Building High-Quality Career
Pathways
Lois Barnes
lois.barnes@sreb.org
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High-Quality Career Pathways…
Teach college-ready academics, technical
skills and workplace know-how in the
context of broad career fields
Align with state and regional labor market
opportunities
Help students understand 21st-century
careers
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High-Quality Career Pathways…
Attract students of all levels of
achievement and educational and career
aspirations
Support students with strong career
guidance
Put students on the fast track to earning
industry and postsecondary credentials
while in high school
SREB Commission on Career and Technical Education,
DRAFT Dec. 2, 2014
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Why develop high-quality
Advanced Career Pathways?
Gaps between job requirements and
skills sets workers
“The new economy requires not just whitecollar workers, but also workers with
outstanding technical skills and highly
developed problem-solving abilities. These
workers will be the backbone of
tomorrow’s prosperity.”
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Facts Influencing
Recommendations
Forty-seven percent of all new job
openings from 2010 to 2020 require
more than a high school education,
but less than a bachelor’s degree.
Source: Harvard Business Review, 2012/12, Who Can Fix the
“Middle Skills” Gap?
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Not enough students are earning
postsecondary credentials and
degrees and too many are
earning the wrong credentials.
At current rates, the U. S. will fail to
meet industry demand for workers
with some postsecondary education
by 5 million.
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Not enough students are earning
credentials in the right fields.
In 2012, 44 percent of recent college grads
were underemployed.
I’m Too Good for My Job. Someone Tell the Feds!
Bloomberg Businessweek Nov. 3-Nov. 9, 2014
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Most Sought After Skills by Employers:
for Today’s Employers/Today’s Workplace
Analytical/Research Skills
Interpersonal/Teamwork
Critical/Thinking/Reflection
Leadership Organization
Communication
Skills/Oral/Written
Multicultural
Sensitivity/Awareness
Computer/Technical Skills
Honesty/Integrity/On Time
Flexibility/Adaptability
Dependability/Responsibility
Energy/Passion
Each one of these skills are addressed through
Advanced Career authentic project assignments
Source: The Future of Work; Fortune.com
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What are Advanced Career
(AC) Courses Designed to Do?
Joining a College-Ready Academic
Core with Intellectually Demanding
Career-Technical Courses
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Advanced Career (AC)
New Thinking
AC career pathways prepare students for college and careers.
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In what career fields have
Advanced Career (AC) Courses
been developed?
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Jigsaw: Sample Advanced Career
Curriculum
Review the sample
course syllabus your
group has been given.
2 Wows: What are two
items that caught your
attention?
1 Wonder: What is one
thing you are wondering
about regarding the
course syllabus?
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What are the key features of
Advanced Career curricula?
 Fully developed AC pathway programs
(Four-course sequence in each
program)
 AC programs of study
 Project-based learning
 Blended learning experiences
 Technology and software
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What are the key features of
Advanced Career curricula?
 Assessments
 Counseling for careers
 Teacher selection, professional
development and support
 Dual credit and industry certification
 Collaboration and partnerships
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What would a sample of Advanced
Career pathways look like?
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AC: Provides Multiple Exits and
On-Ramp Opportunities
Health Informatics:
Employment Out of High School
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians, Medical
Records Clerk, Insurance Claims Clerks
Post-Secondary Certificate Programs
CDIP – Certified Document Improvement Practitioner; RHIT –
Registered Health Information Technician; CCA- Certified Coding
Associate; CCS – Certified Coding Specialist; CHDA – Certified
Health Data Analyst; CHPS- Certified in Healthcare Privacy and
Security; RHIA – Registered Health Information Adm.
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AC: Provides Multiple Exits and
On-Ramp Opportunities
Health Informatics:
AA, AAS, Certificate or Diploma Programs
Health Information Tech and Pre-Health Info Tech Certificates –
Gwinnett Tech; AA-Health Info Tech-Gwinnett Tech
Four-Year Degree Programs
Health Care Administration and Computer & Information Sciences
- BA:
University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University,
Kennesaw State University
Emory University
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STEM Academy Program of Study for
AC Clean Energy Technology Pathway
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Why Implement Advanced Career as
an Academy?
 Blends college-ready core with authentic
real-world projects
 Prepares more students college and/or
advanced training in STEM-related fields
 Places more students on a success track for
postsecondary studies and career positions
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Why Implement Advanced Career as
an Academy?
 Helps students meet rigorous state collegeand career-readiness standards
 Applies to postsecondary education, early
college high schools, technology centers
and comprehensive high schools alike
 Works as a key strategy for education
reform and workforce development
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Advanced Career (AC)
Assignments Matter
Integrated Production Technology (IPT), Automated
Tank Control
Essential Question: How can we create
a system that controls water flow and
temperature for an industrial process?
Research: Programmable Logic
Controllers – various journal articles
and websites
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Advanced Career (AC)
Assignments Matter
IPT, Automated Tank Control
 Literacy: Write an engineering report
supporting your solution to the company’s
need for an automated control process that
allows for better temperature control
 Analysis: Create a system to automate the
process that fills the holding tank from the
cold and hot water lines while maintaining
tank temperature under varying supply and
demand conditions.
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Advanced Career (AC)
Assignments Matter
IPT, Automated Tank Control
 Math: Students create and interpret control
charts.
 Technology: Students use LabVIEW™ to
collect and analyze data from the prototype.
 Deliverables: A working system and an
engineering report
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More than 30,000 companies use LabVIEW
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NC CCSA 2015
Assignments Matter
“Too often we give children answers to
remember rather than problems to
solve.”
Roger Lewin
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Problem-Solving Process
Comparisons
Engineering
Design Process
Ask/Inquire
Imagine
Life Cycle
Design
Define
Requirements
Plan
Design/Build
Create
Diagnose the Problem
Find Possible
Solutions
Work Plan - Steps
Take Action
Experiment/
Evaluate
Test
Improve
Implementation
Communicate
Evolution
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Troubleshooting
Process
Evaluate and Analyze
Deliver Final Product
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Seven-Step Math Process
Just-in-Time Instruction
1. Identify the math.
2. Pre-Assess the math.
3. Work through contextual examples.
4. Work through additional contextual
examples.
5. Work through traditional math examples.
6. Students demonstrate understanding.
7. Formal Assessment
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What Support Does the AC
Teacher Need?
65% of AC teachers are challenged
with math concepts
Some AC teachers need help in
guiding students to read complex text,
write with clarity and organization and
give oral presentations
AC teachers may need help in
illustrating science principles
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Sample Project
NJ Project 1.2: Locating a distribution
center
Essential Question: How can we
determine the locations/sites for
distribution centers that will provide the
best opportunities for a company’s
success?
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Literacy Task
 After researching trade journals and other
informational texts on distribution center
locations as well as participating in
enabling learning activities intended to
assist you in researching and analyzing
potential sites for distribution centers,
write a proposal in which you argue for the
ideal location for the company’s expansion.
Support your position with evidence from
the texts and from conclusions you draw
from enabling learning activities, providing
evidence to clarify your analysis.
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Sample Reading Passage
 Atomization versus Massification in Transportation Modes
 For transport modes, atomization represents the smallest load
unit that can be effectively transported. The person is obviously
the smallest load unit for passenger transportation, while a
parcel or a part are the smallest load units for freight
transportation. Atomization is less relevant for bulk since the
smallest load unit is a flexible concept; it can be subdivided
without any changes in the characteristics of the product. Still,
the smallest bulk trade transactions rarely go under a ton
(except for retail consumer transactions where the goods are
bought in "bulk"). Massification for transportation modes
involves the growing capacity to move load units in a single trip.
The relations between atomization and massification can be
paradoxical since individuals and customers tend to prefer the
convenience of atomization while carriers are favoring
massification and the economies of scale it confers.
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Sample Reading Passage
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Professional Notebooks
Note-taking
Organization
Vocabulary Logs
Draws connections between technical
and academic content
Demonstrates a growth/revision in
understanding
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What are the key requirements
for adopting an AC curriculum?
 AC teacher must attend a two-week summer
training institute for each AC course taught.
(Registration fee: $3,250/course/teacher)
 End-of-course assessments ($6/student)
 No curriculum access/AC network fees for fall
2015 adopters
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What do AC students say about the
course?
 85 to 90 percent of AC students say the
course assignments are very challenging,
compared with 35 to 40 percent of students in
traditional high school career-tech programs.
 80 percent say courses are exciting and
challenging.
 80 percent say they would recommend an AC
course to a friend.
 64 percent believe taking an AC class assists
with exploring career goals.
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How can you learn more about AC?
 Preview of course syllabi and sample project
units on SREB’s website:
http://www.sreb.org/page/1776/preview_ac_pr
oject_units.html
 Listen to recordings of eight webinars, each
highlighting a specific AC curriculum:
http://www.sreb.org/page/1773/advanced_care
er_webinar_series.html
 Contact Marna Young at SREB
marna.young@sreb.org
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Questions
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