Curriculum and instruction in high-quality IET programs are contextualized and relevant for students’ workforce-related objectives. Resources in this section support curriculum development and instructional strategies, including application and/or integration of the three required elements of IET design (i.e., workforce preparation, workforce training, adult education and literacy activities) and alignment with industry.
The first section of this page provides a listing of core elements of curriculum and instruction development and delivery; it includes non-instructional resources that provide guidance in this process. The second section of this page provides industry- and workplace-specific instructional resources that can be leveraged as you design your IET curriculum.
Non-Instructional Resources
Incorporating Core Components
The resources in Incorporating Core Components support high-quality instruction that integrates the three required elements: adult education and literacy, workforce preparation, and workforce training.
Developing an IET Syllabus: Key Elements
American Institutes for Research (2024)
From the ADVANCE IET initiative, this checklist is designed to support IET providers in developing a comprehensive, integrated syllabus that can serve as a roadmap for their IET students. To see how this checklist can be used to develop a syllabus, providers can examine the Patient Care Technician IET Sample Syllabus, also developed by the ADVANCE IET initiative.
Patient Care Technician IET Sample Syllabus
American Institutes for Research (2024)
From the ADVANCE IET initiative, this sample syllabus provides a model example of how to structure and communicate details to learners about the aims, expectations, and core skills components (industry specific, academic, and workplace skills) to be developed within a potential patient care technician course. The sample syllabus can be used as a template for building out similar syllabi for other IET courses and is built based on the Developing an IET Syllabus: Key Elements checklist, also developed as part of the ADVANCE IET initiative.
Developing Basic Skills Curriculum for IET
Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy (ISAL), Pennsylvania State University (2017)
The resource provides templates, guidance, and tools that will help practitioners plan, design, and implement the basic skills component of an IET curriculum. The resource is designed to enable Title II providers and their training partners to adapt existing curriculum and/or develop new basic skills curriculum to help adult education students successfully complete occupational skills training and move forward on a career path. The focus of this guide is on curriculum for basic skills training, not occupational skills training.
CALPRO/CASAS IET Webinar: Introduction to Designing a Single Set of Learning Objectives (and Associated Worksheet)
CALPRO (2019)
This webinar recording provides adult basic education professionals an overview of IET through the lens of Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) in California. The video also provides support for the process of creating a single set of learning objectives (SSLO) for IET or IELCE. This resource also includes an associated worksheet to support developing an SSLO.
Get There: Integrated Education and Training Single Set of Learning Outcomes
Institute for the Professional Development of Adult Educators (2021)
This resource provides a comprehensive set of integrated learning outcomes (i.e., a single set of learning objectives) for a variety of career pathways, including home health aides, certified nursing assistants, logistics and transportation specialists, and building trades and construction design technology. Some objective sets are designed specifically for ESOL and General Educational Development.
Minnesota Adult Education Professional Development YouTube Channel
Minnesota Adult Education and ATLAS (2018)
This YouTube channel includes multiple videos focused on IET programming, including IET course and objectives design (with an emphasis on developing a single set of learning objectives) and fostering employer and regional collaboration for adult career pathways.
Writing Quality Integrated Learning Outcomes
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
This resource outlines a collaborative planning process for developing integrated learning outcomes and assessment for an Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program. While specific to I-BEST, the steps outlined can be applied to the process of developing a single set of learning objectives for IET instruction.
Integrating Curriculum: Lessons for Adult Education from Career and Technical Education
MPR Associates, Inc. (2010)
This report examines integrated curriculum as a strategy that has been implemented in career and technical education programs in high schools and holds promise for preparing students for career advancement and training or postsecondary education.
Wisconsin Roadmap to IET
The Wisconsin Technical College System
The website provides background, guidance, and strategies for creating an IET program, integrating basic skills, and building workforce readiness into curriculum and instruction, along with links to a number of helpful resources for designing curriculum and instruction.
ICAPS (IET) Support Course Instructor Training
Illinois Integrated Career & Academic Preparation System (2022)
This instructor-focused training is designed to help IET teachers plan, expand, and strengthen their IET experiences for themselves and their students. The training incorporates videos and a corresponding note-taking guide to support implementation of IET best practices. Although the materials (video and note-taking guide) focus on Illinois, they should be easily adaptable and used by almost any IET instructor or program developer.
Industry Input
The resources in Industry Input support the knowledge, skills, and credentials required for employment in the sector, as identified by industry and employer experts.
Career Pathways Toolkit: An Enhanced Guide and Workbook for System Development
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Manhattan Strategy Group (2016)
The Career Pathways Toolkit includes writeable worksheets that can help state and program teams develop, maintain, and enhance career pathways systems and programs. Element 3 provides detailed guidance on leveraging industry input in designing IET curriculum.
Authentic Alignment/Credentials
The resources in Authentic Alignment/Credentials support connection to real-world work situations and responsiveness to industry needs.
Introduction to Stackable Credentials
Center for Occupational Research and Development In partnership with Social Policy Research Associates Prepared for The Stackable Credentials Expansion and Dissemination Initiative U.S. Department of Education Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (2021)
This resource encourages programs to consider stackable credentials as building blocks for industry-informed career pathways that maximize learners’ skills acquisition, investment of time and financial resources, and employability. It provides an organized introduction to the how and why of implementing stackable credentials, including how to engage employers, how to design a stackable credentials program, strategies for supporting student completion, and how to establish sound data management processes to sustain stackable credential programs.
Stackable Credentials Toolkit
Center for Occupational Research and Development in partnership with Social Policy Research Associates prepared for Community College Career and Technical Education Stackable Certificates Initiative, US Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (2018)
This toolkit gives comprehensive information about stackable credentials and how to implement them as an important part of training programs and credentialing, helping students progress along the education continuum while earning credentials with labor market value. This report explains how learners can exit a program for full-time employment and resume where they left off when they are ready to pursue the next level of credential or degree attainment or leverage their newly earned credential to secure an entry-level position in their chosen career field while continuing their education part time.
Future Skills Update and Literature Review
Institute for the Future (2016)
This paper explores the work skills that will be needed in the future and the ways in which educational institutions will need to more fully integrate them into workforce training.
Differing Types of Workplace Credentials
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) (2020)
This video explains the differences between certificates, certifications, degrees, and licenses. Understanding and correctly using workplace credential terminology will enhance communication with students, employers, workforce agencies, and community partners. Connected to this resource is a corresponding How do credentials differ? that also explains the differences between the four types of credentials.
Instructional Resources
The resources within this section can be used to support the development of IET curriculum. While most of these examples are not specifically designed for IET programming, they all provide industry-specific content and/or contextualized skill development aligned with the core components that support quality IET instruction.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing Contextualized Bridge Curriculum
Illinois Community College Board (2013)
This bridge curriculum includes a set of modules that include career awareness and academic skills contextualized to the manufacturing industry. The materials are appropriate for incorporation into an IET program or for supporting a bridge course, and they combine the three core components of IET instruction. The curriculum introduces key concepts and terminology as they are integrated into basic skills instruction.
Manufacturing Bridge Semester 1 Lesson Plans for Reading & Writing
City Colleges of Chicago and Women Employed (2018)
This comprehensive bridge curriculum includes 16 lessons designed to improve the basic reading and writing skills of adult basic education students at the sixth- to eighth-grade literacy level or above. Each lesson incorporates key manufacturing issues that are relevant to their lives and the manufacturing field.
Manufacturing Bridge Semester 2 Lesson Plans for Reading & Writing
City Colleges of Chicago and Women Employed (2018)
This comprehensive bridge curriculum includes 16 lessons designed to improve the basic reading and writing skills of adult secondary education students at the ninth-grade literacy level or above. Each lesson incorporates key manufacturing issues that are relevant to their lives and the manufacturing field.
English for Factory Workers
College of Southern Idaho (2014)
This resource includes instructor and student materials and was designed to improve the language skills of employees in the food processing industry. However, it is applicable across a wide variety of manufacturing industries and is also useful as a general introductory ESL training course. The curriculum includes a needs analysis, pre- and post-tests, and eight ESL modules that focus on improving workplace English communication and understanding.
Health Sciences
CNA Integrated Education and Training
Iowa Adult Education and Literacy (2023)
This openly licensed course built within the Canvas learning management system is specifically designed for IET programming to help students pass their certified nursing assistant exam. Each lesson includes clear objectives and key terminology and is organized by core concepts that include instructional slides, videos, textbook chapters, and more. Note that while this course is fully available to view, reporting for practice activities and saving of student progress is unavailable. Students can, however, complete all interactive learning checks (multiple choice, drag and drops, etc.) and see their score upon completion. These can be printed to document student performance. The facilitator version of the course provides information on how to import the course into a school / organization’s own Canvas instance.
Nursing Assistant
Chippewa Valley Technical College (2023)
The openly licensed nursing assistant textbook prepares students for employment as nursing assistants as well as for entry into other health-related programs. The book covers ten chapters of content, virtual simulations, and checklists to prepare participants to take the Wisconsin nursing assistant competency evaluation. The book can be viewed online or downloaded in a variety of formats, including PDF and ePub.
Open Education Resources for Nursing
Chippewa Valley Technical College (2022)
This project offers free, high-quality open educational resources for nursing education, including five textbooks and twenty-five virtual reality scenarios. Developed collaboratively by faculty and reviewed by professionals, these resources align with the Wisconsin Technical College System curriculum and the NCLEX-RN test plan. Textbooks are accessible online and in downloadable formats, and over thirty virtual simulations are available to enhance clinical judgment skills.
Healthcare Contextualized Bridge Curriculum
Illinois Community College Board (2013)
This bridge curriculum includes a set of modules that include career awareness and academic skills contextualized to the healthcare industry. The materials are appropriate for incorporation into an IET program or for supporting a bridge course, and they combine the three core components of IET instruction. The curriculum introduces key concepts and terminology as they are integrated into basic skills instruction.
Healthcare Bridge Semester 1 Lesson Plans for Reading & Writing
City Colleges of Chicago and Women Employed (2017)
This comprehensive bridge curriculum includes 16 lessons designed to improve the basic reading and writing skills of adult basic education students at the sixth- to eighth-grade literacy level or above. Each lesson incorporates key healthcare industry issues that are relevant to their lives and the healthcare field.
Healthcare Bridge Semester 2 Lesson Plans for Reading & Writing
City Colleges of Chicago and Women Employed (2018)
This comprehensive bridge curriculum includes 16 lessons designed to improve the basic reading and writing skills of adult basic education students at the sixth- to eighth-grade literacy level or above. Each lesson incorporates key healthcare industry issues that are relevant to their lives and the healthcare field.
Skills for the Nursing Assistant
USA Learns (2008)
The Skills for the Nursing Assistant course teaches contextualized English and targeted academic skills for students aiming to work in a hospital setting. Learners simultaneously study contextualized English vocabulary and grammar while preparing for academic studies for careers in allied health programs. Students also practice job-related skills, such as how to safely complete all the steps involved in ambulating (walking) a patient. This course is ideal for students with English skills that are high intermediate and above and can help individuals prepare for a career as a Certified Nursing Assistant or for other jobs in health care. Note: The resource is free for learners and instructors but requires creating an account to access the materials and lessons.
Health Careers: A Guide to Finding Entry-Level Jobs in Health Care
Florida Literacy Coalition (2017)
Resource for adult learners interested in exploring the wide range of career opportunities in health care. Written in plain language, the guide is suitable for learners at a fifth-grade reading level or higher as well as for English language learners at an intermediate level or higher. The guide focuses on careers requiring two years or less of training. It can be used as a curriculum or a stand-alone resource for students. In addition to providing job skill and training resources, the guide highlights 30 health occupations in four areas: (1) patient care, (2) imaging and diagnostics, (3) administration and support services, and (4) health information and records.
Reading Skills for Health Care Workers
Southwest Adult Basic Education (2015)
This is a free online career pathway literacy library of reading selections with CNA and general health care content. The resource contains 175 reading selections for intermediate-level readers, all focused on health care–related scenarios and written by licensed language arts/ESL teachers, most with pre-CNA teaching and course development experience. Each selection includes an audio recording playable in three speeds to support fluency development. Each also has printable PDF handouts of reading passages that include comprehension questions and vocabulary development, with an emphasis on content and high-utility academic vocabulary.
Bridge to Healthcare Careers: PreCNA/PCA/CFSS Outline of Lesson Content
Originally created by Brigid Erickson; adapted by Reneé Kostner (May 2021) and Mary Grady-Elsenheimer (January 2022)
This curriculum is designed to prepare adult students for the Minnesota Personal Care Assistant (PCA) and Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) certification exams and to prepare students for the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certification course to become a resident care assistant at a memory care/assisted living facility.
Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics (TDL) Contextualized Bridge Curriculum
Illinois Community College Board (2012)
This bridge curriculum includes a set of modules that include career awareness and academic skills contextualized to the transportation, distribution and logistics industry. The materials are appropriate for incorporation into an IET program or for supporting a bridge course, and they combine the three core components of IET instruction. The curriculum introduces key concepts and terminology as they are integrated into basic skills instruction.
Lesson Plans for Reading & Writing in the Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics Career Bridge 1
City Colleges of Chicago and Women Employed (2017)
This comprehensive bridge curriculum includes 16 lessons designed to improve the basic reading and writing skills of adult basic education students at the sixth- to eighth-grade literacy level or above. Each lesson incorporates key TDL issues that are relevant to their lives and the TDL field.
Transportation, Distribution, & Logistics Bridge Semester 2 Lesson Plans for Reading & Writing
City Colleges of Chicago and Women Employed (2019)
This comprehensive bridge curriculum includes 16 lessons designed to improve the basic reading and writing skills of adult secondary education students at the ninth-grade literacy level or above. Each lesson incorporates key TDL issues that are relevant to their lives and the TDL field.
CDL Curriculum (Full Curriculum)
St. Paul (Minnesota) Adult Basic Education (2011)
(Note: This is a DropBox link which may be blocked by your agency/organization.)
The Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) curriculum includes 80 hours of instruction. The materials are appropriate for a bridge course and combine the three core components of IET instruction. The materials focus on preparing students with the knowledge to pass the Minnesota CDL test but can be modified and adapted to reflect current practices in many states. The course includes reading passages, videos, handouts, and student materials with teacher answer keys. This individual course files link includes the activities as individual files and can be used to save, copy, and adapt most of the activities within the curriculum.
Information Technology
IT Bridge Contextualized Curriculum
Illinois Community College Board (2019)
This bridge curriculum includes a set of modules that include career awareness and academic skills contextualized to the information technology industry. The materials are appropriate for incorporation into an IET program or for supporting a bridge course, and they combine the three core components of IET instruction. The curriculum introduces key concepts and terminology as they are integrated into basic skills instruction.
Business
Entrepreneurial Contextualized Bridge Curriculum
Illinois Community College Board (2013)
This bridge curriculum includes a set of modules that include career awareness and academic skills contextualized to concepts of entrepreneurship. The materials are appropriate for incorporation into an IET program or for supporting a bridge course, and they combine the three core components of IET instruction. The curriculum introduces key concepts and terminology as they are integrated into basic skills instruction.
Be Your Own Boss
System for Adult Basic Education Support (SABES) (2024)
Be Your Own Boss is a ten-lesson unit that prepares students to use math and reasoning to make big decisions, and the unit is driven by real stories and videos featuring authentic student voices. Throughout, participants follow the stories of four adult education students who own three businesses, and participants learn about business ownership through recorded interviews with these students. The focus of the content is on small business ownership, with relevant academic concepts integrated into each lesson. (Note: Training is recommended to support teachers implementing this project-based instructional unit. The Adult Numeracy Center offers support in multiple formats, including coaching, a 1.5-hour online workshop, a face-to-face full-day workshop, or a custom training event. For more information, please contact the LINCS TAC at training@lincs.ed.gov)
Other Industries
ServSafe Food Safety Class for ABE Learners
Hubbs Center for Adult Basic Education, Minnesota Department of Education and the FastTrack Bridge Project (2010)
This resource supports the teaching of specific education and training content that can be implemented by classroom instructors in the context of a particular career cluster.
Workforce Preparation
Career Foundations
Women Employed (2020)
The resource is a complete course with an instructor guide that includes links to all course resources and guidance for facilitating lessons across twenty-four lessons organized into eight themes that help students assess their skills and interests, explore career pathways, and craft a plan to enter college-certificate and -degree programs that lead to family-supporting jobs. The materials are fully customizable with an instructor guide that includes links to all lesson slides, a student guide, strategies to customize the lessons, options for integrating technology into the lessons, and links to additional materials (i.e., differentiated videos) for each theme. The curriculum is offered in both English and Spanish. (Note: To help document use of the curriculum for the funders who supported its development, a form must be submitted to request access.)
Career Exploration Unit
Minnesota Literacy Council (2019)
Designed for advanced English as a Second Language and General Educational Development learners, this two-week unit helps students learn about currently available entry-level work that is in high demand, pays over minimum wage, and does not require a high school credential. This easy to use PDF unit contains eight lessons that include detailed objectives, teacher guidance for all activities, and activity handouts. Lessons are designed to help learners practice the English and employment preparedness skills necessary to obtain entry-level jobs.
Learn to Earn Toolkit
National Center for Families Learning (2017)
The Learn to Earn Toolkit is a free online resource created to guide adult learners in building ten in-demand employability skills as identified by employers, including academic skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and professionalism. Survey respondents rated the skills included in the toolkit as both very important and deficient in new employees entering the workforce with a high school education. Lessons are available for both intermediate and advanced ELL levels.
Adult Ed Med Contextualized Video Lessons
TCALL @Texas A&M (2021)
This website provides free contextualized video lessons and resources for adult educators and adult students. It includes 20 video lessons in English and 20 in Spanish in the following areas: ESL, workforce/technology, reasoning language arts, and mathematics.
Workplace Readiness Skills Lessons
Nevada Career and Technical Education (2023)
This online curriculum includes twenty-one lesson modules focused on employability skills organized into personal qualities and abilities, interpersonal skills, and professional competencies. Lessons include extensive coverage of concepts within each of the skills and include objectives, key terminology, and videos. The website also includes links to videos that describe a variety of workplace readiness skills, a poster outlining the twenty-one employability skills within the course, and a quiz.
Contextualized Adult Education and Industry
CareerKits: A Comprehensive Career Preparation Teaching Resource for HSE & ESL Learners Reflecting NYS Regional Labor Market Statistics
The City University of New York, CUNY Adult Literacy/HSE Program (2018)
CareerKits is a set of 10 industry-specific curriculum “kits” in the following industries: health care; technology; community and social services; education and childcare; manufacturing; hospitality, recreation, and the arts; food production; retail; construction; and transportation and warehousing. Each kit is designed to help students build the skills necessary to make informed decisions/choices within their intended industry. Career exploration activities are contextualized by integrating reading, writing, research, and math skills. Because each of the kits has the same unit topics, the resource also allows for instructors to deliver workforce readiness instruction in areas such as career planning, educational pathways, and self-awareness to learners interested in careers in different industries. There is also a foundational, multi-sector CareerKit, called “Career Fundamentals,” that introduces students to key questions related to career decision-making.
Get Real Math & Science Videos
NEW Manufacturing Alliance (Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance) (2014)
The Get Real Math & Science videos showcase over 80 core math and science skills needed in manufacturing careers. The videos, all produced at manufacturing companies and featuring manufacturing workers, each have an accompanying lesson plan created by math and science teachers. The lesson plans include the standards covered, key vocabulary, discussion questions, and tips for differentiation and extension. The math and science skills featured range from Level B to Level E College and Career Readiness Skills.
Math for Trades: Volume 1
BC Campus (2020)
This openly licensed textbook introduces the building blocks math students need to prepare for the more advanced courses required to continue their trades education. Concepts covered include whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percents, all contextualized to different trades, thereby also introducing relevant vocabulary and scenarios. The material is presented from a trades perspective with easy-to-understand examples and video explanations accompanying the questions. Each lesson includes practice questions and quizzes to reinforce learning. There are additional practice tests included in the last section of the book. The books can be viewed online or downloaded in a variety of formats including PDF and ePub.
CK-12 Adult Education FlexBooks
CK-12 Foundation and Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) (2020)
The resource is a link to CK-12 online open source textbooks for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, English as a Second Language, High School Equivalency, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses. All textbooks are interactive and include instruction, interactive media (including videos), and knowledge checks.
Career Cluster Lesson Bank
Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet (2021)
This repository contains a variety of detailed lesson plans focused on the sixteen career clusters and employability skills as well as core subjects for high school equivalency completion, student persistence, and financial literacy. All lessons plans provide detailed objectives, core concepts covered, and specifics regarding College and Career Readiness for Adult Education standards coverage.
Preparing Workers for 21st Century Employment: Making Sense of Math at Work
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Office of Adult Education (2010)
This resource supports the teaching of specific education and training content that can be implemented by classroom instructors in the context of a particular career cluster.
Preparing Workers for the 21st Century: Written Communication in the Workplace
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Office of Adult Education (2008)
This resource supports the teaching of specific education and training content that can be implemented by classroom instructors in the context of a particular career cluster.