Patsy Egan
Patsy Egan, PhD, ATLAS Director, holds a BA in Russian Language from the University of Nebraska, as well as an MA in English as a Second Language and a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction (Second Languages & Cultures) from the University of Minnesota. She has taught adults since 1994, working extensively with adult immigrants and refugees in Nebraska and Minnesota. Her teaching and research focuses on literacy development and teacher education for adult learners, including Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a Second Language (ESL). Patsy has been an adjunct faculty member at 麻豆视频APK since 2002 and is a frequent local and national conference presenter, invited trainer and author. She was involved with the creation and subsequent PD around the English Language Proficiency Standards released from the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) in 2016, and she served as a subject-matter expert on the Teaching Skills that Matter (TSTM) initiative. She served as the past president of LESLLA (Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults), an international organization whose mission is to support adults with little or no home language schooling or literacy, who are now learning to read and write for the first time in a new language.
As director of ATLAS, Patsy collaborates with Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) staff on multiple projects focused on identifying, planning, designing, and evaluating the training and professional development needs of ABE/ESL practitioners across the state. One of these efforts is to work with MDE staff in providing leadership for the MN ABE Professional Development Committee. Patsy also develops and facilitates workshops for practitioners on topics including English language instruction, second language acquisition, literacy development, standards implementation, project-based learning, and more.
In November 2013, Patsy received the Harold B. Allen award from the for her work in the field of ESL in Minnesota and service to this professional organization of teachers.
Beginning in 2018, Patsy became the first President of the , an international group of scholars and teachers dedicated to Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults.
Patsy鈥檚 teaching style is informal but rigorous, grounded in the belief that each student brings a wealth of experiences and perspectives to the group that can enrich and enhance our teaching practices. Classes contain plenty of time to explore a topic individually, followed by a great deal of discussion and collaborative work.
鈥淭hroughout the classes I teach, I am constantly connecting our actions in classrooms with the theories that undergird our decisions as educators. Written assignments are typically illustrations of what my students 鈥渄o鈥 in real-life classroom settings alongside demonstrations of how those actions are intentionally informed by research, theory, and deep thinking about the complexities of language, literacy, teaching, and learning.鈥
- Patsy Egan
Please note that prior to 2017, Patsy published under the name Patsy Vinogradov.
Egan, P., & Echelberger, A. (2023). Professionalizing English Instruction for Adult Immigrants and Refugees in the United States: One State's Work in Teacher Development. In: Cirocki, A., Farrelly, R., Buchanan, H. (eds) Continuing professional development of TESOL practitioners. Springer Texts in Education. Springer, Cham.
Egan, P., & Echelberger, A. (2023). Hospitality through languages: Pain, joy, gist. LESLLA Symposium Proceedings, 16(1), 1鈥3. Available:
*Cary, E., & Egan, P. (2021). Movement at the intersections: Minneapolis, race, pandemic, and adult education. COABE Journal, The Resource for Adult Education, Special Edition: Racial Equity & Immigrant Integration, 153-156.
Egan, P. & Parrish, B. (2019) Oral language as a bridge to academic writing, in Teaching academic writing to adults learning English. Schaetzel, K. & Kreeft Peyton, J. & Fernandez, R., (eds). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Egan, P. & Parrish, B. (2018). 10 Years of ATLAS: Enhancing Instruction and Cultivating Leaders in Adult Education. MinneTESOL Journal, Fall 2018.
*Egan, P., & Andress, E. (2018). Strengthening adult career pathways in Minnesota: A professional development cohort for managers. COABE Journal, The Resource for Adult Education, Special Edition: Featuring Career Pathways, 20-27.
Vinogradov, P.E. (2016). Meeting the language needs of today鈥檚 adult English language learner: Companion learning resource. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. Available:
Vinogradov, P. (2016). Crossing contexts for teacher learning: Adult ESL teachers in kindergarten. In J. Crandall & M.A. Christison (Eds.), Teacher education and professional development in TESOL: Global perspectives (Global research on teaching and learning English). New York: Routledge.
Vinogradov, P. (2015). Border crossings: Reaching across contexts for teacher professional development. In International Perspectives on Teacher Research (S. Borg & H.S. Sanchez, Eds.). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Vinogradov, P. (2015). Fingers, eyes, and ears to words: LESLLA teachers learn from dyslexia educators. In I. van de Craats, J. Kurvers, & R. van Hout (Eds.), Adult literacy, second language and cognition (pp. 235-250). Centre for Language Studies.
Vinogradov, P. (2014). Adult ESL and Kindergarten: An Unlikely Meeting to Improve Literacy Instruction. MinneTESOL Journal, Spring 2014. .
*Vinogradov, P. (2013). Defining the LESLLA teacher knowledge base. Proceedings from the 8th LESLLA Symposium. Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition. Jyvaskyla, Finland.
*Vinogradov, P. (2012). Professional development for LESLLA teachers: a status report. Minnesota Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Journal. Minneapolis, MN: MinneWI TESOL, December 2012.
*Bigelow, M. & Vinogradov, P., Editors. (2012). LESLLA, Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition, Proceedings to the 7th Annual International Symposium. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2011.
*Vinogradov, P. (2012). 鈥淵ou just get a deeper understanding of things by talking:鈥 Study circles for teachers of ESL emergent readers. Journal of Research and Practice for Adult Literacy, Secondary, and Basic Education, 1, p.34-48.
*Bigelow, M., & Vinogradov, P. (2011). Teaching adult second language learners who are emergent readers. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, p.120-136.
Vinogradov, P. (2011). Study circle guide for teachers of low-literacy adult ESL students. ATLAS, ABE Teaching and Learning Advancement System. St. Paul, MN: 麻豆视频APK.
Vinogradov, P., & Bigelow, M. (2010). Using oral language skills to build literacy of adult learners with emerging English literacy. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
*Vinogradov, P. (2010). Balancing top and bottom: learner-generated texts for teaching phonics. Proceedings from the 5th LESLLA Symposium. Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition. Banff, Canada, September 2009.
*Vinogradov, P., and Liden, A. (2009). Principled training for LESLLA instructors. Proceedings from the 4th LESLLA Symposium - Low-Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition. Antwerp, Belgium, October 2008.
*Vinogradov, P. (2008). 鈥淢aestra! The letters speak.鈥 Adult ESL Students Learning to Read for the First Time. Minnesota Wisconsin Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Journal. Minneapolis, MN: MinneWI TESOL 25, 2008.
(* Refereed)
