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Building 21st Century Schools

Designing Smarter, Sleeker High-Tech Facilities

by Sandy Cutshall, Techniques Contributing Editor

School construction is on a fast track across the country. Hundreds of successful school-bond issues have recently meant major changes in the future of American schools. Increased enrollments, the desire for smaller class size and the deteriorating condition of many existing buildings are driving a $500 billion boom in new construction over the next decade.

At a time when record sums are being spent on school buildings, it is vital that there is discussion and some general agreement on how that money is best used.

Many of the issues facing academic facilities are not dramatically different for career and technical schools. However, there are definitely some specific challenges?such as the cost, upkeep and upgrading of equipment?that are particularly tough in career and technical education (CTE).

The average school in use today is 42 years old, and most vocational/technical schools were built in the 1970s. Back then, many programs needed large lab spaces, such as auto body repair classes requiring paint booths and service bays to accommodate vehicles and related repair equipment. Although these traditional classes remain important to CTE, the rapid advances in technology and changing face of the job market have meant that career and technical schools need to change as quickly as the economy they intend to support.

The demand for new high-tech programs coupled with different states? requirements for more traditional classes folded into the CTE curriculum has forced many school districts to re-evaluate the needs of their facilities.

Career Tech Challenges

According to Mike Dingeldein, vice president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), "Flexibility is important for today?s career technical education programs." He points out: "The turnover rate in programs is higher. Tech schools must be nimble to meet the needs of today?s students."

Interest in information technology programs has "exploded" with the increased demand for these professionals, and all CTE schools have a need for more traditional classroom space, he notes.

Dingeldein is an architect with Steed Hammond Paul, an Ohio design firm that has been instrumental in developing the standards for facilities to qualify for Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) funds. The state of Ohio is a leader in the process of planning how best to update their career tech schools.

"They need to be plug and play," says Dingeldein, noting that the rapid turnover of programs means facilities must be easily converted as needed. This concept is reflected in the OSFC standards that he helped to develop. The committee toured facilities throughout the state and researched trends before making its recommendations, which are designed to augment OSFC standards for traditional schools.

"When designing a conventional school, the space typically drives furnishings and equipment," says Dingeldein. "But for technical schools, the equipment and furnishings such as machine tools and computer equipment drive the space. In essence, you design around the required equipment, which can cost more than the space."

Case In Point

Another Ohio architectural firm, TRIAD Architects, is helping to change the face of career and technical education through large-scale renovations and additions to the Eastland Career Center in the city of Groveport.

According to TRIAD Architectural Designer Joey Ottman, the project designer/manager, the Eastland project is about changing the school?s image into a "21st century learning environment" and letting students feel immersed in the future of industry, technology and business.

The project is broken down into six phases to take place over a four-year span. One phase, for example, included extensive renovations to the school?s cosmetology lab?creating something far and above what most facilities offer students.

"The lab remodel was designed to provide cosmetology students with hands-on work experience in a visually stunning salon environment," notes Ottman. He says the changes included 24 custom-designed stations, seven custom-designed mobile manicure tables and a separate facial room. An exposed ceiling and contemporary lighting accent the space.

Eastland Career Center Superintendent Ross Dunlap feels that this update will send a clear message of change. "Current labs are being remodeled to reflect the state-of-the-art technology that our students will encounter in business and industry environments. Every aspect of the design has been carefully planned to maximize each student?s exposure to technology and simulate as closely as possible what he or she will experience in today?s high-tech workplace."

Other updates included in this phase were renovations to the horticulture lab, including a new greenhouse, "retail" entrance, a remodeled classroom, and a new office and computer lab. Also included were renovations to the agriculture/mechanic lab, dental lab and exterior green space and paving.

"Image is perception and perception inspires pride," says Ottman. "Students take pride in their education and the facilities in which they attain that education. Why shouldn?t the built environment reflect the forward-thinking ideas that are being taught in the classroom? After all, you need to get the students inside. Blow their minds with an amazing environment and support it with the education within."

Partnering is Key

Partnerships between local businesses and career tech schools improve educational opportunities at a school, most specifically by supporting the best equipment and facilities for students. By relying on industry advancements demonstrated by business partners, schools can confidently and accurately train students in the latest technologies.

In Ohio, Steed Hammond Paul has put in place a process known as "Schoolhouse of Quality," meant to engage the business community to help in the planning of new career and technical schools. These plans involve both the design of the building and what goes on inside it. The Curriculum Interest Survey, part of this process, helps by determining the degree of interest and need for certain programs. When given to businesses in the South-Western City School District near Columbus, the Curriculum Interest Survey helped the district adjust their program offerings to fit the needs of their community.

In one such case, South-Western?s new 700-student career academy, which opened last September, houses a fully functioning travel office operated by AAA. In a win-win arrangement typical of school-community partnership, students in this program are given real-world experience in the travel and tourism industry?and AAA will ultimately have access to fully trained employees.

"Business leaders and parents just love this," says Kirk Hamilton, superintendent of the South-Western City School District. "It communicates that the district is serious about providing programs in tune with the real world."

Likewise, the Escambia County School District in Florida developed a similar partnership with Cisco Systems. Cisco provides access to current equipment while building relationships with young people who could one day choose to join the company?s workforce.

According to Steed Hammond Paul Community Research Manager Todd Schneider, "The district knew they needed to get the business community involved to ensure a successful vocation school, so they partnered with Cisco Systems. They made the building more accessible to the local businesses, adding visitation rooms where their partners can make phone calls, access the Internet and review student portfolios."

Going High Tech

The tech schools of the future are being created today?from middle schools to community colleges and beyond.

• A showcase for school design. Some very impressive pre-engineering high schools in the state of New Jersey exist in the county vocational systems in Monmouth, Bergen, Union, Hudson and Middlesex counties. These include such facilities as High Tech High in Lincroft?a New Jersey Star School and Best Practice Award Winner for 2002?boasting state-of-the-art electronic equipment. Other schools of note are the High Tech High school in Hudson County, an urban model, and showplace magnet schools in Union and Bergen counties. Unfortunately, another project in that state?the proposed New Jersey Institute of Technology (which was in the planning stage)?was recently scrapped due to state budget cuts. The conceptualized facility would have accommodated about 500 high school students who would attend an integrated program in math, science and engineering. Middle school students would have rotated through as well.
• New technical education facility is itself an education tool. A new tech ed center at Daytona Beach Community College stands as a "cost-effective architectural expression of the nation?s school-to-work reforms." The 155,000-square-foot Advanced Technology Center (ATC) integrates HVAC systems, data networks and other building systems into the technical education curriculum. The building?s rotunda and atrium, set up as the central gathering space, reveal a number of building systems, including two stories of data closets showcasing the server racks where 80 miles of cable terminates. The building?s designers go as far as to suggest students can take field trips within the facility itself. Additionally, the 90,000-square-foot industrial shop area houses high-bay shops for studies in construction, information, automotive and manufacturing technologies.
• Even middle schools are changing. Beadle Middle School in Omaha, Nebraska, is the newest addition to its district?and a place where sixth, seventh and eighth graders are using robotics, global positioning systems, weather stations, virtual reality and computer-aided design. The rest of Millard Public School district has followed suit, with all five of its middle schools boasting updated equipment and technology centers similar to that at Beadle.

Coming Trends and Design Ideas

According to a report last year from the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, there are 10 educational trends that should shape school planning and design for the future:

1) The lines of prescribed attendance blurring;

2) Schools becoming smaller and more neighborhood oriented;

3) Fewer students per class;

4) Technology dominating instructional delivery;

5) The typical space thought to constitute a "school" changing to something different;

6) Students and teachers being organized differently;

7) Students spending more time in school;

8) Instructional materials evolving;

9) Grade configurations changing; and

10) Schools disappearing before the end of the 21st century ("Or will they?" the authors ask.)

American School and University magazine published an article a few years ago noting their top design ideas for a school of the 21st century, some of which are: taking a fresh approach to classroom furniture and layout; creating larger physical classroom spaces; the infusion of technology with computers, especially portable laptops to be found everywhere and not just in computer labs; technology to be more streamlined and integrated: classrooms to house a variety of science and lab activities, including aquariums and all sorts of natural exhibits; and schools to be flexible and highly efficient.

The authors say that, "Educational facilities must be physical environments where innovative educators can create programs that address the needs of an increasingly diverse student body."

With interesting, state-of-the-art facilities, the ability of teachers to reach all students is enhanced and students enjoy spaces that provide a nurturing and stimulating environment.

However, the schools of the 21st century will need to be?above all?more student centered and more personalized in programs. Thus it will take flexible team learning areas and classrooms, as well as the latest equipment and facilities, to cultivate students? individual learning styles to everyone?s benefit.

Sandy Cutshall is a regular contributor to Techniques. She works as a writer/editor in Mountain View, California, where she also teaches adults English as a second language.

Is Smaller Better?

When It Comes to Schools, Size Does Matter

by Sandy Cutshall, TechniquesContributing Editor

School size is a hot topic, with most educators today supporting the smaller-is-better philosophy. However, this idea challenges traditional conventional wisdom that large schools are better able to offer high-level courses, particularly in math and science, at an acceptable cost. What does the research say? Does size matter? Moreover, if smaller really is better, how affordable and necessary is it to build a small school from scratch? Would it be possible to create a small school environment within an existing large facility?

Big is Still Big

About 70 percent of all high school students in the United States attend a school with 1,000 or more students, and a sizable group goes to schools of 2,000 or more.

This large school model came into existence after World War II, but the concept really took hold following the Soviet launching of Sputnik in 1957. The widely held belief at that time was that schools had to be enlarged to offer the kind of math and science students needed to compete technologically with the USSR.

The biggest advocate for larger schools in this era was education theorist James Bryant Conant of Harvard University, whose book The American High School Today (1958) asserted that the first priority of many states should be the "elimination of the small high school by district reorganization."

Conant has been credited (or blamed) for the move to close small high schools in the United States, consolidating them into larger "comprehensive" schools where students might find more advanced-level opportunities.

School consolidation resulted in an overall decline of 70 percent in the number of secondary schools in the United States. Since 1940, the average U.S. school district has risen from 217 to 2,627 students, and the size of the average school has risen from 127 to 653.

Although we continue to live in a land of large schools, educators have believed for some time that bigger educational facilities are not better?and are, in fact, worse for many students.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals recently recommended that the high school of the 21st century be much more student centered and, above all, much more personalized in programs, support services and intellectual rigor.

Underlying this recommendation are the association?s beliefs that students take more interest in school when they have a sense of belonging and that students benefit from a more intimate setting in which their presence is more readily and repeatedly acknowledged.

Overwhelming evidence available today reveals that small schools do a better job of supporting student success than do large schools. Small schools have higher graduation rates, lower dropout rates, and more students going on to postsecondary education.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are fewer disciplinary problems, fewer incidents of drug, alcohol and tobacco use, and less crime and violence in small schools.

Thinking Small

The challenge before school planners, administrators and educators today is to figure out how to either create new small schools themselves, or to redesign large schools so as to create small-school environments.

Fortunately, our national leaders have come to realize that encouraging smaller learning environments is in the best interest of education reform efforts.

President Bush?s No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 reiterated the important goal of creating smaller learning communities. Building on the Department of Education?s Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) program of 2000, the new law gives defined structure to the discretionary grant status of the SLC grant competition. It also ensures that Smaller Learning Communities will continue to assist large public high schools, which are defined as schools that include grades 11 and 12 and enroll at least 1,000 students in grades nine and above.

By reauthorizing the SLC program, the No Child Left Behind Act allows grantees to use their funds to, among other things: (1) study the feasibility of creating smaller learning communities; (2) research, develop, and implement strategies for creating smaller learning communities; (3) provide professional development for school staff in the teaching methods that would be used in the smaller learning community; and (4) develop and implement strategies to include parents, business representatives, community-based organizations, and other community members in the activities of the smaller learning communities.

Congress set aside $125 million for the Smaller Learning Communities program for 2001 and $142 million for 2002. In the program?s first year, a total of 349 schools, serving more than 450,000 students, received the grants. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has also donated $235 million to the movement for small schools.

If You Build It, They Will Learn

With considerable data supporting smaller learning communities and some federal, state and private funds now available for this effort, there are still questions about whether small schools can be built cost effectively, and if anyone has actually done so. Using data drawn from 489 schools submitted to design competitions in 1990-2001, the 2002 report Dollars & Sense: The Cost Effectiveness of Small Schools, answers both questions with a "resounding yes."

The report asserts that there are many economic arguments in support of small schools and that it is "fiscally responsible to spend school construction dollars on small school facilities."

As an excellent example of an effective small school, the report highlights the unique state-funded Metropolitan Career and Technical Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The "Met" graduated its first class in June 2000?43 students, each of whom applied and were accepted to at least one college.

Upon entering the Met, the class of 2000 looked much like their peers in the Providence school system?an ethnically diverse group, many from needy families with parents who were not college educated, and many two or three years behind grade level in skills. In fact, while the group spanned all levels, the majority of students were at the lower end of the achievement scale, not having developed the skills necessary to succeed in college and careers.

But at the Met, they found a school unlike any they had ever attended. Their school experience included independent projects, quarterly exhibitions of their work, creation of four-year portfolios and intensive time spent with an advisor and peer advisory group and community mentor.

Small schools, of course, are not effective simply because they are small. It is the increase in teacher collaboration and team teaching, greater flexibility and responsiveness to student needs, and the personal connections among everyone within the system that make smaller schools work.

The authors of Dollars and Sense note that, unfortunately, in some states, "even if local leaders are inclined to build smaller schools, state policy governing maintenance, renovation, and construction of school facilities promotes consolidation and larger schools."

Some states, such as Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Georgia require specific minimum enrollments in order for a district to qualify for funding for school facilities. Policies setting "required acreage" for existing and new schools also pressure districts to close small facilities and build consolidated schools in outlying areas.

However, a number of state policies have begun to change regarding smaller schools. Three states noted in Dollars & Sense have most recently considered legislation that supports small schools.

In 2000, Florida passed a bill limiting elementary schools to 500 students, middle schools to 700 students, and high schools to 900 students. Maryland has considered legislation requiring the state to pay ten percent over the maximum state allocation for construction of schools in "priority funding areas" meeting specific size limits. And, in 1998, Vermont passed legislation to encourage the viability of small schools with increases in funding for this effort.

Honey, I Shrunk the School

Many people realize that large schools are far from ideal places in which to teach and learn, but it is rarely possible to replace large schools with small facilities just with the snap of the fingers.

Creating schools-within-a-school (SWaS) is one current strategy for reducing school size. However, it is recommended that this concept be used appropriately when making use of an existing large high school building; experts warn that it is not advisable to build a new facility simply so that it can be turned into a SWaS.

Also, some emerging research suggests that it can be difficult to create effective schools-within-a-school. But, if it is the most feasible solution, then the suggestion is to take steps to ensure that all students have access to specialized facilities such as the gym, auditorium and cafeteria. Also, districts must work to prevent the re-segregation and re-tracking of high schools that have occurred in some SWaS. Finally, SWaS should be completely autonomous to overcome the inflexibility that characterizes other large schools.

Besides creating SWaS, schools with more than 1,000 students may employ a number of other strategies to personalize the learning environment, including:

• career academies: offering students academic programs organized around a broad career theme;
• mentoring and other teacher-advisory systems: allowing teachers, counselors, other school staff and volunteers to work with the students as mentors to help students on an individual basis;
• career clusters: helping students by mapping out a curriculum that would provide the academic and technical education necessary for their particular field.

Small Success Stories

School districts all over the United States are embracing smaller learning communities with some promising results. A glimpse into what?s happening:

New and Improved
Last September, six new or reconfigured high schools opened their doors in Baltimore, Maryland, including the technology-focused Digital Harbor High School and three smaller neighborhood high schools designed to draw students from the city?s largest ones. Three new middle schools run by outside groups also promised students innovative curricula and smaller learning environments. The school system added a sixth grade to 10 elementary schools, the first step in a citywide move to keep children closer to home through the eighth grade?a design that generally produces better test results.

The New National Academy Foundation high school operating at Port Discovery (the "kid-powered" museum) opened as a home to academies of finance, travel and tourism, and technology, with a class of about 85 ninth-graders. The technology academy?s small classes give teachers more time to help students and give students the opportunity to shadow professionals in the technology sector.

Shrinking Schools
Sacramento City Unified School District students in California could have five additional high schools to choose from come next September. The district?s plan to overhaul secondary schools will result in the creation of different theme-based schools, each with fewer than 500 students.

The school, open to all students, will include the technology-themed New Technology High School. Based on the successful New Tech High in Napa?and funded in part by a grant from the Gates Foundation?Sacramento?s New Tech High will offer career and technical education in a rigorous applied-learning setting. Like other similar schools in California, it will combine immersion, personalization and performance-based assessment in a high-tech environment. Applied learning includes a project-based model, digital portfolios and industry partnerships to prepare students for postsecondary education.

Other new schools in Sacramento will include a health service academy, run in collaboration with the local health care industry and encouraging individual education plans tailored around student interests. A small alternative school will also be created to help students who have struggled with behavioral and academic programs.

Sacramento is also planning to create a Met School?a virtual replica of the Providence success story?with no more than 150 students. The Gates foundation awarded money to the founder of the first Met schools in Rhode Island to replicate that model in Sacramento.

With enrollment at the comprehensive high schools in Sacramento exceeding 2,100 each, the goal is to open as many as 15 small high schools in the next five years.

Organized for Change
Parents in Oakland, California, were the primary force behind school size reform in their community, pressuring their school board to open 10 new small schools by 2003. With this vote, Oakland became the first district in California to launch an official policy of downsizing to small schools. Among the new public schools is the Life Academy, with only 250 students, where students participate in a daily advisory group?as well as taking a course load heavily focused on the biosciences and health. Oakland?s early results are promising, with students earning better grades and schools seeing better attendance overall.

Forging a New Way
In Montgomery County, Maryland, many new high schoolers are having a very different experience this school year. Beginning last September, four large urban high schools (Wheaton, Montgomery Blair, Einstein and Kennedy) opened ninth grade academies to assist the many students who too often fall through the cracks at these huge 1,500 to 3,000-student schools. At each of the four schools, 40 percent of the students who start out as freshmen do not stay to graduate?a trend that the academies are intended to reverse.

Through the academies, freshmen are assigned a core of four or five teachers whose job it will be to get to know each of them, just like in middle school. The need at the four schools is intense. At Einstein, one in four freshmen are reading at a sixth-grade level or below; at Wheaton, 80 percent of incoming freshmen are reading below the state standard; and at Blair, almost 25 percent of ninth-graders had grades so low they were ineligible to play sports or perform in school plays.

In coming years, each school plans to set up unique career academies?Wheaton will offer engineering, for example, Kennedy sports medicine?or academic programs. Einstein is offering the highly rigorous International Baccalaureate program. Once Northwood High School is reopened in 2004 and becomes part of the consortium, students in the Silver Spring area may choose to attend any one of the four high schools.

A Small, Bright Future

The coming years will see more than 100 new small schools created, each embracing a different model, but all focused on providing the kind of academic rigor and personal relationships needed to help all students achieve.

From career academies to charter schools, from alternative schools to technical centers?increasingly school districts are embracing the concept that smaller is better, and rolling up their sleeves to make smaller learning communities a reality for more students every day.


Big or Small? There?s No Comparison

According to the U.S. Department of Education*, big schools have:

• 852 percent more violent crime
• 270 percent more vandalism
• 378 percent more theft and larceny
• 394 percent more physical fights or attacks
• 3,200 percent more robberies
• 1,000 percent more weapons incidents

Meanwhile, research shows that small schools have:

• Higher student satisfaction
• Better attendance rates
• Lower dropout rates
• Higher outcomes on standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT

*When comparing small schools (less than 300) with big schools (1,000 or more).

Sandy Cutshall is a regular contributor to Techniques. She works as a writer/editor in Mountain View, California, where she also teaches adults English as a second language.

Advancing the concept of technology Education

by Sara Wright, Techniques contributing writer

The Advanced Technology Center in Virginia Beach City is more than a new facility?it?s a whole new concept in career and technical training. The project is a joint venture between the city school system, Tidewater Community College and the city itself, designed to streamline the path from technical education to high-paying industry jobs.

The Advanced Technology Center (ATC), which opened last November in Virginia Beach City, is a rather remarkable place. It is home to hundreds of flat-screen Hewlett-Packard computers, 2,400 Internet ports, a distance-learning classroom outfitted by Compaq and some 4,000 square feet of economic development shell space. It is also the site for some of the most revolutionary and advanced technical courses available at the secondary and undergraduate level.

Shared Space

The $22.5 million ATC is a 137,000-square-foot facility jointly utilized by the public schools and Tidewater Community College (TCC). While many of classrooms serve primarily one institution or the other, others do double duty, home to secondary students during the day and TCC students during evenings. But what is perhaps most innovative about the ATC is that it also shares space with the business community.

Two spaces, which together comprise the ATC?s "economic development shell space," are designed expressly for the use of businesses. One is a large training room, the other an unfinished (but fully wired) space to be used for temporary operations by new or expanding businesses.

"We left it unfinished so there?d be a lot more flexibility," says Jerry Stewart, the workforce development coordinator for the Virginia Beach City Department of Economic Development.

The shell space will help the city to recruit new industries to the region and to encourage the expansion of existing businesses. The ATC?s operating committee has left open the question of whether or not to charge rent for the use of the two spaces; the first priority will be to use them as a magnet to draw jobs to the area.

The students of the ATC are an equally important part of the draw, which is what makes the idea of combining classroom space and the economic development shell space in one building pure genius.

As Stewart explains, a tour of the shell space would hardly be complete without a look at the rest of the building. "Right away we can tour the building and see high school kids taking advanced computer classes," he says. "That?s the future workforce."

At the same time, the significant industry presence inside the ATC is intended to help "encourage businesses to take some responsibility in identifying the skills they need," says Stewart.

Some see the potential for industry contribution as even larger. Among those is J. Lyle Bagley, dean of engineering and industrial technology for TCC?s Virginia Beach Campus, who is already working with such companies as STILH, IMS Gear and MILCOM, as well as with the US Navy and Marine Corps, on projects ranging from curriculum development to student internships.

Other unique features of the ATC include a spacious technology theater and a local cable station. The technology theater, which will be used by TCC, Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) and businesses alike, features a 10-foot screen and seating for up to 250, with 65 ported seats. It will be an ideal space for symposiums and teleconferencing.

Shared Knowledge

Part of the Tidewater Community College Virginia Beach Campus, the ATC is also located adjacent to a higher education center run jointly by Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University, and just across the street from a new public high school. Together, these institutions form what officials are heralding as an "academic village."

Such a setup is convenient for students as it allows them to move more easily from one level of education to another. In addition, some students may benefit by enrolling concurrently in more than one institution. According to Dean Bagley, the ATC configuration will facilitate "a great expansion in the degree to which we do dual-enrollment."

Another important benefit of the academic village configuration is that it facilitates articulation agreements and the sharing of resources and expertise among educators and students at different institutions.

This has been crucial to the development of the secondary courses that are being offered at ATC, says Patrick Konopnicki, director of technical and career education for VBCPS. Many of these courses are based on classes that are routinely offered only at the postsecondary level. For example, a modeling and simulation class that will be offered next year to juniors and seniors is based in large part on a graduate-level course offered by Old Dominion University.

The class will cover fairly advanced skills used in the field of engineering design, as students work their way through all the design phases of a system to solve an engineering problem. Konopnicki believes strongly in the need to "cascade these competencies down to the secondary level."

The benefits for graduates will be tangible. If they choose to begin work right out of high school, they?ll be qualified for better jobs than might otherwise be available. And if they choose to continue their educations, they will be able to follow an articulated pathway to certain associate?s degrees offered by TCC. In addition, program staff members are working to develop similar opportunities for articulation and/or dual enrollment with Old Dominion?s Modeling and Simulation Center.

Centered on Success

For those who remain skeptical as to whether such advanced topics can be meaningfully taught at the secondary level, Konopnicki need only point to the district?s award-winning Computer Network Administrator (CNA) program.

Linda Lavender teaches the two-year CNA course, which she developed in 1994. It was the first secondary course, nationwide, to prepare students for industry certification as a Novell CNA and has since evolved to focus on other operating systems as well. Students still test for Novell certification but are also prepared for certification as a Microsoft Certified Professional.

The program has proven that high school students are capable of learning skills once thought appropriate only for older students?and it?s done so with flair, earning, in 2001, the designation of "Exemplary Program" from the National Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education.

For this program, as with other existing programs that have been relocated from other facilities to the ATC, the changes are subtle, but real. At first, Lavender says, she wasn?t sure how or even if being in the ATC would affect her teaching and her students? learning?though she appreciated the "space to grow" afforded by the large facilities.

But since the move took place in November, she?s already noticed a number of significant effects. Her students, she says, are inspired by the college students with whom they share the building and have a more future-oriented outlook.

Business interest in the program has skyrocketed. "I got so many donations this year," Lavender notes, attributing industry enthusiasm to the high-profile nature of the ATC. "They want to be a part of this product."

And, says Lavender, the ATC facility and its placement as part of an academic village have contributed to her professional development. "I have been able, as a teacher, to interact with my colleagues in the community college. I can make sure I?m on par; we can do more brainstorming; and they?re seeing that we?re not just doing some little fluff classes."

TCC students benefit from Lavender?s presence as well. She has brought to the ATC, not only her CNA class, but also a Prometric testing center. Prometric is an independent testing agency that administers the certification exams for which Lavender?s students train.

Having the center has allowed students to receive discounts in testing and to avoid the hassles of traveling to an inconvenient testing site.

The center has also raised nominal funds to pay for equipment and scholarships for Lavender?s students. Now that the center is located in the ATC facility, TCC students and other community members are able to take advantage of these benefits as well.

An Inclusive Partnership

The ATC has its beginnings in a number of disparate initiatives. Beginning in the late 1980s, the Tidewater Community College was beginning to draw up plans for a new academic facility for its Virginia Beach Campus. Around the same time, the Virginia Beach City Public Schools began discussing its need for an additional technical and career facility to meet a burgeoning demand for courses in this area.

Many delays and budget cuts later, Timothy Jenney, the superintendent of VBCPS, brought the two organizations together with the visionary idea of creating a single high-tech facility that would be shared by TCC and VBCPS. The idea, first broached in the mid 1990s, took off and began winning supporters.

From the beginning, VBCPS had worked in partnership with the city department of economic development, wanting to develop programs that met the city?s needs and would prepare students for jobs that were in demand. As discussions about a joint facility progressed, the department of economic development continued to play a role.

This led eventually to the adoption of three general areas of focus at the completed ATC: information technology, telecommunications, and high-performance engineering/manufacturing.

These are all fields of high growth that Virginia Beach City is targeting. "Rather than increasing the variety" of courses offered, Bagley says, the ATC "will intensify the focus on what is needed."

(Career and technical education in other fields at both the secondary and community college level will continue to take place at other CTE facilities throughout VBCPS and TCC.)

Because of the wide coalition of support and what Konopnicki describes as the "overwhelming value-added nature to education and economic development," funding was more forthcoming than might have been expected. In November of 1997, the city council passed a resolution committing up to $13 million in funding to the construction of a new TCC-VBCPS career and technical education center.

The council urged maximum state funding for the project as well, and in December of that year, that wish was granted. Governor Allen allotted $10 million in state grants from the 1998-2000 state budget.

In 1998, the ATC received another major boost from the state when House Joint Resolution (HJR) 124 was adopted. This resolution urged the study of the feasibility of creating other technology centers throughout Virginia and named the ATC as a model. Despite the fact that the ATC was still a few years from opening, HJR 124 called it "the most advanced public school/community college partnership in Virginia."

By all accounts, it looks as if the ATC will maintain that position for some time. The ATC is bringing together diverse participants in the field of technology education?from traditional CTE educators at the secondary and community college level to those involved in graduate programs, as well as business leaders and city leaders with an eye on economic development. The result, as Bagley describes it, is "a really solid education system that is continuous and almost seamless."

The ATC has its own Web site (maintained by high school students in the digital design class) that can be accessed at http://www.vbatc.com.

Sara Wright is in her final semester at Yale University, where she is majoring in anthropology. She has taught English as a second language and this past summer spent six weeks teaching English in Ecuador. She has been a part-time employee of Print Management, Inc. since first interning for the company as a high school student.

Workforce Development in the Classroom

Incorporating workforce development activities into the classroom curriculum can create a valuable learning opportunity for middle school students.

By Barbara R. Blackburn, Ph.D., Carol P. McNulty, Ph.D., and Sue Peck, Ed.D.

The School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (Federal Public Law 10-239, May 4, 1994) focused on the need to incorporate school-to-work activities and instructional strategies for all students. Learning a Living, the Secretary of Labor?s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report, emphasizes the characteristics the workforce needs to successfully compete in a global economy. These include: 1) personal qualities (e.g. cooperation, integrity and honesty); 2) basic skills (e.g. reading, writing, listening and speaking); and 3) thinking skills.

However, these skills do not develop in isolation, and schools assume the responsibility of preparing students for the workplace. Although these responsibilities are delivered through specialized exploratory classes, it is also important to incorporate workforce development skills into the standard curriculum for all students.

Implementation in the Classroom

Tamara Willis, seventh grade social studies teacher at Sullivan Middle School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, integrated workforce development activities into her social studies curriculum. Early in the school year, her students commented that, "school is like a job and...we should get paid for attending."

Capitalizing on a teachable moment, Willis explained, "a job requires more than just showing up;" there are expectations and responsibilities that must be met in order to keep a job.

Eager to assume real-life roles, these young adolescent students responded that they could handle responsibilities, so Willis decided to implement a six-week project related to employment. Before allowing students to vote on the trial activity, she explained one stipulation: if they chose to start the project, they would be required to finish?no turning back in the middle of the project if they did not like it. All students agreed and voted that their "business" would be a university named Sullivan University.

After teacher-developed job descriptions and responsibilities were distributed, each student was required to fill out an application and complete a resume for the position of their choice: Dean, Professor and Intern. Mirroring real-world scenarios, students then interviewed student-applicants for the jobs and hired students from the applicant pool.

Through this process, Willis served as a resource, providing sample questions and feedback. She facilitated reflection by asking students to share their feelings during the process in a journal. Journal writing and other activities incorporated SCANS skills throughout this process: reading and writing were incorporated in the application and resume process; listening and speaking were integral to the interviews.

In addition, important workforce dispositions such as integrity and honesty were reflected in the application and interview questions.

The deans met and formed teams for the class, meeting with Willis to discuss changes needed for the class to be a productive learning environment (their first executive board meeting). Because students initiated decisions for changes (such as class behavior rules), the students began to assume more ownership in the overall learning environment.

For example, when one student became loud enough to interrupt other students? work, his peers asked him to be quiet. Willis became a facilitator of learning, stepping in when needed. SCANS skills were naturally integrated throughout the executive board meetings in which teamwork and cooperation were emphasized.

Learning Pays Off

A major surprise for students arrived with their first paychecks, when they were forced to experience a very personalized lesson in economics. They were excited to receive a "check," but were amazed about the taxes that were taken out of their checks. Their expectation was they would receive their entire gross sum. Willis? response: "Uncle Sam gets paid no matter what."

Students laughed and commented that that?s what their parents say. Paychecks over time included performance pay, which added another layer for students to consider.

Before the project began, students had to compare their work at school to a job. Comments included "having responsibilities such as turning in homework, being on time, following rules and dress codes, and being organized;" "eight-hour days;" "teamwork;" "information required before starting, such as birth certificate/social security number, immunizations, proof of residency;" and "having positive and negative consequences."

Although their responses did not accurately reflect a full understanding of the comparison, the responses did provide a glimpse of students? views of their world as work.

Continued involvement in the project encouraged student learning in several areas and promoted motivation. Students were interested in the activity and were actively engaged throughout the activity and entire project. Before the project, students were regularly off task, few students engaged in class discussion, and tardies and missed assignments were the norm. Once the project began, on-time attendance, completed assignments and participation in discussions increased.

In addition, the overall quality of class discussions improved, and students provided leadership for their peers. Students were able to gain valuable real-world experiences.

Willis notes, "They have learned more in less than two weeks than I could have lectured about over a six-week period."

Likewise, students gained opportunities to self-evaluate their performances, as authentic opportunities for reflection were provided. As one student notes, "I have learned that having a job is not at all easy. You have to like it to do a good job. I would say that my job is going well, although I think I could still bring my grades up."

Or, as another student who served the role of dean says, "I learned that having a job comes with a lot of responsibility. It?s a lot harder than I thought it would be...I have switched some people around, and I get along well with my group. They are all responsible and well behaved. They don?t talk much, and when they do, it?s about education."

Life Lessons

Willis also gained valuable insight through the process. What began as a capitalization on a teachable moment was strengthened when she tied the activity to a research project required in her graduate program. She discovered that the adolescent literature she read took on new meaning, as her methods and experiences were validated by research. She found that simply by responding to her students? questions, she was actually implementing strong, research-based practices that are appropriate to meet the needs of young adolescents.

As she notes, "This project for my students and myself is not just a project. It is not just a grade. It?s a life-altering experience."

SCANS skills are not only appropriate for workforce development, but they are also key factors for academic success in K-12 classrooms. The standard curriculum is an excellent place to teach skills that will last a lifetime (SCANS) and help our students to become productive, well-adjusted members of society.

Resources and References for Implementing Workforce Development in the Classroom

Reference

Learning a Living: The final report of the United States Secretary of Labor?s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), Government Printing Office, (Superintendent of Documents, P. O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA)

Nonfiction Books

• How to Look Good to an Employer/With Teacher?s Guide, by Rebecca Anthony
• Testing the Waters: A Teen?s Guide to Career Exploration, by Alice N. Culbreath and Saundra K. Neal
• Exploring Careers: A Young Person?s Guide to Over 300 Jobs, by Michael T. Farr
• 100 Jobs for Kids and Young Adults?A Self-Empowerment Tool, by Eva Marques
• Jobs People Do, by Christopher Maynard Work, by Ann Morris
• Children?s Dictionary of Occupations, by Barbara Parramore
• Careers: Exploration and Decision, by Jack L. Rettig
• Taking Responsibility (Job Skills), by Stuart Schwartz and Craig Conley
• Odd Jobs: The Wackiest Jobs You?ve Never Heard of, by Ellen Weiss
• History (Discovering Careers for Your Future), by Carol Yehling

Fiction Books

• Chicken Man, by Michelle Edwards
• I Am a Dancer, by Jane Felman
• Working Days: Short Stories About Teenagers at Work, by Anne Mazer
• The Paperboy, by Dav Pilkey
• Felix and the 400 Frogs, by Susan Schade

Web Sites to Explore

The following are some Web sites that can be used as resources for workforce development activities.

http://www.whatdotheydo.com
Students can find out what people in various jobs do. They can explore jobs from accounting to undertaking as they read job descriptions followed by a vignette depicting a day in the life of a person who holds that job.

http://www.yahooligans.com/School_Bell/Careers
This page is a link to many other sites that provide in-depth coverage of specific jobs and careers. Students can link to other Web sites based on their interests.

http://www.pbs.org/livelyhood/classroom/chipping/careers.html
This Web site is a great resource for students wanting to connect career choices to family. Here students map out the career paths of their parents and grandparents, and they explore the barriers and occupational hazards that once accompanied certain jobs. There are many links to extend the learning.

http://www.bls.gov/k12/html/edu_over.htm
Produced for children, this Web site gives them ideas for careers based on their interests in subjects in school. It also provides links for teachers and to the Bureau of Labor Statistics home page.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/home.htm
This Web site is hosted by the Department of Labor, which provides a Career Guide to Industries. The guide includes "the nature of the industry, working conditions, employment, occupations in the industry, training and advancement, earnings and benefits, employment outlook, and lists of organizations that can provide additional information."

A special thanks to Tamara Willis, Sullivan Middle School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, for her assistance on this story.

Dr. Barbara R. Blackburn is an assistant professor and coordinator of the MED in Middle Level Education Program at Winthrop University. She is a member of the Southern Forum to Accelerate Middle School Reform and was a middle school teacher for six years.

Dr. Carol P. McNulty is an assistant professor in elementary education at Winthrop University, where she teaches social studies methods. Her research interests include middle schoolers at risk for delinquency. She taught elementary school for five years.

Dr. Sue Peck is associate professor of vocational education and chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Winthrop University. Her specialty is adult and vocational education, and she is a former high school teacher.

Sustaining a School-to-Career Initiative

by Susan Reese, Techniques Contributing Editor

School-to-career programs offer benefits for the entire community, so community involvement can play an important role in keeping them going.

The School-to-Work Opportunity Act provided seed money for school districts to start up school-to-career programs, but it is now up to those districts to keep their programs going. In southeastern Louisiana, they have found a way to do that by creating a strong partnership with the business community.

MetroVision is a partnership of business, education, labor, government and civic organizations working cooperatively to create jobs, market the New Orleans region and assist developers and business location specialists in decisions regarding the region. MetroVision represents 10 parishes and supports a school-to-career initiative in seven of those 10 parishes.

As part of the MetroVision education partnership sustainability efforts for the local school-to-career initiative, a five-year business plan called for total inclusion of education in smaller learning communities such as academies and ninth-grade houses.

According to Dianna Dyer, the school-to-career director for Jefferson Parish Public Schools, their school-to-career program is based on a model from Louisville, Ky. "Business partners and educators are linked by an intermediary," explains Dyer. "Our intermediary was the regional chamber of commerce."

The Louisiana program has a consortia coordinator who works for the intermediary and is paid by the business partners. The coordinator organizes internships and apprenticeships, but teachers also go into the business community and work for 16 days?for which they are paid $100 a day.

Why would the business partners be willing to put up the money for a school-to-career program such as this? Dyer says it?s because they know they will be getting good employees in return for their investment.

Sharing a Success Story

At the 2001 ACTE Convention in New Orleans, Dyer and one of those business partners?Paul Hasney, senior vice president and manager of corporate education for Hibernia Bank and Trust in Metairie, La.?explained the process and outlined a business plan for use by other areas. They also made a copy of a $2.5 million grant for smaller learning communities available to anyone who was interested. Dyer and Hasney noted that industry support, grants and collaborative efforts are the key ingredients in their work to sustain their school-to-career initiative.

Their presentation also looked at the business perspective on sustainability, noting that to engage the business community, the paradigm should change "from donations to relevance." That relevance is shown through job shadowing activities, internships for both students and teachers, classroom involvement, advisory board participation and curriculum development.

Dyer also notes, "We created a strong relationship with the local community college. With an articulation agreement, students can work during the summer and get both credits and experience."

Students work in fields such as legal studies, construction and banking and finance.

Sustainability efforts also involved a public relations campaign that included television, radio and print media.

Career academies are flourishing in Jefferson Parish Public Schools, and in December, students from the Jefferson career academies attended the Future Connections Program held at the University of New Orleans. Sponsored and paid for by 55 business partners, the conference featured presentations by community leaders and five breakout sessions with business leaders. Jefferson Parish students from four career academies?Information Technology, Banking and Finance, Travel and Tourism, and Health Sciences?participated in the event.

Jefferson Parish teachers participate in the School-to-Career Summer Institute in which they work with business, labor and government to develop curricula that demonstrates the relevance of education to the future workforce. They also gain real-world experience through internships in hotels, banks, insurance agencies, hospitals, convention centers and tourist attractions.

A Close Call

Even with its successful track record, the Jefferson Parish school-to-career program almost died last year. When a sales tax referendum did not pass last July, all funding for school-to-career was cut, and Dyer?s position was eliminated. That?s when the business community stepped in once again, and business representatives pled the case for the school-to-career initiative.

"My position was reinstated and school-to-career was saved because the business community said they depend on it," says Dyer. "It was unbelievable what the business community did for us."

When its importance to the community was demonstrated, the money for Dyer?s salary was allocated from another department, the Community Education Department, which is a self-funded department responsible for after-school activities.

Sometimes finding the money requires a little extra creativity, and in Jefferson Parish they are trying something quite different. Although it had not yet occurred at the time we interviewed her for this article, Dyer was looking forward to a unique fundraising activity that was to be held January 27-30?a telethon to showcase every school in the district.

Dyer says, "Every CEO of every major corporation in the area, as well as labor unions, church leaders and parent advisory groups will be involved."

They were also expecting participation by entertainers such as Doug Kershaw and by professional athletes from the local teams, the Saints and Hornets.

Dyer says in amazement, "The involvement goes beyond my wildest dreams."

She has promised to keep us posted on how this unique fundraiser goes, and we?ll share the information with ACTE members. If it is successful, perhaps bake sales could become a thing of the past.

Dyer is also looking forward to the start of another career academy. The new academy will be in government affairs. Since the government is a major employer in the area, the Jefferson Parish Public Schools will be able to provide a source of well-trained government workers.

Keeping the Faith

Dyer and Hasney pointed out in their presentation at the convention that, "Benchmarks within the business community for student participants included increasing participation in postsecondary training, increases in student achievement in math, science and communications, and national recognition for sustainability efforts for school-to-career."

In Jefferson Parish, La., school-to-career is still going strong because of a number of factors working together. Among these are committed educators, good planning, proven results, and a campaign to spread the word about its benefits. But the most important factor contributing to the success of the Jefferson Parish school-to-career initiative is the strength of the partnership the education community has forged with the business community.

It also takes a little faith, because Dyer believes that the funding for something as important as school-to-career can always be found somewhere. After all, they managed to find a way in Jefferson Parish, and since then she says, "I have never looked back. You can?t look back. You just have to keep serving the people you need to serve."

Framework for Learning Design

The Need for a Common Language: Benefits of a Good Performance-Based Model

By Robin Soine, Associate Director-Client Relations, Worldwide Instructional Design Systems (WIDS)

Goals of educators today are consistent across content areas, levels and geographic boundaries: determine performance expectations of the workforce or other life roles, assure that teaching and learning focus on these intended expectations, and document learning results. With efforts to set state, occupational or organizational-wide standards for performance and incorporate varied innovative teaching and delivery strategies, such goals become fragmented without a consistent communication tool or common language of learning design. Without a systemic, systematic and consistent framework of design (a common language) for bringing these changes to the frontlines of teaching and learning, no substantial differences in the quality of education will result.

When a common design framework is adopted, educators can more efficiently determine industry-endorsed performance expectations, build learning and teaching plans that bring those expectations to the classroom or learning experience, and document results that are recognized across institutional lines.

Validity of Learning

As programs and training are regularly re-evaluated for currency and "necessity" (especially in the age of accountability and budget shortfalls), the validity of learning comes into question. Why does such a program exist? Is there a need for a new program? What is the best way to ensure what we?re doing actually needs to be done? What is the best way to find out what needs to be done?

Analyzing an occupation, or life role for that matter, can be done with a variety of methods, but one process in particular is called "DACUM," an abbreviation for Developing A CurriculUM.

In The DACUM Connection, Robert Norton says that DACUM "involves expert workers?the local men and women with reputations for being ?the best? at their jobs. These workers share what they do and how they do it. Their descriptions are in the language of the occupation. That means you find out exactly what they do and what happens on the worksite."

Results from a DACUM include a graphic chart (or profile) of the tasks required in a current or future occupation or life role. The process accounts for knowledge required, skills and trends in the workplace. It involves a panel of experts and a trained DACUM facilitator.

This process of identifying the performance expectations of workers provides a solid, valid foundation for curriculum/training development. It maximizes worker input and buy-in. It is efficient; a typical DACUM lasts two days. Surveys are generated and sent to the larger workforce in the occupation?verifying results of the panel with a larger population.

Other forms of occupational analysis exist, such as occupational profiling through research into job titles, subject matter experts and the WorkKeys Profiling System developed by ACT. Fortunately, there is some consistency in the descriptive language of what to call the results of such analyses: duties and tasks. These words are often recognized across instructional design languages and offer a valid beginning to the design of curriculum and/or training.

What comes next? How are these expectations brought to the frontlines?

Community colleges have often worked in partnership with business and industry to identify performance expectations and then develop curriculum based on those expectations. Workforce development is not new and has been defined (by Margaret Forde in a 2002 article in The Community College Journal) as providing "current and future employees with the education, training, competencies and skills that employers need to maintain high performance in a competitive market environment." But, is there a way to do this more efficiently, so expectations and results can be easily shared and recognized across stakeholder lines? Is there a consistent and better way to show how skills identified during occupational analyses are actually being addressed in the classroom or learning environment?

The Need for a Model

It?s no mystery that educators speak different languages when it comes to the design of curriculum, in fact some faculty are proud of their differences and boast of academic freedom in the classroom?one where expectations are still hidden in the mind of the hallowed professor, and learners still have to wonder if what they?re doing will "get them" an A. These varied "learning languages" persist and can thrive in local school cultures steeped in tradition and habit. The term "objective," for example, may mean one thing for one teacher but something completely different to another. The word "competency" alone offers multiple meanings, as well as "assessment" and "outcomes."

Campuses across the country are often unable to have curriculum discussions within their own faculty departments, let alone across district and state lines, simply because of semantics. Or if they do have a discussion, the first part may be spent on what exactly to call a curriculum element and what is meant by the element. Talking to business and industry about performance expectations adds another layer of confusion, as they may use a completely different set of concepts and terms.

Workforce development advocates at colleges have become experts in interpreting the various learning languages of the world. Is this time well spent for both the college and business? In the examination of 27 colleges and universities, it was found that "even arriving at a common language to use in considering issues of teaching, assessment, and learning can be a struggle," according to James Roth, Mark Gromko, Susan McGury and David Wissman in "Making Student Learning Central: Principles and Practices for Implementation."

The idea of a "framework" or larger picture of curriculum construction has been explored through the identification of basic frameworks that "form different belief systems about how curriculum should be constructed and learning experiences organized," wrote Ruth Stiehl and Les Lewchuck in a 2002 League for Innovation in the Community College Learning Abstract. Working within the learning-centered outcomes framework, "one can see clearly where teaching begins... What should these students be able to do out there in real-life roles that we?re responsible for teaching in here, in this course or program?" This framework supports specification of performance expectations, rather than a "content framework" that uses content as a starting point for curriculum development.

This is not to say that colleges aren?t already making strides to streamline the curriculum development process or effectively prepare their students for a competitive market environment.

What a Model Does

A performance-based model for curriculum design, resting within a learning-centered framework and ideally an organization that values learning, has "forced" teachers such as Christine Bruseth to develop competencies that help learners and herself identify expectations before the course begins.

"There is no more guessing," says Bruseth, a dental hygiene instructor from the Wisconsin Technical College System. "Rambling is gone, and instruction has a focus. I can focus my energies on creative teaching methods that incorporate different learning styles instead of spending all my time trying to figure out what to teach."

A model can assure, just like a strategic plan, that teaching and learning focus on intended expectations?expectations made valid from a quality occupational analysis as mentioned earlier and expectations known and made public in advance. A consistent model of learning design assures that teaching and learning focus on the intended expectations identified by an occupational analysis.

In the case of Alliant Energy, a major power supplier in the midwestern United States, focusing on intended training outcomes such as competencies is a life or death situation. Catastrophic events could happen if learning focuses on something else besides intended performance expectations derived from a close look at what is needed to succeed, especially when safety is involved. Direct application of valid learning outcomes is essential; little room for error exists on the floor of a power plant. Here, a model detailed with competencies, performance expectations, learning objectives and assessment tasks provides building blocks for learning plans that bring outcomes to the frontlines of any learning environment. A model provides the roadmap for teachers or designers, just as the learning plan provides a guide for the student.

Several community colleges have made great strides in adopting a common language and model for learning and training design. Moraine Park Technical College in Wisconsin, George Brown College in Ontario and Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland, for example, have adopted a particular model of design developed and used by technical and community college instructors since 1992. Originally a product from the Wisconsin Technical College System, the Worldwide Instructional Design System (WIDS) model provides a strategic plan for learning and assessment design?both at the course and program level.

Growing out of this need for a common language, WIDS became one of the first widely adopted models of design. It is currently being used by all colleges within the Wisconsin Technical College System, 25 of 28 community colleges in Michigan, and organizations in more than 33 states and 10 foreign countries. Most importantly, this model was designed by teachers for teachers within a learning-centered framework.

Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan, for example, needed a consistent model of design for their courses, and with the advent of distance learning and open-entry/open-exit courses, the WIDS model fit. They?ve been using it for at least four years.

In this model, the teacher or designer first works to create skills at different performance levels. Broadest are the larger or macro exit learning outcomes?transferable skills called core abilities (skills like communication, problem solving and critical thinking) that all learners need regardless of occupational or life roles?program outcomes and general education outcomes. These types of outcomes are often determined at the institutional level, noted in mission statements and thought to be integrated into daily classroom activities. But, often they are not explicitly stated, nor are they assessed or documented.

At the next level, competencies describe major discipline or occupationally specific skills. Ideally, they should be driven from an occupational analysis such as a DACUM. Each competency is a significant outcome and written at the application level or above, clarified by performance standards specifying criteria and conditions for assessment. In most cases, competencies reflect higher order thinking skills of synthesis, analysis and evaluation.

Learning objectives are the enabling instructional outcomes. They describe the lower level, supporting knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to master a given competency. They are focused on a substantial outcome, not meaningless "tiny tasks" often thought to be associated with the reductionist approach to curriculum design.

Once developed, the teacher or designer organizes these elements to create curriculum documents such as course or program outcome summaries, learning and teaching plans, syllabi, and assessment tasks, including scoring checklists and/or rubrics. As a result of the design process and generation of learner documents, learners set out with a clear vision of the requirements?ahead of time?for successful completion of the course or program. These form the learning and teaching plans that bring performance expectations to the frontline, as learning activities are designed specifically with the learner and the end result in mind.

Documenting Learning Results

A model can only go so far. Since many instructional design models exist, how do we know that learners achieve the intended learning outcomes? What can learners show for this achievement?

Documents generated around a clear performance-based model provide the basis of proof?clear learning outcomes and documentation of achievement level attained for each outcome. Learners have "competency report cards," as one teacher said, written in a language familiar to the student, institution and potential employers. Students have evidence documenting observed behavior of the core abilities or "soft skills" attained. They have artifacts.

Graduates from Moraine Park Technical College in Wisconsin, for example, exit a program with a grade based on achievement of competencies (an explanation of that grade in performance terms via assessment checklists or rubrics), and at least one artifact per program outcome. Since the fall of 2000, the college requires all students enrolled in a program of 45 credits or more to complete an "Assessment Portfolio" ?a collection of artifacts (completed course work, Web page, written essay, reflection, etc.) that shows skill development. The college has clearly specified program outcomes, general education outcomes and direct measures of learning for all occupational programs. Educators here believe that student achievement can be measured through an outcome assessment process, providing qualitative and quantitative documentation of student learning.

Northcentral Technical College in Wisconsin also has "exit assessments" by program, such as internships, capstone courses and portfolios that measure program outcomes (using criteria). They believe there is a "connection between the WIDS Model and good exit assessments" because the model ensures:

• objective and observable criteria
• assessment tools (scoring guides) that reflect the criteria of the competencies
• objective assessment tools across employers
• employer, peer, faculty and self assessment

Conclusion

Educators today are trying to design and provide nimble and responsive learning environments based on performance expectations from the workforce and other life roles. How educators go about doing this and what they believe about how curriculum should be constructed is not yet fully understood, but certain goals remain clear: find out what is expected, assure that teaching and learning focus on these expectations, and document learning results. Using a good performance-based model provides a strategic plan for organizing these expectations?a comprehensive framework for design of learning and assessment.

A good model provides a common language, asks about the validity of learning and shows results, often in the form of artifacts or assessment tasks. Such a model, used within a learning-centered framework, allows for varied innovative teaching and delivery strategies without sacrificing organizational-wide goals. It provides the common language that is so desperately needed to move us forward in the new discussions about learning.

For Further Reference

The following resources were used in the preparation of this article.

"Community Colleges?the Center of the Workforce Development Universe," The Community College Journal. 72(6), 32-35, by Margaret L. Forde (2002)

The DACUM Connection, Columbus: Center on Education and Training for Employment, The Ohio State University, Robert Norton (2001)

"Making Student Learning Central: Principles and Practices for Implementation," In Susan Van Kollenburg (Ed.), A Collection of Papers on Self-Study and Institutional Improvement, Chicago: The Higher Learning Commission, James Roth, Mark Gromko, Susan McGury, and David Wissmann (2001)

"Reconstructing the College Curriculum," League for Innovation in the Community College Learning Abstract, 5(6). Available: http://www.league.org/publication/abstracts/learning/lelabs0602.html, Ruth Stiehl and Les Lewchuk (2002 June)

Robin Soine is the associate director, WIDS, Wisconsin Technical College System Foundation. For more information about the WIDS Model, contact Soine at 800-677-9437 or soiner@wids.org.

Improving Math Skills in CTE: How You Can Help

By James R. Stone III, Director, National Research Center for Career and Technical Education

We all are aware that today?s workplace demands higher levels of problem solving skill in its entry-level workers. However, numerous studies show that many, if not most, students leave high school without basic knowledge or understanding in literacy, numeracy and employability skills.

Recent data shows that many students require remediation when they attempt to enter community, technical or four-year colleges. More than half of those entering two-year colleges and nearly half of those entering four-year colleges require remediation in math, reading, writing or all three. In short, they are "high school students" in a higher education setting.

Since many of the math and literacy skills required for both workplace success and entry into higher education are taught in the late middle school and early high school years, one problem is the lack of follow up or reinforcement of these basic skills, especially in areas like algebra. The need for work-bound students (estimated at between 67 percent to 75 percent of students) to develop strong high school level skills in math, reading and writing has increased in recent years.

In particular, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recently reported that math is one of the "new basic skills" for industry. Other research shows that higher wages depend on the ability to think mathematically. Mathematics is no longer a requirement only for scientists and engineers. Some degree of mathematical literacy is required of anyone entering the workplace or seeking advancement in a career.

The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) is about to embark on a national study designed to test the notion that high school students in a contextual, math-enhanced CTE curriculum will develop a deeper and more sustained understanding of mathematical concepts than those students who participate in the traditional CTE curriculum or other high school pathways. We invite you to take part in this study.

Within the next month, we will be sending you an invitation to participate in this study, and we strongly urge you to apply. As part of the study team, you will benefit from professional development, earn stipends and college credits, and, more importantly, increase the value of your CTE program to your students. By responding to our invitation, you will not only become part of the first national experiment in CTE but may also have a direct hand in raising the math performance of our nation?s high school graduates.

The Challenge to CTE: Building Math Skills

We know from work conducted by the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education that participation in CTE reduces the likelihood an adolescent will drop out of high school. Yet many, if not most, of our CTE students graduate school with insufficient skills in math, communications and problem solving to be successful in the emerging workplace or further education.

We also know from a number of recent studies that participation in high school CTE leads to economic advantages as far out as eight years after graduation. These studies compared two groups of students who did not attend college after high school. This represents nearly half of all students who enter ninth grade.

One group included students who "concentrated" in a high school CTE program with students who "concentrated" in traditional academics. CTE concentrators earned more per hour and had higher total earnings. The advantage for CTE concentrators grew over the period of eight years.

So, high school CTE helps keep youth in school and can provide economic advantages after high school but does not appear to improve math skills necessary for the future workplace. The question raised by Perkins III accountability requirements and the No Child Left Behind law becomes: can CTE add more value to the high school experience by enhancing students? ability to understand and use mathematics?

CTE and Contextual Learning

In CTE courses, math becomes contextualized and therefore more readily understandable. The concept of "contextual learning" is not new. John Dewey argued that the great waste in school comes from students? inability to use the experience they bring from out-of-schooling settings, while on the other hand they are unable to apply in daily life what they are learning in school. The isolation of the school?and its isolation from life?prevents students from connecting their learning to their everyday activities, including work.

More recently, researchers have used other language to describe what Dewey observed. In the early 1970s, the term experiential learning was used to describe contextual teaching and learning. Learning while engaged in an activity has also been called applied learning in the 70s and 80s. Later, the term situated cognition or situated learning has been advanced to explain this phenomenon.

What all of these terms describe is a theory that says that students gain deeper understanding of the curriculum because they actively construct knowledge in contexts that are meaningful and motivating. We believe that CTE provides such a context.

Contextual learning has been defined in a number of ways, but the most direct and most simple definition is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Their documents defined contextual learning as learning that motivates students to make connections between knowledge and its applications to their lives as family members, citizens and workers.

CTE teachers can play a major role in helping students find meaning in their education and make connections between what they are learning in the classroom and ways in which that knowledge can be applied in the real world. To some extent, this is already being done, especially with the content of the different CTE programs (e.g., business, health, auto mechanics, marketing). However, there is no evidence that this transfers to the already embedded mathematics we find in most CTE courses. We at the NRCCTE believe it can.

You Can Make a Difference

When you respond to our invitation, you will help determine if CTE curricula can build skill in key academic areas and further increase its important role in the high school education of American youth. You will also help determine if CTE is to become a major player in the national education reform agenda. Please look for your invitation in the mail in the coming weeks.

Resources for Further Exploration

American Institute of Archects: www.ala.org

The Council of Educational Facility Planners International: www.cefpi.org

National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities: www.edfacilities.org

Steed Hammond Paul: www.shp.com

TRIAD Architects, Inc.: www.triadarchitects.com

James R. Stone III is the director of the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education. For more information, visit www.nccte.org.