Every year, First Literacy hosts a free mini-conference to showcase the year’s First Literacy Lab Grant Recipients and their projects, and share their results with the field.

First Literacy Lab grants support educators who want to test new ways to serve the adult learners in their classrooms and broaden access. They encourage the innovation, trial and implementation of creative ABE and ESOL resources and practices that traditional funding sources do not support.

At this year's event via Zoom Webinar, the First Literacy Lab 2021 Grant Recipients below will share the resources and initiatives they developed and implemented with this award, and that you can put to work in your classrooms. PLEASE NOTE: Your Zoom Webinar link will be included in your automatic registration confirmation. Please watch your email!

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Rima Rudd, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Health Literacy: Shared Responsibility

Dr. Rima Rudd has been a member of the faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health for over thirty years. Her teaching and policy work are focused on health disparities and barriers to health information, services and programs. With the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy her focus was on Health Literacy and she was involved in establishing Learning Circles for Adult Educators. She has worked closely with government sectors in the United States, England, Ireland, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand and served on the original health literacy committee for the National Academies of Science and currently serves on the Round Table on Health Literacy. Her affiliation with the Institute for Health Care Advancement provides a strong grounding in health literacy practice. She is a recognized leader in the field of health literacy and is the recipient of several U.S. National Health Literacy Awards.

2021 First Literacy Lab Grant Recipient Programs and Presenters:

Adding Kahoot! 
Gilbert Albert Community Center (GACC) - Dorchester
Presenter: Tom MacDonald
The GACC teaching staff intentionally and carefully integrated the Kahoot educational app into Literacy, Beginner and Low Intermediate levels of ESOL instruction.

ACCESS ESOL 
International Institute of New England (IINE) – Boston 
Presenter: Natalie Patalano
IINE in Boston developed online infrastructure for remote make-up classes simultaneously with a system to closely track student attendance data. The new online infrastructure allowed students to practice English at home in a way that complemented in-class learning. The program was designed to mitigate enrollment and attendance barriers by providing online make-up sessions to students who are unable to attend in-person classes on a regular basis. 

Evening ESOL Tutoring for Low-Income Students
International Institute of New England (IINE) – Lowell 
Presenter: Sherry Spaulding
IINE recruited and trained ten volunteers to deliver individualized evening ESOL tutoring in Lowell to ten new ESOL students. The program served low-income, early-status refugees and immigrants who face barriers to accessing traditional day time ESOL classes due to childcare responsibilities, work schedules, or mobility or transportation issues by delivering individualized remote evening ESOL tutoring in one-hour sessions twice per week. 

Identifying Misinformation in the News 
Mujeres Unidas Avanzando (MUA) - Boston 
Presenter: Catie Shalvey
MUA sought to raise students’ awareness of the importance of verifying information, relying on trusted sources, and supporting claims with evidence while meeting the English language, digital literacy, and College and Career Readiness standards outlined in MUA's ESOL Program’s Scope and Sequence. The final result was a student-produced “newsletter,” demonstrating student progress in English writing, grammar, and vocabulary, while applying the knowledge they acquired to verify information and share opinions.

TEAMS Teacher Mentoring  
The Care Center and Holyoke Community College Adult Learning Center - Holyoke 
Presenter: Allison Reid
With this project the Care Center sought to create a culture of educator growth and support in two HSE programs. The short term goal was to help teachers develop a goal they identified to improve their teaching practice, then to pilot a new model for teacher mentoring more broadly. 

The Connection Project: Multi-Media Blogging for English Language Learners 
YMCA of Greater Boston – International Learning Center - Boston
Presenters: Grace Murry and Sarah Poole 
The YMCA ILC established a class to help students explore personal expression through digital media. The ultimate result, titled “The Connection Project,” is a website where students can browse other students’ work and share it across different platforms. Students learned various types of digital media including personal essays, photography, podcasting, and video editing. 

PLEASE NOTE: This FREE event is via Zoom webinar. 
Your Zoom link will be included in your automatic registration confirmation. Please watch your email!

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