Join us at the 2026 Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Don’t miss out on our sessions!
Exploring GenAI in Adult Education: Building Instructor Capacity through Ethical and Experiential Design
This session invites educators to critically and creatively explore the role of generative AI (GenAI) in supporting instruction. Through hands-on engagement with Playlab, participants will explore and interact with AI-powered bots for learners and instructors, including a numeracy tutor bot. The session emphasizes responsible use, ethical design, and the importance of instructor agency. Attendees will leave with practical tools, design frameworks, and deeper insight into how GenAI can support, not replace, human-centered teaching.
Date & Time
April 12, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EST
Speakers
Ann Edwards, Director, Carnegie Math Pathways
Lewis Hosie, Development and Implementation Director, Carnegie Math Pathways
Location:
Room 102
Facilitating Purposeful and Productive Mathematics Discourse with Adult Learners
Learn strategies to facilitate purposeful and productive mathematics discourse that leads to students’ enhanced mathematical understanding. First, you will participate in an engaging mathematics lesson that illustrates key features of effective mathematics teaching practices, including mathematics discourse. Then you will analyze videos from actual adult basic education classrooms and plan strategies to transform your classroom. You will leave this workshop with curricular materials, tools, and resources that you can use to strengthen your mathematics teaching.
Date & Time:
April 12, 2026, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EST
Speakers:
Brent Jackson, Research Associate, WestEd
Haley McNamara, Research Associate, Carnegie Math Pathways
Location:
White River Ballroom I
From Design to Impact: Exploring the Adult Numeracy in the Digital Era (ANDE) Learning Experience
For many adult learners, mathematics poses challenges to their conceptions of themselves as math learners that call for innovative and responsive instruction. This session focuses on strategies for creating broad environments that support positive learning mindsets in mathematics. Drawing from the PD program of Adult Numeracy in the Digital Era, a project developing a technology-enabled mathematics course, participants experience and reflect on research-based routines designed to foster collaboration and authentic discourse and promote learning mindsets.
Date & Time
April 13, 2026, 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST
Speakers:
Ann Edwards, Director, Carnegie Math Pathways
Lewis Hosie, Development and Implementation Director, Carnegie Math Pathways
Location:
White River Ballroom B
Practical Solutions from Research: Digital Tools to Support Teaching and Learning from the CREATE Network
The CREATE Adult Skills Network’s six research projects have explored innovations that address the needs of adult learners through technology-enabled instruction and assessment. Session attendees will learn about and use the different edtech tools to understand how they support aspects such as personalized assessments, leverage AI, boost access to open/free digital content, promote digital learning, and creatively use technology to support math, writing, reading, and civics education.
Date & Time:
April 13, 2026, 3:50 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST
Speakers:
Amanda Ahlstrand, Managing Director, American Institutes for Research
Ann Edwards, Director, Carnegie Math Pathways
Stephanie Cronen, Managing Researcher, American Institutes for Research
Daphne Greenberg, Associate Professor, Georgia State University; Director, Adult Literacy Research Center
John Sabatini, Research Professor, The University of Memphis
Stephen Sireci, Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Elizabeth Tighe, Associate Professor, Georgia State University; Assistant Director, Adult Literacy Research Center
Jen Vanek, Director of Digital Learning & Research, World Education
Location:
Room 205
