Pat Phillips & Melanie Knier
Davidson County Community College
Lexington, NC
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Students want to make connections between
what they learn and what they experience in
real life
Students do not necessarily view math as
applicable to their daily lives
Effective learning requires active application
of knowledge, skills, and processes
Learners need to acquire content knowledge
and learn how to apply what they have
learned
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Transfer of learning is likely to occur when
the student understands the facts and the big
picture
The learning environment should be
community-centered, learner-centered and
knowledge-centered
Contextualized learning helps students make
these applications
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OVAE defines contextualized learning as “a
conception of teaching and learning that
helps teachers relate subject matter to real
world situations”
Current information indicates that new WIA
Title 1 & Title 2 re-authorization will require
closer alignment with work skills and tie
learning to those work skills
Contextualized curriculum is one method of
making this alignment
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Requires a shift in understanding of what it
means to develop curriculum
Begins curriculum instruction with tasks
learners need in their daily lives; then begins
instruction of knowledge and skills required
to perform these tasks
Encourages teamwork and collaborative
learning. Students often find comfort and
success when working with a partner or small
group
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Identified short-term
certificate and diploma
programs that could be
completed in 1-3
semesters
Met with college
faculty and
representatives from
business and
workforce development
to determine areas
where employment was
obtainable
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Identified faculty and
staff and trained them
to develop the
curriculum
Developed curriculum
in areas of health,
transportation and
early childhood
initially. Added HVAC,
Business, Computers
and are currently
identifying others to
add
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Nurse Assistant
Medical Office Assistant
Pharmacy Technology
Early Childhood
Phlebotomy
HVAC
Truck Driver Training
Automotive Technology
Business
Early Childhood Education
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Choose the best answer
Find These Words
What Would You Do?
Complete this Chart
Multiple Choice
Fill in the Blank/Word
Bank
Crossword Puzzle
Memorizing/mnemonics
Common Bonds
Reading
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True/False
Cell Word Chop
Matching
Context Clues
Magic Square
Short-answer question
Reading (continued)
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Single-step word
problems
Multi-step word
problems
Chart/graphs word
problems
Hands-on activities using
math application,
manipulatives, etc.
Students are provided
content and write their
own work problems
Math
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Short answer situations
Topic Sentence
placement
Grammatically Correct
Pick 5 key statements
and write a summary
Statement re-write
Research and create a
3 minute oral
presentation on topic
of research
Writing
Good Vocabulary Activity
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Students get more out of
problems that are
interactive
Problems that are
relevant to their lives are
important
Key words, phrases, or
topics you want students
to use need to be very
clear in the problem
Work through the
problem as the instructor
before giving to students
to prevent any surprises
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Initially, begin with single
step word problems until
the student becomes
more comfortable doing
them
Working together often
makes students more
comfortable and they can
solve the problem
together
May give the students
the answer to the
problem in initial stages
to lower anxiety in
solving the problems
One single-step and one multi-step problem
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Make explicit how
class activities
develop skills for
career paths
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◦ Tap into student
motivation
Use instructional
strategies that
leverage
contextualized
learning approaches
◦ Scaffold learning
◦ Use hands-on/active
learning
◦ Apply learning in a
variety of contexts
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Address varying skill
levels in the same
class
◦ Use group/pair work
More examples from
other community
colleges:
GED Bridge to Health
Career
Profile Writing Project
Reading Curriculum
Math Curriculum
Here’s what they are
doing in Illinois:
CNA to LPN class
•3 hours/week X 16 weeks
•Contextualized medical vocabulary
•Based on National League of Nursing
Exam
•“Reading Smart” “504 Absolutely
Essential Words”
•Exit exam – Compass Reading,
English, Math
Fast Track Allied Health Class in Arkansas
•Contextualize developmental level reading and math
•Move students along quicker through career pathway
Where are we going ???
•More hybrid classes –
using Moodle, Blackboard
•Use SoftChalk to easily
convert contextualized
curriculum to engaging,
interactive lessons on the
web
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sites.wiki.ubc.ca
EFF Research Principle: A Contextualized
Approach to Curriculum and Instruction
mcli.dist.maricopa.edu
www.teachforever.com
Contextualized Teaching & Learning: A
Faculty Primer developed by California
Community College
Breaking Through Contextualization Toolkit
Sources
http://www.laguardia.edu/uploadedFiles/T2/pcap/home_content/GED
%20Bridge%20to%20Health%20Careers%20Reading%20Curric%20Sessio
n%203.pdf
http://www.laguardia.edu/uploadedFiles/T2/pcap/docs/Geometry%20
Overview.pdf
http://occrl.illinois.edu/files/Projects/promising_pratice/2010/Prom
ising_Practice_Oakton_CC_Curriculum.pdf
http://www.aatyc.org/about-us/archive-news/181-aatycnewsletter-july-2010.html
Pat Phillips
patp@davidsonccc.edu
336.224.4570
Melanie Knier
mgknier@davidsonccc.edu
336.224.4584
Jobs for the Future Website: www.jff.org