Preparing Students for the Workplace and Beyond

Contextualizing Instruction in Local Programs

~ Teaching the skills needed for today’s jobs

“ We should be educating all students according to a common expectation, one that prepares them for both postsecondary education and the workforce.”

ACT (2006)

Guiding Principles

Collaboration Accountability Responsiveness Agility Contextualization Entrepreneurship Alignment

What Does This Have to Do with Anything?

The Pythagorean theorem states that:The sum of the squares of the lengths of the legs of a right triangle ('a' and 'b' in the triangle shown below) is equal to the square of the length of the hypotenuse ('c').

a2 + b2 = c2

Have you ever had to…

1) Determine if that flat screen television you want to buy will actually fit in the opening in your entertainment center?

2) Had to move a queen size mattress through a doorway?3) Determine the number of bundles of shingles you will need to

cover your roof?4) Decide if the ladder you own will reach up to the second story

window – or if you will have to borrow a ladder from your neighbor?

5) Determine the distance the second baseman has to throw the ball in order to get the runner out before he slides into home plate?

6) Determine how big a box you will need to ship gifts to your nephew for his birthday?

7) Lay the corners of the foundation for a garage or other building?

8) Construct a ramp so you can roll a cart from your garage to the bed of your truck?

Activity 1

Make the Connection

How do you use the academic skills that you learned in school?

Transforming the System

“The core problem is that our education and training systems were built for another era. We can get where we must go only by changing the system itself.”

Tough Choices or Tough Times. The report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. National Center on Education and the Economy (2007)

What does Research Tell us aboutthe Learning Process?

Most people learn best in a concrete manner that includes personal participation, hands-on activities, and opportunities for personal discovery.

Learning is enhanced when concepts are presented in a context that is familiar to the learner.

Most learners relate better to concrete examples rather than abstract conceptual models.

Most students learn best when they have a opportunity to interact with other students.

Rote memorization of isolated skills is relatively inefficient and ineffective for most students.

What We Know About the Learning Process, CORD, http://www.cord.org

Traditional Adult Education Programs

• Are usually open-entry, open-exit (model is changing)• Consist of multi-level classrooms• Provide a “facilitated” approach to learning and place the

student in a more passive role• Rely heavily on workbooks, worksheets, and computer

assisted instruction (skill and drill)• Emphasize the importance of acquiring academic knowledge

but rarely focus on the application of that knowledge in real-life situations

• Provide students with rules and facts that must be put on paper as proof of subject mastery

• Encourage independent learning rather than large- or small-group instruction

• Do not require work from the student outside of the classroom

Contextualized instruction is . . .

Providing instruction for the development of skills, knowledge, and attitudes drawn from the context in which they will be used, using real-life materials and situations from that context. Work-based basic skills are an example of a particular context.

An instructional strategy that:•Actively involves the learner in the learning process•Combines content and context•Uses authentic materials

Contextualized Teaching & Learning

• Strategies to link essential skills & academic or occupational content• Concrete applications• Specific context of interest to the student

• Includes:• Design of curricula• integration of essential skills & content

• Teaching• use of cases, project based learning and other ‐

student centered practices• Assessment• examining application of knowledge and the

transfer of skills

Elements of Contextualized Learning

• Broad outreach to underserved populations• Partnerships to leverage public/private resources• Transition programs – bridge to college & career• Basic skills in context of career• Focus on high-wage/high-demand careers within

the region• Cohort based, learning communities‐• Intensive support services• Clear transitions to continued education and

career pathways

It’s All in the Journey

Employers are looking for the most skilled employees; therefore, we need to ask ourselves:•How will our learners set themselves apart from the other applicants? •How can we educate our learners so they will develop the required skills needed for the job? •What skills will our learners bring to high priority occupations?

Do We Have . . .

• Enough information about what local businesses are looking for in order to adequately prepare our learners for obtaining or retaining employment?

• A system in place that supports collaboration and integrates current research-based educational practices?

• Instruction that prepares our learners in meeting the demands of the local workplace?

• Adequate work-related materials available for creating a curriculum that supports preparing learners for employment?

How do we know what skills are needed?

• Local Labor Market Information (LMI)• Targeted Industry Clusters• High Priority Occupations• Learner Self-Appraisal

However, high priority occupations and industry clusters are not always where our learners are

currently employed or actively seeking employment.

Two Questions

• How do we stay current regarding the future of the workforce in order to help adult learners be successful?• How do we know what types of skills should

be integrated into adult education classrooms? • O*NET• CareerInfoNet• Michigan Jobs and Career Portal

O*NET OnLine

America’s Career InfoNet

America’s Career InfoNet

Career InfoNet Videos

http://www.michigan.gov/careers

Michigan Jobs and Career Portal

Activity 2

Using Michigan’s Labor Market Information

What’s happening around the state?What’s happening within various regions

of the state?How can this information be used

in local programs?

Top Ten Skills for the Future

• Work ethic, including self-motivation and time management

• Physical skills, e.g., maintaining one's health and good appearance

• Verbal (oral) communication, including one-on-one and in a group

• Written communication, including editing and proofing one's work

• Working directly with people, relationship building, and team work

• Influencing people, including effective salesmanship and leadership

• Gathering information through various media and keeping it organized

• Using quantitative tools, e.g., statistics, graphs, or spreadsheets

• Asking and answering the right questions, evaluating information, and applying knowledge

• Solving problems, including identifying problems, developing possible solutions, and launching solutions

Bill Coplin. Ten things employers want [young people] to learn in college. The Futurist Update (Vol. 5, No. 2).

The American Diploma Project

“If they can write, I’ll take them.”…power plant manager

“Increasingly, the computer will do the computation …[but]thinking about the problem, developing the

problem, understanding the problem, looking at it from all sides, deciding what important information is

relevant to the problem … is the harder part. You can’t do that without an understanding of the

computation.”… manufacturing and distribution executive

The American Diploma Project

The English benchmarks are organized into eight strands:•Language•Communication•Writing•Research•Logic•Informational Text•Media•Literature

The mathematics benchmarks are organized into four strands:•Number Sense and Numerical Operations•Algebra•Geometry•Data Interpretation, Statistics and Probability

Remember, just because it is blue collar, it doesn’t mean it is low skill!

Requirements for electricians: Recommended high school courses include Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Physics.

Requirements for sheet metal workers:Four or five years of apprenticeshipAlgebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and technical reading

Requirements for draftsmen:Recommended high school courses include Geometry and Trigonometry. Draftsmen may wish to seek additional study in mathematics and computer-aided design to keep up with technological progress within the industry.

Sources: American Diploma Project, 2002; The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) http://www.agc.org/page.ww?section=About+AGC&name=About+AGC

Characteristics of Contextualized Learning

• CL is application oriented.• CL is learner centered.• CL is time flexible.• CL goals and purpose are

explicit from the beginning of instruction.

Approaches to Contextualization

Contextualization involves identifying specific skills students need to learn and relating them to their personal or occupational goals/experiences.

There are several approaches to contextualization. • Successfully complete x college course; • Pass y standardized test;• Attain z job;• Advance in a career ladder; and • Function successfully in the daily life, outside

of work.

Career Pathways

A career pathway •Is a framework for connecting a series of education programs with integrated work experience and support services•Enables students and workers to combine school and work •Allows learners to advance over time to better jobs and higher levels of education and training

At the secondary level, career and technical education (CTE) serves as the launch pad for students in their transition to postsecondary education and enhanced training opportunities.

Adult Career Pathways

Adult Career Pathways programs focus on the implementation of proven strategies for•identifying needs, •developing curricula, •recruiting participants,•implementing meaningful work experience, and •integrating the personal and academic services needed to transform the unemployed and underemployed into the skilled workforce America needs to compete in the world economy.

Adult Career Pathways (ACP) is defined as the guidance, remediation, curricula, and other support elements required to enable career limited adults to enter the workforce and progress in rewarding careers.

Adult Career PathwaysAdult Career Pathways: Providing a Second Chance in Public Education. Hinckley and Hull

Functional Context Education (FCE)

• Functional Context Education (FCE) is an instructional strategy that integrates the teaching of literacy skills and job content to move learners more successfully and quickly toward their educational and employment goals.

• Programs that use the FCE model are more effective than traditional programs that teach basic skills and job skills in sequence because this innovative approach teaches literacy and basic skills in the context in which the learner will use them.

• Students see clearly the role literacy skills play in moving them toward their goals.

• This strategy promotes better retention, encourages lifelong learning and supports the intergenerational transfer of knowledge.

Benefits to the Learner

• The purpose of the learning is explicit.

(Why & how are discussed.)

• Learners share previous knowledge.

(Learner is actively learning.)

• Learners discuss how they apply information to their roles as parent, worker and community member.

(Learning impacts real life.)

• Learners solve problems. (Learner uses skills that can

be used outside the lesson.)

• Learners control their learning process by their rate of participation.

(Learner is responsible for learning.)

• Transference of knowledge is explicit and immediately recognizable.

(Learner maximizes use of knowledge.)

Benefits to the Instructor

• Knowledge retention increases.

• Student motivation increases.

• Tutor guides the learning process.

• Learning is a team effort between the tutor and learner, encouraging student persistence.

• Learning is the learner’s responsibility.

Ways to Approach Contextualized Instruction

• Use of authentic materials and examples to illustrate concepts

• Develop themes based on the workplace or real-world experiences

• Involve students in the planning process so that their needs and interests provide ideas for appropriate contexts for teaching and learning

Authentic Tasks

• Authentic materials are print, video, and audio materials students encounter in their daily lives.

• Authentic materials are not created specifically to be used in the classroom, but they make excellent learning tools for students precisely because they are authentic.

Activity 3

You May Be More Contextualized Than

You Think . . .

You Can Provide More Contextualized Instruction If You . . .

• Ask what the learner would like to learn• Target learner needs• Transportation• Housing• Job

• Use authentic materials • Maps, bus schedules• Receipts, coupons, ads• Memos, pay stubs, benefits information

Let’s See How It Works!

Shopping for Groceries in the Real World!•What skills do you use to accomplish this task? Does it require reading? Writing? Math?

•Does this task require you to solve problems? Make decisions? Communicate?

•Would any of these skills be considered useful elsewhere in your life (e.g., the workplace)?

•On your worksheet, make some notes about contextualizing instruction. Then list some areas of study, topics, themes, or problems that might provide strong contexts for teachers to use in their classrooms.

Mathematics

“Mathematics is the key to opportunity. No longer just the language of science, mathematics now contributes in direct and fundamental ways to business, finance, health, and defense. For students, it opens doors to careers. For citizens, it enables informed decisions. For nations, it provides knowledge to compete in a technological community. To participate fully in the world of the future, America must tap the power of mathematics”.

National Research Council, 1989

What Do Employers Want?

• Algebra and algebraic thinking• Geometry and geometric thinking• Data representation and statistical

thinking• Problem solving skills

Activity 4

Pros and Cons ScaleWhat Job Should She Take?

•What math, reading, and writing skills would a student need to respond to this problem? Other skills?

•Is this a situation that some of your students might encounter if they were looking for a job?

What can teachers do to incorporate math contextually?

• Use authentic tasks• Start lessons with workplace situations• Teach and apply problem-solving skills• Use graphic organizers• Use project based learning

After I pass the GED Test,

I am never going to write an essay again!

After I pass the GED Test,

I am never going to write again!

What can your teachers do to incorporate writing contextually?

• Send students on a “treasure hunt” to find grammatical structures or grammatical errors. • Have learners rewrite headlines in the form of

complete sentences, using proper capitalization and punctuation.• Choose a photo in the newspaper and ask learners to

write a few lines about the photo.•Write a letter to the editor regarding an issue of

importance to the community taking a pro or con stance.•Write a letter of application for a job that is listed in

the want-ads.• Create a shopping list based on a store advertisement.

What Do Employers Want?

They want their employees to have the ability to read, understand, and follow:•Directions•Memos or letters•Proposals•Graphic information such as charts, tables, graphs, and spreadsheets•Presentation materials•Newsletters•Meeting minutes•Reports•Surveys•Procedural manuals or guides and policies•Press releases•Contracts, proposal, and grants

Activity 5

Take a few minutes to review the sample contextualized lessons. •Is this something your teachers could do in their classrooms? •Is this something your students would understand?

More Questions

• What are programs doing now?• Career Pathways• Functional Context Education (FCE)

• How can local programs begin to implement contextualized instruction?• Resources• Technical Support• Professional Development

Contextualized Instruction in MI Today

Career Pathways•Novi Community School District has fostered a relationship with local hospitals (Providence, Beaumont, Botsford, and Henry Ford) to create a healthcare pathway for adult learners. Students are able to dual enroll in Oakland Community College and Novi Adult Basic Education to acquire basic skills in the context of studying healthcare related fields.•Macomb Community College committed resources and worked with area employers and the Macomb/St. Clair Workforce Development Board to create an entry-level program to address the needs of healthcare employers. The program’s curriculum addresses the needs of adult learners and combines classroom instruction with hands-on lab practice, and supervised clinical training. Certified students are qualified to get/keep an entry-level position and to articulate that training to other career programs for future career advancement.

Contextualized Instruction in MI Today

Career Pathways•Mott Community College’s Workforce Education Center (MCC) has developed career pathways for students through the national Breaking Through Initiative. Career pathway programs are seamless to students in that each phase builds upon the skills, credentials, and/or certificates earned in the previous phase, from basic skills attainment to technical certifications. There are multiple points of entry and exit for students. MCC also accelerates basic skills attainment in phase one, and has some accelerated vocational options within the pathways. Currently, there are pathways available to students in Healthcare, Business Management, Engineering/Manufacturing/Industrial Technologies, and Human Services and Public Administration.

•Other Programs… ?

Contextualized Instruction in MI Today

Functional Context Education (FCE)•Literacy Center of West Michigan offers 10-12 week classes on-site at local companies. The reading and writing portions of the curriculum use real company documents or the work language that is specific to the company as study materials. Curriculum is in the context of employees’ jobs, providing English or literacy skill instruction and work place training simultaneously. The Center has had demonstrated success with the employers served thus far and is continuing to build connections with employers and communicate with them on the need for investment in their human capital. The Center also uses creative funding to support the project, including a variety of public and private funds. •Preparing Workers for 21st Century Employment: Reading and Mathematics is now operational in programs throughout the state. The curriculum is designed to provide adult basic education programs with reading and mathematics materials that introduce basic concepts and skills by engaging the students in employment related topics identify by Michigan employers as critical to employee effectiveness.

Preparing Workers for 21st Century Employment

• Provides a first step for local programs in initiating contextualized instruction• Has shown gains in student achievement in

reading and mathematics• Has received positive reviews from students

and teachers• Provides teachers with a complete package

of materials• Includes a professional development

component

Activity 6

Next StepsWhat support does your program need

to implement contextualized instruction?

Michigan Adult Education and Development Project (MAEPD)

Research and Development

Bonnie Goonenbv73008@aol.com

Susan K. Pittman-Shetlerskptvs@aol.com

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This project was developed by National Human Resources Development, Inc. (NHRD) in cooperation with the Michigan

Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth and funded through a grant under Section 222(a)(2) State

Leadership Activities of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Title II of the Workforce Investment Act of

1998, amended.

For more information visit:http://www.maepd.org