basic skills conference, august 3, 2010 pat phillips & melanie knier davidson county community...
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Contextualized Curriculum Guide
Basic Skills Conference, August 3, 2010 Pat Phillips & Melanie Knier
Davidson County Community CollegeLexington, NC
Students do not necessarily view math as applicable to their daily lives
Students want to make connections between what they learn and what they experience in real life
Effective learning requires active application of knowledge, skills, and processes
Learners need to acquire content knowledge and learn how to apply what they have learned
Research Indicates
Transfer of learning is likely to occur when the student understands the facts and the big picture
The learning environment should be community-centered, learner-centered and knowledge-centered
Contextualized learning helps students make these applications
Research Indicates
OVAE defines contextualized learning as “a conception of teaching and learning that helps teachers relate subject matter to real world situations”
Current information indicates that new WIA Title 1 & Title 2 re-authorization will require closer alignment with work skills and tie learning to those work skills
Contextualized curriculum is one method of making this alignment
WIA Re-Authorization
Requires a shift in understanding of what it means to develop curriculum
Begins curriculum instruction with tasks learners need in their daily lives; then begins instruction of knowledge and skills required to perform these tasks
Encourages teamwork and collaborative learning. Students often find comfort and success when working with a partner or small group
Preparing to use contextualized curriculum
How do you infuse contextualized content? Which instructional strategies work best? How do we engage students as active
learners? How do we sustain the effort? What are the implications of
contextualization on curriculum design?
Key Questions to be answered in Contextualizing Curriculum
Methods◦ Contextualization using career fields or clusters
(Toolkit, page 4)◦ Contextualization using specific occupations
(Toolkit, pages 4 & 5)◦ Contextualization Using Career Exploration
(Toolkit, page 5)
How did we infuse contextualized content into our curriculum?
Met with appropriate staff and instructors to begin planning
Achieved buy-in from key people (administrators and those developing the curriculum and those teaching it)
Set up advisory team to review curriculum and give feedback
Piloted the first few lessons with a group of students and solicited their feedback for curriculum improvement
Planning Stages
Identify career pathways in which the curriculum is needed
Identify credit staff & faculty who will work with you in the areas curricula will be developed
Interview faculty to determine key concepts and teaching and learning objectives needed to be taught in each subject in the pathway
Identify subjects and skills needed to be taught based on feedback from faculty in the area
Steps to Develop Contextualized Curricula
Identify faculty & staff who are interested in developing the curriculum
Identify resources needed to develop the curriculum
Do a readability level for credit textbooks Determine number of units to be developed
in each pathway Develop lesson plan for each lesson to be
developed and begin curriculum development
Steps to development (continued)
Identified short-term certificate and diploma programs that could be completed in 1-3 semesters
Met with college faculty and representatives from business and workforce development to determine areas where employment was obtainable
Identified faculty and staff and trained them to develop the curriculum
Developed curriculum in areas of health, transportation and early childhood initially. Added HVAC, Business, Computers and are currently identifying others to add
How we selected career pathways at Davidson County CC
Nurse Assistant Medical Office Assistant Pharmacy Technology Early Childhood
Examples of contextualized pathways at Davidson County CC
Instructional Strategies Used in Curriculum Development
Reading Reading (continued)
Choose the best answer Find These Words What Would You Do? Complete this Chart Multiple Choice Fill in the Blank/Word
Bank Crossword Puzzle Memorizing/mnemonics Common Bonds
True/False Cell Word Chop Matching Context Clues Magic Square
Instructional Strategies to Use in Curriculum Development (cont.)
Math Writing
Single-step word problems
Multi-step word problems Chart/graphs word
problems Hands-on activities using
math application, manipulatives, etc.
Students are provided content and write their own work problems
Short answer situations Topic Sentence
placement Grammatically Correct Pick 5 key statements
and write a summary Statement re-write Research and create a
3 minute oral presentation on topic of research
Students get more out of problems that are interactive
Problems that are relevant to their lives are important
Key words, phrases, or topics you want students to use need to be very clear in the problem
Work through the problem as the instructor before giving to students to prevent any surprises
Initially, begin with single step word problems until the student becomes more comfortable doing them
Working together often makes students more comfortable and they can solve the problem together
May give the students the answer to the problem in initial stages to lower anxiety in solving the problems
A few things to think about when creating word problems
Make explicit how class activities develop skills for career paths◦ Tap into student
motivation Develop a screening
process to determine skill level◦ Lower assessment
barriers to enrollment
Use instructional strategies that leverage contextualized learning approaches◦ Scaffold learning◦ Use hands-on/active
learning◦ Apply learning in a variety
of contexts Address varying skill
levels in the same class◦ Use group/pair work
How Do We Engage Students as Active Learners?
Identification of the student’s learning style and making sure that instruction touches on each student’s learning preference
Conducting a Career Aptitude/ Interest Inventory and connecting the results to each student’s learning
Varying activities in the classroom (example: Use 4-MAT Learning Wheel to design lesson plans)
Using problem-based learning
Learners Can Be Engaged By…
Participating in activities such as projects, solving real world problems, conducting interviews, creating charts and graphs, creating presentations and other activities that reinforce real-life situations
Increasing the student’s motivation to learn and fostering student independence in learning
Use of MECA or other hands-on activities
Learners Can Be Engaged By…
Implement processes designed during the planning phase
Use management or advisory team for review and program improvements
Support and retain faculty Implement data and cost-tracking systems Promote contextualization throughout your
programs Assess the costs benefits of
contextualization
How do we sustain contextualized learning?
Does integration of contextualized content change the scope and sequence for academic skills that are being taught?
How can we insure that students are learning the underlying concepts?
Can students apply the skills outside of the context?
What are resources that you can use for curriculum development?
Implications of Contextualization on Curriculum Design
Lesson Title: Medical Assisting Math I
Subject:_Math/ measurement__Prepared by: Pat Phillips__________________
Overview & Purpose Teach math skills needed to succeed in a medical assisting program
Competencies addressed: Measurement of ounces and gallons Math to prepare specimens
Teacher Plan Student Plan Objectives (Specifi c skills that will be learned) Multiplication and division of ounces to gallon
Guide students through math problem, modeling the proper procedures to calculate the problem. Then have students create their own word problems related to medical assisting and practice hands-on activity
Practice math calculations needed to complete the math problems. Practice measurement until the concept is mastered
Materials Needed Gallon of water Measuring cup pan calculator paper/ pencil
I nf ormation (Give or demonstrate necessary inf ormation)
Demonstrate math calculations and model the steps in determining the necessary inf ormation to solve the problem
Other resources (ie. Websites, books, wikis, games, etc)
Verifi cation (Steps to check student understanding)
Monitor student accuracy in solving problems
Have students do a self -check f or accuracy of solving problems
Lesson Plan Template
More examples from other community colleges:
GED Bridge to Health CareerProfile Writing Project
Reading Curriculum
Math Curriculum
Here’s what they are doing in Illinois: CNA to LPN class•3 hours/week X 16 weeks•Contextualized medical vocabulary•Based on National League of Nursing Exam•“Reading Smart” “504 Absolutely Essential Words”•Exit exam – Compass Reading, English, Math
Fast Track Allied Health Class in Arkansas•Contextualize developmental level reading and math •Move students along quicker through career pathway
Where are we going ???
•More hybrid classes – using Moodle, Blackboard
•Use SoftChalk to easily convert contextualized curriculum to engaging, interactive lessons on the web
sites.wiki.ubc.ca EFF Research Principle: A Contextualized
Approach to Curriculum and Instruction mcli.dist.maricopa.edu www.teachforever.com Contextualized Teaching & Learning: A
Faculty Primer developed by California Community College
Breaking Through Contextualization Toolkit
Sources
http://www.laguardia.edu/uploadedFiles/T2/pcap/home_content/GED%20Bridge%20to%20Health%20Careers%20Reading%20Curric%20Session%203.pdf
http://www.laguardia.edu/uploadedFiles/T2/pcap/docs/Geometry%20Overview.pdf
http://occrl.illinois.edu/files/Projects/promising_pratice/2010/Promising_Practice_Oakton_CC_Curriculum.pdf
http://www.aatyc.org/about-us/archive-news/181-aatyc-newsletter-july-2010.html
Sources
Melanie [email protected]
Contact Information