CTE Assignments That Impact Student Success
2014 Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement
Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center
Greensboro, North Carolina
March 3, 2014
Lois Barnes
Lois.barnes@sreb.org
DO NOW!
Jot down your ideas about what makes a quality CT assignment:
What are the criteria for a good assignment?
_______________________________________________________________
Why look at assignments in CT classes?
What difference can good assignments make in a CT class?
Rigorous CT Indicators from HSTW Assessment Student Survey
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Develop a logical argument for a solution to a problem or project.
Make inferences from information provided to develop a solution for a problem or project.
Use math to solve complex problems related to their career/technical area.
Apply academic knowledge and skills to their career/technical area.
Apply technical knowledge and skills to new situations.
Develop and test hypotheses/project idea.
Complete an extended project that requires planning, developing a solution or product, and
presenting the results orally or in writing.
8. Predict outcomes based on observations or information provided.
Developing CTE Assignments That Impact Student Success:
Collaborative “Enhanced CT” Twelve Step Process
Core Academic
Teachers
CT Teachers
Business/Industry
and Postsecondary
Partners
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
Step 5:
Step 6:
Step 7:
Step 8:
Step 9:
Step 10:
Step 11:
Step 12:
Authentic
District and School
Leadership
CT
Assignments
and Projects
Determine Business/Industry and Postsecondary Needs
Brainstorm Project Ideas with Business/Industry and Postsecondary Input
Develop Project Idea
Develop Project Description using a “Real-Work” scenario
Determine the “Essential” Academic and 21st Century Standards
Determine the Design/Problem Solving Process for the Project
Develop the Project Launch – Ask/Inquire/Diagnose
Develop “Just in Time” ” Instruction for Students to Develop Possible Solutions –
Imagine/Identify the Problem/Find Possible Solutions
Develop “Just in Time” Instruction for Students to Plan the Solutions – Plan/Relevant
Information/Work Plan
Develop “Just In Time” Instruction for Students to Create the Project or Solution to the
Problem – Create/Conceptualization/Take Action
Evaluate the Project or Solution and Make Adjustments Based on Data Collected –
Experiment/Evaluate/Analysis/Improve
Deliver through a Written Document and/or Oral Presentation the Final Project or
Solution to the Problem – Communicate/Implementation/ Deliver Final Product
Project Description Template:
Project’s Critical Focus Question:
You are a (insert a real-workplace role).
You are faced with (insert a problem).
You must (insert what must be done to solve the problem).
 Technical Prompt: Design, build and test OR Investigate, conduct, analyze and using
appropriate technology and software and 21st -century skills students will exhibit.
 Reading and Writing Prompt: Research on history, theory, contemporary use, what is known
about how to address the problem AND writing an authentic document.
 Science Prompt: Design and conduct inquiry of a testable hypothesis under a variety of
conditions OR Using the engineering design process to solve a technological problem.
 Math Prompt: Collect, analyze and chart on performance and conditions; reasoning with math,
applying math
Once you have decided on a course of action, you will (insert an opportunity for presentation
to an authentic audience).
Problem-Solving Design Process Comparisons
SREB Design
Process
Engineering
Design
Process
Troubleshooting
Process
Identifying the
problem
Diagnose the
Problem
Web Design
Process
Ask/Inquire
Nursing
Process
Life Cycle
Design
Assess
Diagnosis
Plan
Relevant
Information
Find Possible
Solutions
Visualization
Planning
Design
Create
Conceptualization
Take Action
Implementation
Intervention
Build
Experiment/
Evaluate
Improve
Communicate
Evaluation and
Analysis
Implementation
Scientific
Method
Define
Question
Measure
Research
Analyze
Hypothesis
Define
Requirements
Initialization
Imagine
Business
Methodology
Evaluate and
Analyze
Verification
Evaluate
Deliver Final
Product
Gratification
Report
Test
Develop
Implementation
Evolution
Test
Analyze
Deliver
Communicate
Do your school’s career-technical (CT) programs serve the needs of business and provide instruction
for students to be college- and career-ready for careers in the 21st century?
SREB’s Enhanced CT Program:
Providing Students with Relevant and
Challenging CT Assignments and Programs
Core Academic
Teachers
CT Teachers
Business/Industry and
Postsecondary
Partners
Authentic
District and School
Leadership
CT
Assignments
and Projects
Enhanced CT’s goal is for CT courses to use a sequence of authentic and rigorous workplace projects that
deliver technical standards and provide students with the technical and academic skills necessary for college
and career success.
Enhanced CT’s support method has two components. First, SREB provides CT teachers with training and
follow-up coaching on designing robust project assignments. Participants assess and adjust a current CT
assignment or develop a new idea into a project assignment to conform to HSTW’s key indicators of robust CT
experiences including embedding academic skills and standards to be mastered. CT teachers and academic
teacher representatives collaborate to develop enabling learning activities to address technical and academic
standards and technology skills students must use to complete the project assignment.
The second component focuses training and coaching on developing a sequence of project assignments for each
CT course in a program to teach the established curriculum. In the training, CT teachers meet with their
business/industry and postsecondary partners and core academic teacher representatives to review the
program’s courses and determine a sequence of real-world scenario ideas to teach the course’s standards. CT
teachers and academic teacher representatives collaborate to expand the scenarios into authentic and rigorous
workplace project assignments based on the training from component one.
Enhanced CT Support Programs’ Recommended Training/Coaching Plan:
Component One recommended training: an initial two days of training followed by a day of coaching, another
two days of training followed by a day of coaching; a day of training followed by a day of coaching, and a final
day of training and planning.
Component Two recommended training: an initial two days of training followed by a day of coaching; two
additional one-day trainings, each followed by a day of coaching.
Contact Information:
Gene Bottoms
Sandy Culotta
gene.bottoms@sreb.org
sandy.culotta@sreb.org
Director, State Initiatives of High School and Middle
Grades
Scott Warren
Rhenida Rennie
Lynda Jackson
scott.warren@sreb.org
rhenida.rennie@sreb.rog
lynda.jackson@sreb.org
Senior Vice President
Director, State Development
Manager, Enhanced CT Programs
Director, Direct Services Network
Steve Broome
steve.broome@sreb.org
Director, TCTW
CTE Assignments That Impact
Student Success
2014 Collaborative Conference
for Student Achievement
Greensboro, North Carolina
March 3, 2014
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
Lois Barnes
Lois.barnes@sreb.org
Do Now!
What are the indicators for a quality
CT assignment?
Jot down your ideas in the space
provided on page one of your handout.
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What is SREB?
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What are SREB’s initiatives?
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•
•
•
High Schools That Work
Technology Centers That Work
Making Middle Grades Work
Focus Session Objectives
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Participants will be able to:
 Explain how assignments can have an
impact on students career- and college
success
 Analyze the criteria of CT assignments
that impact student success
 Develop a first draft of a project
description that contains the
components of a quality project
description
Why look at Assignments in
CT Classes?
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Relook at Mission, Goals and
Practices
In Light of Rising Workplace
Requirements and Opportunities
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“The new economy requires not just
white-collar workers but also workers with
outstanding technical skills and highly
developed problem-solving abilities.
These workers will be the backbone of
tomorrow’s prosperity.”
Source: A Sharper Focus on Technical Workers How to Educate and Train for the
Global Economy. NGA Center for Best Practices, 2010.
“Employers are increasingly
giving up on the American man.”
 Today, 81 percent of men
between 25 and 54 hold jobs
compared with 95 percent in
1969.
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 Median wages for men
between 20 and 50 dropped 27
percent to $33,000 a year from
1969 to 2009.
“The Slow Disappearance of the American Working Man.” Bloomberg BusinessWeek,
August 29-September 4, 2011.
8
What Employers Say about
the Skills Gap:
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High school is the last education
opportunity paid for wholly by the
public. It’s purpose has to be to do
the best it can to provide all who
leave it the foundation necessary to
enter, or further prepare for, adult
life.
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Board
Barton, 2006
Refer to your Do Now!
What did you say are the
indicators for a quality CT
assignment?
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Board
CT Assignment Indicators from
HSTW Assessment Student Survey
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 Develop a logical argument for your solution to a
problem or project.
 Make inferences from information provided to develop a
solution for a problem or project.
 Use math to solve complex problems related to your
career/technical area.
 Apply academic knowledge and skills to your CT area.
 Apply technical knowledge and skills to new situations.
 Develop and test hypotheses.
 Complete an extended project that requires planning,
developing a solution or product, and presenting the
results orally or in writing.
 Used computer software or other technology related to
your CT area to complete assignments weekly.
SREB’s
Enhanced CT Programs
Providing Students with Relevant and
Challenging Career-Technical Courses
Technical
Content
Business
and
Industry
Needs
Southern
Regional
Education
Board
Academic
Content
Enhanced
CT
Programs
Indicators of Rigorous CT
Students
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1. Develop a logical argument for a solution to a problem
or project
2. Make inferences from information provided to develop a
solution for a problem or project
3. Use math to solve complex problems related to my CT
area
4. Apply academic knowledge and skills to my CT area
5. Apply technical knowledge and skills to new situations
6. Develop and test hypotheses
7. Complete an extended project that requires planning,
developing a solution or product and presenting the
results orally or in writing
8. Use computer appropriate technology to complete
assignments or projects in their CT classes
HSTW/TCTW Student Survey
What difference can good
assignments make in a CT class?
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Students Meeting Collegeand Career-Readiness Goals
CT Students Meeting Readiness Goals
Student Experiences
Percent Meeting HSTW
Readiness Goals
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Rigorous CT
No Rigorous CT
n = 7989
n = 14590
Reading
69%
46%
Mathematics
66
48
Science
67
45
Source: 2012 HSTW Assessment
Note: CTE Students only
Impact of Rigorous CT Courses
on Academic Achievement
Percentage of CT Students Meeting
College and Career-Readiness Goals
80%
70%
69%
67%
66%
60%
50%
48%
46%
45%
40%
30%
20%
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10%
0%
Reading
Mathematics
Had Rigorous CTE
No Rigorous CTE
Based on HSTW’s 2012 Student Survey and Assessment
Note: Based on approximately 22,500 CTE students, does not include non-CTE students.
Science
Impact of Rigorous CT Courses
on Academic Achievement
Percentage of CT Students Meeting HSTW
College-Readiness Goals
Rigorous CT Impacts Achievement
CT Students
HSTW
Curriculum
n = 3438
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HSTW
Difference
Curriculum + Rigorous CT
Courses
Rigorous CT
Make
Courses
n = 2760
Meet Reading Goal
63%
80%
17%
Meet Mathematics
Goal
65
78
13%
Meet Science Goal
61
78
17%
Source: 2012 HSTW Assessment
Note: CTE Students only
Carousel Brainstorming:
What do these indicators look like in
a class?
Let’s create a set of “look fors”
with questions to ask students
when observing a CT class.
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Sample
Develop a logical argument for
your solution to a problem or
project.
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Look Fors
 Students work in
teams
(cooperative
learning)
Questions
 Why did you
choose this
solution?
Carousel Brainstorming:
What do these indicators look like
in a class?
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Divide up into groups (count off by
eights)
Each group goes to their number poster
Two minutes
Look fors when walking into a
classroom; questions to ask students
Rotate one poster to your right; repeat
When back to you original poster,
review and report out
Enhanced CT Goal
Provide students with rigorous
career-technical education (CTE)
embedded with college- and career-ready
academic standards and 21st-century skills
for preparation for middle-skill, highdemand and high-wage careers that will
provide the students resources needed
to support a family of four.
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Enhanced CT Program
Collaborative Components
CT Teachers
Business/Industry
and Postsecondary
Partners
• Multiple Perspectives
• Aspects of Industry
• Middle-Skill Jobs
• Technical and Academic
Content
• Standards Alignment
• Just in Time Instruction
• Habits of Success
Authentic
CT
Projects
Core Academic
Teachers
District and School
Leadership
• Support
• Resources
• Fidelity
Step One
Assess Business
and Industry Needs
Identify what students must know and be able
to do to obtain and keep a job in the business
that will support a family of four.
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Step Two
Brainstorm Ideas
What authentic project will take two to four
weeks to complete and require students to
master technical, academic and 21st-century
skills to complete successfully?
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Step Three
Develop a Project
Choose one project idea from your list and
develop a draft project description:
• Project Title
• Critical Focus Question
• Brief, one-sentence description of what
students will perform or produce
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Step Four
Develop a Project Description
You are:
You are faced with:
You must:
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Once you have decided on a course of action:
Step Five
Identify “Essential” Academic
Standards and 21st-Century Skills
• Choose one project from the brainstorming
activity
• Identify embedded academic skills (literacy,
mathematics, etc.)
• Identify appropriate 21st-century skills
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Step Six
Use a Design/Problem-Solving
Process in Projects
• Leads to development of a new product or
system
• Ensures creation of only the products most
likely to succeed
• Acknowledges no such thing as “the design
process”
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Problem Solving Process
Comparisons
SREB Design
Process
Engineering Design
Process
Ask/Inquire
Identify the problem
Imagine
Troubleshooting
Process
Diagnose the
Problem
Find Possible
Solutions
Plan
Find Relevant
Information
Work Plan - Steps
Create
Conceptualize
Take Action
Evaluate and Analyze
Evaluate and Analyze
Implement
Deliver Final Product
Experiment/Evaluate
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Improve
Communicate
Problem Solving Process
Comparisons
SREB Design Process
Ask/Inquire
Imagine
Plan
Create
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4 Ps
Web Design
Prepare:
Materials
Methods
Machines
Manpower
Initialization
Experiment/Evaluate
Perform
Improve
Perfect
Visualization
Implementation
Verification
Gratification
Communicate
Progress
Problem Solving Process
Comparisons
SREB Design
Process
Nursing
Process
Ask/Inquire
Assess
Imagine
Diagnose
Plan
DMADD©
Business
Methodology
Define
Define
Requirements
Plan
Design/Build
Experiment/
Evaluate
Intervention
Test
Improve
Evaluate
Implementation
Communicate
Report
Evolution
Create
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Life Cycle
Design
Measure
Analyze
Develop
Deliver
Step Seven
Inquire
Develop the Project Launch.
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Step Eight
Imagine
Develop “Just in Time” ” Instruction for
Students to Develop Possible Solutions .
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Step Nine
Plan
Which mini-tasks (“just in time” instruction)
do students need so they can plan how
to organize their work?
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Step Ten
Create
• How will students carry out the plan they
developed?
• For which skills will students need “just
in time” instruction to complete their
project?
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Step Eleven
Experiment/Evaluate/
Analyze/Improve
• How will students know if their projects are
successful?
• What steps do students need to complete
to improve their projects?
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Step Twelve
Communicate/Deliver Final Product/
Progress
• How will students present the product to the
authentic audience?
• What “just in time” instruction do students
need to prepare their communication/final
product?
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How Do We Plan Quality CT
Assignments That Impact Student
Success?
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Developing the Project Idea:
• Project Title
• Critical Focus Question
• Project Description
You are a (insert a real-workplace role).
You are faced with (insert a problem).
You must (insert what must be done to solve the problem).
Once you have decided on a course of action, you will (insert an
opportunity for presentation to an authentic audience).
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The Critical Focus Question
•
•
•
•
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•
Should cause students begin to inquiry and
become engaged in the project
Should be able to be answered through a
variety of solutions
Should not be answered by a simple “yes” or
“no”
Should cause students to make connections
to prior learning and personal experiences
Should be important over an extended period
of time and transferable to other situations.
Project Prompts
 Technical Prompt: Design, build and test OR
Investigate, conduct, analyze and using appropriate
technology and software and 21st-century skills
students will exhibit.
 Reading and Writing Prompt: Research on
Southern
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Board
history, theory, contemporary use, what is known
about how to address the problem AND writing an
authentic document
 Science Prompt: Design and conduct inquiry of
a testable hypothesis under a variety of conditions
OR Using the engineering design process to solve a
technological problem
 Math Prompt: Collect, analyze and chart on
performance and conditions; reasoning with math,
applying math
Now it is your turn
• Project Title
• Critical Focus Question
• Project Description
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You are a (insert a real-workplace role).
You are faced with (insert a problem).
You must (insert what must be done to
solve the problem).
Once you have decided on a course of
action, you will (insert an opportunity for
presentation to an authentic audience).
Feedback on Project
Descriptions
Warm Feedback
I like how you phrased…
I think your students will …
You did a nice job…
Cool Feedback
Have you thought to include….?
ISouthern
wonder if you considered…?
IRegional
am not sure what you mean by this
statement?
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Board
Next Steps
Professional Development
Possibilities
Outcomes for Training
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Enhanced CT
Component One - Assignments
Series of workshops with follow-up coaching
to address level of rigor in CT assignments
• Assess current assignments
• Develop current or new project/assignment
to meet the criteria for rigorous CT and
Project Based Learning Standards
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Enhanced CT
Component Two - CT Courses
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Series of workshops and coaching to assess
CT courses and develop project experiences
to teach the curriculum for each CT course
• Involve business/industry in the process
• Have academic and CT teachers work
together
• Create authentic projects
Other Services from
Enhanced CT
Overview Sessions
• Three hours to full-day customized visits
• Webinars providing overview of programs
and rigorous CT assignments
• Virtual support
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Feedback from Workshop
and Coaching Participants
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• Students will take a more serious approach
to the time spent here. I want them to think
of school as the “workplace” and not the ‘coffee
shop. – August 2013
• The process is practical and really requires
students to use critical thinking skills. – October
2013
• Students will be able to connect academics to my
class and see the relevance. -- September 2013
• It will have us focus on academic standards and a
“work-ready” project – October 2013
Lois Barnes
Lois.barnes@sreb.org
Southern
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Education
Board