Author: contributor

Service learning combines technical skill-building with real-world experiences. In Arizona, Western Maricopa Education Center (West-MEC) embeds service learning across its programs, benefiting students and their communities alike.

Compassionate care in action

At West-MEC’s Southwest Campus, the Dental Assisting program has built strong community partnerships since its establishment in 2018. Along with a solid foundation of work-based learning (WBL) experiences, including a highly structured externship, the dental program partners with the City of Buckeye Compassion Clinic to provide dental care services to local residents.

As a result, students have seen the profound difference their work makes. One 17-year-old student reflected on her experience: “I changed somebody’s life!” This hands-on, high stakes work leaves students not only more technically proficient but also deeply aware of the power their skills can have on others.

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Takeaways

• • Find partners through community ties. West-MEC finds its partners through local connections and word of mouth. Schools interested in replicating this model should tap into existing community networks.

• • Emphasize skill development and reflection. Build formal reflection opportunities for students to assess what they’ve learned and how they’ve grown. After each event, West-MEC students debrief to discuss their strengths and areas for improvement.

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Health screenings with impact

At the Northeast Campus, the Medical Assisting program partners with the Team of Physicians for Students (TOPS) program and other local schools to offer comprehensive health screenings for student athletes. Juniors and seniors conduct physicals, take vital signs, and perform EKGs under the supervision of medical professionals.

The real-world experience students gain — working alongside cardiologists and physician assistants — helps solidify their skills and exposes them to possible career paths. Over the years, many students with undiagnosed heart conditions have been referred to specialists, potentially saving lives.

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Takeaways

• • Utilize professional networks. An instructor with prior connections to TOPS introduced this program to West-MEC. Leveraging your staff’s previous professional net- works can be vital in establishing meaningful partnerships.

• • Train for professionalism. Teach students the employability skills necessary for interacting with patients. At West-MEC, students practice how to engage with patients professionally, preparing them for future careers in health care.

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Serving animals, supporting rescues

West-MEC’s Northwest Campus is home to a Veterinary Science program that partners with local animal rescues — including Desert Harbor Doberman Rescue and Arf-Anage Dog Rescue — to provide medical care such as spaying, neutering and dental surgery. In addition, students organize and run low-cost vaccine clinics for the community.

The annual vaccine clinic treats over 100 animals in just four hours! Students practice essential veterinary skills while making pet ownership more accessible. The impact on both local animal rescues and local pet owners is clear, as shelter pets are adopted each semester, and local pets receive necessary medical care.

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Takeaways

• • Collaborate with industry partners. Build relationships with reputable rescues and shelters that are willing to partner on student-driven service projects. This can enrich the learning process and provide real benefits to the community.

• • Scale the services. West-MEC’s annual vaccine clinic is a high-impact event, but recurring service days that operate on a smaller scale could be equally effective. Schools looking to replicate this model could consider monthly or bimonthly clinics that cater to local rescue animals.

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West-MEC’s approach to service learning shows how CTE programs can effectively combine technical skill-building with community service. By forming strong partnerships, offering real-world experiences, and emphasizing student reflection, West-MEC has created a replicable model that benefits both students and their communities. Schools looking to implement similar programs can start small, with a single event or partner, and gradually build their own unique service learning opportunities that make an impact.

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Susan Leon, M.Ed., has dedicated 17 years to advancing career and technical education. As the work-based learning specialist at West-MEC in Phoenix, Arizona, she collaborates with educators and industry leaders to connect classroom learning with real-world experience.

Read Techniques to learn more.

Service learning integrates meaningful community service with academic instruction, emphasizing reflection and personal growth to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

This article explores the impact of service learning on community engagement and discusses benefits for all students, but for preservice teachers in particular. Through service learning, students develop values, ethics, social responsibility, citizenship skills, interpersonal skills, critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, cognitive development and intercultural understanding.

Benefits for all learners

• Practical experience: Service learning offers hands-on experience, allowing students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world problems.
• Personal growth: Students develop empathy, leadership and interpersonal skills through active community involvement.
• Academic enhancement: Linking service activities with academic con- tent deepens students’ understanding and retention of course material.
• Career preparation: Skills gained from service learning, such as team- work, problem-solving and communication, are highly valued by employers.

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The state of literacy in Georgia

A staggering number of adults in Georgia are reported to have low literacy skills. This indicates an urgent need to enhance literacy instruction and boost out- reach efforts across the state. Low literacy is a multigenerational problem. Without intervention, low literacy will have long- term negative impacts on Georgia’s workforce and economy.

My reading students, who are preservice teachers, engage in a variety of service learning projects designed to promote literacy and build a stronger literacy community. These projects include reading to elementary students, tutoring at the Boys and Girls Club, organizing a performing arts production for Read Across America Week, collecting children’s books for safe shelters, conducting reading parades at elementary schools, and participating in the school district’s book giveaway project.

• Promoting literacy: By reading to elementary students and tutoring, they provide one-on-one support that helps children improve their reading skills and develop a love for reading.
• Building a stronger literacy community: The reading parades and community outreach events create a festive and inclusive atmosphere that celebrates reading and encourages participation from all community members.
• Enhancing enjoyment of reading: Our preservice teachers’ efforts to make reading enjoyable are evident in every project they undertake.
• Learning and applying reading skills: Participation encourages preservice teachers to put their classroom learning into practice. They learn to apply best practices in teaching reading and gain confidence in their abilities.

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Reflections

When asked about the impact of service learning on their perspectives, my preservice teachers shared several profound insights:

• They learned the importance of networking. Through their projects, they engaged with various community members and organizations, understanding that a strong network can provide support, resources and opportunities.
• They realized the complexity and interconnectedness of societal issues. Service learning projects expose them to real-world challenges, highlighting how different problems are often intertwined and require comprehensive solutions.
• They discovered their potential to effect change in the world. Through their involvement in service projects, they saw firsthand that their actions, no matter how small, could have a significant impact.

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Conclusion

The most amazing thing to me is how excited the preservice teachers are about service learning. They complete one project and immediately want to produce another. They take the ideas and fly with them. The biggest challenge has been funding. There have been projects we wanted to do but did not have the money for. Like creating a community literacy lab. But one of my colleagues is going to help me apply for grant funding!

Service learning is a transformative educational approach that benefits students, institutions and communities. It fosters personal and academic growth, instills values and ethics, enhances social responsibility, and promotes intercultural understanding. Educators play a crucial role in this process, guiding students and ensuring meaningful community partnerships. Implementing best practices in service learning can maximize its impact, creating a more engaged and socially responsible citizenry.

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Cora Bragg Thompson, Ed.D., has dedicated over 40 years to the field of education, fostering a passion for teaching and preparing future educators to be effective teachers with a strong emphasis on literacy.

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Apprenticeships, particularly in fields like the arts, media, and entertainment (AME), offer a model of workforce education grounded in real-world experience and mentorship.

At the core of this model is a commitment to work-based learning. Apprentices gain invaluable insights into their chosen fields by working alongside seasoned professionals who guide them through real-world challenges. This experience extends beyond theoretical knowledge to develop technical and employability skills that can immediately translate into job performance.

Take, for example, apprenticeships in California’s booming AME sector. These apprentices learn the nuances of their craft while receiving mentorship from industry veterans. As they progress, they also earn industry-recognized credentials that validate their skills and enhance employability in a competitive job market.

This combination of experience, mentorship and credentialing makes apprenticeships a powerful tool for individuals seeking to build sustainable careers. It also addresses a significant gap in the labor market.

Apprenticeships as a tool for upskilling

Registered Apprenticeships offer more than just a way to enter the workforce; they are also an invaluable tool for upskilling. By providing employees with opportunities for growth and advancement, apprenticeships foster a more engaged and motivated workforce. This is particularly valuable in industries where employee retention is critical to success.

For example, employers can use apprenticeship programs to promote from within, offering employees a clear path to career advancement. This not only helps retain top talent but also reduces the need for external hiring. Furthermore, apprenticeships provide employees a structured way to learn new skills, adapt to industry changes, and improve their job performance — ultimately benefiting both the individual and the employer.

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Employers leading the charge in California

California is home to many successful Registered Apprenticeship programs in AME.

• Music Forward: Empowers youth by offering music apprenticeships in production and engineering, providing pathways to careers in the entertainment industry.
• Key Code Education: Specializes in coding and digital media, offering apprenticeships in web development, game design and animation, helping young talent enter the tech side of entertainment.
• Arts2Work: Bridges the gap between education and professional careers by offering apprenticeships in multimedia production and digital editing, supporting the development of skills for the arts industry.
• BRIC Foundation: Provides apprenticeships in arts administration, programming and film production, contributing to the growth of the arts sector and training fu.ture industry leaders.
• Handy Foundation: Focuses on arts education, offering apprenticeships in theatre arts and film production, helping aspiring professionals gain hands-on experience in these creative fields.
• The EVEN Network: Offers apprenticeships in audio, lighting and staging, preparing the next generation of technicians to meet the needs of live performance and entertainment industries.

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Partnerships and collaboration

Another key strategy for scaling apprenticeships is through collaboration between employers, local education agencies (LEAs), and workforce development agencies. By connecting with LEAs, employers can leverage their expertise and resources to create more effective apprenticeship programs. LEAs can help employers access talent pools, provide educational resources and ensure that programs align with academic standards.

Similarly, workforce development agencies and community colleges play an essential role in connecting apprentices with employers, particularly in underserved communities. By working with these institutions, employers can tap into a broader and more diverse talent pool. These collaborations help ensure that apprenticeship programs reach a wide range of individuals.

“Building strong industry-college partnerships and co-developing flexible, competency-based programs can address these challenges,” said Justin Susi. “Registered Apprenticeship programs must be dynamic in approach. An apprentice may not have the same position at the beginning or end of the apprenticeship.”

Conclusion

Through the strategic use of intermediaries, the empowerment of employees, and the involvement of both large and small employers, California is paving the way for the future of apprenticeships in the arts, media, and entertainment industries. California is building a stronger, more diverse and more resilient workforce for the future.

That’s a wrap.

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Karen Lyn Saysay, Ph.D., stands as a recognized CTE ambassador. With over 32 years of experience in education, she dedicated 28 years to the Los Angeles Unified School District and four years with its community colleges. She is also a distinguished alum of the Leadership Development Institute (California Department of Education, 2019) and a 2024 ACTE NextLevel fellow.

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From 1925 to the present day, career and technical educators and administrators have had a national organization to call home. The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) — previously known as the American Vocational Association (AVA) — turns 100 next year.

It was 1969 when Gary Moore began his work as a high school agriculture teacher. That’s also the year he joined ACTE. Some years later, as Moore was pursuing his master’s, and then a doctorate, he invested in an ACTE lifetime membership.

He was looking forward to a long tenure as an agricultural education professor. And for 56 years now, he’s witnessed ACTE’s comings and goings from the perspective of member, Association president, Agricultural Education Division vice president, volunteer, and more. He remains committed to and hopeful about the work of high-quality career and technical education (CTE).

Opportunities for reflection

It’s hard to capture how the organization that Moore and thousands of others came to know has morphed over time. With each year, a new president; every few decades, a change in structure; new members every month; perpetually awash in societal, technological and political changes. Yet here we are, staring down a whole century.

As ACTE launches its centennial celebration, this article offers a forward-looking perspective at how ACTE will continue to serve not just its members but the CTE field as a whole — and how you fit into this monumental effort.

“We all have the same goal of working with students in CTE,” said Carrie Giles, ACTE president and Central Region chief administrator for Central Ohio Technical College. “It’s interesting to learn best practices from other people and think outside of what you’re doing in your own state or local area.”

Belonging

In 1983, Debbie Nelson walked into her first family and consumer sciences (FCS) classroom as the teacher. Nelson had known since eighth grade that she wanted to teach FCS; her mother was a home economics teacher. Yet there she was, feeling a little out of place, a new teacher with few resources. ACTE became a lifeline.

“I appreciated it when I was teaching, but now I can look back and see, even more, what a difference [ACTE] makes,” said Nelson, who retired from teaching to become the executive director for Colorado ACTE in 2017. “No matter what content area they teach in, oftentimes they’re the only person in their building teaching what they’re teaching. … It’s really easy to think that you’re the only person in the whole world that’s doing this.

“The first year that I taught, I was so grateful for this network of people that I knew. But it’s really more than just a network,” said Nelson. “I have stayed for 42 years, because it’s a family.”

Relevance

In 1926, many of the fields that comprise modern CTE were just dreams. Schools were segregated. Men did not traditionally work in nursing, and most women were not welding. ACTE has proven that changing with the times is one of its strengths.

ACTE’s CareerTech VISION 2025 conference kicks off the official 100th anniversary celebration in Nashville, Tennessee. Then save the date for the big centennial bash happening at VISION 2026, in New Orleans, Louisiana. ACTE’s events offer a great opportunity for CTE educators to understand and appreciate the Association’s history.

Nelson said, “I’m excited to provide some context for the newer members and have them be as proud of our history as I am.” At conferences like VISION and the upcoming National Policy Seminar (NPS), ACTE members can connect with fellow educators and industry representatives and stay current on what’s happening in CTE.

Advocacy

CTE makes a special case for strong education funding. After all, high-quality programs in fields like farming, health care and engineering often require specialized equipment and lab spaces. “And so, on the legislative front, ACTE has been very active in promoting career and technical education,” said Moore.

When the Smith-Hughes National Vocational Education Act was signed into law in 1917, authorizing the first federal funding for secondary CTE programs, CTE didn’t yet have a united national organization. In the decades that followed, a series of laws were passed to continue to provide consistent funding for CTE. Then, when the George-Deen Act was enacted in 1936, and Congress was tasked with reallocating funds, AVA got to work.

Today, ACTE’s major funding focal point is the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, as amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act in 2018 (known as Perkins V).

“Perkins is one of ACTE’s strongest pieces of advocacy, in my opinion,” said Chaney Mosley, ACTE past president and associate professor of agricultural education at Middle Tennessee State University. He pointed out that ACTE has staff dedicated to policy, but the Association also equips its members to advocate for themselves, their students and programs, and the CTE field as a whole — even bringing educators to Washington, D.C., to have their voices heard.

Of course, ACTE’s advocacy work extends beyond funding. “One of the big things now is the teacher pipeline and teacher recruitment,” said Giles. Education leaders want to attract young people to teach CTE while also recruiting instructors from business and industry roles to share their experience with learners.

Conclusion

ACTE acts as a loud, clear voice for the field. And they will continue to uplift the stories of their communities. Because the members make the organization.

The Association’s longevity is due in part to its leadership’s willingness to be nimble, respond to changing environments, and take a stand. It’s the passionate, educated and motivated membership that’s made all of this possible over the past century. And that same membership will continue to guide CTE into the future.

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Lisa Munniksma is a freelance writer, communications project manager and farmer based in Kentucky. She’s a product of CTE, as she uses what she learned in high school agriculture classes, and as a member of FFA.

Read Techniques to learn more.

“Our students are being hired for their technical skills and they’re being fired for their lack of soft skills.”

Over a decade ago, these words introduced me to the world of career and technical education (CTE). They were spoken by my future dean during an interview for the teaching position I still hold today. When hired, I would be teaching general education courses in written and oral communication, two areas that industry partners had stressed needed attention. It would be crucial that coursework cultivate transferable knowledge and broadly integrative skills, not just because those are central to the mission of general education, but because graduates’ professional success so depended on it.

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“Soft skills” have been rebranded several times since that interview, and rightfully so. We now refer to them more as what they are. ACTE calls them employability skills because they hold market value across industries. Others may call them career readiness skills, 21st century skills, transferable skills or simply human skills. In my state at the moment, we’re favoring the term “durable skills.”

The name changes, but the list stays the same:

• • Communication

• • Collaboration

• • Critical thinking and problem solving

• • Creativity

• • Adaptability

• • Fortitude

• • Leadership

• • Strong ethics

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Writing is a durable skill.

As a writing teacher, I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about writing. It’s much more than an output-oriented task. Writing is thinking. It’s a process that forces us to expand on our thoughts, to distill our ideas, to challenge their validity, to identify how they fit in patterns, to analyze how they are informed by context. Writing provides endless opportunity to sharpen our judgment, cultivate creativity, and deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. It’s an active, iterative process. It is trying work too.

Writing is not unique in this way among creative tasks, either. Drawing, as a tool for the draftsperson or the designer, is a way of thinking as much as it is the evidence of thinking (Carr, 2014). And the song of the decade is written a chord at a time. Technical coursework requires and bolsters these skills as well. But in the expressive disciplines, the ability to iterate without costly consequence fosters creative and critical habits that are central to durable skills.

Honoring my mission to service durable skills, then, has meant focusing less on creative products and more on creative processes. But the processes we have historically employed to lead us to creative outputs were upset in November of 2022, with OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT. Seemingly overnight, generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies were mainstream, with the promise to reshape how humans create.

Artificial intelligence changes everything.

Understandably, there is enthusiasm for generative AI across economic sectors because it promises to reduce or eliminate the friction typically associated with creative tasks and in turn boost productivity (Noy & Zhang, 2023). But as educators, our concern must be much broader than our students’ productivity. We must think about the impact on the student as a whole person, and to the extent that we care about durable skills, we should question what is happening when our students use generative AI.

First, we should dispense with the notion that generative AI is just another tool. It is a tool, indeed, but the emphasis on “just” seems to dismiss any critique of how the tool is used — or how the tool uses us. My Bissell vacuum cleaner is just a tool that helps me clean my carpet. My Roomba is a robot that does it for me. The difference is not irrelevant.

“What role should generative AI play in my classroom?”

The answer has to account for the risk of skill erosion. It has to be informed by the reality that platforms like ChatGPT and Midjourney do not have a pedagogical underpinning. They are designed to identify and complete patterns in a manner that creates the most desirable product for the user with the least amount of friction.

That is not to say that AI can’t be leveraged with care. In fact, there is a growing body of evidence that AI holds tremendous promise. Generative AI can be trained to act as a virtual discussion moderator, a Socratic tutor or a learning companion (Ruiz-Rojas et al., 2024). That is, it can be prompted in such a way as to be imbued with a pedagogical purpose.

So, there are certainly benefits. Some ways of interacting with generative AI may erode durable skills, and other ways can solicit cognitive work and develop durable skills. Thus, it becomes necessary to guide the nature of our students’ AI use to safeguard their development.

Brilliant minds are working to train AI platforms with a strong pedagogical stance, with guardrails that protect students, not merely from inappropriate content or harmful bias, but from automation-induced complacency. That, I suspect, is the future. Until those platforms are sufficiently refined, we as teachers must act as the guiding force.

Final thoughts

Our graduates will create precision-engineered parts for advanced manufacturing, sustainable construction projects, efficient electrical systems, and custom welding solutions. They will develop life-enhancing treatment plans and digital designs that solve real-world problems. And they’ll likely have generative AI at their disposal. We can ensure that CTE trains them to engage with it in a way that preserves and amplifies their uniquely human qualities — so that they will be hired for their technical skills and promoted for their human skills.

Matt Wilson is a clinical associate professor in the College of Technology at Idaho State University.

Read Techniques to learn more.