative groups and experienced practitioners will address policy and procedure development including:
- Student advising for portfolio preparation
- Criteria for selection of faculty, faculty ‘buy-in’ and training
- Financial models, student fees and faculty compensation
Participants will have the opportunity to discuss each of these three topics with colleagues and the facilitators.
The workshop facilitators are practitioners from several of the institutions whose models are featured in Prior Learning Portfolios: A Representative Collection (2009) a CAEL publication by Denise M. Hart and Jerry H. Hickerson.
At the completion of the workshop participants will:
- Have information about various prior learning assessment options available to students
- Identify the characteristics of expert portfolio evaluators
- Know strategies for faculty ‘buy-in’
- Have examples for outlining a faculty training model and content
- Have models and rationale for student fees, faculty compensation and related financial issues
- Have a variety of examples for policies and procedures for the development or revision of a portfolio assessment program at their own institutions.
Facilitators: Denise M. Hart (leader) Fairleigh Dickinson University; Dianne Conrad, Athabasca University; Karen Conzett, Ashford University; Linda Fonte, St. Joseph’s College; Susan Gunn, St. Edward’s University; Jerry Merwin & Ellen Dallman, Valdosta State University; Nan Travers, Empire State College.
For more information, please contact Kelsey Irish, Meetings/Membership Manager, at kirish@cael.org
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